Petal to the Metal

The Bloomin' Psychic, Book 1

By: Annabel Chase

Narrated by: Meghan Kelly

Forty-two-year-old Mia Thorne is not living her best life. After a disastrous career-and-relationship-ending event, she escapes New York City and moves to a sleepy river town in Pennsylvania, courtesy of a dead aunt she never knew. Aunt Hazel was the reclusive family nut, a self-proclaimed psychic. Of course, Mia’s dad always told her that she, too, had the gift, but after his death, her mother made sure to squelch the notion. No square pegs allowed!

Aunt Hazel’s old cottage is only slightly better than the decrepit gardens surrounding it. Mia doesn’t know the first thing about gardening and expects this will be one more failure on her seemingly endless list. Even Aunt Hazel’s ancient cat seems to have pegged her as a loser.

When Mia stumbles over a body in the overgrown garden, the newcomer catches the eye of the police chief and his hotshot detective, Derek Fairfax, and she becomes the number one suspect in the case. Much to her shock and awe, she also catches the eye of Derek’s brother, Dane, a lawyer with a head for what’s legal and a bod for what isn’t—but getting arrested for murder would certainly put a damper on her dating life.

Will Mia tap into her long-buried psychic skills in order to save herself or will she end up digging her own grave?

Petal to the Metal is the first book in The Bloomin’ Psychic series.

©2021 Annabel Chase (P)2025 Red Palm Press LLC

A nice surprise

I typically listen to police procedurals but tried this on impulse— I’m glad I did. Fun story, good pace, and humorous characters. Starting her next book now….

Simplistic

Not a series I’ll follow. Very sophomoric. Certainly not Practical Magic. Maybe good for a middle schooler. The descriptions of a 42 year old are what a 12 year old thinks that age is like. Certainly not based in reality.
I found the narration annoying.

Cute story

It’s a pretty cute story. I like the cat. But the narration was weird. I think I would’ve enjoyed reading it better. The narrator talks in a strange cadence. Like she’s trying to emulate some 40s movie but it misses.

NARRATOR!!

The narrator kind of ruined the whole story. Very whiny and breathy, and apparently did not know much about inflection. I stuck with it because the story seemed cute and it was rather short.

Petal to the Metal

This was a fun cozy mystery to listen to that has some pretty quirky characters that kept me entertained and at time shaking my head at their craziness. Who knew inheriting a house would change your life in so many ways. The writing was done well and the narration brought the book to life beautifully.