The Secret of Chestnut Hall

A Blooms, Bones and Stones Cozy Mystery, Book One

By: Olivia Swift

Narrated by: Becky Boyd

Length: 3 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

A contract to restore an old garden and a handsome client...what more could a girl ask for? Well, a good mystery of course!

Jasmine Summer - or "Jazz”, as her friends and family call her, takes on a contract to restore an intriguing old garden for her client, Evan Sutherland.

Evan: He’s quite a famous mountaineer who is trying to leave behind a shattered life and an ex-wife who almost ruined him.

Chestnut Hall: Evan’s house and garden have a mysterious past that intrigues Jazz and Evan. The discovery of a secret grotto leads them both into situations they would never have dreamed about...and into unforeseen dangers.

Will Evan be able to leave his past behind? What dangers lie within the grotto? Will there be a happy ending for Jazz and Evan?

©2018 Lirios Publishing (P)2018 Lirios Publishing

cozy mysteries are great

This is a fun, cute cozy mystery that will leave you feeling good. It is fast paced and has enough suspects that you will be wondering who did it until the end. And of course you get a great hea that has a bit of a rough time getting there.
I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed it

The Secret of Chestnut Hall

This is a quick, clean cozy mystery that kept my interest all the way to the end. I enjoyed the characters and the storyline, and I’m looking forward to continuing with the series.

Olivia Swift did a great job with sharing the details in such a way as to keep me guessing. I was definitely entertained.

Becky Boyd delivered a great performance. I would not hesitate to listen to more of her narrations.

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

A Good Cozy Mystery

This audio book was really good. It had a fast paced story line, with danger and romance. The story had tension and excitement.

Cozy Mystery

This was a very short cozy mystery, but it didn't feel shallow or lacking depth. It was a fun and easy read.

A pleasant cozy mystery

I read this book a long time back and was given the audible copy and I think the narrator did an awesome job with the story characters. You get a nice story about Jazz an landscaper and her client Evan. They discover more on his land while the landscape makeover is happening than is normal. Cue cozy mystery. You really get to enjoy the characters and their meaning to this story more than just peripheral characters. I received a free copy of this audiobook at my request and this is my honest review.

A sweet, fun mystery

In <strong>The Secret of Chestnut Hall</strong> by Olivia Swift, Evan Sutherland has just moved into a small mountain community in Colorado and bought Chestnut Hall, which has remained vacant and off the market for the 30 years since the previous owner died. He has hired the gardening firm of Jasmine (Jazz) Summer to put the gardens back in good shape. Very soon the two discover a strong attraction to each other as they work together. There have been rumors of murder, treasure, and everything in between surrounding this mysterious property. So it is with excitement that Jazz finds a piece of wood that, when she moves it, reveals a grotto that no one knew existed. A secret nighttime intruder, a couple old discoveries, and a skeleton uncovered when they were trying to dig a 8hpond lead to many elements of a 30- year- old mystery.

I enjoyed listening to <strong>The Secret of Chestnut Hall</strong>. It is a short book (3 hours, 6 minutes), so it doesn't have a lot of room for complex mystery details. On the other hand, it is ideal for someone who doesn't want to take the time to listen to a typically 6-8 hour cozy mystery. Despite the short length, the book has some creative moments and fun characters. I also liked the setting of working in a garden, making this book all the more enjoyable.

Becky Boyd performs the audio edition of this book. Adding a touch of charm to this already enjoyable book, Boyd certainly increases the listening pleasure with her performance. I did notice a lilt to her reading that didn't always seem natural, but it was not very distracting, and I still think this book is better off listened to than read visually.

I appreciated getting to listen to the fun <strong>The Secret of Chestnut Hall</strong>. It was a creative, light- hearted mystery with some interesting details and sympathetic characters. This book was nice, gentle reading, and I give it four stars.

Really a great listen of a fun cozy mystery!

This was a great listen that I was enjoying the plot and the twists that was going with this!

A well-written story from a good author

The Secret of Chestnut Hall (Blooms, Bones and Stones Mystery #1), my first read from author Olivia Swift. A thrilling cozy mystery. The plot is consistent & clever steadily building to a satisfying. Becky Boyd's narration adds to the enjoyment. “I received a free Audible copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review." The gifting of this book did not affect my opinion of it. I look forward to the next book in this series The Secret of the Jewel Shop. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).

Nice story

I enjoyed this story very much. The descriptions of the house and garden were vivid and realistic. I loved the idea of solving such an old mystery. While the narration wasn't bad, it sometimes felt stiff and overly formal, and lacking in any real emotion, so I had to give it a 4. Everything else is very enjoyable, and earned a 5.

Book 1 - A Blooms, Bones and Stones

This is book 1 in Swift's series Blooms, Bones & Stones. A short, clean, cozy mystery read / listen. Narration was good but sounded monotone, not a lot of depth to the voice or tone / pitch change when portraying other characters. Main characters Jazz and Evan. Evan is a notable mountaineer looking to escape to a quiet place only to discover he's purchased a home with a mystery surrounding it. Jazz who is the gardener he's hired finds herself not only in a mutual attraction with Evan but also in the midst of finding the who done it in the mystery that surrounds Chestnut Hall.
Overall well written, short/quick read / listen with a smooth flowing storyline.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.