Chocolate with a Side of Murder

Daley Buzz Cozy Mystery, Book 1

By: Meredith Potts

Narrated by: Lainie Pahos

Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's Summary

Sabrina Daley is still haunted by the mysterious disappearance of her sister 10 years before. Even though the case went cold long ago, she keeps holding out hope that one day she will discover what happened to her sister. Sabrina's life is turned upside down again when she discovers her friend's dead body in the alley way behind her family's coffee shop. If that isn't bad enough, after a week of investigating, the local police appear to be stumped. Terrified about a second case going cold in town, Sabrina decides to take matters into her own hands. She sets out on her own, determined not to give up until she has brought her friend's killer to justice.

©2017 Meredith Potts (P)2017 Meredith Potts

Bad!!

When Sabrina stumbles upon a dead body in the alley beside her shop, her life is turned upside down. She feels like the case could go cold and she is determined that the town won't have another unsolved case. Her sister went missing 10 years ago and it remains unsolved, and so Sabrina tries to find out who the killer is.

I very very rarely give a book 1 star, I think I can count on one hand the number of times I've rated a book so low, but this book was really bad. I wanted to put it aside numerous times, but because it was a review book, and relatively short, I kept going. I kept hoping it would get better, but unfortunately it didn't!!

I didn't like Sabrina, at all. She had no redeemable qualities in my eyes!! She was extremely pushy and rude and I thought the way she handled things was awful. She had no respect for anyones privacy, and I don't care if they were "suspects" in her mind, people were trying to grieve and she kept pushing.

I found the plot to be a tad ridiculous! I'm sorry, but her "boyfriend" (the author way overused this term) is a detective and was frustrated that the case was going cold after only a day or two. I get that investigating cases if frustrating, but I really don't think a detective would be that dejected after such a short time!! It felt unrealistic and silly. Plus, would he really tell his girlfriend so much about an active case??

In all, this was definitely not for me. I enjoy a good cozy mystery, but this one was pretty bad! I won't be continuing with the series.

Lainie Pahos seems to be a fairly new narrator and it definitely showed. She messed up on the characters voices sometimes and didn't really have the right inflections at the right times. Plus there were two pretty bad mistakes made during the recording. She cleared her throat and repeated herself during the performance! Both glaring mistakes and both of which should have been caught and fixed before production!

I was given this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.

Who doesn’t love the corgi?

This was my entry to this author. I love the relationship between the main character in relationships with the other people in the story. She is sassy and she is slightly, well, hurt. There is little romantic involvement between Sabrina and her “boyfriend” so it can not even comment on the fact that she goes around him (a cop) to look into the murder. But some characters are just like that. They don’t spend a lot of time together in the book but she claims to love him. That aspect was off to me. BUT This isn't a romance by advertisement, so that's okay. Just, again, the whole "WHY" almost like when you are watching a movie and the woman goes outside b/c of a strange noise... WHY ARE YOU EVEN??? That's how I felt about it... She takes risks and really that's what makes the book, you have to see where she ends up.

There’s an additional mystery which I hope we see in the future books. Sabrina’s sister went missing. I wanna know how that will be resolved.

Lainie Pahos was a great narrator.

I enjoy the story. I like the mystery.

lead character

The narrator was poor on men's voices. I did not find the lead character to be someone I wanted to spend time with.

Not one of my favorites.

What did you like best about Chocolate with a Side of Murder? What did you like least?

I like cozy mysteries. I liked the premise of this one. However, I found the main character to be annoying. I did not enjoy her hounding of all the suspects.

Would you be willing to try another book from Meredith Potts? Why or why not?

I don't think so. There are so many other more enjoyable cozy mystery series out there.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The pace was fine but I found some of the voices irritating like the voice of the main character's sister and grandmother.

Do you think Chocolate with a Side of Murder needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No. As I found the main character unlikable, I wouldn't care to hear any more of her life story.

Any additional comments?

I received a free copy of this audiobook and agreed to leave a review. I'm sorry it couldn't be a more positive one.

I am going to find the murderer.

This was a pretty good book. I have seen this author before and has wanted to try her books. So when i was gifted this book for an honest review, i knew this was my chance to see how i would like this author. I enjoyed the story and the characters. However, Sabrina was very very pushy with her questioning. But she got the job done. I would like to listen to more in this series.

Not quite mediocre

The story wasn’t awful, but the writing and the reading were. And the editing. This would make a credible high school writing project, but I have no idea how it got published.

Great Story

I really enjoyed the narrator and The characters very fun to listen to and read

Good story!

This is a really good cozy mystery!! I enjoy Sabrina and her adventures as she tries to solve all sorts of problems! Great series!!

Good read, looks to be a good series

Chocolate With a Side of Murder, My twenty-ninth read/listen from author Meredith Potts and the first in the Daily Buzz Mystery Series, Longer than many of the author's books I've read. Well-written & enjoyable. another cute, clean cozy mystery. I’ve been given an Audible copy of this book & am voluntarily reading & reviewing it. Lainie Pahos’s talented narration adds to the book's enjoyment. I look forward to reading more in this series & from this author. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).

