Snowed Under

The Leafy Hollow Mysteries, Book 5

By: Rickie Blair

Narrated by: Petrea Burchard

Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's Summary

A crazy crossword conspiracy. A chilling murder. Will a green PI solve the clues without finding a deadly answer? 

With Leafy Hollow in a deep winter freeze, landscaper Verity Hawkes is all out of funds. Setting up a private investigator business seems like the best way to indulge her fantasy and make a few bucks. But she never expected her first case would turn the whole town against her. 

As she investigates a shady, million-dollar crossword competition, even her detective boyfriend sides with her neighbors in thinking it’s legit. But when the contest seems to connect with scruffy dog walkers and a missing investment advisor, Verity hopes she can solve the clues before the whole town descends into a scammy word-smithing frenzy. Between vegan food scandals and a village hoarder biting the dust, the landscaper-turned-PI has her hands full. 

With time running out, can Verity discover the phantom killer before the culprit makes it two down?

Snowed Under is the fifth standalone installment in a series of charmingly-funny cozy mysteries. If you like quirky characters, twisty plots, and laugh-out-loud moments, then you’ll love Rickie Blair’s Leafy Hollow series. 

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2018 Barkley Books (P)2020 Barkley Books

GREAT CHANGE OF PACE

This is the fifth in The Leafy Hollow Mystery series. I listened to the book. The narrator is very good.

This was a wonderful turn of events. No Control or The Syndicate involved. Winter is rolling into Leafy Hollow and Verity needs another source of income as lawn maintenance & seasonal yard maintenance are not happening during the winter months. She does not want to do snow removal.

Emy suggests private detective work for the community involving looking for lost items.
Verity does not have a PI license.

Henri, the gallery owner finds a wallet. Verity looks into this as she thinks it connected to the crossword puzzle contest. She does not believe the contest to be real. No is claiming responsibility/support of the contest. Rumor has it there is a million dollar prize.

OsKar York winds up dead. Appears to be accidental in his home. He is a hoarder and is eventually found buried under a boat load of magazines.

A new vegan restaurant opens & Emy is being trashed on social media for supposedly using butter in her vegan recipes.

What are Mickey Doig, Noah Butterfield, and Rick Armstrong’s roles, if any?

I had a great time listening to this story as I walked.

A cute cozy mystery

Snowed under is a cute Leafy Hollow mystery with all of the characters who’ve become like old friends to those of us who’ve read or listened to the previous books (I suppose you could enjoy the book as a stand-alone as well, but it’s so much more fun when you read them all).

The audiobook narrator’s vibrant reading really brings the story to life.

I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Cat to the rescue

I received a free code for this book.
I have read a few books by this author now, including others in this series. Really enjoy listening to the trials of Verity. This story has not failed to be enjoyable, Good read

The Leafy Hollow Mysteries, Book 5

It's winter and Verity has lots of time on her hands since her business is on hiatus till spring. Her friends have suggested she open up a private detective business. She's not too certain about that. Then circumstances conspire to get her involved. Her first case is looking into the wallets being left around town with questions that will fill in a blank crossword puzzle. In trying to find answers, she is pulled into a murder mystery that grows into more with plenty of suspects. Now as she literally bumbles her way through the clues she relies on her friends and detective boyfriend.
Petrea Burchard brings Verity to life.
Fantastic audio and story!!

Great Cozy Mystery

This is the fifth book in The Leafy Hollow Mysteries Series, a great cozy mystery. The characters are great, and intriguing. The storyline is captivating, and filled with twists and turns. The mystery unfolds at a great pace. Looking forward to listen to the next book in the Series. Petrea Burchard did a great job with the narration. I enjoyed it. I was given a free review copy of the audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

A light read....

Curl up on the couch and relax with this sweet mystery. Light, fun, and easy to read. I recommend this book to anyone who needs an escape and feels like following the antics of some unique characters.

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

A Fun Listen

I was kept guessing until the end as to whodunit. As with the other books in this series, we meet several denizens of Leafy Hollow, most of whom have means, motive, and opportunity to have committed murder. Was it the new vegan deli owner who is Emy’s competitor? The dog walker with a shady past? Or was it, in fact, just an accident? In the meantime, clues to a crossword puzzle are being left in wallets all over town.

This fun story didn’t have any references to Control or the Syndicate, although Aunt Adeline makes a cameo appearance. This installment gives short shrift to the personal relationships between Verity and Emy, Lorne, and Jeff Katsuro that I’ve enjoyed in other books, although some important questions are raised. Oh, I can’t forget to mention the dog. Verity becomes guardian to a little dog after a murder. Will she end up keeping him? Her cat, General Chang, votes no.

