Moonlighting in Vermont

A Bree MacGowan Mystery

By: Kate George

Narrated by: Sara Mackie

Length: 5 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Sometimes a girl just has to get dirty

Trouble follows some women....

Bella Bree MacGowan is your average country girl. She works two jobs to support her farm and the menagerie of stray animals that accumulate there; she's almost always covered in mud; and everyone in her small town of South Royalton, Vermont, feels free to comment on everything from her love life ("That Jim just isn't right for you!") to her expired inspection sticker ("Better get that car looked at!"). Is there any such thing as privacy anymore?

...but it fell in love with Bree MacGowan....

When Bree finds a dead body at the five-star resort where she moonlights as a maid, her life careens out of control. Her lawyer boyfriend, Jim, dumps her; the surly and sensual investigating officer, Lieutenant Miles Brooks, keeps giving her the beady eyeball; and a reporter at the paper where she works names Bree as the primary suspect in the murder! Can your average hard-working country girl prove her innocence, rein in a love life gone wild, and maintain her sanity all at the same time?

©2009 Kate George (P)2012 Kate George

Great first book in the series!! Give me more!

I love a good cozy mystery, Bree definitely has potential for stepping in it Jessica Fletcher style! The only thing that bothered me in this book it that it could figure out if it wanted to be a romance too.

Loads of great characters here, with just enough story building to keep you in the loop. I see plenty of potential for more mysteries in this sleepy resort town.

The dynamic with her BFF Meg is perfect. Reminds me of my BFF and I, always pals but telling it like it is, possible getting in mud fights!

The mystery wasn't overly taxing, it had enough twists and angles to keep me on my toes. I was guessing right until the dead giveaway, then it was obvious who the murderer was, if not the motive.

The whole book comes from Bree's POV, which isn't a bad narrative. I love her quirkiness and her menagerie of pets! She gets some lovin throughout the book, but the bedroom door is barely cracked open.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Sara Mackie, who is excellent. She has just the right touch of snark in her read to really sell the character. Great pace throughout the book and terrific energy. I could have used a hint more bass with the men, but that is just me being picky!

I am eager to see what happens next for this cozy mystery series! Fun story kept be giggling!

Disclosure - I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts, ratings and opinions are my own.

Fun

I enjoyed this story very much and the audio performance captured it very well for me

A little uneven

Moonlighting in Vermont was an uneven book for me. It's told from Bree's point of view and I really did like her. She a trouble-magnet, but she's fun and tries to be optimistic. She loves her animals and seems to more or less work to make money to take care of them. She's not afraid to get dirty, but the mud fight with her best friend was a little unbelievable. She's loyal and honest. And all the guys in town seem to be attracted to her - from the cop to the mechanic to her best friend's brother-in-law. I just wish I could pick her up and put her in a different book.

I went into this expecting a mystery, but about halfway through this was my thought:


Is a book still a mystery if there's more sex than clues?

— Carol (@carolsnotebook) March 11, 2014

And the sex scenes were a little bland, at least compared to the other book I was reading at the time.

The mystery portion picked up a little after that, and I think the series has potential. Moonlighting was not outstanding- I had a pretty good idea who the killer was and I was a little annoyed by an odd kidnapping- but I liked the characters and with a stronger plot I could really have enjoyed it, as romantic suspence, not necessarily cozy mystery.

Sara Mackie did a good job as the narrator. the story was told by Bree and she sounded like I though she should, if that makes sense. The audio production though was jarring. It was kind of like the difference between talking to someone on the phone and talking to someone on the speaker phone. I don't what was wrong exactly, but I had to get used to it all over again each time I turned it on. It was even worse when I switched from one audio book back to this one. I guess it just wasn't quite the quality I'm used to.

I received my copy for review from the author and enjoyed it. I'm not sure I would have wanted to spend an audible credit on it though.

easy to follow

Light entertaining easy to stop & start & you follow. Made road trip easier.

Cute, cozy and mysterious

This light hearted who done it, will have you wondering to the very end. I really enjoyed it.

Not much of a mystery

Kate George did a great job describing the setting and the scenes. Beyond that there is not much to this book. All fingers are pointed to the lead character but there is no real motive. There are very few clues offered in the story. Most of the book talks about everything but the murder. Other than the murder, the character's main problem is that all of the men in town seems to be attracted to her. I wish I had skipped this book. It wasn't worth a credit.