The Deadly Art of Deception

By: Linda Crowder

Narrated by: Michelle Babb

Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's Summary

Only two seasons matter in Coho Bay, Alaska - cruise ship and winter. Caribou King, owner of The Broken Antler Gallery, is hip-deep in tourists when her old college pal Taylor shows up asking for refuge, saying she has no place else to go. Cara is cautious; Taylor was the wife of one of Alaska's most renowned artists, Jonathan Snow, who was mauled to death by a bear the previous year. Why would his widow want to return to the location of her tragic loss? Something about Taylor's story just doesn't ring true.

Of course, she may not be the only liar in town. Taylor's former father-in-law accuses her of killing his son in front of a diner full of people, except he may have had a stronger motive. A handsome boat captain seems to fancy both Cara and Taylor and can't make up his mind between them, or between lying and telling the truth. And the local constable mistrusts everyone, but may have a reason to be mistrusted himself. Will Cara help her old friend Taylor, or will doing so get her into a heap of trouble? When a headless body is discovered in the bay, Cara wonders just who she can trust in this tiny town.

©2016 Cozy Cat Press (P)2017 Linda Crowder

Mystery

I enjoy listening to this fabulous cozy mystery! Not only does it portray life in a small community that has embraced the tourism industry perfectly, but it is also filled with plenty of intrigue, twists, turns to keep you guessing right up to the very end.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Great Mystery

Any additional comments?

The Deadly Art of Deception (Caribou King Mysteries #1) by Linda Crowder, Narrated by Michelle Babb.

Caribou King, owner of The Broken Antler Gallery in Coho Bay Alaska, has her hands full with tourist as it nears the end of the tourist season. Out of the blue her college friend Taylor shows up with no place to go. Taylor is the widow of Caribou’s childhood friend and local artist Jonathan Snow. Jonathan was killed just one year before in a bear attack. Taylor’s father-in-law shows up accusing Taylor of murdering Jonathan. But how could Taylor be responsible for a bear attack? Caribou knows Taylor is hiding something but what could it be? Other residents have started acting strange since Taylor’s arrival in town. Suddenly one morning a body is pulled from the water, is this Taylor’s father-in-law who was supposed gone fishing, Frank a man that has recently moved to Coho Bay, or the mystery man Taylor was spotted talking to behind Caribou’s gallery? What is going on with everyone, who is telling the truth? Who can Caribou trust?

This is a great start to a series. I was immediately drawn in by the storyline. As all of the people in the town that are involved in the mystery seem keep changing their story or keeping information secret the story keeps twisting and turning. I stayed glued to the story never knowing (like Caribou) who to trust and who to suspect as being involved with the new murder and everything else that has been happening around Coho Bay since Taylor’s arrival.

The descriptive words painted a picture of the scenery of the small Alaskan town so I was able to picture in my mind just how the village looked. The main protagonist Caribou is a smart, funny, strong, independent female. Having such an unusual name she shortened her name and goes by Cara. She was born in Coho Bay and is surrounded by her family, and since there is such a small population of single men her age she is still single. She grew up with most of the men her age and they see her a the tomboy she once was, a lot the residents still today view her as one of the guys.

I listened to the audio version of this book which was narrated by Michelle Babb. I have listened to other books narrated by Mrs. Babb and this one was one of her best. She has great timing and pace. She is great with the voices you can always tell which character is speaking and understand everything being said. I believe Mrs. Babb is a natural when it comes to storytelling, she just brings you into the story, she makes you feeling like you are in story yourself.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great mystery

The Deadly Art of Deception by Linda Crowder is a captivating story. A little Alaskan background, a little romance and a whole lot of suspense. This new-t0-me author kept me guessing to the end as to who the 'bad guy' is! It is a well-written mystery with twists and turns to the plot and a good concoction of characters (most of them lying about something or other!), setting, and conflict. If you like a good mystery, this is a book you won't want to miss. The narrator, Michelle Babb, does a nice job of giving characters their unique voice, making for an enjoyable listening experience.
I received a complimentary audible copy of the book and was not required to write a review. The opinions are my own.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Jenny's review

What did you love best about The Deadly Art of Deception?

Not knowing who to trust.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Deadly Art of Deception?

When Cara catches Mel singing in the kitchen .

Which character – as performed by Michelle Babb – was your favorite?

Caribou King

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Mel and Bent tell Cara they are expecting their first baby!

Any additional comments?

What a crazy story of lies, deceit, and many a rabbit trail that the author takes you on! I listened through a couple of times just to take in everything. Very much worth the read and the listen.
Michelle Babb does an amazing job giving the characters a voice all their own and makes the story all the more enjoyable.
I love the heroines name, "Caribou King", who is an art dealer in Coho Bay, Alaska and who seems to be the only one that doesn't know what's going on. Her friend Taylor has come back to Alaska unexpectedly as well as needing a place to stay while she is mourning the one year anniversary of her husband's death, famous painter Jonathan Snow, at least that's what Cara thinks. All seems fine until Taylor is confronted by her father in-law Jack Lennon, Cara and Taylor start being followed by mysterious people and stories don't add up. Then a friends body is found by a local fisherman in the bay and everyone is scared. Things are a mess and Cara is determined to figure things out and the only sheriff, a mystery himself, tries to keep his town safe from a killer. Can tragedy be averted or will the killer get another victim?

