Murder in the Painted Lady

A Peyton Brooks' Mystery, Book 0

By: M. L. Hamilton

Narrated by: Kelley Hazen, Storyteller Productions

Length: 5 hrs

Publisher's summary

Peyton and Marco have solved more cases than many senior members of the San Francisco PD, but this case (the death of a high end real estate agent) is proving more difficult than the others.

With no evidence, no suspects, and no motive, Peyton fears they won't get a break in the case before the killer strikes again.

In the multi-million dollar San Francisco real estate market, realtors are literally dying for a sale.

Please note: This is a novella, not a full length work.

©2017 ML Hamilton (P)2017 ML Hamilton

Murder in the Painted Lady

Welcome to the Peyton Brooks Mysteries!

I was drawn into this story from the very beginning. As the leads quickly began to dwindle, it was up to Peyton and her partner to figure things out. I enjoyed following along as things began to unravel.

I’m a true fan of M. L. Hamilton’s writing. When Kelley Hazen narrates it’s even better. So entertaining and enjoyable!

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

Great Murder Mystery

Any additional comments?

When a real estate agent is found murdered in a home for sale, lots of questions are raised. Was it random? Was she targeted? And most importantly, who did it? Detectives Peyton and Marco are assigned the case and must solve the murder before the killer strikes again. Peyton will do everything in her power, including risking her life, to bring down the culprit.

Murder in the Painted Lady was a very entertaining listen with a great cast of interesting characters. I loved the witty banter between them and liked the way that Peyton and Marco worked so well as a team. Peyton was a nice mix of toughness, dedication and compassion. Using the clues given in the story, I was sure that I knew who the killer was but was totally wrong! The narration was very well done and I could easily distinguish between the characters. I really enjoyed Murder in the Painted Lady and would recommend it.

I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator. This review is my honest opinion.

An okay mystery

As a prequel to the rest of the series Murder in the Painted Lady was an okay mystery. Following Peyton and her partner Marco through the mystery was who murdered a real estate agent was a fun time. There characters are likable, and the interactions between them work really well.

Kelly Hazen did a good job narrating the voices as you know who is talking without needing to be told directly. My one criticism however is the voice of the third person narrator sometimes sounded like text to speech, but it wasn't a deal breaker for being a good audio book.

Overall I would recommend Murder in the Painted Lady as a good mystery and an enjoyable audio book

***I was given a free copy from the narrator, publisher or author in exchange for an unbiased review***

An Awesome Listen

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the narrator and found it very entertaining and intriguing. This is a great first book in a series with a very interesting plot, that is developed around two main characters. The story moves along at good pace with enough suspense to keep you listening longer then you intended. About half way through, I was positive I knew who the killer was...I was wrong. I love books that stump me. I've already started listening to the next book, and I'm enjoying very much.

Great character!

This book is different than many other detective series in fantastic way! Usually detectives, DA's, medical examiners etc are portrayed as intelligent but tortured souls. While characters in this book are believable, that also have whimsical and fun sides. I appreciate the inclusive nature of this book! The plot was intriguing and brought to life by excellent writing and phenomenal reading! I'm hooked!
I'm excited to continue the series!
Thank you!

Great Mystery

Would you listen to Murder in the Painted Lady again? Why?

I was gifted this audio ARC for a honest and unbiased review from the author/narrator.

M.L. Hamilton is a new author to me and I truly enjoyed my time listening to Murder in the Painted Lady and I will listen again. I liked getting to look back into how the series started before I leap in and listen to the other books. Kelley Hazen is a gifted narrator who brought the characters to life. I highly recommend that this audio book. It is fantastic for long car rides, commutes, house cleaning, crafting, or just closing your eyes and relaxing while Kelley tells you a story.

It's a dangerous job being a realtor...

What did you love best about Murder in the Painted Lady?

The pair of main characters, Peyton and Marco:) They seem to be complete opposites and yet complement each other splendidly: she, with her love of sweets and everything unhealthy, he - a vegetarian and in great shape, and both with undisputable intelligence and similarly working brains. That's a perfect duo...:)

What other book might you compare Murder in the Painted Lady to and why?

