Most Likely to Murder: A Susan Lombardi Mystery

By: Carole B. Shmurak

Narrated by: Barbara Benjamin-Creel

What high school class has a 32 year reunion? A class whose president has left the country, whose vice president is dead, and whose treasurer is in the Witness Protection program - in fact, Professor Susan Lombardi's class from Count Basie High School. Susan has misgivings about revisiting her hometown: she's leery of seeing her former high school sweetheart, now a high tech millionaire, and reluctant to get involved in a battle between her squabbling brothers. But when she does go, one of her “old gang” ends up dead, and Susan and her friends team up to find the classmate Most Likely to Murder.

©2012 Carole B. Shmurak (P)2014 Carole B. Shmurak

Was it the most likely?

Publishers Summary

What high school class has a 32 year reunion? A class whose president has left the country, whose vice president is dead, and whose treasurer is in the Witness Protection program - in fact, Professor Susan Lombardi's class from Count Basie High School. Susan has misgivings about revisiting her hometown: she's leery of seeing her former high school sweetheart, now a high tech millionaire, and reluctant to get involved in a battle between her squabbling brothers. But when she does go, one of her “old gang” ends up dead, and Susan and her friends team up to find the classmate Most Likely to Murder.
©2012 Carole B. Shmurak (P)2014 Carole B. Shmurak.

My Review

The irrepressible Susan is at it again! Reluctantly, she has agreed to help organise her High School 32 year reunion. Most of the classmates - albeit a little nonplussed at the thought of the first reunion occurring at thirty two years after the fact - do attend. I was delighted though to discover that one of the absentees now resided on the Island of Tasmania, my home State of Australia, the author may want to check on time differences between the two countries though, 12 hours doesn't do it!

Anyway, back to the story, the reunion eventually happens, but, of course, it all gets spoiled when the very next day one of their own is murdered during an organised run. The surviving classmates decide to solve the murder, Susan being coordinating sleuth in charge of course.
It's all quite witty and sharp, I enjoyed the dialogue and humour, it's not the best of mysteries, but it's probably an impossibility to produce a light hearted, easy listen and a deeply dark mystery!
Although I enjoyed the first book in this series "Dead Mistress", I thought "Most Likely to Murder" to be a big improvement, I'd happily listen to more.

Narration

The first Susan Lombardi mystery I listened to was narrated by Barbara Benjamin-Creel, I remember being so impressed with her work, and how it soon became obvious to the listener that here is a true professional. Her characterisations are spot on, I have no trouble in envisioning all the characters in my mind, Susan is just as she should be, bright, sparky, nosy and endearing. Barbara does everything right, so who could ask for more?

My Favorite So Far

“Most Likely to Murder” was my favorite in the series. It keeps getting better and better. In this story, Susan is on sabbatical and she and her cousin Judy are planning a 32 year high school reunion at William James Basie HS. While going over the guest list they discover that one of their classmates had disappeared and was rumored to be in the Witness Protection program. They found several other friends, including Susan’s old boyfriend Richard, and Toby the pretty girl who had become a popular news reporter on a major network.

After using social media to locate the rest of their old friends, Susan receives a random email from someone named Xander Drake who claims to have been in their class and is planning to attend the reunion. They don’t recall ever knowing anyone with that name which draws some suspicion.

Susan’s best friend Elaine is still there and good ole Swash surprised me by not attending the reunion with Susan. Swash is Susan’s husband and a great supporting character.
The story was fun and exciting, and the characters are like old friends or family you haven’t seen in a while. It’s always fun catching up with them. Overall, I really enjoyed this adventure.

About the narrator: Barbara Benjamin-Creel did an EXCEPTIONAL job voicing this audiobook. There were several new characters with their own personalities through Barbara’s voice. To me, she was half the story. She kept the story moving along at a good pace along with giving everyone their own identity. It was all very well done and thus far my favorite.

Audiobook gifted in exchange for review.

Murder Mystery

What did you like best about this story?

This is a good murder mystery at a high school reunion. I've listened to all 4 of the Susan Lombardi mysteries, and I'm looking forward to more. They are really good mystery novel.

Really enjoyed Most Likely to Murder!!

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel! It is the first novel by Carole B. Schmurak, l now plan to read all her other books!!!

Great quick series

This is the third book in the Susan Lombardi Mystery Series. I enjoy these quick cozy mysteries, they have great detail for their length. I am familiar with the characters at this point and know what to expect.

I love the dynamic between Susan and Swash. They really are a great example of marriage working. It is nice how she uses him to bounce her theories and he puts up with her investigations.

This wasn't a taxing mystery, but it was very engaging and entertaining. I love seeing things evolve over time with her best friend and the shady boyfriend. I expect that will come up in a later book, it can not end well.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Barbara Benjamin-Creel, who has been with the series from the beginning. She has a terrific feel for the characters and situations. I love how she voices Susan, it really suits her attitude. Love e smooth pace and even tone. She continues to keep the voices consistent and is a pleasure to listen to each time.

Overall this has been a very interesting series, I can not wait to see what happens next.

Disclosure – I received this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts opinions and ratings are my own.

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