Blind Bake

Maddie Baker Mysteries, Book 1

De: Denise Grover Swank

Narrado por: Shannon McManus, Chris Brinkley

When a young woman is at the wrong place at the wrong time, she becomes a person of interest in a murder investigation.

Maddie Baker just wants to make ends meet. She gave up her school librarian career to return to her hometown and take care of her elderly aunt. So when she starts making Uber runs to supplement her barista job, she never dreamt she’d not only drop a man off to his murder but be labeled a person of interest in his death.

Detective Noah Langley is looking for a fresh start in a city with a lower crime rate and a fraction of the population of Memphis. It’s just what he needs to recover from a nightmare that left him severely injured and his teenage mentee dead. The first murder since he’s arrived in Cockamamie is a chance to prove to his boss and himself he should be there.

Noah doesn’t have many leads, but the few he has all tie back to one person: Maddie Baker. She doesn’t seem the type, but the last time he presumed someone was innocent he nearly died. Has Noah lost his instincts? Because if he can’t trust his gut, it might be time to turn in his badge.

©2022 Denise Grover Swank (P)2024 DGS

Maddie Baker Mysteries!

Blind Bake (Maddie Baker Mystery, Book 1) is an entertaining listen. I'm a huge fan of Denise Grover Swank and was thrilled to get a chance to listen to this mystery. Told in dual pov Maddie & Noah's romance is winsomely weaved into the mystery plot. The writing style is compelling and captures your mind. Small Town romantic suspense, with an unexpected plot twist. Looking forward to listening to the next audio in the series.

Shannon McManus, Chris Brinkley dual narration was really good. Highly entertaining, bringing out the characters and their story. Both inflections were very easy to listen.

Wonderful story and fantastic narration!

The narration by Shannon McManus and Chriss Brinkley was awesome and seemed to add to the story for me.

This is the first Maddie Baker mystery. I had already read an ARC of the second book and knew that I really needed to go back and read the first. I really suggest reading them in order, because there was so much that happened in this first book.

Maddie has returned home to the small town she grew up in to take care of her aunt who has dementia. That town also happens to be where her mother was murdered. There is another murder and Maddie finds herself up to her eyeballs in the mess. A handsome detective, Noah, is trying to ferret out her involvement. He's soon impressed with her ability to take care of herself (she can flip guys), but also desperately feels the need to protect her and aunt. Can he possibly do that if Maddie is determined to try to solve both murders on her own?

This book was packed full of all sorts of happenings that hold the listener spellbound. It was a pretty long audiobook, but I sped it up and was so engrossed in the story details that it flew by in no time. It is well worth the time!

Thanks to Valentine Promo for the gifted copy. All thoughts are my own.

Please Ville USA

Great whodunit! Love the story line. Enjoyed getting to meet the two main characters. Didn't care for the narration for Maddie, not the sound of an educated female, even if she's southern. My only turn off. Can't wait for book two.

Hard to put down

I had a hard time putting it down. Good story. I like the different points of view.

What a good murder mystery!

Blind Bake
4 ⭐️

What a great book! It’s a start of a series & when I tell you I already want to read the other one that’s definitely going on my TBR!
If you love a murder mystery this is one you won’t want to put down. Dual POV such a good narrators too, they kept me entertained the whole time! Ends With the cliffhanger so I’m definitely going to have to move book 2 up on my list. The characters are very easy to love Maddie & Noah ❤️ it has two murder mysteries in one!
Great writing style I love finding new authors who keep me intrigued with the writing & makes me want to read / listen to all books written by her.

Thank you valentine PR for the audiobook.

Wonderful little murder mystery!

Blind Bake, an Audiobook by Denise Grover Swank is a murder mystery involving Noah and Maddie. This is book one is the Maddie Baker mystery series. She’s recently returned to her home town to care for her aunt. There, she meets a new police investigator, Noah. She becomes a person of interest in a recent murder.

