• Caught Dead Handed

  • Witch City Mystery, Book 1
  • By: Carol J. Perry
  • Narrated by: C.S.E Cooney
  • Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (590 ratings)

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Caught Dead Handed  By  cover art

Caught Dead Handed

By: Carol J. Perry
Narrated by: C.S.E Cooney
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Publisher's summary

Most folks associate the city of Salem, Massachusetts, with witches, but for Lee Barrett it's home. This October she's returned to her hometown - where her beloved Aunt Ibby still lives - to interview for a job as a reporter at WICH-TV. But the only opening is for a call-in psychic to host the late-night horror movies. It seems the previous host, Ariel Constellation, never saw her own murder coming.

Lee reluctantly takes the job, but when she starts seeing real events in the obsidian ball she's using as a prop, she wonders if she might really have psychic abilities. To make things even spookier, it's starting to look like Ariel may have been an actual practicing witch - especially when O'Ryan, the cat Lee and Aunt Ibby inherited from her, exhibits some strange powers of his own.

With Halloween fast approaching, Lee must focus on unmasking a killer - or her career as a psychic may be very short lived.

©2014 Carol J. Perry (P)2015 Tantor

Critic reviews

"The atmosphere of this mystery is delightfully spooky, and the psychic elements add mystical touches that enhance the plot." ( RT Book Reviews)

What listeners say about Caught Dead Handed

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Good light whodunnit

This story has a good premise with good characters. The main character is a young woman whose life has not gone the way she planned. This has made her strong but not bitter, and wary. I really like her.
The mystery she has to solve is complicated, and even though I figured out the big question fairly early on, it was still enjoyable to watch her sort through not only the facts, but also her emotions.
The narrator is excellent.
I listened to this in one day, as I didn't want to put it down. Not a deep, thought provoking novel, but a very well done light afternoon entertainment. I'm looking forward to the next in the series.
Oh, and there's a very cool cat. Bonus points!

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18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great start to a new series!

I hope we get more of these as soon as possible! There is much to like about this first book, starting with the reader. She's excellent! She does opposite sex characters well, multiple different characters with distinction and interest (the voice she uses for Janice, in particular, is just amazing), and has a very pleasant voice to listen to. She doesn't get lost in her sentences, and knows her materiel.
As far as the book itself goes, the set up is unique and has room for growth. The heroine has an interesting back story, and is self assured and assertive. The setting, (in Salem, Massachusetts, right before Halloween), makes it distinctive and fascinating, and more specifically the setting in the small town TV station, with our heroine deciding to take on the hosting of the late night horror movie call-in show is funny and effective. Some of the scenes on the basement set late at night are quite creepy.
The supporting characters are probably the strongest part of the book. Some of them are funny, some of them are complex, and all of them are interesting. They are all well drawn and distinctive, and since this is the only book (so far) that takes place at the TV station, I'll miss some of them quite a bit as the series goes on. Even the victim is a strong and interesting presence.
The major weakness is that it's so clear, for so long, who the murder must be to the reader, that it's very hard to understand how Lee (the protagonist) doesn't see it as well. I enjoyed the setting and the characters so much that I didn't care much. It should be noted that in book two, I had no idea who the murder was until it was revealed, so this series gets better from that point of view.
Overall, I loved this book, and will doubtless listen to it repeatedly. I can't wait for book three!

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

good first book in a series

the book started slowly, wasn't sure I would be able to get into it. The narrator seemed unsure as well, almost as if this was her first time reading aloud. But this quickly changed. I got into the story, the narrator became more relaxed and sure of herself and the story grew more compelling.

The cat on the cover caught my eye. The cat is an integral part of the story, but not the main character. He plays an important supporting role. His actions are typically feline and very believable.

This story has a character with a mental health issue. Can't say what it is or that will give away part of the story. Book includes some good information on the condition in one of its many guises.

This story has the usual cast of characters: those you want to dislike, those you want to like, those you want to avoid, those you don't trust, those you want on your side. The fun is figuring out where each character actually fits.

I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Simple and easy

Simple but nice twist and easy to listen to without complications. Small twist in plot but obvious. The characters are likeable.

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5 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • B
  • 05-22-15

Beginning of s nice series

Fun read, book moves well . Narrator does multiple voices well. Hope that book 2 makes it to audio book soon.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Somewhat trite

This is a cute, if not a somewhat trite cozy mystery. It is a fun, quick read of a murder in of all places Salem, Massachusetts. Really…, and then there is O’Ryan the cat, Ariel Constellation the psychic, Crystal Moon the clairvoyant, and WICH-TV. Really… Cute is the only thing this book has going for it. I figured out whodunit WAY before our heroine.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Shows promise, but...

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Sadly, I can't recommend this particular book. The writing is perfectly serviceable and the character is fairly likable. However (CONTAINS SPOILERS)



The solution to the mystery is A) fairly obvious and the protagonist just remains oblivious for far longer than she should.
B) Incredibly transphobic. This is the sort of story that we saw all over the place in the mid-90's thrillers like Sliver. It's outdated and unfortunate and kept me from enjoying the story.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Such Bad Pacing

Would you try another book from Carol J. Perry and/or C.S.E Cooney?

Unlikely.

Would you recommend Caught Dead Handed to your friends? Why or why not?

I can't recommend this book for the simple reason that the placing is simply abysmal it takes far to long to get to the meat of the story and when it does it is WAY to padded out.

Did C.S.E Cooney do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

I will give Mrs. Cooney credit on this end of things. Using different tone and inflection she is able make each character distinguished.

Did Caught Dead Handed inspire you to do anything?

no

Any additional comments?

While C.S.E. Cooney does keep each character distinguished her over all narration only adds the bad pacing

This book really needed a better editor. The actual story is interesting as are most of the characters. It also does not go the normal route of "hero discovers they have powers".

Had the pacing been better I might have enjoyed this book quick a lot but as it is I can't recommend it book at all

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Slow and hackneyed, the narrator asleep

What could Carol J. Perry have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Pick more interesting plot line. It was obvious who the killer was 1/2 way through!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great Listen

This was my first book by this writer and it was most enjoyable. My favorite genre is the Cozy Mysteries but they can seem to be all the same after a while, but not this one! It is a most refreshing change of scenery and script. I highly recommend this book. Also the narrator is perfect!

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