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Showing posts with label Traci Odom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Traci Odom. Show all posts

Friday, March 17, 2023

#NetGalley Audio Book Review: Murder at an Irish Castle (Irish Castle Mystery #1) by Ellie Brannigan

I really enjoyed this light mystery and hope to continue in the series.

Murder at an Irish Castle (Irish Castle Mystery #1)
by Ellie Brannigan
Narrated by: Traci Odom


Series: Irish Castle Mystery, Book 1
Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
Release date: 02-07-23
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Genre: Cozy Mystery, Irish, Thriller & Suspense
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.25; Narration 4.25.


Fans of Hannah Dennison and Carlene O’Connor’s mysteries are in for a treat with Ellie Brannigan’s captivating debut cozy mystery, complete with a sharp and endearing protagonist.
Rodeo Drive bridalwear designer Rayne McGrath expected her thirtieth birthday to start with a power lunch and end with champagne, lobster, and a diamond engagement ring from her fiancĂ©. Instead, flat-broke and busted, she’s on a plane to Ireland where she discovers that she’s inherited a run-down family castle. Uncle Nevin’s will contains a few caveats—for example, if Rayne doesn’t turn McGrath Castle around within a year, the entire village will be financially destroyed.
With the fate of the town in her hands, and rumors that Rayne’s uncle’s death wasn’t actually an accident, she can’t possibly go back to her old life in L.A. As the devastating truth about her uncle dawns on Rayne, it’s not just her reputation that’s on the line, it’s her life.
Featuring a sharp and endearing protagonist, a colorful and quirky locale, and replete with twists and turns befitting an old Irish village, the first in Brannigan’s mystery series transports us to a milieu as romantic as it is deadly.


Review:

Rayne is a Rodeo Drive bridalwear designer and business owner. She is eager to celebrate her 30th birthday with her partner, along with a possible loan for business growth, and maybe even an engagement ring. Instead, she ends up without a fiancé and without inventory. Flat broke she is off to Ireland (tickets paid by her mother) to respond to a lawyer's call that her uncle has died, and she is to appear for the reading of the Will. Rayne is surprised to learn that she has inherited the declining family castle, with its handful of employees and surrounding village to care for. More alarmingly, she has to stay for a year and turn the castle into a profitable endeavor. And this has to be done with her newly met and very bitter and antagonistic cousin, Ciara, as manager.

As though Rayne doesn’t have enough to digest and deal with, Ciara, an illegitimate daughter, is convinced that her father was murdered rather than dying in a tractor accident. Rayne begins to juggle the issues of a deteriorating castle and needs to locate her Uncle’s bookkeeping records to find out the true state of affairs. It isn’t pretty. But it also leads to s mysterious list that makes her agree with Ciara that her Uncle was murdered. Now the at-odds cousins need to work together to figure out who had motive and opportunity. Lucky for Rayne, her Uncle’s young, untrained dog has some clues to share.

I enjoyed the mix of distinct characters, and the quiet persistence Rayne employs to face the problems before her. The local detective seems to be one step behind but Rayne uncovers the clues bit by bit. I picked this story for the dog on the cover, the castle and Irish setting. I was totally satisfied by the mystery with its twists and turns. I do hope there will be more in the series. I recommend this to fans of easy mystery.

Audio Notes: Traci Odom does a fine job with the narration. I liked her voices for the different characters and she carried the tone and energy of the book. The narration added to my enjoyment of the story.

Source: NetGalley 2023. This qualifies for 2023TBR, 2023Audiobook, 2023NetGalley, 2023Alphabet, and 2023Location goals.

Saturday, June 3, 2017

Audible Book Review: Shadow Sight: Ivy Granger, Psychic Detective Series

This is a great introduction to Ivy and her world of magical and fae creatures.
Written by: E. J. Stevens
Narrated by: Traci Odom
Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
Series: Ivy Granger, Book 1
Unabridged Audiobook
Release Date:04-24-13
Publisher: E.J. Stevens
Genre: Urban Fantasy
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0


Publisher's Summary
Some things are best left unseen...
Welcome to Harborsmouth, where monsters walk the streets unseen by humans...except those with second sight, like Ivy Granger.
Ivy Granger's second sight is finally giving her life purpose. Ivy and her best friend Jinx may not be raking in the dough, but their psychic detective agency pays the bills - most of the time. Their only worry is the boredom of a slow day and the occasional crazy client - until a demon walks through their door. Demons are never a good sign...
A demon attorney representing the water fae? Stranger things have happened. And things are about to get very, very strange as a bloodthirsty nightmare hunts the city of Harborsmouth.
There's blood in the water...kelpies have a reputation for eating humans. Unfortunately, kelpies are the clients. When an Unseelie faerie this evil stalks the waterways of your city, you have to make hard choices.
The lesser of two evils...
Shadow Sight is the first novel in the Ivy Granger urban fantasy series by E.J. Stevens.
©2012 E. J. Stephens (P)2013 E. J. Stephens


Review:
This book introduces the series for Ivy Granger, Psychic Detective. Ivy is careful what she touches as she gets images of the history and location of objects or people related to them. Unlike most humans in Harborsmouth, Ivy knows there are monsters and other magical creatures living among us. Ivy has second sight and, with the help of her roommate and first-rate assistant, Jinx, they have opened a psychic detective agency that specializes in finding lost objects … or people… including those of a non-human nature. Things are plodding along in the office when a demon visits to engage Ivy’s services. He has been sent as the lawyer for the kelpies to find and retrieve the bridle of the kelpie king. It appears that an evil tribe of rival Unseelie have captured the bridle with the king. Whoever holds the bridle controls the kelpie king so his own people can’t even fight against the evil that controls him.

Ivy must find as many allies as she can in the magical and fae realm if they want a chance to defeat the evil that will otherwise feed on the creatures, human and other, as they swarm into Harborsmouth. Ivy starts with her friend Kaye who is an aging but still powerful witch. Kaye directs her to other local fae and Ivy must figure out what deal she has to make with each fae group to gain their assistance and agreement to support the defense of the city.

I have listened to books three and four so I was familiar with many of these characters. Still, I appreciated starting at the beginning to meet the characters as they are introduced. I especially liked learning more about Kaye’s hearth brownie, Hob, and the initially scruffy and dismal looking troll child, Marvin. This story also begins the romance between Ivy and Ceffyl, the Kelpie King.

Ms. Stevens has done a great job of world building, creating many fae communities which each have their own strengths, weaknesses and rules and all insist on a deal that exchanges some favor for their participation. The story is told first person from Ivy’s view, complete with snark and sincere emotions. The characters are fun and the story full of deals and action that kept me listening.

Audio Notes: Traci Odom does a fine job with the narration, picking up different voices and conveying the emotions and dangers. I enjoyed listening to this as it moves quickly and easily.

Reviews of earlier books:
Burning Bright: Ivy Granger Book 3 by E.J. Stevens
Birthright: Ivy Granger, Psychic Detective, Book 4 by E.J. Stevens 
Coming up this month Hound's Bite, Book 5

I received this Audiobook from the Author. This qualifies for 2017Audiobook Challenge.

You have a chance to pick up Shadow Sight for free by checking here at Ivy Granger World Blog.

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