Altogether, an enjoyable listen. I like that the Leafy Hollow books are on the longer side - 7 or 8 hours where I can live in a small Canadian town called Leafy Hollows. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

A good cozy mystery that keeps you guessing

This is the first book in this series by Rickie Blair that I heard. I did not feel that I missed anything by not listening to the other books first. I am sure there were some things that previous listeners would pick up on during the story .

A fun cozy mystery. The ending was unexpected.

The narration was excellent. This is the first time I have heard Petrea Burchard.

I would read more books by this author and lsiten to this narrator again.

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

Another Great Book in this Series

I really do love this series. It’s funny and fun, and I never figure out the mysteries, although that could be because I like to wait and build the suspense so I don’t try, lol. All of the characters are great, and the narrator is awesome. I feel like I can see this as a movie in my head using the voices she has created for each character. If you haven’t started this series yet, grab the first one and get started. It’s a lot of fun. I was given this book for free at my request from Audiobook Boom.

Light and witty. Perfect blend

This is the first Rickie Blair title for me. I know I started on book 5, but the story is written with enough backstory to allow new listeners of the series to dive right in. Thank you!

I liked the lightness of the story. In addition to a really great murder mystery, there was humor, romance, quirky characters and lots of small town fun and antics. Author Rickie Blair kept me guessing 'til the very end. This series checked all the boxes for the perfect cozy mystery for me.

This is also the first time I've had the opportunity to listen to Petrea Burchard. I feel like her voice was made for the community of Leafy Hollow. What a great team of Blair and Burchard. I think she really captured each of the townies little quirks. This was a great listen and I look forward to hearing more.

Mature Content: none

I was given a copy of this audiobook at my request. My review is honest and written voluntarily

Totally loving this series of books

Once again I've thoroughly enjoyed Petrea Burchard's performance of Author Rickie Blair's work. I love her sound effects, like the cat noises, and the way she brings the characters across, always using the right voice, the right demeanor. A narrator can make or break a story and so far, in every one of the leafy hollow mysteries series, Petrea has brought the story to life. Bravo Petrea. And bravo Rickie Blair for writing such consistently listenable stories.

Enjoyable!! From start to finish.

I really enjoyed this. I sat back. I relaxed. I didn't worry about the crazy world we live in and I just enjoyed this. The narration was excellent and helped to relax me but the story was also relaxingly interesting. It's a mystery but it's not rushed. It's also not slow. It's a journey that was enjoyable. I really liked listening to this and in fact listened to it a bit faster than I expected because I just liked it!! Good writing and interesting characters.

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

Brilliant

I loved this book. Great series. I highly recommend this book.
Amazing characters and great storyline.
The narration is pretty good too.
❤️😹🤩🥰🥳

Great any time, you don't have to wait for snow

Wow loved this one, then again I have loved every book in this series and yes I have my mum hooked on the series too. It is a stand alone book and you don't really need to listen to them in order but as I am recommending the book you might as well start at book one, you are in for a real treat if you do. I really enjoyed the plot and think it worked well in the small town of Leafy Hollow, in amongst its quirky and very lovable characters. The story is mainly told by Verity as she tracks down clues but it does also get told by a few of the other characters, which works wells for the story and helps set up some of the twists that you don't see coming. The mystery was good and it took a while before you found out which mystery Verity needed to solve, the crosswords clues, the old man's death, the bad reviews, the murder so much went on in one story that it will keep you hooked until the end. So looking forward to the next book.
With winter right around the corner and the storm of the century about to hit the small town of Sleepy Hollow, the residents finds little to look forward to, until a wallet with a clue is found and a poster is pinned to the library notice board. Who is leavening the clues? Most people don't care they just want to be the one to win the big prize. Variety Hawks is the exception and sets out to find out why someone would play a cruel hoax on her town. Her friend is also very troubled about some bad reviews her vegan shop has been getting lately and Verity sets about to investigate both mysteries. It's only after the local dog walker is found dead that she really begins to suspect that harmless games are not what the crossword puzzler had in mind. Especially as with each clue found it paints a dark picture, a picture of betrayal and murder. It doesn't help the art at the art gallery is attacked and the owner hurt, an elderly man dies and with no family around Verity takes in his dog, much to displeasure of her cat. Maybe becoming a private investigator for the winter wasn't a great idea but with no lawns that need cutting, she has to do something, right?
I really like the narrator she does such a good job with all the voices, that I can't imagine anyone else bringing the characters to life like she can.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.