Sharpe Edge

Publisher's Summary

If Deena Sharpe had known she would soon be investigating another death, she might have skipped Christmas altogether. Buoyed by a new job and a spirit for the holidays, she carries on, blind to what the next few weeks will hold.

A Christmas party for the upper crust of the small Texas town of Maycroft turns tragic when the hostess ends up dead. Everyone assumes her death is an accident - everyone except her daughter, Estelle. She turns to Deena to help solve the mystery. A jealous friend and a mysterious heir are just two of the likely suspects.

As a school teacher turned newspaper reporter, Deena must get crafty to dig out the truth before anyone else gets hurt, including her own brother.

A little romance, some snarky suburban competition, and a lot of mystery will keep listeners guessing in this cozy whodunit.

©2015 Lisa Thomas (P)2017 Lisa Thomas

another great mystery

this is a cute and well written cozy mystery. the main character finds herself again involved with solving what was ruled as an accidental death but turns out to be a murder. I do look forward to more in this series. I received this book as a free gift through audioboom in exchange for an honest review.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Good, Clean Mystery.

Where does Sharpe Edge rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is a good story. The author makes the characters come alive without resorting to stereo-types. The mystery is well-done. The clues are there all along and the suspenseful ending does not rely on last minute information. The suspects are all plausible. I appreciate that the story is clean. No swearing or sex scenes. Safe for pre-teens.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Deanne, the main character, is a lot of fun. She is nosy, witty, sarcastic and smart, yet kind. I really like the main character, but the other characters are interesting too. I think my favorite has to be the redneck long-lost uncle who answers the door with a shotgun and a pack of dogs. He's a colorful guy.

What about Kelley Hazen’s performance did you like?

She performs the different characters beautifully. She maintains their unique voices effortlessly throughout the book. She does very believable male voices which is often difficult for female narrators. She brings out the personality of the main character.

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

This is an entertaining mystery story. It does not lend itself to touching emotional scenes. There are however, some very tense scenes throughout the book and particularly at the end. The mystery is well-written and well paced. It is suspenseful, but not overly or artificially so. This is a good, solid story.

Any additional comments?

I received this book for free from the author, narrator, or publisher on Audio Book Boom forum in exchange for a honest review.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Excellent as always!!!

I really enjoyed this book as well as the other two I read. This is my kind of books. Just keep writing & we will keep reading. Waiting for the next one.
"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Enjoying this new series!

So far, I'm impressed. Ms. Thomas writes a good mystery, interesting characters, clean (no swearing, sex, or graphic violence), and with good narration. I think my absolute favorite part of both books so far is the sweet relationship between the main character and her husband.

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

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Pleasant to listen to

This audiobook gets 3.5 stars from me. It was a pleasant enough listen but by about 1/3 the way through I knew who had done what. It was just a little too obvious to me, however that isn't to say that I didn't enjoy this cozy mystery it was a pleasant book to listen to and the narration by Kelley Hazen was well done. I liked the plot but a couple of points didn't add up. At the end of the book I was left thinking 'oh it really was that simple' but why did the characters behave that way at the very end of the book.
I received this audiobook at no-cost from Audiobookworm Promotions. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Cute

Any additional comments?

Cute story with great characters. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

The ending was bad, but the rest was great!

This book has me torn.. I loved the narration, I loved the characters & I enjoyed the story and dynamic. However, the ending was just bad. I found myself wanting to yell at Deena for being so obliviously dumb. Without giving anything away, just know it is incredibly aggravating. It's as if the end was the only real spoiling factor, but it was a big one because it made it all feel like a frustrating let down.
Otherwise though I really enjoyed the narration & I love the characters. So my heart is torn 50/50! I hope the following books do better with the conclusion.
This book was provided to me at no cost, and I gave my honest review.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Cozy Mystery!

A cozy mystery series indeed. I just loved listening to this audiobook. It has all the perfection of a classical murder mystery with likeable yet questionable characters. I also love how the author was able to add in some humor here in there making it all around fun. The narrator is great using the perfect amount of different tones in her voice to bring each character to life.

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

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Finished in a day!

Delightful read, or should I say... listen?

I was given this book and decided to leave an unbiased review voluntarily, since I loved it!

It's a clean mystery with enough twists and turns to entertain, and characters that are easy to like. Seriously, I finished it the same day I started, I just couldn't take my earphones off.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Pleasant and enjoyable

Would you try another book from Lisa B. Thomas and/or Kelley Hazen?

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review. Thank you Audio Book Boom, Lisa B. Thomas, and Kelley Hazen! Sharpe Edge is indeed pleasant and enjoyable - it's actually the perfect book to fall asleep to. At any given time I've got three novels going; one in my car (must be very stimulating as I must be alert while driving), one to listen to around the house (must be very engaging as I get bored while doing housework), and one at my bedside. The one that I use to "read" me to sleep is very important; it's got to be interesting enough to be enjoyable yet not overly stimulating (nothing too dark or disturbing) or I'll lose sleep. Nighttime books have to be inherently soothing and the reader's voice plays a huge role in this. If you're as particular about your audio books as I am than you've probably noticed that cozy mysteries are ace when it comes to reading oneself (or being read) to sleep. There appear to be infinite options out there for cozy mystery fans but despite the quantity it remains difficult to find good quality. I'm thrilled to get to know Lisa B. Thomas as I think she's got what it takes to be a great cozy writer. Don't be thrown off by my '3' scores...I never give cozies more than a 3 out of 5 on Good Reads, etc.; it's more of a reflection of my relationship with the genre than writer/reader/story quality. I gave a 5 to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Shelley's Frankenstein, The Life of Pi, Career of Evil...my tastes are diverse. Anyhow, back to Sharpe Edge....here's what's great about it (in no particular order): 1) I didn't read book #1 but book #2 was totally entertaining, nonetheless, 2) The characters were amusing and I was interested in their stories, 3) Sharpe Edge is actually pretty witty and had me chuckling quite a bit at points, 4) It was an acceptable level of far fetched for the cozy genre...believable enough w/ no massive plot holes, 5) I'd be happy to continue following these characters in subsequent books and I'd even read book #1 for completion's sake. I'd also like to give a shout out to the reader, Kelley Hazan. I think she did a great job with this audiobook! Her voice is soothing, interesting, and diverse. She did a bang up job with one character in particular....a cantankerous old lady with a drinking problem. Every time that character popped up Ms. Hazan had me laughing out loud. I literally felt as if I was back in middle school hanging sharing hilarious impressions of a most formidable lady gym teacher with my friends...it was great! Oh, one more thing I'd like to say about Sharpe Edge...bit of a spoiler here, so, beware. Anyhow, the book opens with an interesting mini-story which takes place in 1940. A couple faces unthinkable tragedy over and over again as they attempt to build a family. When they finally end up with a child the mother names the child Caroline in an act of grace and forgiveness that most people would never consider doing. The story of Sharpe Edge then begins in the present day when this same "Caroline" is an elderly matriarch. I love how Ms. Thomas opened the book with a back story narrative demonstrating Caroline's origins in forgiveness and sacrifice and then we come full circle to find Caroline really living up to her adoptive mother's sentiment nearly a century later.

Would you recommend Sharpe Edge to your friends? Why or why not?

As above.

What aspect of Kelley Hazen’s performance would you have changed?

n/a

Was Sharpe Edge worth the listening time?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

As above.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful