Back to the Burgh and Beyond

The Owl's Nest Mysteries, Book 1

By: C.S. McDonald

Narrated by: Maren Swenson Waxenberg

Meet Alexa Owl. She's returned home to Pittsburgh after a divorce to start a new life and a new business, The Owl’s Nest Couturier Shoppe. Much to her surprise, she's getting more than she ever bargained for: Detective Bobby Starr, and he's no ordinary sleuth. Bobby is an angel who's returned to Earth in hopes of earning his way into the Guardian Angel Squad. He's been sent by none other than Saint Pete to acquire Alexa’s help to solve three cold case murders he left behind.

Except, here’s the catch: He’s been allotted only four days to solve the first case! How in heaven’s name is she supposed to do that? Alexa is a professional seamstress - not a detective. Bobby insists the only way to solve the first case is to return to 1953, and Alexa’s not in love with that idea at all!

©2020 cindy Mcdonald (P)2020 cindy Mcdonald

Quite an adventure

This was a fun read. The characters were entertaining and it was well written. I will read books by this author again

Mystery-time travel-humor-romance.

This first installment in the Owl’s Nest Mysteries has the total package. It’s a clean fun mystery for cozy mystery lovers of all ages. Highly recommended.

A wonderfully entertaining cozy mystery series!

Back to the Burgh and Beyond is a delightfully entertaining story about a woman recently divorced, returns to her home town to open a quality clothier store. There is only one thing wrong... She has an unexpected visiter who won’t go away until she agrees to help him. Will this ruin her chances for a possible romance with another?

With some added humor, the author has created a wonderful mystery series with a touch of paranormal and romance. It is very well written and constantly “keeps the reader on the edge of his/her seat”, with action and new events.

The characters are portrayed in such a manner, it is difficult to remember that they are not real. The background scenes are equally realistic. The Title and Cover image are very well chosen.

The narrator, Maren Swenson Waxenberg, does an outstanding job in the portrayal of the various characters and in the narration of the overall story.
*This audiobook was gifted me with no pressure to post a positive review. This is my honest review .

Interesting cozy mystery (with ghosts!)

Before I get into my thoughts on this book, I do want to say that I do recommend it to anyone that enjoys an easy to read cozy mystery with interesting characters. Also, I received this audiobook for free or at a reduced price in order to listen to it and give my honest thoughts. I was not required to leave a review.

I enjoyed the audiobook. It was easy to listen to, had interesting characters, and the writing flows well. The narrator did a good job, keeping it engaging for the listener.

My only problem with the story, and after discussing it with my teen daughter she agreed, was the ease with which the main character accepted so many unbelievable things. Oh, there are ghosts. OK. Oh, there are other incredible things, like angels and Saint Pete, that many people wouldn't believe existed. Sure, I'll believe it all and not get scared, confused, awestruck, or any other extreme, or even mild, emotions that most people would feel.

I try not to get stuck on details like that, but it really bothered me throughout the book. That being said though, I did enjoy the book. I got into the story, wanting to know what would happen. I enjoyed the setting and really enjoyed the characters, especially the ghost cat. I looked forward to an ending that would satisfy most people and was not disappointed.

So, like I said earlier, I would definitely recommend it in either book form or audiobook form. It is a fun read with an interesting story and unique characters. Just don't get hung up on small details like I did!

Amazing!

I. Loved. This. Book! Full of humor, this cozy mystery had me laughing and trying to solve the case. This is probably my favorite time-travel series because the character doesn't stay too long in either period, and she's really annoyed about traveling back to the 1950s. Most, if not all, time travel books I've read, the character goes to sleep and wakes up in a different time period. In this gem, Alexa gets sucked back in the most inconvenient moments, adding humor and leaving me hooked! She continues to function in the present time but in a more automated fashion or spaced-out mind. Or so her amusing Irish assistant informs her. It's full of delightful characters in both periods. Detective Bobby must solve his ex-wife's murder, and Alexa gets harassed by his future wife, who doesn't like seeing them together. At present, she has a new shop to tend to, an energetic sister, a new romance blooming, and the ghosts of Bobby and his ex-wife's ghost cat that keep appearing spontaneously, which is very inconvenient because only she can see them. She acquires strange looks when she talks or argues with them. I rate it a 5-star. It's lighthearted, a quick read, and the narrator does an outstanding job!

A great intro

Quite honestly, I never understood how a mystery could be “cozy” until I tried one…which was this one!📚
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I usually avoid most mysteries or thrillers because I can’t take them and they give me anxiety. But this wasn’t like that at all! Just because it didn’t scare me though, didn’t mean there was no mystery! 🕵🏻‍♀️

I chose the audiobook format of this book, and I LOVED the narrator, who was perfect for this series (the book I reviewed is book 1 in the Owl Nest Mysteries series). Narrator & Produce Maren Swenson sadly passed and the author’s new release, A Felonious Finale was Maren’s last produced work (part of this series). She had such personality when reading that really brightened the story and gave it life!

