Deadly Business

Maid for Murder, Book 1

By: Susette Williams

Narrated by: Allyson Voller

Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Bailey inherits her grandfather's business, Maid For You, but cleaning up dead body parts wasn't part of the job description. Bailey hopes to wipe out crime with the help of Nate, her computer hacker assistant, despite protests of their involvement in the case from Detective Max Wellington.

As the threads of deceit unravel, the murders begin to break out like a case of Bubonic Plague. Bailey uncovers deception, corruption, and a few secrets that may forever change her life.

Bailey is a Christian, struggling to keep on the path she knows is right, fighting the temptation of the hunky Detective Max Wellington, who would like nothing more than to take her into protective custody, for more than just interfering in police business.

©2016 Susette Williams (P)2016 Susette Williams

funny

a very nice well region funny mystery I liked it very much the story was well written and well developed the narrator did a good job as well thumbs up for this one
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Deadly Business

Any additional comments?

Overall this was a light, clean, fun and entertaining cozy mystery. Almost a slapstick kind of story where the main character is concerned. There are so many "suspects" you never really know who the "culprit" is until the end. At the same time you are left with many unanswered questions. This is the first in the series so eventually we'll get all the answers.

This is not a cozy mystery I would recommend for people who don't usually listen to books with a Christian theme. Some of the religious references/thought's could have been omitted. It would have made the MC so much more likable.

Really just didn't care for Bailey's character. She came across as ditsy and judgmental. Really liked Max's character.

Obviously Nate is involved in whatever setup is going on.

While it is mentioned in the synopsis that the main character is a Christian and I have no problem with that, but the she comes across as very judgmental/preachy regarding religion for most of the book. She even gets jealous of another woman at one point and talks about writing her phone number on a bathroom wall and thinks "woman like her". Just because you have a set of standards for yourself doesn't mean you have the right to judge other people who have different standards. That's not a "Christian" thing to do. You don't have to go to church every Sunday to be a good person, have Christian values or have good moral character. She spends much of the book talking about how it won't work between them but leads him on several times. The man is not a mind reader. Until you have actually spoken to someone about religion you should not automatically assume a relationship wouldn't work, or that they would be unwilling to invest the time or effort into "joining" you in that religion. People convert all the time.

Allyson Voller did a really good job with the narration. Nice voice. Easy on the ears. Clearly spoken. Nice even pace of narration. Good character voices. She really captures the ditsy persona of the MC. Overall very enjoyable.

I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook by the author, narrator or publisher.

A cozy ... But not a great main character

This book was a cozy mystery through & through. No violence, nothing too graphic. But I didn't love the main character, Bailey. I'm not sure if it's just because this is the first book & maybe she's still finding her "voice." I found myself frustrated when she did obviously dumb things, which was often.

Her romance with Max didn't feel organic. It happened too fast & Max went from gruff and stand offish to suddenly seducing her. Huh? By the next chapter he was madly in love with her. It also drove me crazy that Bailey kept going on dates with Max & when it came time to kiss or anything she says "I can't" and runs off... Multiple times! She acts so juvenile in love, as if she's never met a man before. I understand her Christian Faith & that's fine, but then TELL HIM. She offers no explanation! She leaves so much unsaid and that makes you a bit crazy.

On the topic of faith, I am a Christian and even I felt highly irritated with her discussing her faith. She constantly made it seem like it was a list of rules she must abide by, and stressed how terrible those rules were. That's not what Christianity is & it left a bad taste in my mouth.

However, I really liked the narration. Allyson has a crisp clear voice and did a good job with all the different characters. The story itself was easy to follow along. It was an okay listen, just some character flaws that I hope will be improved in the following books.
I was gifted this book in exchange for an honest review.

Fun but then weak mystery!

In <strong>Deadly Business</strong> by Suzette Williams, Bailey Tucker has inherited her grandfather's cleaning service, Maid for You, determining to learn every facet of the business. One night she leaves her business late, only to find a dark SUV blocking her van. Before she can do more than barely ask the owner to leave, the police pull up and arrest her for the murder of the two people in the car, one of whom is Bailey's employee.

After getting released, Bailey takes over the cleaning shift of an employee with a sick child, going to clean at a funeral parlor. There she finds a severed hand with a scar on it. The police don't know how to identity the hand, but Nate, her tech guy/ hacker, tells her he saw a photo of the hand in the webcam he hacked in order to offer protection to an employee who felt uncomfortable by a man who worked in one office. With plenty of unauthorized snooping, Bailey keeps getting in trouble with Detective Max Wellington, with whom she has a strong romantic attachment, over her snooping. Her problem with her personal attraction to him is that she knows that she shouldn't date him because he isn't a Christian. But regardless of issues in her personal life and conflict with Max over her investigating, Bailey is determined to find the truth.

The plot of <strong>Deadly Business</strong> started out strong, with an exciting premise of a severed hand. But then it slows down by the middle of the book, mostly spent with Bailey's trying to resist her growing attraction to Max. However, the plot does speed up as it nears the end, with more mystery details. My biggest complaint, though, is that it leaves a lot of questions unanswered, leaving a dramatic cliffhanger. Readers of my reviews will know that I have a big issue with cliffhangers, seeing them as a form of trying to manipulate the reader into buying the next book.

