The Secret of the Pendant

A Blooms, Bones and Stones Cozy Mystery, Book 5

By: Olivia Swift

Narrated by: Sarah Lynn

Length: 2 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

When Corby Santana receives an unexpected inheritance from her great-uncle, whom she doesn't really remember, she learns that he has left her a house, along with a very unique turquoise and silver pendant. For Corby, it seems like a piece of good news, but she's not sure, especially when the will states she needs to wear the pendant when she visits the house.

What secrets does the house and the pendant hold in store for Corby and her friends?

©2018 Lirios Publishing (P)2021 Lirios Publishing

With some editing - could be a 5 star

A 3 star, although with a little editing and a new narrator, this book could be a 5 star. I listened to the audible version. It is a short story.

The narration was terrible. It was spoken so fast, I had to turn it down to .85 to get the appropriate speech speed. The sentences ran together with little pausing (for a comma) and stopping (for a period/end of a sentence) or presenting any kind of excitement or other emotion. It was hard to tell when the dialog stopped and the narrative started. The characters were in their early 30s, however, the narrator's voice was VERY young and juvenile sounding and didn't fit the characters at all. They "sounded" like teenagers. There was very little voice altering for change of character talking. There was very little emotion in the narration.
The story, was good - however, a bit choppy in chronicling events and time such as Every now and then talk about quilting and the store was tossed in but it just didn't seem to make smooth transitions - just tossed in there for effect or something. And there were so many characters, I lost track of who was who and why they were there etc.
However, the story of the house and the necklace were pretty good, but could have been a little bit more specific and the "ghostbusters" part was described pretty decent but could have been written a bit more adult and the characters a bit more serious when talking about it since they weren't teenagers but 30 years old. The ending was really good - didn't see that one coming, although it was always a possibility. The author leads the reader to believe one thing then and then slips the other thing in at the last minute and that made the ending very good. Some editing and a new narrator and this story has the makings of a 5 star review.

REALLY GOOD STORY

REALLY ENJOYABLE STORY. WELL WRITTEN AND EASY TO FOLLOW.
ACCEPTABLE FOR PEOPLE OF ALL AGES.

NARRATOR IS GOOD AND EASY TO FOLLOW

Lovely tale

l like the sense of community in this series and they way they support the new girl in town. Narrator has a nice voice although a little stilted at times.

Another Great Addition to the Series

Another great addition to the series that kept me entertained with the fun story line and more terrific character work by the author. The narrator did her job fantastically in bringing this story to life.

I received a copy of this audiobook and am voluntarily leaving my honest review.

Romance and Mystery

As with the other books in Olivia Swift's Blooms, Bones and Stones series, The Secret of the Pendant is more focused on the romance of the primary couple than the mystery although this book does have more of a mystery feel than the earlier books. The reader was introduced to Corby and Carlo in book four of the series and book five is their story. As the story begins, Corby receives a letter from an attorney and when she follows up discovers that she has inherited a house, some money and a pendant from her great uncle that she has not seen since she was a child.

Carlo offers to help Corby when she goes to see the property and when they arrive, they discover a neighbor inside the house. The neighbor states that he took care of the property for Corby's uncle after the uncle moved to a different town. As Corby and Carlo explore the house, they discover that someone has been digging holes in the basement. This discovery make Corby uncomfortable and they decide to come back the next day and change the locks.

I found this book to be better than the previous ones in the series due to the increased mystery focus but also because the narrator for this one spoke at a considerably better pace and did a better job of create distinguishably different voices for the characters. I also felt that the character development and integration of them within the story had better flow. It was also interesting how the author incorporated the main characters individual family backgrounds and history within the book.

I received this audiobook from Story Origin and Lyrios Publishing in exchange for a fair and honest review.

secret of the pendant

Another cute mystery filled with love and friendship as well. This story involves an old mystery surrounding a family heirloom, mystery about treasure and old love. It is a fun quick read/listen that will make you feel good

She's the one

This is a great book. I really enjoyed listening to it. It is a short story but I was able to finish it in one sitting and not have to come back to it.

Enjoyable read/listen

The Secret of the Pendant (A Blooms, Bones and Stones Cozy Mystery - Book Five), my fifth read from author Olivia Swift. A cozy mystery with a strong paranormal presence. The plot is consistent & clever steadily building to a satisfying ending. Becky Boyd's narration adds to the enjoyment. “I received a free Audible copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review." The gifting of this book did not affect my opinion of it. I look forward to the next book in this series The Secret of the Stones (Blooms, Bones & Stones #6). (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).

book 5

This is book 5 in Swift's Blooms, Bones & Stones series. Short but didn't feel rushed, a sweet, suspenseful cozy mystery / romance. Main character is Corby who's finally happy in the life she's made for herself when a surprise inheritance, a mystery and her past all come to invade. Several characters from previous reads are included so if you have the opportunity to read / listen to this series in order I would recommend but it's not necessary. Short, sweet and satisfying.

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

The Secret of the Pendant

An unexpected inheritance leads to a mystery with a paranormal twist.

Olivia Swift continues this series with another clean cozy mystery. I enjoy the fact that this is a self contained story but we see familiar characters from the other books in the series.

Sarah Lynn’s narration was well done. I would certainly listen to more of her work.

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