Killer Transaction

Cindy York Mystery Series, Book 1

By: Catherine Bruns

Narrated by: Amy Deuchler

Length: 7 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

From USA Today best-selling cozy mystery author Catherine Bruns comes a brand new series... 

Real estate deals can be murder. 

All struggling real estate agent Cindy York wants is the home listing that was promised to her. But her deceitful co-worker, Tiffany Roberts, has other ideas, and she always manages to get what she wants. Tired of being manipulated, Cindy tells her to back off - or else! But when Cindy stumbles upon Tiffany’s lifeless body, she suddenly finds herself front and center in a deadly investigation. Now everyone from her kids' classmates to her monstrous mother-in-law is sold on the idea that Cindy's guilty. Determined to find out who's trying to frame her, Cindy enlists the help of her best buddy, Jacques, to negotiate a slew of suspects, a host of clues, and an office full of cutthroat agents...before the next contract is out on her! 

"Lock up your house before you begin Killer Transaction. You'll want no interruptions once you start this fast-paced tale of murder, family issues, and competitive real estate sales. A quick, enjoyable read!" (Nancy J. Cohen, best-selling author of the Bad Hair Day Mysteries)

"Catherine Bruns closes the deal with this fantastic cozy. I loved everything about this story from the characters to the plot, the setting and the pace. I cannot wait to see what adventures Cindy gets up to next. If you enjoy your cozy with strong heroines and interesting circumstances this is a must read." (Night Owl Reviews, top pick)

"Killer Transaction is killer fun! With a heroine I couldn't help routing for and a plot that kept me guessing until the end, Catherine Bruns has penned another winner!" (Gemma Halliday, New York Times & USA Today best-selling author)

©2015 Catherine Bruns (P)2018 Catherine Bruns

Excellent first book in real estate cozy series

Cindy York is a real estate broker who has the unpleasant task of selling Mrs. Hunter's 60-year-old house which is in need of many repairs and maintenance. Sadly, the elderly Mrs. Hunter suffers from dementia and had been sweet-talked into signing a contract with Cindy's rival broker Tiffany Roberts at Hospitable Homes real estate agency. This is not the first time that Tiffany stole a listing from Cindy or the other brokers in the agency. With anger and frustration, Cindy immediately calls Tiffany and leaves her threatening voicemail messages ... ones that will later implicate her for Tiffany's murder. Cindy, along with her BFF and co-worker Jacques Forte, are determined to find out who wanted to murder Tiffany. Unfortunately, but perhaps not unexpectedly, the more people they interview, the suspect list grows.

This cozy has everything. I love the main character Cindy who is the amateur sleuth. Her husband and children are the best, even when at their worst. They are a wonderful family who are very supportive. Cindy is lucky to have Jacques as her BFF, who so loyal and dedicated, he bends over backwards for her. Cindy is very smart and clever and works hard at her job, handling herself like a pro when she is the underdog, especially with the owner of the agency, who is the boss from your nightmares.

I listened to this cozy in audio and it was one of the best produced audios I've heard in quite a while. The narrator Amy Deuchler has a beautiful voice, perfect for the role of Cindy York. Her pace was spot on, not rushed nor too slow. I did not feel the need to increase my narration speed to 1.2-1.3 times, like I normally do with other audios. The pauses between chapters or scenes were the right amount of time. She does an excellent job of voice acting, providing comedic quips, fright, angst, and desperation appropriately for the moment. Amy was able to provide different and flawless inflection for each of the characters, making it easy for my ears to determine which character was speaking.

I know this review is long-winded but that is because I cannot say enough good things about the book and narrator. This is one of the best cozies I've read and I do not say this lightly. I read the third book in ebook format before reading this first book in audio. I loved the third book so much, I had intended to go back to read the previous books. I have to say how pleasantly surprised that the first book is just as good as the third, and I expect the second book to be on the same level. I hope Catherine Bruns plans to continue writing this series and I hope to listen to Amy Deuchler in future books.

This audiobook was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary and unbiased review.

Clever Story

Killer Transaction by Catherine Bruns really appealed to my former real estate agent career. I was impressed with how the author wrote realistic details in this book with its numberous twists and humor. The narration by Amy Deuchler was fantastic. She performed the various characters with distinguishable voices. I could easily hear who was speaking. I requested this review copy audiobook and have voluntarily written this review. I will definitely listen to more books by this author and narrator. This is a standalone listen and the beginning of a new series..

