Guidebook to Murder

Tourist Trap Mystery Series, Book 1

By: Lynn Cahoon

Narrated by: Susan Boyce

Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

In the gentle coastal town of South Cove, California, all Jill Gardner wants is to keep her store - Coffee, Books, and More - open and running. So why is she caught up in the business of murder?

When Jill's elderly friend Miss Emily calls in a fit of pique, she already knows that the city council is trying to force Emily to sell her dilapidated old house. But Emily's gumption goes for naught when she dies unexpectedly and leaves the house to Jill, along with all of her problems...and her enemies. Convinced that her friend was murdered, Jill is finding the list of suspects longer than the list of repairs needed on the house. But Jill is determined to uncover the culprit - especially if it gets her closer to South Cove's finest, Detective Greg King. The problem is, the killer knows that she's on the case - and is determined to close the book on Jill permanently.

©2014 Lynn Cahoon (P)2014 Tantor

Very entertaining and engaging

If you could sum up Guidebook to Murder in three words, what would they be?

Excellent character development. Enough suspense to hold one's imagination. Romance without errotica. A mystery solved with a bit of humor and some appropriate twists and turns.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Guidebook to Murder?

When she begin to realize that Greg was attracted to her and then when she said something about his being married and he reacted.

Have you listened to any of Susan Boyce’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have never listed to Susan Boyce's performance before. She did a good job.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I both cried.... and laughed.. more laughter... Some very amusing scenes as she dealt with herself and what she was dealing with.

Any additional comments?

Very entertaining and captivating.... I am so tired of those that believe one must go into exhaustive descriptions of the sex act in order to highlight romance and attraction.... This books builds an encounter into a budding romance in a natural way. Loved it. and welcomed the change.

Enjoyed it!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

It's a nice little mystery with interesting characters and without any bloody violence.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Guidebook to Murder?

I enjoyed her Aunt's character.

What about Susan Boyce’s performance did you like?

It took me a minute to get used to her. (I'm used to listening to books with british accents.) Within a few minutes she had me engaged into the story.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I love renovation tv shows so it was very easy to imagine what she was going through with the old house renovation.

Any additional comments?

Very good book to listen to while commuting to work. I didn't know there was a series until today. I plan on listening to the whole series.

cute enough

this audiobook was good enough that I was interested to keep listening to see what happened, both in the crime and in Jill's life. i did not struggle to get through it as I have with many other audiobooks. However, this was not deep or very nuanced .

there are several holes...e.g. the town mayor seemed to be the policemans slavemaster. this town decreed the house needung to be up to code by a given very near date despite the fact that ownership changed during that time.

As I say, it was cute, told from the perspective of a middle-aged woman and imbued with a woman's sensibility. it was offered at a discount rate by Audible, and one can see why.

Good story needs a better narrator.

A little predictable, but some good historical fiction angles. Narrator needs to learn the difference between diction and dialect in creating alternate characters.

Great Read (Listen)

This is an enjoyable story with good characters and good side plots. The story is read very well. My thanks to the author and the voice artist

Too Many Unanswered Questions

In the first book of most series, the author usually sets up the main character with her background and the supporting characters. Five years earlier, Jill left her job as a big city attorney and moved to a small tourist town to open a coffee shop and bookstore. She had gotten divorced after finding out that her husband was cheating, but her reason for such a huge life change is never really explained.

The murder mystery was well done, but the idea that Jill had lived in a tiny place and had never met the town cop was just silly. The murder victim, an elderly lady with a run-down house, makes an attorney her heir without ever speaking with Jill about her will. There are simply too many things which do not make sense, which detracts from enjoying the story. Hopefully in future books the plots and characters will become more realistic.

Enjoyable

This was a good story with a good narrator. I am looking forward to book two!

intricate mystery

the story has a great pace that keeps the reader involved and on the edge of their seat.

Great read

I really liked the story. I love that there was no cursing or inappropriate innuendo. Good clean murder mystery.

A lot of fluff

The book could have been condensed a lot. Four hours in and only one murder and NO advance to the mystery. A little more heaving and lusting after the main guy than is my taste but not horrible. I may read another.