Dead in the Water

Welcome Back to Scumble River, Book 1

By: Denise Swanson

Narrated by: Tanya Eby

Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

The first audiobook in a brand new series featuring New York Times best-selling author Denise Swanson's beloved Scumble River setting and characters, Dead in the Water is a gripping mystery that won't let you go until the end.

A twister, a kidnapping, and a murder - oh my! Scumble River may never be the same.

For school psychologist Skye Denison, there's certainly no place like home. When a violent tornado devastates her small hometown of Scumble River, she can't see how the community will ever recover - especially since town councilman Zeke Lyons appears to have perished in the twister.

But things get even worse for Skye when her police chief husband, Wally, disappears in the midst of investigating Zeke's death, and evidence arises pointing to foul play. Did Zeke really die in the storm, or was he murdered? And could Wally be next on the criminal's hit list?

©2018 Denise Swanson (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Great story, Horrible Narration

I am so sad that Christine Leto is not narrating the new revamped series. I LOVE the Scumble River series. I own all the Paperbacks and the audible versions. I think Dead in the Water was a perfect title for the new launch. Not only did the twisters destroy Scumble River, the new new narrator Tanya Eby destroyed all the characters. I tried to finish listening but when she didn’t even make the correct pronunciation of Doozier, it was over for me. She sounds so much like a robot I looked her up to hear a sample of her other work. She sounds less robotic in some others. Sadly this will be my last audible visit to Scumble River. The stories are great so I am definitely continuing the books but am really sad to lose the audible version because Christine Leto brought such life to all the characters. This will be the first audible book I have ever returned for a refund.

Cozy with too much romance

I love a good cozy in between thrillers and suspense, but I’m not fond of too much romance and sappy stuff. It’s definitely worth a listen if you don’t mind that. The story was good, I liked the characters and the narrator was good.

a new fan

I read previous reviews about former narrator indicating this narration not good but since I'm new to this series I can't wait for book 2 and more by Ms Eby

Dead in the Water

Love the story! Love the characters! The narrator is awful! Too monotone for the action taking place and the personalities of the characters in the story. She reads with no pep, sass or depth to her vocals. This is the wrong genre for her reading style and abilities.

Blew me out of the water!

I loved this story, my favorite in the series. It has everything comedy, suspense and romance. The narrator, Tanya Eby, did a fantastic job with all the voices.

Story was decent; narration not so much

The story was ok. (spoiler!!!) But you can’t tell me that when your kidnapped son asks you to deliver a message to his pregnant wife that you just “forget” to tell her half of it. Especially the half that would lead to his location. Also the narrator was super stiff and it sounded like English wasn’t her first language. The over pronunciation of words was rough to listen to.

Great Read

the story was great I use Audible books to put me to sleep and I ended up turning it off so I could go to sleep and not listen all night to the conclusion.

My lowly opinion

Not to be negative, but in my opinion the narrator didn't quite 'fit' this story but she's likely great for many others.

Great story!

I have not read or heard any of the previous books. I thought the narrator did a good job. I enjoyed the story, and look forward to hearing more stories from this author.

When did Ms. Swanson start using foul language?

I didn't mind the narrator, I thought she did a good job, but the narrator wasn't the problem I had with this book. I also loved the story, but when did Denise Swanson cozy mysteries start using foul language and steamy scenes between Wally and Skye? There was nothing like this in the Scrumble River series and I hope it doesn't continue in this series since I purchased all the books available in this series because I enjoyed the Scrumble River series so much. After I finished this book, I decided to look at reviews of other cozy mystery series by Ms. Swanson. I read some reviews of the Chef-to-Go Mysteries, She started that series the same year this book was written. The reviewers were not happy about the foul language, and sexual content. Is this the new direction for Denise Swanson? I hope this is not the case. In the past when I chose a Denise Swnason cozy mystery, I found a clean, cozy, fun mystery, From other reviews I have read, she may lose many readers and listeners.