Cruel Candy

The Cozy Corgi Mysteries, Book 1

By: Mildred Abbott

Narrated by: Angie Hickman

Length: 5 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

Estes Park, Colorado: picturesque mountains, charming shops, delightful bakeries, a cozy bookstore...and murder.

Winifred Page and her corgi, Watson, move to Estes Park to hit the reset button on life. Fred is about to open her dream bookshop, and the only challenges she anticipates are adjusting to small-town life, tourists, and living close to her loveable mother, Phyllis, and hippy stepfather, Barry.

When Fred steps into her soon-to-be-bookshop for the first time, she expects dust bunnies and spiders...not the dead body in the upstairs kitchen. The local police have an easy suspect - Barry.

Determined to prove quirky Barry innocent of murder, Fred puts on her detective hat, and with Watson by her side, she explores her new town and gets acquainted with her fellow shopkeepers. Could one of her friendly neighbors be the real culprit? And what would be the motive for killing the owner of the Sinful Bites candy store? The secrets Fred discover put her at odds with the local police sergeant and threaten her cozy future in Estes.

With snow falling outside, all Fred wants to do is curl up by the fire with a good book and Watson snuggled at her feet. But before she can begin her new life and put her plans for her bookshop into action, Fred and Watson have a mystery to solve....

©2017 Mildred Abbott (P)2018 Mildred Abbott

Meh

I really wanted to like this book. The story wasn't half bad. I just couldn't get past the narrator. If you like listening to what sounds like a 12 year old girl reading the book outloud, and a book where the voices are either childish or over 70, this is the book for you. If you prefer a narrator voice more in line with the age of the main character, and a narrator who has a good range of voices, this is not the book for you. I gave up on it and removed future books from my library.

Plot flaws rescued by good narration

well that and the good humour throughout.

But the writing is so awkward it's jarring at times. Still, maybe the author will improve in subsequent books. I'll continue with this series for now

Won’t make my top 25 mystery series

I’m not sure if it was the story itself or the narrative but this book won’t make my top 25 mystery series and I won’t be listening to any more books from this series. I had a hard time getting past the narrator’s little girl sounding voice for a 38 year old woman.

Too much body shaming for me.

I only got through chapter 4. As early as chapter 1, there were passages criticizing a fat candy shop owner who love to eat butter and sugar versus a skinny candy shop owner who makes all healthy candy. In chapter 4 the main character talked about feeling little next to a taller female character. I liked the setup, but feel that body shaming is not needed for a good cozy mystery.

Really cute book!

I enjoyed the cozy mystery. Entertaining and light hearted. Love to listen to audiobooks that are fun and also keep you going wondering “who done it?!” Excited for the next listen.

Cute start to a new series

Fred moves to Estes Park to be with family and open a book store The local police have an easy suspect—Barry. Determined to prove quirky Barry innocent of murder, Fred puts on her detective hat, and with Watson by her side, she explores her new town and gets acquainted with her fellow shopkeepers. 

This book has some likeable characters; Barry, her mother and her relatives and adds in just a bit of drama with a little romance developing, so have high hopes for series. The town is cute and look forward to learning more about the characters and the budding romance.

Spoilers and update: By book 3, I realize I no longer like the protagonist and stopped listening. 1) She is childish and borders on narcissistic. Became frustrated with the continued "Don't tell me what to do even though I know I'm wrong!" comments. 2) Tries to be snarky, but comes across as pompous and bratty 3) Irresponsible dog owner. Perhaps the author thinks this is cute, but rather, it is unhealthy for Watson and unrepresentive of a proper owner dog relationship. Sorry, I just can't get over feeding her dog too many blueberry scones! Fred says I know it isn't good for you, but going to give you all these baked goods anyway. By book 8, she will have to roll Watson out of bookstore like in Charlie and Chocolate factory.

Even free, I no longer suggest this series, and I have returned. I am really sad as I had high hopes.

Cute story. Abominable narration.

I enjoyed the story, but the narrator’s voice was absolutely horrible. I’ve already downloaded one more in the series, but I’m not sure I can listen to 5 more hours of this squeaky, baby talk voice. I’m sorry, it may be the worst I’ve ever heard on audible so far. 😩

Cute 1st book in the series. Simply but I enjoyed

I was looking for a new series and this book provided what I was looking for it's a little bit of happy fluff with a tad bit of detective in it and I'm glad I read it.

Good First in the Series

I've had this one in my library for a while, and finally got around to listening. Its a witty and fun listen. Some of the subject matter might be a turn off for some, but as Fred (the daughter of a police officer) investigates it is clear that she's a pretty straight laced gal . . . dealing with the trends in today's society and trying to help her family. Finding a dead body in her shop is the last thing Fred expects to find when she enters the space for the first time. Fun story and unusual resolution.

LOVE IT !!

Funny , corgi loving fun ! Some of the plot was rushed but still a great book. Nice cozy time read.