The narration really adds!

whodunit, cozy-mystery, amateur-sleuth, humor, family-dynamics, friendship

How do you deal with a good husband, a teen daughter, twin preteen boys, a lousy job selling real estate, nutz potential customers, a clueless boss, and a fellow agent who has all the morals of a racoon. And to top it off the one with the racoon morals gets murdered and Cindy finds the body and rises to the top of the suspect list! The plot is solid, the plot twists and red herrings diabolical, the characters certainly are, and the humor is contagious. Loved it!
Amy Deuchler really boosts the fun level with her multi talented narration.
I requested and received a free audio copy via AudioBookBOOM.

Earns 5/5 Cozy Commissions, Thank you, Karma!

I am a big fan of Catherine Bruns who skillfully wields “Karma,” and in “Killer Transaction,” the first book in her Cindy York Mystery series, she has given karma a lot from which to choose. Cindy York is a real estate agent who just wants to provide the best service to clients wishing to sell their home and make a fair living for herself and her children. However, a demanding boss who owes her coffee and lunch money and a “scruples free” colleague costing Cindy commission on a big sale is her biggest obstacle. But she'll regret standing up for herself with a message ending with “Unless you want to die soon,” when she finds the dead body. Ok, Karma, thank you!

The mystery was clever with enough twists and turns, motives and opportunities to challenge my inner amateur detective, and the well-written narrative kept me engaged. However, it's the insights into Cindy and her family in which I have invested my interest. Catherine provides rich characters to solicit varying emotions and satisfaction…some profess innocence too loudly, others deserve a “karmic bite,” teenage angst sounds familiar, sibling antics need a time out, a husband’s support enduring, and lots of buyers and sellers to round out the fun. When the first in the series has you eager for more…you know it's good!

I am a multi-tasker extraordinaire and a big audiobook fan, so I was eager to listen to the new release of Catherine Bruns’s Cindy York Mysteries, “Killer Transactions.” Amy Deuchler, narrator extraordinaire, is a very talented voice artist enriching Bruns’s work and my experience. She isn't challenged by accents, but she did very well performing the different American dialects and speech patterns to highlight the various female characters. She really nailed the annoyances of Tiffany and is that a Jersey Donna? As for the challenge to mimic male voices, kudos, she made a valiant effort. I love Jacques! Amy Deuchler does a great job, and this is an entertaining way to enjoy Catherine Bruns’s work!

In real estate, competition is apparently deadly..

Killer Transactions is a charming start to a new cozy mystery series staring real estate agent Cindy York. She is joined in her trials by her loving and supportive husband Greg and her best friend and fellow real estate agent Jacques. In Killer Transactions, Cindy finds the dead body of her rival, Tiffany, after threatening her for stealing another listing. In order to clear herself of the suspicions of the entire town, Cindy must find the real perpetrator herself. Although I thought I knew the culprit and motive fairly early in the story, it was still a lot of fun watching Cindy arrive at the same conclusion. While filled with plenty of suspense and foreshadowing, Killer Transactions best feature is the fun interactions between Cindy and Greg, their three children, Jacques and various townspeople, both friendly and exceedingly unfriendly. I look forward to listening to more of this series in the future.

Amy Deuchler does a terrific job with the narration. She has a light, bubbly voice that perfectly portrayed Cindy's basically upbeat personality. Deuchler differentiated well between characters, and her delivery made an already fun book even more enjoyable.

I received a copy of this audiobook at my request in exchange for this honest review.

A great cast!

This is a cozy mystery, but many details set it apart from the rest. For one the heroine of the story, Cindy, is happily married with a family. And boy do I love her family! She has twins who are hilarious & have such rambunctious personalities. The narration of their voices are perfectly done. Cindy & her husband have a great but realistic relationship & their adolescent daughter has all the usual angst that you’d Expect a high schooler to have. Cindy also has a spunky and fun sidekick in Jaques, and the two of them investigate the murder of their fellow real estate agent, Tiffany.

The whole story was so well performed, each character has a distinct personality & voice and I was able to really get immersed into the lives of the cast. The mystery is well written with full of red herrings to throw you off!

Who knew real estate could be so deadly?

I’m a real fan of cozy mysteries. With an interesting storyline and plenty of twists and turns, I was kept guessing most of the way through. My favorite character was Jacques, and I hope he continues to play a role in future books in the series.