Enjoyable murder mystery. Noah has past issues he is dealing with that get to me after awhile…Maddie just has to get involved in everything…even things she shouldn’t. This was a fun read. I thought it was a romance…not much here. So, if that’s your thing, I don’t suggest this one. Nevertheless, it was a great murder mystery and I enjoyed it! Nice little departure for me.

This Audiobook was narrated by Shannon McManus and Chris Brinkley. These two made the story more intriguing and engrossing for me and I loved their interpretations of the characters! All around great story!!

I am volunteering to leave a review for an Advance Reader Copy of this Audiobook.

Simply Fantastic!

Maddie has the best personality. I truly enjoy her spunky attitude and her snarky come backs. Noah has his hands full with Miss Maddie. I just love Shannon McManus she really brings Maddie's character to life. As for Chris Brinkley.... Hello Chris where have you been all my life? 😁😁 I wasn't expecting this most Alluring voice to bring Noah's character to life for us. From one fan to another, down load this Audible right now. You won't regret it.

Amazing!!

This story was so good that once I started with the audiobook I couldn't put it down!! The suspense, the mystery and the twist and turns in the story keep my attention throughout the whole story.

Maddie baker was such an amazing character, her personality was refreshing and her caring nature for others made her even more special so when she drop everything in her previous life to come and help take care of her aunt who has dementia, she never expected to be in the middle of a murder investigation as one of the suspects and be in the eye of detective Noah Langley.

Noah moves to Cockamamie, Tennessee to take things slow after a tragic accident change his life completely. His new job suppose to be easier but everything changes when a death body is discover and there is no clue of why and only a person keeps popping up as a main suspect Madelyn Baker, one woman that surprises him in every step of the way but also makes his blood run hot.

The undeniable chemistry between Maddie and Noah is strong and I hope that in the future they can connect and explore their feelings.

I can't wait for more of this series.

Loved the story and narration

Blind Bake is the first in a new series by Denise Grover Swank. Denise’s books are always entertaining, creative and fantastic.

This book is filled with humor, great suspense and a group of great characters.

Maddy has suffered great loss in her life but is one tough chick. She is a wonderful caretaker, friend and a badass who will challenge anyone to protect others are make sure justice is served.

Noah is a grumpy detective who has been assigned for a new case. Underneath the gruffness he is a kind and caring person but he doesn’t let many see that side of him.

Initially there is distain between Maddy and Noah but as the case progresses and they spend more time together…there begins to be some respect, trust and understanding.

Denise does an amazing job with these characters and this story. You will be engaged through the entire book. I am looking forward to the next book.

Shannon McManus and Chris Brinkley did an amazing job being this book to life. Chris’s voice is as soon as butter, swoony and perfection for Noah. Shannon’s voice is strong, sweet and beautiful as Maddy’s voice. The emotions, personalities and voice variance for each character was performed beautifully. I love how audiobooks being a whole new experience to enjoying an authors words.

I am looking forward to seeing how this series progresses!

This is my first book by this author and I was favorably impressed. When I looked her up I discovered that Denise Grover Swank is a well established author who has been on many best-seller lists and I can see why. This book starts a new series for her about Maddie Baker, who recently returned to her small hometown to care for her aunt, who has dementia. No sooner does she come to town than there is a murder for which she is a prime suspect. The investigating detective is also new to town, having left a big city for a safer jurisdiction in which to work. He has been tasked with the role of cleaning up the town’s police force and improving their abysmal number of closed cases. Both Maddie and Noah are investigating this murder as well as the unsolved murder of Maddie’s mother when Maddie was a teen. There is strong chemistry between the two, but a conflict of interest, life goals, and Noah’s confidence in his own judgement conspire to keep them apart. This leads me to suspect a will they, won’t they dynamic to their interactions as this series progresses. I had the opportunity to listen to this book in audiobook form and found that both narrators were perfect for their roles reading their respective characters’ POV. I was impressed with this as a well plotted book with well-written characters and a great deal of humor thrown in. I would not hesitate to pick up a book by this author again, and I am looking forward to seeing how this series progresses. I am voluntarily submitting this review after listening to a complementary copy of this audiobook.