Murder Is a Must

A First Edition Library Mystery, Book 2

By: Marty Wingate

Narrated by: Marisa Calin

Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Determined to make the First Edition Library a success, Hayley Burke wasn’t expecting to have to solve an old friend’s murder in this all-new mystery from USA Today best-selling author Marty Wingate.

Hayley Burke, curator of Lady Fowling's collection of first edition mysteries, is settling into her position at the First Edition Library in Middlebank House. She's even made progress with Lady Fowling's former secretary, the ornery Miss Woolgar. The women are busily preparing for an exhibition that will showcase Lady Fowling's life and letters. Hayley knows the exhibition is a huge undertaking and decides, against her better judgement, to hire Oona Atherton, her former boss from the Jane Austen Centre to help with the planning. 

Oona is known for being difficult, but all seems to be going swimmingly until she and Hayley uncover a one-page letter that alludes to a priceless edition of Murder Must Advertise signed by several Golden Age of Mystery authors. Oona feels this book could be the focal point of the exhibition and becomes obsessed with finding it.

When they find clues that appear to point to the book being somewhere in the First Edition Library, Oona is certain she's unraveled the mystery and texts Hayley the good news, but upon arriving back at Middlebank, Hayley finds her old boss dead at the bottom of the stairs. Did her discovery of the rare book get her killed or was it some angry shadow from her past? Hayley must read between the lines to catch a malicious murderer.

©2020 Marty Wingate (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Narrator's Breathy Voice

I really enjoyed the first novel and narrator. But this sequel drove me crazy at times. The narrator uses a breathy, sultry voice for the two main characters, even when it's not appropriate to the situation at all.

The storyline itself is good but somewhat less compelling than the first. It was a little boring and predictable at times. I still finished it because I wanted to find out what happened. The ending was very good. I'm hoping the third one brings back the charm of the original without any breathy voices!

Narrator all wrong - go back to Fiona H.

Ugh - loved the first book in the series. Love the stories. But, the narrator in the first book was soooo much better than the one hired to do the narration on the 2nd book in the series. Too breathy, too slow. Even if I speed it up, it doesn’t help. Yuck! Bring Fiona back!!

Delightful

I love all the books by Marty Wingate. This narrator does a superb job reading these different parts and bringing the story alive. Looking forward to the next one.

New narrator but still a fun read

The new/different narrator has a much breathier style than the previous one but after a few chapters, I mostly got used to it. The story drug on a little but it was otherwise a fun listen.

Fun series

I have enjoyed Marty Wingate’s series about the American gardener who is transplanted to the UK and works in a number of gorgeous gardens, with murders along the way.

Likewise, I find myself enjoying these stories about Hayley, who is hired as a curator of a library collection in which she hasn’t read a single book in the genre of the collection (the Golden Age of mystery writers). The big house, Middlebank, in which she gets to live as part of her job, is a character in itself, and the prickly Mrs. Woolgar, who thinks that she should have been hired for Hayley’s position, lives there too.

Of course, the First Edition Society members are a whole raft of characters, and the odd murder occurs in each installment.

This is my kind of cozy mystery.

Enjoyable

This is a wonderful series. I couldn’t’ decide who the murderer! Please continue to write this series!!

could not enjoy this one

I did not enjoy the characters or the plot. I think the narrator was different on this book from the first one I listened to. The narration was so overly demonstrative that it was distracting. Not sure I will try another one of the series, but will check out who does the narration before purchasing.

Skip this …

Long winded without getting anywhere! The plot just progresses so slowly you could easily fall asleep trying to find out what the heck it is all about … Beware … don’t spend your credit on this dud.

Fantastic book

Wonderful book. Even better than the first book! Great description and dialogue.
Characters came to life.

Pretty Good

Murder Is a Must is an entertaining cozy mystery book. The mystery is entertaining and interesting with several twists and turns. The only problem I have with the book is the lead character. She is easily manipulated and puts up with things she shouldn't.