Earns 5/5 Double Espressos...Delightful Fun!

Caffeinated Fun! Meredith Potts’s first book in her Daley Buzz series has a very engaging mystery, scary at times, and characters varied and well developed with reasonable reactions to events and relationships. We start with Sabrina Daley who continues to struggle, ten years later, with the disappearance of her sister who , one morning, went out for a routine jog and never returned. No clues. No evidence. No sister. But, life needed to go on. Sabrina manages the family’s coffee shop (the Daley Buzz), acts as a confidant to her BFF and her employees, and navigates a close relationship with the local detective...all while getting involved in more than one mystery…and a murder. A light in an abandoned mansion? Well-dressed men at an invite-only gathering? Murder of a business neighbor and friend? Sabrina hoped to dive into work and busy herself enough to avoid memories of her sister, but this…may just be too much. There are some conclusions offered for closure, but the book has some of the main questions left unanswered. I highly recommend getting into this series, and one way is with the audiobook. Meredith”s story is enhanced by narrator Lainie Pahos. She used her more than capable talent to go beyond the traditional reading out loud changing tone and style to represent different personalities, and her performance of male voices, often a challenge for female narrators, was done with satisfactory skill. Sometimes it seemed she rushed a bit, but all in all, it was five hours of fun!

A good start to a new series

Oh, that chocolate - I want some.

I loved the book - I loved how the main character decided she was going to solve the murder and not let anyone's feelings about being questioned by someone with no authority stand in her way. She is a woman whom despite the fact she still is suffering from what I would call PTSD over her sister going missing is not going to let others suffer as she is still doing and by deciding this stops drifting as I feel she has done to some extent for the past ten years.

The story a cosy mystery style one but with that bit extra over the sisters disappearance and because of this you do actually become more involved with the book - usually cosy mystery type books are ones you can just lay back and enjoy with no mental input from you except for seeing the scenes and characters in your mind if like this one they are fleshed out well. So although I adore cozy mysteries, my minds relaxation time this one is just that bit better as it stops me being quite so lazy as I do really 'have' to get emotionally involved with at the very least the main character and at the end I want to find out did she ever find her sister or what happened to her, whereas usually with these types of books I finish and move on to next book without thinking again about anyone in that book until and if another in the series comes out.

The narrator's voice is perfect for this story - she captures the main character so well plus she tells the story with the right amount of expression - not just making it a monotonous tale as sadly some do and so spoil even the best story.

So this combination of author and narrator make a perfect partnership and I plan to read and more books in this series plus hopefully find other books narrated by Lainie Pahos that I would enjoy.

So if you love the cozy mystery genre but would like for a chance to have a book in which reader involvement is needed a tad more than usual then buy this book, I don't think you will be disappointed.

I did receive this book free on the understanding I would consider writing an honest review and I have tried my best to do this - I like this book and am grateful to have been given the chance to find another great author and narrator to listen to.

Good Cozy mystery

A good cozy mystery with some nice touches. I liked the main character, her determination and drive. The story is well written with good ideas and a nice feel for small town America. I thought the conclusion was a little flat, but still it is a good read. The narration is very good, easy to listen to and entertaining. The first in this series and I shall be listening to more, to see if the missing sister storyline develops.

Cozy mystery

This is an enjoyable listen, I liked the relationship between the two main characters and I liked this narrator. The only issue was that some lines in the story were repeated and one line was repeated 3 times!

Light hearted fun

I enjoyed this book, as it was a fun chick lit Murder mystery. It was a great start to what seems to be an interesting series as the lead character has a sister who went missing. That is an underlying back story for the audiobooks

Good story, wasn't keen on the narrator

The story was ok, found it a bit annoying, but the narration was poor, it didn't flow, there was noises and long pauses. Overall it was mediocre, but I'll give the next book a go

Chocolate with a Side of Murder

This is definitely a cozy mystery that is perfect to sit back, relax and enjoy a good book for an afternoon. I really liked the way this book worked out and look forward to more in this series.

The First Mystery in Treasure Cove

We are introduced to the central character, Sabrina, plus the location, Treasure Cove, for this very good series of mysteries. Sabrina, who's sister vanished sometime previously, is dealt a second crushing blow when her best friends dead body is discovered behind the coffee shop she manages. Sabrina decides to be proactive in the solution of her friends murder. The writing is very good and this is enhanced by an engaging narration. An overall enjoyable audio book.

Good, nicely entertaining listen

I love a good mystery and this one caught my attention at the beginning simply from the description on the blurb. Not only is there a murder to solve but also a missing person's case going back ten years. The mystery surrounding Sabrina's sister's disappearance had me intrigued and I felt sorry for Sabrina's family at having to live with the uncertainty of not knowing what happened to her. I will enjoy following this series just to find out how this story plays out.
Sabrina makes a very good detective. She has no difficulty in ferreting out suspects and getting them to talk. She seems to be more adept at it than the local police.
I enjoyed this first in the series and I will look forward to reading the rest.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy provided by the author at my own request.

Excellent

Really enjoyed this book. I will looking at buying the next book in the set.