I didn't connect with the characters in this book very well. Bailey annoys me in her general attitude towards Max and the case. She insists upon pursuing it in illegally sneaky ways even after the police have stopped considering her a person of interest. She uses a lot of sarcasm throughout, which becomes tiresome. Max comes across as a playboy, which he shows upon Bailey's first meeting with him, when he suggests going out to have some fun, which Bailey points out means a casual sexual relationship.

One thing that bothered me is that Bailey is determined not to date or marry a man who is not a Christian, not because she has her own personal beliefs against such marriages but because she doesn't want to disappoint her father. An adult should have her own set of morals and not live according to her parents' personal rules. Further, while I think <em>Deadly Business</em> is meant to be a book positive towards Christians, it makes Christians look negative and judgmental, especially since the only Christian content deals with Bailey's guilt about her desire to date a non-Christian and occasional bouts of guilt over not having attended church since she moved to take over the new business. Also, the terminology of not being unequally yoked would make no sense to people not schooled in Christian language. Actually, we are made to root for Bailey and Max to come together. As a Christian myself, I was bothered by the way Christianity is portrayed in this book. The issue would be more believable if we saw Bailey live a Christian life besides just refusing to be with a non- Christian.

Allyson Voller performs the audio edition of this book. She does a good job of playing the part of Bailey, who gives a first- person narration of the book. She gives both Bailey and Max effective voices and does a good job with the overly emotional narration of Bailey's. She definitely helps to make this book more enjoyable than it likely would be if I were to have read it visually.

I felt that <strong>Deadly Business</strong> had strengths when it focused on the actual murder, but it lost momentum as it continued before picking up towards the end. I enjoyed the book a lot at times and grew a little bored at other times. I give the book three stars.

<strong>Disclaimer:</strong> I received this book for free through Audiobook BOOM, but that had no influence upon the content of my review.

cute story

audiobook voluntarily gave me book to review at no charge by author, publisher or narrator

Good book

If you could sum up Deadly Business in three words, what would they be?

murder, mystery, cleaning

What did you like best about this story?

I liked how Bailey came across the dead in the beginning completely by accident and was brought in like a suspect. I didn't really like how the police officers had attitudes from the beginning and felt like very time they talked they were almost yelling at everyone about everything.

I liked how i wasn't able to figure out everything, some things yes, but not everything

Have you listened to any of Allyson Voller’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No i haven't.

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

I laughed at a few parts, but i mainly got annoyed at Bailey's attitude when talking to the police officers and all the force laughing she did. It did make me want to reach into the book and slap her upside her head for being an idiot.

Any additional comments?

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast."

Nice, clean murders

Small town country girl inherits cleaning business in the city from estranged grandfather and has a lot of learning experiences. Centering around murdered dead people. Bailey is young, curious, and wishes she had a leash on her tongue. She has an employee who is a computer geek to help her get out of trouble and a police detective who'd like to..... Raised a Christian with a lot of rules, she has a difficult time keeping to the narrow path, but there is no denominational proselytizing, just a really nice cozy mystery with plenty of humor.
Allyson Voller portrays Bailey with a voice just as perky as Bailey is.

could not stop listening

Bailey drove me a bit nuts but I LOVED max! I was so engrossed with the story I didn't want to stop listening for a second. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Not What I Was Hoping For

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Not for me, no. I was wanting and expecting a fun, light mystery. A few laughs, some romance, murder but nothing overly graphic. This novel offered all of that but it lacked charm. Bailey was irritating and there were way, way, WAY too many bad puns for me. There was one point where every other line was one of those, elbow-to-ribs "didja get it?" bits. Also, the characters all seemed pretty cookie-cutter. I don't even remember most of their names.

Would you ever listen to anything by Susette Williams again?

Probably not, but I won't say never because this IS the first book in a series. If Bailey leveled out as a character and the overall storytelling improved, I can easily see this being a fun series.

Which character – as performed by Allyson Voller – was your favorite?

I liked her portrayal of the detective. He wasn't particularly memorable--cutout 'hunk no. 2'--but I remember liking him. Her interpretation of Bailey was spot on, which is both a positive and a negative. Her grasp on the character was good, but that meant that Bailey's voice and the prose was relentlessly bubbly. I have to tip my hat to her. I don't know that many people who could keep that up for an entire novel.

Do you think Deadly Business needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Yes, but I would actually love to see a 'remastered' version of this novel. Good bones, but the meat is scarce.

Any additional comments?

I can easily see why quite a few people have given this novel high marks. It's not terrible. I didn't like it, but for you, it might be just what the doctor ordered. I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator.

ENTERTAINING LIGHT MYSTERY! FUN/GREAT READ :)

Really enjoyed this one! Great characters/story, great narration, really liked it. I'd definitely recommend it to others for a light, fun, twisty/turny, entertaining read :) I'd definitely be interested in reading more! Enjoy! :)
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.