It's difficult for me to compare "Murder in the Painted Lady" to one particular book; I'd say it's rather typical for the genre, with a tad of humour in it. Within the scope of the genre it's one of the good ones, with a set of interesting characters (suspects, witnesses, detectives) and quite an intriguing murder case... And I liked the solution and the fact that it made me wonder what I would feel towards the murderer in Peyton's shoes...

Which scene was your favorite?

There are a lot of scenes I liked; some of them are strictly connected to the case Peyton and Marco are working on (like the final trap for the murderer), others are rather about character development (like the scene in which Peyton manipulates Marco to get him to go to a certain restaurant:))... Some of the scenes are really funny, some are quite scary, but they serve the plot of the book excellently.

Any additional comments?

The interpretation by Ms Hazen is quite good; I liked it in general, I only had a problem with some male "voices", especially Marco's and Stan's. Marco's supposed to be a very handsome Italian guy, but with the voice he's given he doesn't sound like someone who would turn every woman's head. Rather, when I hear him, I see a grumpy old man who is so tired with life that he doesn't want to lift a finger - his voice is just too low... Stan, on the other hand, sounds like a teenage boy on too many cans of Red Bull..:) Ms Hazen sounds too unnatural in these particular "roles". Other than that, it's a very good interpretation.

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

Serial killer out to get realtors?

In the expensive world of real estate in San Francisco, it is a real coup to get to sell one of the Painted Ladies, the colorful row of Victorian mansions, but when a realtor is about to sell the yellow house, she and her clients find the body of another realtor in the garage in Murder in the Painted Lady. Peyton and Marco, one of the top detective teams in the SFPD, get called onto the case. There they discover that the killer strangled the woman with a silk scarf that he or she then kept, possibly as a souvenir. This usually indicates they have a serial killer on their hands. So they must rush to solve the crime before the killer strikes again.

I enjoyed the interaction among the people at the police department, in particular Peyton and Marco. Those two have a close partnership and look out for each other, but also exchange friendly banter, knowing each other well. I also liked the diversity of the employees at the police department, which displays Latinos, whites, Asian Americans, and African Americans, as well as a rather flamboyantly gay medical examiner with dreadlocks.

This book is a prequel to the Peyton Brooks’ Mystery Series, so the author is writing about the near past. It is set recently enough that the detectives have cameras in their phones, but the detectives have such remarkably weak computer skills that it is almost ridiculous. While I recognize that the police have a tech department that does all sorts of fancy work, regular officers should still know how to look through the basic files of a computer. It just didn’t seem to fit with the book.

Kelley Hazen narrates the audiobook of this novella. She has a good voice for police procedurals, giving a strong performance with believable voices that suit well. The voices have strong variety that still fit the characters. For example, the first time I heard the voice of Abe, the medical examiner, I immediately knew he was gay even before he asked Peyton what her sexy partner Marco is wearing. Yet Hazen manages to do this without making Abe a stereotype. This is a very good example of an excellent narration.

Not having read any of the “prior” books in the series, meaning the ones written before Murder in the Painted Lady but set after this book, I was unsure if I would feel a little lost, not knowing things that most readers would already know. But that was not a problem in this book. I was able to enjoy it as its own stand alone book. I give the book four stars.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free through Audiobook Boom, but that in no way influenced my review.

OUTSTANDING

I listened to the whole series first and I thought it might be weird going backwards in time - but it was great to hear how it all got started. And its a great crime and mystery too. The characters are so great, fully developed and you get to see them here when they are just feeling each other out. By the time your each the 8th mystery - well, what a ride!

Mediocre

What did you like best about Murder in the Painted Lady? What did you like least?

I liked the concept and overall idea but I think the writing/dialogue was a little juvenile/basic at times. The plot twists were really predictable and the characters inability to quickly piece simple things together was frustrating (like the murderer's choice of names - this wasn't a mystery, it was obvious from the first mention of one of the names).

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Kelley Hazen was OK at dialogue but overall her narration was difficult to listen to. Her tone was jarring with her practically yelling a fair bit of the time. Her pauses seemed random and often made the story hard to follow.

Any additional comments?

While there were parts of the book I didn't love, I would definitely try more of the series.


This audio book was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.