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Very good!

Where does The Deadly Art of Deception rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is one of the better books I've listened to lately. It is well written, good characters and the plot is interesting.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

It kept me interested to find out what was going to happen.

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

I've listened to several of her performances. She just keeps getting better!

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

Yes, definitely.

Any additional comments?

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great story !! Twisted like a pretzel!!

This is a very good book. I had to install it on my cell phone so I had the option to read and listen at any time available. I think this is one of the fastest read books in my library. It will remain in the library waiting for future reads. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone!

Michelle babb is astounding in her narratin, grabing ahold and not letting up until the end..

Who to Trust?

What a wonderful book! I loved the twists and turns this book had. Some of them I never saw coming. There were so many suspenseful and suspicious moments. I loved how the author included the saying that said the truth can be told in a moment while a lie takes time. The narrator was able to add so many emotions to this book and I loved her performance. I requested this review copy audiobook and have voluntarily written this review. I will definitely listen to more books by this author and narrator. This is a standalone listen and the beginning of a series.

Great Book!

This is a great book; this is the first book in the Caribou King Mystery series written by Linda Crowder and narrated by Michelle Babb. This is a great book with a wonderful story and well developed characters. The story flowed very well and was very enjoyable. This book will keep you reading long into the night and you will not want to put this book down until you finish. This was such a great read and full of surprises. The narrator did a wonderful job with this book. She did a great job with the different voices of each character in this book. It was very easy to listen to and I didn’t want to stop listening until the end. If you are looking for a great book with well-developed characters then you need to listen to this book. I am looking forward to listening to the next book by this author and narrator.

Good Mystery

I enjoyed this mystery. The scenery as described lets me visit Alaska without actually being there. Koho Bay sounds like a nice little town to visit.
I liked the character names.
The story kept me on the edge of my seat.
I was a little disappointed with the narration. It was hard to tell sometimes which character was speaking.

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

A good read!

murder-investigation, law-enforcement, Alaska
The characters are interesting, the investigation sounds good, most of the plot is not only a grabber but quite well done. But I have two problems: the mob style disposition of the body and the ending. I don't want to get into the spoiler thing, so I'll just leave it at that and you can judge for yourself.
On the other hand, Michelle Babb is great as narrator with her instinctive pacing and intensity, as well as having a voice that is not only pleasant to the ear but defines characters and situations.

Everybody wants Taylor.

I suppose living in a small town in Alaska, where everyone is supposed to know everything about everyone, and there are only two single men about her age (and one of them is the only cop) thus restricting marriage choice potential, might make any art gallery owner begin to doubt her attractiveness, especially one who is a bit gun toting Calamity Jane in the Winter months and a trusting, fainting flower when the tourist cruise ships discharge customers in the summer.

When local girl Caribou King's best friend from college arrives unexpectedly during the cruise ship tourist season, she offers friend Taylor a place to stay and a job on the till of her obviously thriving art gallery, a position she had held before when married to the local rising art success, Johnnie. Sadly, he and Taylor only had two years of married bliss before the value of his art work rose, following his tragic death, mauled by a bear, almost exactly one year prior to her unexpected return to the town. Unexpected and, apparently unwelcome, as evidenced by the silence which fell over the restaurant owned and run by Caribou's pregnant sister and super chef brother-in-!law. That reception could be down to the town's resident drunk, Johnnie's father, vocally accusing her of his son's murder, Of course, this cold reception doesn't stop Taylor from apparently trying to seduce the only two prospective (from Caribou's point of view) love interests available, something she had also been prone to do back in their student days.
Then a headless, handless body is reported as being found and one of the residents goes missing, soon to be followed by the disappearance of the deceased artist's father. Mysterious feet are seen near Caribou's home and she, when not conducting business in her gallery, spends most of her time eating, panicking, fainting ignoring advice to be careful and having nightmares.

Nothing, or rather no one, is as they seem.
I think.
But the whole is such a convoluted muddle, it was more like a tangled ball of string than a satisfying mystery. And in the end this reader remained unconvinced that there had been a true crime committed at anyway - or were there many, with the accused actually being no more guilty than everybody else? Apart from Caribou, of course. Ah, well. Even the delectable tones of narrator, Michelle Babb, who as always performed the reading with impeccable pace, and individual voicings of the characters, and with as much understanding as was possible, failed to make this book a worthwhile listen.
Unless, of course, the reader takes the whole thing as an elaborate joke perpetrated by the author on her audience. Read like that, it actually is quite fun.

Love this book!

What did you like most about The Deadly Art of Deception?

The red herring the author throw in. She kept taken us to who the murderer might be. Each time she surprised me and I would think no way it couldn't be!
Michelle Babb gave the story suspense, mystery and made the characters more 3D. I read the book as well as listened to the audio and I found the audio is a lot better. In the book I would get confused in who was saying what but when I listened to it I knew who was talking. The narrator gave each character there distinct personality.

I didn't like the main character to begin with because I found that she let people treat her more of a doormat but after about 50% of the story she changed due to certain circumstance in the book. I really liked her more after she stood up for herself.
The book has mystery, hint of romance, suspense and humor. This is an audio book that I listened to in one sitting.
I would recommend this book and this narrator. Looking forward to book two!

Any additional comments?

I was given this free review copy audio book and have voluntarily left this review.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful