Fundraising the Dead

A Museum Mystery

By: Sheila Connolly

Narrated by: Robin Miles

Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

At The Society for the Preservation of Pennsylvania Antiques, fundraiser Eleanor "Nell" Pratt solicits donations - and sometimes solves crimes. When a collection of George Washington's letters is lost on the same day that an archivist is found dead, it seems strange that the Society president isn't pushing for an investigation. Nell goes digging herself, and soon uncovers a long, rich history of crime.

©2010 Sheila Connolly (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Not exciting

Not a very exciting or dramatic book and it even gets boring at times but good potential. Have to see how the next one goes!

Awesome Storyline

What an amazing writer with an amazing insight to the role fundraising in a museum setting... Great storyline with very strong characters!!! The author is a fantastic mystery writer.....

a pleasing book to listen to

I loved the use of language which was a little above ordinary. the voices and accents were pleasing also. I'm a fundraiser and this was a fun read/listen because it was centered around a fundraiser and the nonprofit world.

Another good series...

What did you love best about Fundraising the Dead?

Good book, well written. Love mystery novels and stories that have some humour, and books that don't reveal the conclusion before the end of the book. A good mystery keeps the mystery.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Fundraising the Dead?

When the heroine was locked in the basement.

Good

This was basically a good mystery. Sometimes the pace was slow, but overall it went along nicely. The author does a good job crafting her characters and I look forward to following the series and seeing how they evolve. At times I found the precise diction of the narrator distracting and over done. I do not know if this is how people felt the narrator should speak further developing the character or if this is a quirk of the narrator.

Cute little mystery story

I cannot in good conscience rate a book very highly when, by chapter two, I know who-done-it. However, the author’s writing style was well rounded and easy. I highly rate the narrator in this Audible production, Robin Miles.

Narrator. Pauses. Between. Every. Word.

…and it is incredibly irritating. The story is fine, though not especially complex and I knew how it would end quite early on. The main character is boring but this is, perhaps, a result of the extremely poor narration. The secondary character would have been quite engaging had the narrator not been atrocious. Every so often the narrator would just read normally and at those times the book was reasonably engaging. Then, however, she would resume pausing between each word and it just sucked the color and tempo right out of an otherwise fine cosy.

Good First Book in a Series

Would you listen to Fundraising the Dead again? Why?

Perhaps. Since I'm a Philadelphia museum fundraiser myself, I really enjoyed the inside jokes and details that might be a bit tedious to others.

If you’ve listened to books by Sheila Connolly before, how does this one compare?

This was my first.

Have you listened to any of Robin Miles’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This was my first.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not really, though I think that it COULD be listened to in one sitting. It's not overly complex (even formulaic at times), but it's a fun, light read.

Slow Start

These books start out slow, but once you kinda get into them, they are good. So be patient and don't get too frustrated.

Not Sure About This Series

I found the museum setting interesting. The story made me aware of the difficulties in
the safe keeping of thousands of items, some of which have great monetary value. It also made me aware of how difficult it is to fund a non-profit museum.

I like Eleanor Pratt, the main character. She's smart and sensible. I'm also intrigued by "Marty", another female character who plays a major role in this story.

One criticism is that I correctly guessed the outcome early in the story. I won't go into detail to avoid "spoilers". There was also one element of the plot that seemed pointless to me - again I won't elaborate because of possible "spoilers."

I'm undecided about whether I will read other books in this series. I will put it on my "wish list" and carefully check reviews posted by other listeners.