Beautifully Broken Pieces

Sutter Lake Series, Book 1

By: Catherine Cowles

Narrated by: Maxine Mitchell, Aaron Shedlock

Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

A woman who's lost everything.

Taylor is looking for peace and quiet away from the memories of all she's lost. A small mountain town where no one knows her seems like the perfect escape.

A man battling the ghosts of his past.

Walker loves his life just the way it is. His town, his family, his brothers in blue. Everything simple and easy - until a chance encounter changes it all.

When Taylor's solitude is interrupted by the rugged cop, they find that the very thing they were avoiding might be just what they both need. As their iron wills clash and passion flares...a killer lurks.

And you never know who might be caught in the crosshairs.

©2018 Catherine Cowles and The PageSmithLLC (P)2019 Tantor

Excellent storyline

The story was great. The performance was great. The only thing i did not like was the unnecessary bad language.

Spicy Suspense with Great Twists

5/5 ⭐
3/5 🌶️

This was my first time picking up Catherine Cowles and it certainly won't be the last. Beautifully Broken Pieces was absolutely riveting from beginning to end. I loved the characters, the story and the spice so, so much.

I listened to the audible book and absolutely loved Maxine Mitchell and Aaron Shedlock as narrators. I am always nervous when I grab a book with voice actors I haven't heard before, but both of them were fantastic and I'm already looking forward to hearing more from them.

I really enjoyed these two main characters. Both are broken with grief and in a little spin off the usual trope of optimistic girl convinces pessimistic guy, we get the opposite with BBP. Walker who despite losing his first love in a horrific manner, breaks down Taylor's walls and convinces her it's okay to love again, that not everyone leaves you by choice or in death. Their chemistry is fantastic and I really loved the spice; there wasn't a ton, but what there was hotttt.

The murderer reveal knocked me off my feet. My first guess ended up being a main character in a later book which I spoiled for myself without thinking by looking ahead. But not too much later the killer was revealed and I didn't see it coming at all. Catherine did an amazing job of laying ground work and false trails and I really can't wait for more from her. Next up is Liam and Tessa and I'm so excited for their story.

Catherine Cowles! Wow!!

Great story!! Loved the twists the romance…all of it Can’t wait to read the rest of the series!

Such a good story!

I was really surprised that this story turned out to be such a wonderful, romantic, exciting, suspense, and heartfelt story. And the ending you would have never guessed.. loved it loved it loved it💕

The love

Loved everything about this book. Could not stop reading. Characters were absolutely amazing. And just enough of a mystery to keep you guessing.

terribly quivery narration but cute story

the story was fun, but the guy narrator was too husky/dramatic and the girl narrator was so quivery it was grating to the ears. sounded like she was about to sob or throw up when it was supposed to be an angry or sexy scene...very off-putting!

Recommended

An excellent start to the 'Stutter Lake' series. The characters are interesting and varied; the mystery engaging & the couple full of chemistry. I did get tired of Taylor's self-absorbtion, that she couldn't seem to get a clue. I can't wait to see who is next.

The narrators did an terrific job bringing the story to life.

Catherine Cowles, I 💖 You!

Hands down, Catherine Cowles is my new favorite author! The Sutter Lake Series was my first introduction to her writing and it still stands as one of my favorite series. Read all of her books because they are all fantastic!

Off to a good start

I enjoyed this first book in the Sutter Lake series. I will say that I wasn't too far into the book when I had a (correct) guess about who the killer was, but while usually that would bum me out, the rest of the story kept me interested. Overall, I thought this was a good entry into the series and I look forward to the others.

Beautiful Mix of Romance and Suspense

“Life doesn’t always take us on a path we understand, but I know that even with the moments you think will break you, there’s always something beautiful waiting. If you keep pushing on.”

This was such a compelling story about grief and the different ways we cope with it in order to heal ourselves. Taylor and Walker have both suffered unthinkable loses, something that has shaped their future and relationships in different ways. And not only is this a beautiful romance story it has the unexpected suspense elements of missing women, dead bodies and mysterious hunters - so this story ticks all the boxes for a great audiobook. Maxine and Aaron bring Walker and Taylor to life in such a way that I got chills from several of the scenes.

Pushing everyone away so she can deal with the grief, Taylor is especially hesitant to let anyone new close, including the town cop Walker Cole. Yet Walker isn’t one to let someone suffer alone when he knows similar grief. Building a friendship with Walker, Taylor didn’t expect to want or need him but he ended up being the exact solace her heart was looking for. I absolutely loved his unending support for Taylor and could only hope for someone like him in my time of need.