Arsenic in the Azaleas

Lovely Lethal Gardens, Book 1

By: Dale Mayer

Narrated by: Vanessa Moyen

Length: 6 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's Summary

Riches to rags...controlling to chaos...but murder...seriously?

After her ex-husband leaves her high and dry, former socialite Doreen Montgomery's chance at a new life comes in the form of her grandmother, Nan's, dilapidated old house in picturesque Kelowna...and the added job of caring for the animals Nan couldn’t take into assisted living with her: Thaddeus, the loquacious African gray parrot with a ripe vocabulary, and his buddy, Goliath, a monster-size cat with an equally monstrous attitude.

It’s the new start Doreen and her beloved basset hound, Mugs, desperately need. But, just as things start to look up for Doreen, Goliath the cat and Mugs the dog find a human finger in Nan’s overrun garden.

And not just a finger. Once the police start digging, the rest of the body turns up and turns out to be connected to an old unsolved crime.

With her grandmother as the prime suspect, Doreen soon finds herself stumbling over clues and getting on Corporal Mack Moreau’s last nerve, as she does her best to prove her beloved Nan innocent of murder.

©2019 Beverly Dale Mayer (P)2019 Beverly Dale Mayer

Cute start

Cute. Needs a little polish, but a pleasant, if somewhat predictable, story line. Interesting to see how the characters might develop.

Struggle to get through.

I tried very hard to like this book, unfortunately was an absolute struggle to get through. The narrator's voice for the main character was unfortunately extremely grating. it's hard to have a main character who in a word is not that intelligent to continue to root for. apologies to the other I just didn't like it.

Won't be getting more by this author or narrator

The best character in the book was an African Gray Parrot. The narrator did him convincingly.
As far as the men's voices went, they all sounded like they had sore throats. Irritating.
The main character was a very annoyingly stupid person. One might say ditsy. I kept thinking, as I listened, "You are such an idiot"!
There was nothing in the story to let you know it took place in Canada. Not much in the descriptions of the setting. Actually, very little in the way of descriptions at all. I normally can picture the characters and setting. But not in the case of this book.
Zero character development.
The only reason I persevered in listening was I wanted to know where all the bodies came from.
I would not even recommend this as a beach read.

Love the Narration

I seem to have purchased this story 2x. Once years ago as I have been with Audible for 10+ years When it showed up on sale, I didn’t recognize that I purchased it before.
Oh well, it’s fun and cozy, so I listened again. Cute animals and crazy old Nana’s past. I may choose another of the series, that is if I haven’t already listened to it!

Arsenic in the azaleas

I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to this series of books I enjoy it so much that after I've Listen I will read them all over again hopefully by the time I get to the last Book I received in read Hopefully I'll have a new Book to listen to I enjoy these books because it has comedy drama mystery intrigue and a little romantics Tell me different from what I've been listening to and I love these books Grown up version of Nancy drew awesome Book Thanks for riding please Please write more like this Sincerely, Donna Sipe

Simple not complex

This is cute probably best for a young reader and definitely pet lovers it’s predictable and clean no romance or deep character development

Great story

This series is a very good thing. I have enjoyed each one and can't wait for the next one

SO MUCH FUN!

I just finished this entire series to date, I’m equal parts bereft at having to wait for the next book and elated at discovering there are currently three more scheduled releases up to August next year. I normally shy away from mysteries that aren’t at least 7+ hours but honestly there are so many side stories and an intriguingly captivating cast of characters both the human and animal variety, all, makes this series a must! There are many characters of import, to name a few, there is Dorenes grandmother, Nan who resides in a retirement community, she and it’s members frequently play an integral role in providing answers which aid in solving each mystery. Nan is so full of surprises she puts any fairy godmother to shame! Dorene, our heroine has just shed herself of a very affluent lifestyle and an overbearing controlling husband. She has moved into Nan’s old home along with her Bassett hound Mugs and Nan’s Maine Coon cat named Goliath and very talkative Gray Parrot named Thaddeus, Dorene’s animal family uncover evidence add hijinks, hilarity and often protection while solving each mystery. Dorene is learning to live life on a budget and discovering many of her own hidden talents with the help of her male friend Mack and he is one of the many side stories. I thoroughly enjoyed each book they are, in a word, Fun! Each book in this series runs a consecutive time line where one book leave off the next one picks up, small story lines take root in one book and are picked up in the next or even the following. This series is so jammed packed, there is just no way to do it justice in a review. IMPORTANT...Start at book one ARSENIC in the AZALEAS this isn’t a series you can start in the middle, you will be totally lost. NOW for me, the wait begins LIFELESS in the LILIES 2-2-2021 kindle version, hopefully Audible won’t be too far behind.

Intriguing series start

Fun characterization from a talented narrator enhance this warm-hearted cozy. Plotting brings disparate subplots to a satisfying and unsuspected conclusion. Overall a pleasant way to pass time. Looking forward to the next story and the building relationship of the prime characters.

Cute Mystery

Overall this was an okay book. It’s cute, for the most part. I’ve never been unbelievably rich, so I’m honestly not truly in the know about how they live, yet Doreen seems a little too much of a cliche of a dumb blonde in some respects. Honestly, this woman can’t boil water because she can’t turn on a stove? One minute she’s a dimwit about the teas in Nana’s kitchen, but later she’s an expert. But, I’m willing to try another because it’s lighthearted and an easy listen/read. The narrator was also okay, maybe even pretty good. My only real complaint is she often uses a sing-song cadence to her reading. Thankfully, it’s sprinkled out enough that I’d listen to the next in the series if she’s the narrator.

A delight

I got this book because it was free.Last week as I was at a loose end I thought I'd sit down for an hour and have a listen. Next thing I know its 4 hours later and I'm still listening, I was hooked I couldn't put it down. Joyous, funny in places, sad in others but a riot of a good read. I'd recommend it to everyone, from teen to old age there's something for everyone.
Now I'm about to start book 2 bones in the begonias, so I hope it's as good as book 1.