Not According to Flan

The Dinner Club Murder Mysteries, Book 2

By: Karen C. Whalen

Narrated by: Ann Simmons

Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

Jane Marsh wants to shake off the empty-nest syndrome, plus the notoriety of the death of her first and second husbands, by starting over in a new place. She sells her family home to move to a far Northern suburb of Denver. At the same time, Jane's dinner club is undergoing a transformation, and a new man - a gourmet chef - enters her life.

But things turn sour when on the day Jane moves into her new home, she discovers a dead body. She cannot feel at home in this town where she’s surrounded by cowboys, horse pastures, and suspects. Not to mention where a murder was committed practically on her doorstep. How can she focus on romance and dinner clubs when one of her new friends - or maybe even her old ones - might be a murderer?

©2017 Karen C. Whalen (P)2018 Karen C. Whalen

What's for Dinner?

Not According to Flan, The Dinner Club Murder Mysteries, Book 2
: Karen C. Whalen

Book two in "The Dinner Club Murder Mysteries series." As I started listening to this I was sure that I had read it before. I liked the book. This is a clean story. There was plenty of mystery, drama, new friends, scary neighbors, and a new romance. Y only complaint is quite a few of the sir names were a bit over the top, no I don't expect everyone to be named Smith o Jones. I will look for book three in Audible.



The narration was well done. The characters were well portrayed. Ann Simmons brought this to life.



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

Just okay

I liked book one well enough so I was interested in the next book in this series. This one was just okay.

I don't know why but I absolutely did not like Jane in this book. She was boorish and annoying. The mystery had enough twists and turns to be engaging but I rolled my eyes at Jane more than once.

I liked the narration but I'm not sure if that will be enough to make me want to listen to book three.

Cute cozy mystery, good narrator

Enjoyed listening to this book. It was a cute story about an empty nester widow who moves to a new house and discovers a body. From there the main character starts trying to solve the murder. There is a group of friends who return from the first book which I had not read. I think the story can stand on its own. However, insight into the cast of friends may have been beneficial. I have some peeves about the main character being nosy and trying to pump her new neighbors for clues. Also, she on occasion, was quite blunt and rude to those she suspected. I found that surprising based on the character's background. The aspect of her trying to solve a murder in a new community where she knows no one was difficult for me to embrace. Other than that, it was an enjoyable mystery. I like the 1940s parties they went to and the dinner party rapport of her friends..The hiking and activities were also interesting. I also liked having an older female sleuth dealing with dating and an empty household. I thought the narrator did a solid job. The voices and pacing were good. I requested and received a free copy of this audio book in exchange for an honest review.

Not According To Flan is another winner in The Dinner Club series

This is book 2 in The Dinner Club Mysteries and is a very enjoyable cozy mystery! Jane belongs to a Dinner Club whose members help her solve the mystery. In this book, she moves to a new house to start the next phase of her life as an empty-nester. She becomes friends with a young neighbor and they start a walking/hiking group along with others in their neighborhood. The day Jane moves in, she discovers a dead body. Very enjoyable book and the audiobook was well done and enjoyable! I received the audiobook from the author for an honest review.

another great mystery

another very interesting and very well written story it was very well developed and very fluid I liked it very much the story was very easy-going and very captivating
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review

Great book

This was a good book. Kept me guessing who the murderer was. This was the first book in this series i have listened too. I do look forward to more. The narrator did a great job. I was gifted this book at my request in exchange for an honest review.

Entertaining Listen!

Not According to Flan by Karen C. Whalen pulled me in immediately. I loved the author's imagery in this book and how the characters were more complex and not one dimensional. The list of suspects was great and the twists unexpected. I thought that Ann Simmons added to the suspense with her narration. She was flawless in her performance. I requested this review copy audiobook and have voluntarily written this review. This is book 2 in the Dinner Club Murder Mysteries, and is a standalone listen. I do want to listen to book 1 to get a better background on the group of friends, and because I enjoy the author's style and like the narrator too.