The narration really made this book. Amy Deuchler was spot on in her delivery and really brought the characters to life.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

A Realtor Suspected of Murder

In <strong>Killer Transaction</strong> by Catherine Bruns, realtor Cindy York is about to sign a much- needed contract to list a house when she learns that fellow realtor Tiffany Roberts, known to realtors as a dirty agent, has stolen the listing from Cindy. After leaving an angry message on Tiffany's voice mail, Cindy goes on to her next event and then to the office of the company she and Tiffany both work for. Coming upon the fellow realtor murdered, Cindy gets accused by the office manager of having committed the crime, and soon everyone, including Cindy's mother-in-law and 15-year-old daughter seems to think this is true. With the help of her best friend, Jacques, Cindy determines to get to the truth before she gets arrested or driven bankrupt from a lack of clients.

<strong>Killer Transaction</strong> takes a basic premise, that of a hated corrupt business rival's getting murdered, and makes the story around it unique and well- done. The book's particular strength is in its character development and in the way the main characters are real people with problems that they work through together. In particular, Cindy has been married to Greg for 18 years, and they have a stable marriage even though they still have their issues. Cindy's daughter and twin sons are real children, especially the moody 15-year-old daughter as she faces the social stigma of being a teenager whose mother is suspected of murder. The friendship between Cindy and Jacques also strikes the reader as genuine, as the pair look out for each other.

The audio edition of this book is performed by Amy Deuchler, who plays the role of Cindy well. She voices each character well, embodying the nature of each one in the process. In the process, she brings the book to life well.

I enjoyed listening to <strong>Killer Transaction</strong>. I thought the book was well- written and enjoyable with highly relatable characters. I give it five stars!

<strong>Disclaimer:</strong> I received this book for free for review purposes, but that had no effect on the content of my review.

Entertaining and Fun

I listen to audio books while I'm driving and cleaning house. This murder mystery was an entertaining diversion that made the miles and the housework slip by as I listened. Cindy York juggles her family and real estate job with humor and aplomb--until the day she finds a dead body in her office. Cindy’s previous business dispute with the deceased makes her the prime suspect. Matters get worse until, step-by-step, the murder is solved in a resourceful way. The story is populated with lots of suspects and interesting characters. Clues are carefully doled out. The end is satisfying with every loose end tied up. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

Great cozy mystery

This is an entertaining cozy mystery that keeps you guessing to the end. The characters are enjoyable and relatable, the plot unfolds at just the right pace and it has with lots of amusing parts. Cindy York is a character that you immediately take to and I loved her family relationships. The narrator did a great job giving them individual personalities and bringing out the humor and mystery in the story. An enjoyable audiobook all round.

Story very well written and great narration

Story very well written, captivating plot & fascinating characters. Highlighted by the great narration.

I am voluntarily reviewing a copy I received free from the author.

amazing

Enjoyed this audio book very much from start to finish great story line too
I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Great listen

I really enjoyed listening to this, my first book from this author. The plot was light and interesting including everything one looks for in a cozy mystery. It was well narrated by Amy Deuchler who managed to keep the characters interesting. I was sorry that Cindy doesn't appear to have any female friends but perhaps she will get some in a later book?

Are you going to faint again?

Meet Cindy York, mother of twin boys and a teenage daughter, married to Greg for 17 years and working hard as a realtor for Hospitable Homes. But her listings don't bring in much money, especially when a co-worker named Tiffany has a nifty way of stealing her clients. Disliked by everyone in the agency, no one sheds tears for the attractive but dirty tricks woman when she ends up dead. Except Cindy is the one who found her body and she becomes prime suspect.
Filled with the interwoven problems of Cindy's domestic situation and her attempts with the help of friend Jacques, the golden boy from Hospitable Homes, to find out who killed Tiffany, this is a fun and easy to read cozy mystery. The characters are good and brought even more to life by the individual voicing of each one by narrator, Any Deuchler. Her reading of the text is well intoned and natural, closely following the story with full understanding and gentle emotion. She definitely enhances the overall enjoyment of the book.

My thanks to the rights holder of Killer Transaction, who, at my request, freely gifted me a complimentary copy, via Audiobook Boom. Sometimes touching and written with good humour, the mystery of who killed Tiffany is not that hard to suspect given the clues scattered through the book but is still a good story.
An enjoyable, non taxing, lighthearted read.