Cappuccino

Zion Sawyer Series, Book 1

By: M. L. Hamilton

Narrated by: Kelley Hazen

Zion Sawyer had a good job, working customer service for an insurance company in San Francisco. She had friends, a loving family, and a bright future. Until she received a call from a lawyer in Sequoia, California, informing her she is the sole heir to her biological mother’s estate. Zion never met Vivian Bradley, but her death sends Zion on a path of discovery that changes her future forever. And she discovers that you can never escape your past, even a past you didn’t want to know.

©2016 ML Hamilton (P)2018 ML Hamilton

An Awesome Listen

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the narrator and found it very entertaining. Big city girl moves to small town to run the Coffee Shop her birth mother left her. Sounds simple enough, but it's not. A big box store wants to come to town and Zion's mother was standing in their way before she was murdered, just a coincidences? Can Zion and her neighbour, the ex-cop solve the mystery before anyone else gets hurt. With this fun cast it doesn't really matter as long as you can listen along as they try. It has it all, suspense, humour, danger and a touch of romance. Once again author and narrator make an awesome team. Looking forward to listening to book 2.

Heard all the same voices in another series, Peyton Brooks FBI

Kelly Hazen sounds like she is yelling at the listeners. My first series, Peyton Brooks, I got use to it and explained it off as so many characters and each one you could tell as a separate voice. But this story line not as strong as the first and all the voices sounding the same as the first, makes me think I will not listen to the whole series. Going to listen to the next book, to give the series a try.

Beginning of a new cozy series

A murder mystery in a quaint California town. Interesting characters, puzzling crimes and a really good story.

It was good :) and that's it :)

It was good, just casual one time reading for me. Loved the narrated and her intonation and such.

A great beginning to a new series

'Cappuccino' is a great start to a new series by Ms Hamilton, the author of Peyton Brooks and Avery Nolan adventures, both of which I really like a lot. Now we meet Zion Sawyer who is as strong and relateable a character as the other two:)

This is a cozy mystery, much lighter in mood than Peyton Brooks' stories and much more down-to-earth than Avery Nolan's magical adventures - but it's as entertaining and engaging. The book has an interesting starting point, with Zion suddenly inheriting her biological mother's coffee house and other earthly possessions - which at first she rejects, as she has never met her biological mother and has never wanted to meet her. But, as it soon turns out, that unexpected event allows her to change her life completely - a change she definitely needs, for her own good. The little town of Sequoia, California, is exactly what she needs right now, and the people she meets there are a colourful, friendly bunch... well, most of them, anyway:)

There's an intriguing criminal plot, with some good twists to it, there's also a bit of romance - or possible romance - in the air. The two main characters, Zion herself and her 'co-partner in crime', a former cop Tate, are full-bodied people, with complicated personalities, but very likeable, so it's easy to kind of keep your fingers crossed for them...:) The supporting cast are also very well developed, with a lot of quirks and a lot of warmth to them. And there's a lot of humour - Zion is a kind of character that has a healthy distance to herself and can make other people smile a lot (the reader/listener, too).

In a word, it's a book I just couldn't put down...:)

Narration by Ms Hazen is very good, as usual. She does all the different voices very well, some better than others, but in general it's a great performance by her. She adds tension when necessary, and the humour of the book shines in her interpretation:)

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

Cappuccino

This is a fun story to listen to. I'm happy I found it. I'll be listening again.

Great New Series!

ML Hamilton has a writing style that pulls me in. Cappuccino is a fun cozy mystery that appeals to my senses. I found the characters to be endearing and loved the small town atmosphere. Kelley Hazen's performance was flawless. She brings the characters to life giving them distinguishable voices. I could hear exactly who was speaking. I requested this review copy audiobook and have voluntarily written this review. I will definitely listen to more books by this author and narrator. This is a standalone listen.

I did not like the performance.

The story was a cozy mystery but the performance aggravated me. Kelley Hazen's voice is not relaxing for me.

Loved the start of this series

One thing I really like about this narrator is her ability to do many different voices. There are times as she is narrating it sounds like she gets tickled with what she is reading and it really draws me in to know she is enjoying her work. I love cozy mystery stories and this one did not disappoint. This is like my 2nd book to listen to by this author and I like their style of writing. It is important to pair a great author with a great narrator to draw people into the books. The story line has a sad quality as the main characters mother gave her up for adoption so she never got to know her biological mother until her murder and as the story progresses she learns a lot about the woman that gave her up for adoption and you get a sense of regret because she never tried to get to know her. You get murder, mystery, and add to that a big box store wanting to come into a quaint small town and buy up smaller businesses that shroud it in mystery and suspicion as things begin to happen. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Great Read

Cappuccino was another great read by ML Hamilton. This is book one of A Zion Sawyer Cozy Mystery Series. Zion is working in customer service for an insurance company. She has her best friend and her loving parents. She received a call from a lawyer in Sequoia, California but brushes it off. She finds out that she is the sole heir to her biological mother's estate. I really enjoyed reading Zion's story and can't wait to read the rest of this series.