A fun cozy mystery.......

Not According to Flan is the second book in this cozy mystery series. Although I could definitely tell that I was missing some of the background from the first book in the series, the author did a good job of making this a potentially standalone book. This book feature Jane, a paralegal in Denver, who moves into a new house in the suburbs and discovers a dead body across the street from her new house while unpacking. Thus begins Jane's hunt for the killer in order to feel safe in her new home. She is joined in her snooping by her fellow dinner club members, friends, family and a new love interest. The author used foreshadowing well, and I started to guess the guilty party around 3/4 through the book. However, the author threw in a surprise twist at the end that I didn't see coming. Overall, this was a fun and satisfying mystery read.

Ann Simmons does a great job with the narration. She has a very smooth and pleasant voice, and she used the perfect tone and emotion level for every scene in the story. I would definitely listen to another book narrated by Simmons in the future.

I received a copy of this audiobook at my request in exchange for this honest review.

A cozy mystery with a twist

This is a cozy mystery about Jane, who is an empty nester that just bought a new home when she finds a dead body. From there the mystery begins to unravel as to who did it, and Jane starts to question if this move was the right decision for her. However, what sets this cozy apart from others is that Jane is a widow, with 2 dead husbands to account for. And, she was a suspect in both of their deaths. This makes the story much more interesting because the whole time you wonder if Jane herself really is guilty of the new murders as well... The narration is well done, and the story has a good pace with plenty of intrigue!
I was gifted this audio book and have given my honest review

Odd Main Character

I received this book for free. I am voluntarily leaving this review and all opinions expressed herein are my own.

This is the second book in the The Dinner Club Murder Mysteries. I have not read the first book in this series. It is essentially a stand alone story but there multiple references to events which likely occurred in the first book -- because of that and some questions which arose as I was reading this book, I would have like to have started with the first book but, it may not have made a difference with the problems I had with this book.

The story centers around Jane moving to a new home and new neighborhood. On the day she moves in, she discovers a body right by her home where there is construction occurring for new homes. She has no ties to the neighborhood, the victim, or the police but she lives there so she immediately decides that she will investigate the murder.

I really like cozy mysteries, which are essentially character driven. If you cannot relate, like or empathize with the main characters, the rest of the story just kind of crumbles. The writing here is good. However, the problems I had with this story center mostly around the main character Jane. The book repeatedly states that she had been married two times previously and both husbands died suspisciously. Jane was apparently considered a suspect but cleared. First, I don't know how these husbands died suspisciously nor do I know how Jane was cleared but this is odd -- two?? This sounds like a Dateline special. Second, she has friends who frequently bring up the murders of her husbands in a somewhat derogatory fashion. Why is she hanging out with these people? Third, she behaves oddly - she is so freaked out by the murder by her house that she immediately decides to put the house up for sale. [Sorry, I kept thinking that she was going to be hit hard by the capital gains taxes] But then she behaves in a wishy-washy fashion with the realtor, the offers on the house, removing the for sale sign and avoiding telling people she wants to sell. Why?? Fourth, she believes someone has broken into her home. She is initially bothered by it but when her friend calls, she forgets all about it. What?? If I thought someone had been in my home under suspiscious circumstances, that's all I would be thinking about and certainly I would tell my friend and likely call the police. When it happens a second time - just seriously. Fifth, she starts dating a chef. When he asks to spend the night, she says no. Then he just leaves - saying nothing. When Jane sees him again by accident - do they discuss the disappearing act? Nope, not a word. Just odd. Fifth, Jane starts a walking club through the HOA in her neighborhood. Weirdly, no one really seems to like each other but yet they keep showing up for this walking club. Again, why?? Finally, she doesn't solve the murder. This person was not even on her radar. Then, there's just a confession to wrap it all up. So, what was the point of everything? I will not be continuing this series.

The narrator, Ann Simmons, did a good job with the narration. It was clear with a good tone and you could easily follow the story/conversations.