In the first novel, Alexa Owl is tasked to travel back in time to 1953 to help Bobby Star solve 3 murders and therefore allow him to be a guardian angel.

I loved how the cat waited faithfully for her owner’s mystery to be solved before she could peacefully join her.🥺💕 I’m still curious about the cat!

The story unfolds so well and also so mysterious that I wasn’t able to guess the ending- the best part of a mystery book is when it makes sense but you can’t crack it until looking back!

I would consider continue reading the series, and overall I rate it:

🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 (4/5 Stars)

Short but fun murder mystery

I chose to listen to this book after receiving a free audio copy from iRead Book Tours. All opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased.

This is the first book in the Owl’s Nest Mysteries. I had read the second book, Maxed Out, a while back and enjoyed it, so I was glad to read the first book.

I like the main character, Alexa. She’s an independent and brave woman who has just gotten a divorce and now owns her own business. I found it interesting how she just takes everything in stride: ghost, ghost cat, time travel…no biggie!

Detective Bobby Starr is an interesting character, particularly since he’s dead. He wants to be part of an elite group of angels but in order to be in it, St. Peter wants him to prove he’s worthy by resolving some cases that he didn’t have a chance to finish when he was alive. The first case he needs to solve is the murder of an ex-wife.

It’s obvious that Bobby wasn’t the greatest detective, so Alexa agrees to help him. Something she didn’t count on was having to travel back in time to help solve the murder!

This is a short but fun (and funny) murder mystery that I enjoyed. I look forward to listening to Double Dog Dare, the third book in the series.

A wonderful start to a new cozy series

I am reviewing the audiobook.

Back to the Burgh and Beyond is the first work I have read from C. S. McDonald. I am impressed and will be reading more.

The humor has a fun, sarcastic bite to it and the mystery kept me listening well into the evening.

Winnie almost stole the show with her wit, charm, and treats. Alexa did a bang-up job of traveling between 1953 and the present without losing her way. Several characters made appearances, including Fiona Quinn, star of her own series.

I look forward to learning more about Cliff, Bobby, and Holden. I’m sure this cast has so much more to share with us.

Karen Swenson Waxenberg’s narration was spot-on. Her intonations made distinguishing between the characters easy to follow, and I immensely enjoyed the cadence. Ms. Waxenberg allowed the humor to show through in her words. It was an enjoyable listen.

I’ll be anxiously awaiting the next installment of the series.

Coxy mystery with laughs

I actually read this series out of order. I started with book two and three and now am finally reading book one. This just goes to show you that you can read these books in any order. I have really enjoyed Alexa and Bobby and was sad when I finished book three. So, this is actually a nice reprieve to revisit them again with book one and where it all started. Winnie is still making me laugh. I never know what is going to come out of her mouth.

Alexa sure found her knack for solving murder cases. She and Bobby worked well in how they assessed each case. Although, props do need to go to Winnie as well. She really was a great help Alexa on putting all the pieces together.

The other books I read but this is the first one where I listened to the audio version. The narrator, Maren Swenson Waxenberg did such a great job of voicing all the characters, even Bobby's voice. I enjoyed the audio version that I may even go back and listen to books two and three on audio as well. Sadly, Maren did pass away.

Love this sweet clean Cozy Mystery

I love cozy mysteries, and this one is as intriguing and exciting as they come. There is a bit of time travel from now to back in the 1950’s, to solve a Murder. There are a lot of interesting characters as this story unfolds as Alexa and Detective Bobby Star (well that is his ghost) try to solve his wife’s murder. You will find many twists and turns to keep your interest throughout the story and Alexa is more determined to find the killer.
I really enjoyed this story. It is my first from author C. J. McDonald, and I sure look forward to more from this author in the future. If you love a good clean cozy mystery, I would highly recommend Back to the Burgh and Beyond in the audiobook form! You will be delighted and intrigued by this story.
I don’t listen to a lot of audio books, but I did enjoy the audio version of Back to the Burgh and Beyond. The narrator, Maren Swenson Waxenberg does an outstanding job of reading this book. I enjoyed her pleasant voice and the punctuations throughout the book. She made the story fun and interesting to listen to. If you haven’t tried audiobooks, this one would be a great one to start with.
A special thanks to the author/publisher for a copy of this audiobook. I am not required to write a positive review, the opinions here are mine alone. I am disclosing this with my review in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
 
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