Death at the Gazebo

Mirror Pond Cozy Mysteries, Book 1

By: Minnie Crockwell

Narrated by: Michelle Babb

First in a new cozy mystery series from Minnie Crockwell.

Settling into her new condominium on Mirror Pond, novelist Sallie Chilcoat feels lost in Ashburn, Virginia, after moving to the state for love of a man. But with the end of that relationship, she finds herself at loose ends. She stares out the window at the pond and contemplates learning to kayak...or taking up painting...or climbing Mount Everest.

Movement in the overwater gazebo catches her eye, and she grabs up her people-watching binoculars to see a man sitting inside the gazebo playing an accordion. Curious about the musician who plays such a rare instrument, Sallie trots down to the pier to investigate.

The term “investigate” takes on a whole new meaning when Sallie reaches the gazebo to discover not a happy musician, but a dead body and a missing accordion. Forget Mount Everest! Sallie finds herself immersed in the mystery of the death at the gazebo.

©2019 Minnie Crockwell (P)2020 Minnie Crockwell

I loved it!

I loved all the characters and the plot. The narrator was great.
I only have one negative, the ending. I would have liked that to be more fleshed out. I felt it was rushed. However, I am looking forward to the next book in the series!!!

Good book

It was a great book. The narrator could of been better but she did good.

Lightweight and Fun New Cozy Mystery Series

Minnie Cockwrell has a new lightweight mystery series, A Mirror Pond Cozy Mystery, to accompany her “Will Travel for Trouble” series. The first entry, Death at the Gazebo, is mildly entertaining and diverting and I enjoyed listening to it, in part because it didn’t require a lot of concentration to follow. That may sound like a backhanded compliment, but it really isn’t. There are times that listening to something that is a bit lighter is a good thing and I find myself there right now. The new protagonist, Sally Chilcoat, is an independent, mid-thirties woman who is quite capable of taking care herself with a writing career that is successful enough to support her. Good for her. The book centers around the murder of a fellow condo resident in Mirror Pond’s gazebo. I found it sort of funny that he wooed many women by his charming manner and playing an accordion, a seemingly long forgotten instrument—I think of Lawrence Welk (younger readers will say, “Who?”) and polka bands. Sally and the resident handy man share an attraction, though Sally is insecure around all the seemingly more attractive women in residence. I’m not sure that Sally’s insecurities around other women won’t grow old if that continues in future books—there almost seems to be a reversed bias against attractive women. There is certainly room for Sally and Bill’s relationship to develop in future books and there are plenty of questions about Bill’s past to be explored and answered.  

The narration by Michelle Babb was very good, which I expected from her readings of previous books. 

I give the book three stars and a half stars because, though it is lightweight and somewhat predictable, I enjoyed it and thought it was fun. 

I was a given a free copy of this audiobook by the narrator in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write an honest review. 

Light cozy mystery

An entertaining and engaging murder mystery. It kept me guessing. Thanks to the author for providing a copy.

Another great cozy mystery. Great narration

You can read the synopsis in the description so I will not repeat that information. This is a cozy mystery in typical Minnie Crockwell's style. IF you enjoy her other books you will like this one too.


I really enjoy Michelle Babb's narrations. She has done an excellent job as usual.

I will definitely listen to more books by this author and narrator.

I received this book in exchange for my honest review.

fun start to a cozy

This is an entertaining start to a new series by Author Minnie Crockwell. The characters are realistic to quirky. I'm eager to see how they evolve throughout the series. The mystery is full of twists and turns to keep the reader and our sleuths guessing who the murder was.

Narrator Michell Babb does a fantastic job bringing the characters to life; she gives each character his/her own distinctive voice. She makes the listening experience enjoyable. She is a natural storyteller.

All thoughts and opinions are my own, and in no way have I been influenced by anyone.

The triple chocolate cake of books

When I heard that Minnie Crockwell had a new cozy mystery series, I knew I had to listen to the audio version.

Sallie Chilcoat is a writer in her thirties who recently moved to a condo on quiet Mirror Pond, where neighbors like to go outside and relax on the pond shore, dog owners stroll around, and fishing aficionados try their luck. Sallie is out during one of her walks when she finds a body at the most unexpected place.

One of the things I like about Minnie Crockwell’s novels is that she quickly gets into the thick of things. We see the dead man even before we know Sallie’s name, so even if we do not know much about our main character, Crockwell gets us hooked from the start. I enjoyed slowly knowing Sallie and her neighborhood while she did some sleuthing and collected all local gossip. It was a light, easy, and very pleasurable listen, as all cozy mysteries by Minnie Crockwell are. Now that’s what I call instant gratification.

Another good reason to listen to this audiobook was that it is narrated by Michelle Babb. She interprets characters like second nature, making them sound natural and easily recognizable, which is a plus for dialogs. She delivers retorts and punch lines in a way that makes the listener “see” the characters talking to one another. Michelle Babb’s narrations are always so very enjoyable.

Let me tell you that Michelle Babb, Minnie Crockwell, and cozy mysteries are the perfect trifecta when I am in the mood for some relaxing and careless reading. It is like the triple chocolate cake of books, a true guilty pleasure.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Great story

What a refreshing story. I really enjoyed listening to this narrator. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Great listen

I really enjoyed this story. It was a nice quick listen that was predictable but not in a bad way. I really thought the weaving together everyone was interesting and wouldn't have guessed all the connections. its one that i could listen to again.

I liked this easy listen, cozy mystery.

Sallie is a romance novelist although romance didn’t work out so well for her after she moved to Virginia to be with the man she loved. Soon thereafter he ended their relationship. Now she is sort of stuck in her condominium taking breaks from writing by jogging around the condominium ponds and gazebo. One morning she spots a man playing an accordion in the gazebo. When she comes back around, she finds him dead!

Before the police arrive, a local couple appears at the crime scene and Sallie notes that the wife is struggling with grief while the husband is struggling with anger. Soon, the local gossip chain, including Sallie’s across the hall neighbor, gets busy sharing information and Sallie learns the deceased was seen with multiple women, some married, who could be suspects. The suspects expand to jealous husbands too.

The police detective shares some information with Sallie as she shares the local gossip information and the efforts of her own unauthorized sleuthing. Meanwhile, Sallie is coordinating information with the condominium handyman, Bill, a man she has some interest in. But she is cautious since other single women surely find bachelor Bill interesting too. And it seems that Bill is very reluctant to discuss his own past. Sallie and Bill both have some emotional history that leads to misinterpretation of signals.

The characters are likable, and the plot has several suspects to keep things moving along. Some of the writing seemed simplistic but that was okay. I enjoyed the easy flow of the mystery, the light humor, and the hint of a possible romance. I like this as a first of a new cozy mystery series and would be interested to read more. I recommend this to fans of the genre looking for a quick read/listen.

Audio Notes: Michelle Babb does a nice job with the narrations. She is able to give enough voice to the characters to keep them distinct while she also provides fitting emotion and energy. I enjoyed the listening experience.

Source: 1/8/2021 Author Audible Code.