Chocolate with a Side of Murder

Daley Buzz Cozy Mystery, Book 1

By: Meredith Potts

Narrated by: Lainie Pahos

Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Sabrina Daley is still haunted by the mysterious disappearance of her sister 10 years before. Even though the case went cold long ago, she keeps holding out hope that one day she will discover what happened to her sister. Sabrina's life is turned upside down again when she discovers her friend's dead body in the alley way behind her family's coffee shop. If that isn't bad enough, after a week of investigating, the local police appear to be stumped. Terrified about a second case going cold in town, Sabrina decides to take matters into her own hands. She sets out on her own, determined not to give up until she has brought her friend's killer to justice.

©2017 Meredith Potts (P)2017 Meredith Potts

A fun new cozy series!

This was a fun cozy, with the classic love story & comfort foods. But what I liked the best is that there is a longer running story line (which I think will go into book 2) which makes the series hook you in and want to know what happens next.
The characters are interesting & the heroine is inquisitive & persistent as she hunts down the clues. The narration was very well done, I especially loved the mother/grandmother because of their sass.
An overall fun lighthearted series & an interesting mystery to unravel.
I was provided this review copy & gave my honest review

Easy Listening

I got a copy of this audio book in exchange for a voluntary review.
This was an okay story. Entertaining and easy read. This is the first book in a series and I do feel their is some room for improvement on developing the characters which I hope she does in the following books in the series.

Wonderful under mystery!

Chocolate with a Side of Murder
Daley Buzz Cozy Mystery, Book 1
By: Meredith Potts
Narrated by: Lainie Pahos
This is an audible book I requested and the review is voluntary.
I really enjoyed this busy, fast paced murder mystery. There were many interesting characters, twists and turns, great plot, and exciting side interests. The main gal sure is pushy to find the murderer, lol.
The narrator was just perfect for this book. The emotions, timing, the transition, and voices all were done wonderfully. Great job!

Ok.

I love cozy mysteries, but this one didn’t really grab me like most. I’m not sure where the disconnect was but I didn’t really feel for the characters. I expected there to be more about the missing sister but it was more of a side note. I also would have expected her police boyfriend to be involved more but it was more her investigating and asking everyone questions the whole time. The narrator did a good job but needed some editing as there are a few repeat spots. Overall ok but I don’t think i will pursue the series further. I received a free review copy of this book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

A fun cozy!

Part owner and barrista in the family coffee shop and involved with the local police detective, Sabrina notices some odd things happening in their town, the worst of which was finding the dead body of friend and neighboring Chocolatier in the alley behind their shops. She and boyfriend bounce ideas off each other when the easy suspect has a solid alibi, and as the days go on without solid evidence she feels driven to poke around and get in the face of each suspect. Very interesting in spite of the author leaving us dangling and wanting to know lots more about the other odd happenings in town! Definitely worth the read!
It seems that I bought the ebook on sale in August 2017 and it's been sitting in my TBR pile. Then in February 2018 it was on offer from AudioBookBOOM and my request was fulfilled!
Lainie Pahos is the creative narrator who does a great job!

I am going to find the murderer.

This was a pretty good book. I have seen this author before and has wanted to try her books. So when i was gifted this book for an honest review, i knew this was my chance to see how i would like this author. I enjoyed the story and the characters. However, Sabrina was very very pushy with her questioning. But she got the job done. I would like to listen to more in this series.

Chocolate with a Side of Murder

Sabrina is haunted by the disappearance of her sister still after 10 years with no answer. Then she stumbles onto a body in the alley. And knows she must help her friend get justice. The characters in the story are fun and interesting. And for a small town lots of secrets are hiding! Sabrina does not back down either she goes after what she needs for justice! Nice job on the narration.

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

The sub-plots are what kept me listening

3.5 Stars. There’s nothing better than a good cozy mystery, and Chocolate with a Side of Murder got my attention because of the setting: it’s set around a coffee shop, The Daley Buzz, next door to a chocolate shop, in a seaside town – the triple shot (pun intended) of good elements! It also clocks in at just over five hours and has a super cute cover. All of these things are completely superficial, but I cannot tell a lie: these are the things that will draw my interest to a book. Especially the coffee…

"Not only would they perk up, they would become abuzz."

Let’s talk about the coffee because COFFEEEEEEE. Chocolate with a Side of Murder is the first book in the Daley Buzz Cozy Mystery series, and the Daley Buzz is the cleverly named coffee shop run by Sabrina Daley, our main character and amateur sleuth. I really enjoy the coffee talk about the incredible transformation of people after their morning coffee. (It is for reals. I live it every day.) And I loved how author Meredith Potts sprinkled hints of things to come by using plays on words and intentional puns with coffee (and other) terminology. Look out – when Sabrina says espresso seems like overkill for someone to drink, it could have a double-entendre!

