The Claus Killing

A Lily Sprayberry Cozy Mystery Novella

By: Carolyn Ridder Aspenson

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Christmas is just around the corner, and the entire town of Bramblett County, Georgia is ready and waiting for the big event!But a terrible tragedy threatens the celebration and leaves a key component of the holiday dead. Now Lily must uncover the truth and save Bramblett County’s Christmas before it’s too late. If you like southern cozy mysteries, you'll love this little independent holiday novella along with the rest of the Lily Sprayberry Realtor Cozy Mystery series! Get it now! This novella was originally publishing in the Sleigh Bells and Sleuthing Collection.

Claus Killing

I got this series because of the story line and I was curious, that being said there was a few disappointments for me.
1. the virtual voice was a HUGE let down for me. It lacked the lilt for expression that I enjoy with a regular narrator.
2. I found the story often difficult to follow because the virtual voice didn't change the tone from one character to the next making it difficult to know who was speaking between characters. (ie 2 different females) Sometimes I had to rewind to listen again so I didn't miss a clue/or a conversation. Both funny one liners and sarcasm was lost due to poor virtual voice not having any sense of timing, or lilt in the reading - Think of it like Alexa reading you the newspaper -
3. Nothing is worse that getting a series and Audible doesn't identify which is book it is in the series. There is nothing in the titles to identify book 1 and book 2, etc etc etc - nor does it provide the link to follow the next in the series so you don't know how many books are in the series or what the name of the next book is - I find it annoying if I buy books and have them all but don't know the order - what's the point of getting the series if you don't know the order or how many in the series?

good story, virtual voice is horrible

This was a fun little story, but the virtual voice does it a giant disservice. I have listened to enough that I am sort of used to the virtual voice, but a lot of the humor and other writing quirks are not properly given. Names are mispronounced, some sentences require a double take because humor and sarcasm tend to require specific tonations that the virtual voice is incapable of delivering. I would suggest getting the written version, but only listen to the recording if, like me you are just desperate (My genre preferences are rather narrow (cozy mostly) and I listen to a LOT of stories, so I do get virtual voice books that are free.)

Santa's replacement?

Although I am not a fan of virtual voice, this was not too bad. I especially liked the twist at the end of the story. A pleasant light read for the holidays.