With Baited Breath

By: Lorraine Bartlett

Narrated by: Heather Masters

Tori Cannon and her grandfather, Herb, return from her grandmother's funeral. With sadness, she learns that the bait shop and small motel her grandparents ran has fallen on hard times.

Jammed into one of the motel's units is the body of one of Herb's customers, his mouth filled with spikes. The victim had no enemies, except for maybe the rich woman who wanted to level his eyesore of a home. But he also had a daughter, who resents that her father wasn't a major force in her life, and some friends who were anything but friends.

Tori's friend, Kathy, arrives to help spruce up the property, and the two find themselves mixed up in the petty jealousies and deadly consequences that murder entails. Can they save the bait shop and find a murderer or will they, too, sleep with the fishes?

With Baited Breath comes with the short story "Panty Raid", a Tori Cannon-Kathy Grant minimystery. Tori Cannon and her BFF, Kathy Grant, get together for a girl's weekend of wine, cookies, and laughter, but there's also the specter of a panty pincher hanging around the laundry room of the complex where Tori lives. Kathy thinks they can catch the culprit red-handed in a panty raid!

©2015 Lorraine Bartlett (P)2015 Lorraine Bartlett

A gentle coastal mystery

Tori Cannon is having a really rotten day in With Baited Breath by Lorraine Bartlett. She returns with her grandfather, Herb, to his bait shop in Lotus Bay near Erie, New York after burying her grandmother. Then, as they examine Herb’s house that Tori’s grandma filled with her packrat junk, they open the door to the shuttered motel the couple once ran and discover the murdered body of Michael Jackson, the local handyman. No one can understand who might have had it in for Jackson, though racist attitudes about his being the sole African American in the area, run in a subtle undercurrent among the community. Having lost her job as high school English teacher due to cuts in funding and thus having plenty of time on her hands, Tori determines to do what it takes to fix up the shop and get the motel running again.

But Tori isn’t alone as she deals with her issues. Her best friend, Kelly, comes to help her get things started, so they make progress in painting the bait shop, which increases its sales quite a bit. Kelly soon falls in love with a decrepit Victorian house near the bait shop that needs a lot of work for her to turn it into a B&B. So when Anyssa, Michael Jackson’s daughter, a home renovation specialist, shows up in town, Kathy pulls her in to help examine the house. As they discuss the murder of Anyssa’s father, one strange thing that keeps popping up is that Jackson has been avoiding going out on the water at night lately because he has been reporting seeing strange lights, which no one else has noticed. And since the police do not seem very interested in working the case of her father’s murder, the three women get to work in looking for clues.

This book comes across as a lighter mystery than typical mystery books. Instead, the book tells of life in Lotus Bay and its occupants. It contains some vivid lessons about the plight of those in rural areas that have slowly gone downhill. Now Lotus Bay has fallen prey to this same phenomenon. The people of the community also live a fairly isolated life despite depending upon tourism for their existence.

The audiobook is performed by Heather Masters. I did feel that the accents she uses did not fit the setting of the book. Masters seems to speak many times with a mild southern accent and never with the New York accent that the characters would use.

While With Baited Breath is not as strong a book as others I’ve read by Bartlett, the book still is enjoyable written. I liked the details found in each character and the development we see as each grows. I had fun and enjoyable times listening to the book and look forward to the next in the series. I give the book four stars.

Fun, refreshing book!

I really enjoyed listening to With Baited Breath. I though it was a fun, "chick lit" type of book. In our culture of Real Housewives, I really appreciated the supportive and kind friendships between the women. I was drawn in by the story and thought the narration was excellent. I also found it super refreshing to be able to listen to a mystery novel with my 14 year old daughter in the car. I'm looking forward to listening to the next book in this series!

An Excellent Book and Excellent Narrator

Would you consider the audio edition of With Baited Breath to be better than the print version?

I loved the print version, but Healther Masters is such a great narrator, that I really enjoyed listening to it in audio!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Tori, the main character, because she has so many hurdles to overcome, and it's fun to see how she overcomes them, with the help of her friends and Gramps.

Which character – as performed by Heather Masters – was your favorite?

I love how she plays men. It actually makes me laugh, she is so talented.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Laugh, because Heather makes the characters jump to life.

Any additional comments?

Lorraine is an excellent author, and I'm so happy she has Heather narrating some of her books now. It makes them even better, if that is possible, because they're great to begin with.

Promising start to a new series

With Baited Breath is a promising start to a new series. I think many cozy mystery fans will appreciate this one. Although, I would classify it as semi-cozy. There are a few expletives and a little violence. Overall it was enjoyable. I really loved the characters Herb Cannon and detective Osborne.

Fun cozy mystery

What was one of the most memorable moments of With Baited Breath?

I liked the friendship between the women. The scenes between Kathy and Tori were my favorite

What about Heather Masters’s performance did you like?

I enjoyed all the characters voices. I thought it was fun how she incorporated the Rochester accent in some of the characters. It brought an authentic quality.

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

The scenes where Tori and Anissa talk about their lost loved ones were nicely written

A very good beginning

This book had me at page 1. The characters and setting that Lorraine Bartlett created are very likeable and believable. I look forward to the next book in this series.

Great New Series

What did you love best about With Baited Breath?

I loved the characters, the setting and the story. Lots of interesting
stuff. Room to grow.

What was one of the most memorable moments of With Baited Breath?

I don't really like questions like this. One should never give away the plot. The story was very interesting and left me wanting more without feeling like I was left hanging.

Which character – as performed by Heather Masters – was your favorite?

I liked all the characters but not in love with the narrator.

Any additional comments?

Great start of a new series, excited to see where it goes.

With baited breath

I think if there was a different narrator I would have liked the book more. She doesn't do voices very well unless she makes them sound mean and gruff. The voice of the main character sounded like a young teen although Tory was supposed to be 29 yrs old. It made for awkward listening. Not sure I liked it enough to listen to another in the series. Still on the fence about this one.

Loved it!

Very well written and down to earth . A surprise ending and feel good mystery !

Great mystery to listen

What made the experience of listening to With Baited Breath the most enjoyable?

Loved the characters and the storyline. Kept me engaged for hours

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Loved the repoire between Tori and Gramps.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Tori sees the motel units. I had to rewind just to hear it again!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Made me chuckle in a few spots

Any additional comments?

Great series would recommend