Readers are given a HUGE cast of characters up front, and each is physically described, almost formulaically, with shape of face, hair color and style, skin color, and body type. I still couldn’t keep them straight. More helpful in differentiating is the personalities and backgrounds, but LORD, there is a mess of characters who are recovering or current alcoholics or drug addicts. I had to jot down names of people to keep up, which isn’t convenient when listening to an audio book.

The main storyline, the murder of one of Sabrina’s friends, chugs along without a lot of action and primarily through a series of Sabrina’s interviews and interrogations of suspects and witnesses. The more I got to know Sabrina, the less I liked her. She’s a bully, and it is puzzling that people were even answering her questions since she is so rude and abrasive and makes no attempts to draw-out information gently. Though readers know the murder victim is a friend of Sabrina’s, it never feels authentic as to why Sabrina is so driven to solve this murder on her own. From a crime procedural perspective, readers are expected to believe that, detective boyfriend connection or not, Sabrina would be allowed on a crime scene, allowed to hold evidence, and allowed to basically obstruct justice.

There are two secondary storylines also happening in Chocolate with a Side of Murder, and in this first book of the series, they are not resolved. One is the disappearance of Sabrina’s sister ten years earlier, and the other is the mysterious and creepy, possibly haunted, Waterson Estate. Truthfully, I found these two background stories more interesting than the primary murder plot, and the hope that there would be more about them is what kept me reading. Sadly, they are left dangling, so my expectation is that they will be threaded through the other books in the series – I think there are ten books in all.

The narration, by Lainie Pahos, leaves much to be desired. The pace was too slow for me (mostly, audio books are), so after the fifteen minutes or so, I listened at 1.25x speed. That helped. The narration was not overly expressive; even in scenes where emotions are raw, Pahos’s delivery is not much different than coffee shop talk. Her voicing of females is fine and there is good differentiation to keep the characters separate, but the male voices were sometimes groan worthy. Those are issues I can deal with if a story is good enough to keep me engaged, but there are also mispronounced words, incorrect words, and repeated lines in several places (mostly chapter 19 and later) that should have been edited out.

By the end, some potentially redeeming qualities come out in Sabrina, and that in combination with the interesting and unresolved sub-plotlines (and the FABULOUS SETTING) makes me think I’ll give book two, Caramels with a Side of Murder, a try.

Thank you to Audiobookworm Promotions for providing me a download of this book in exchange for my honest opinion – the only kind I give.

Fun mystery for Foodies

This is the first book I've listened to by Meredith Potts. She appears to be a self-published author and sometimes people are cautious about giving them a try. Have no fear here. Ms. Potts has done her homework and has turned in a polished story. The heroine has a compelling backstory, the supporting cast is obligingly quirky and the mystery is a good puzzle. I feel like she fell into the trap of telling rather than showing or sometimes telling and then showing in her prose. But as she continues to write I'm confident that Ms. Potts will shine ever more brightly.

One thing I noticed about this book was that restaurants, food shops and the food itself were all beautifully described. Readers may find their mouths watering at some points! Ms. Potts must be a true foodie!

Narrator Lainie Pahos is a good, expressive reader and she had different voices for different characters. Over the years, audiobook listeners have grown ever more demanding of narrators. It's not enough that they can read smoothly and with emotion. They must put on a full cast performance with different voices and nuances for each and every character. On the whole, Pahos did a good job but I believe more experience will give her a greater range.

Both author and narrator have all the basic skills down and have turned in a good story that is presented well. Definitely give this series a try if you like culinary mysteries and corgi pups!

ENTERTAINING, QUICK, COZY MURDER MYSTERY

CHOCOLATE WITH A SIDE OF MURDER is the first book in the Daley Buzz Cozy Mysteries. They will need to be read in the order of release.

I found this to be an enjoyable, quick, cozy murder mystery.

Sabrina is haunted by the loss of her sister and the thought that her case has gone cold. When another horrible crime hits her small town, she is horrified to think that it too may go cold and is determined to help solve it. That makes sense. What doesn’t make sense is how a small town barista was able to get answers that the police didn’t. Weren’t they questioning people?

This is the first book I have read from this author and I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

There were a lot of questions left unanswered – why were the lights on at the old mansion? What was that men’s group meeting? Lastly, of course, will there ever be any further information about Sabrina’s sister?

The narration: Lainie Pahos’s voice is beautiful – sweet melodic, and a rare gift! She does dialogue wonderfully, giving each character loving attention. I only wish I couldn’t tell that she was cold-reading the rest of the book. There was a repetitive intonation to her reading of everything that was outside of the dialogue. The editing also needs some work, as there were several places where she was backed up and re-read passages. Still, I would listen to anything she was reading just for that beautiful voice.

Note: while I was given this book as a gifted audiobook, my opinions are my own and are given freely.

Title: CHOCOLATE WITH A SIDE OF MURDER
Series: Daley Buzz Cozy Mysteries #1
Narrator: Lainie Pahos
Length: 5 hrs 8 mins
Category /Genre: Cozy Mystery, Suspense
Recommended for: 18+ due to sexual content
Listenability: OK or NSFW
Received from: Meredith Potts (as an Audible gifted copy)