Sweet Masterpiece

Samantha Sweet Series, Book 1

By: Connie Shelton

Narrated by: Andrea Bates

Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's Summary

Samantha Sweet breaks into houses for a living - all perfectly legal as a caretaker for the USDA. But her real dream is to open her own pastry shop, 'Sweet's Sweets.' Life is a little crazy for Sam right now.

At one of her break-in properties, a dying woman insists that she take a small wooden box. Sam doesn't realize that the old woman was known locally as a 'bruja,' a witch, until she begins to feel some strange effects from the box. Meanwhile, at another property, she finds an unmarked grave and the authorities come to investigate. The property owner disappeared a few months earlier and Sam wonders - who is the body in the grave? A small mural in the house leads to a connection with a famous artist; a bogus will points to possible fraud; and the handsome deputy investigating the case seems completely enchanted with Sam. While Sam scrambles to fill bakery orders and keep her properties in order, she's equally intrigued with the idea of a new romance. It all makes for a delightful romantic mystery with elements of the paranormal.

©2010 Connie Shelton (P)2013 Books in Motion

Picky, I know I'm Picky.

I really enjoyed this book -- the plot, the characters, the locale, the whole thing....BUT....Ms Andrea Bates needs to learn the pronunciation of the few Spanish words in the text correctly (unless of course, Spanish in NEW Mexico is pronounced differently than it is in "OLD" Mexico)

.As a writer and editor details are extremely important to me and as a US citizen living in central Mexico, near Guadalajara for 26 years, my Spanish pronounciation is good, even though my grammar is flawed.

Ms Bates just misses on a couple of words, but each is used multiple times and they grated, and made the back of my neck stiff.

First -- Brujas (witches, curanderas) is said bru-haas NOT Bru jaws as in the tape.

The second is Quinceareas, the celebration of the 15th birthday, and that number is the more commonly used slang for the event -- a girl has her "Quincea~nos" of just Quince. Actually that is the part of the word causing the problem -- Quince (15) in Spanish is not pronounced like the fruit, the quince. Any time there is a qui in a Spanish word, it is pronounced "key" So it could phonically be written keencee or the full Quincea~nos (with the tilde over the n) is pronounced Keencee anYos

I know, it's picky....but the first couple times she said Bru-jaws I didn't know what she was talking about.

Thanks for an enjoyable listen and if I could I'd give the performance 3.5, in spite of these words and the 3 or 4 times she had lost her place or fumbled on a word.

Sweet masterpiece

This audio is great ,you can shut your eyes and be there. Thank you for this book.

A sweet little book ...

... definitely going to read more to see how the character develops! Certainly worth a read!

Good book

The story really kept my interest. Samantha was a good woman that thought of others. I liked her character. The reader of the book did a great job. She could always be understood and had an extremely pleasant voice. I believe a woman between 40 and 80 would like this book best.

cute and different!

I really enjoyed reading about someone a little older, a little less perfect but still living life aggressively! I got a kick out of her jobs and appreciated how hard Sam had to work. thanks for the realistic fiction!

Sweet is Sweet

Enjoyed the story and the reader. That's quite a job she has, and brave too, yikes! The descriptions of her baking and frosting designs are so fine I actually saw them in my mind. "Who done it" really was a surprise!! oh my!!

Sweet, Artsy and Fun

I didn't expect to enjoy this one quite so much! But I connected with Samantha right away . . . down to earth, no frills, no pretense . . . and gutsy! And not as skinny as a toothpick to boot! Cleaning repossessed houses and baking, she runs onto a dead artist in one of the homes she has come to reclaim . . . and the authorities want to tie it up with a bow as "natural causes" . . . but Sam is pretty sure that something diabolical happened here . . . This is a clean, entertaining listen . . .

Good read

I love having a new author to read. Love her books keeps you going tell the end.

What happened to the painter?

I listened to the audible version. Plot kept me involved. My question is Sam must be an Amazon, what woman could realistically perform all she does in one day. Very good narrator.

sweet masterpiece

the story that makes this book is a readers delight. I look forward to more.

Dull.

I really couldn't get into this story. There's nothing really wrong with this book, it's just dull. Really, really dull. Nothing really seems to happen. The narrator is okay, but I don't think I'll bother with the rest of the series.