Death of a Scavenger

Juniper Grove Cozy Mystery, Book 2

By: Karin Kaufman

Narrated by: Becky Doughty

The second book in the Juniper Grove mystery series!

More than a few people in Juniper Grove want Maureen Nicholson dead, so when her body turns up during the town's annual October scavenger hunt, there’s no shortage of suspects or motives. But when suspicion for the murder falls on Rachel Stowe’s friend Holly, baker extraordinaire, Rachel must get to the bottom of the mystery.

Convinced there’s no romance in her future with the town’s police chief, Rachel dives headlong into the case, ignoring his disapproval and risking her own safety. But will she uncover the truth before the killer claims another victim?

This light, cozy mystery offers a clean listen with a female amateur sleuth in a small-town setting. No foul language, sex, gore, or graphic scenes of any kind.

©2017 Karin Kaufman (P)2018 Karin Kaufman

When scavenger hunt clues lead to murder...

Oh, what a fun book this was! I about died laughing at the opening lines! I am seriously getting into Karin Kaufman's brand of cozy mysteries in her Juniper Grove Mystery series. They make murder and mayhem so enjoyable! Death Of A Scavenger is a prime example why I've liked them so much.

And I tell you this, if you think you are good at spotting the killer in a cozy mystery you should try Death Of A Scavenger. Nearly every character acts suspicious! They all have the means, the motive, and the opportunity, because they pretty much all hated the victim. I went around and around, suspecting pretty much everyone as author Karin Kaufman skillfully took me, and our heroine, of course, on a wild pumpkin chase of clues and misdirection.

As I've listened to way more audiobooks this year than I ever have before, I think we're all in that boat, I've found a few favorite narrators, and the narrator of this book is definitely one of them. Her voice is perfect and she always presents an impeccable performance that makes the story just come alive in your imagination. Her sound and recording quality is also very good and the listener is never jarred from the story by glitches. You'll probably need to read or listen to the first book in the Juniper Grove Mystery series before this one but I can recommend both to cozy mystery fans.

(I received a copy of this book from an author. All opinions are entirely my own.)

Good mystery, excellent narration.

This is an enjoyable mystery set in a small town. The amateur detective is an intelligent and likable woman, unlike some cozies. I thought the mystery was well done and brought to a satisfying conclusion. The narrator was excellent, spoke clearly and was pleasant to listen to.

Excellent

Scavenger Hunt included murder this year, a man not like, the list is long. Investigating is a must when a friend is the suspect. Enjoyed a good flowing plot with excellent narration . Given audio for my voluntary review

OK

Death of a Scavenger is an ok book. The lead character is immature, but the plot is ok.

A fun visit again to Juniper Grove

In <strong>Death of a Scavenger</strong> by Karin Kaufmsan, Rachel Stowe and her friend Holly, baker of the best cream puffs in Colorado, are taking part in Juniper Grove's annual October Scavenger Hunt when they see the participants all racing in one direction. Following everyone, the pair sees a crowd surrounding the stabbed body of Maureen Nicholson, possibly the meanest woman in Juniper Grove. When Police Chief Gilroy examines everyone's pockets and bags, he finds a bloody flash drive in the pocket of Holly's bag. The next day Holly finds that a boy has spray painted the word "Murderer" on the window of her bakery. When Rachel learns that the children are bullying Holly's son because they see his mother as a murderer, something they learned from their parents, Rachel determines to solve the crime to clear Holly's name.

Rachel spends her time trying to locate motives of potential murderers in order to clear Holly's reputation. <strong>Death of a Scavenger</strong> follows many interesting paths as Rachel does her investigation. The murder is performed creatively, and the incidents that Rachel uncovers that enraged Maureen and caused her to take revenge on others around her are very amusing. I enjoyed the journey of Rachel's as she travels her path of enlightenment.

The characters in this book are well- drawn, making us feel that we know each one. Through Rachel's eyes, we connect with everyone. We care for Holly's wellbeing and are happy to be also reunited with Julia, Rachel's 60- something neighbor. We also get to meet a new neighbor, Gina Peeler, a handicapped woman who spends her time on her porch observing the community around her and thus is able to give insight into what is going on. The suspects also have loads of personality, such as Jenny Hanniford, a vegetarian who threw dishes at Maureen when the latter served a beef stew to Jenny.

Becky Doughty performs the audio version of this book. She has a gentle, soothing voice that suits the character of Rachel, who gives a first person narrative of the book. Doughty uses good voices for each character and effective inflections and emotion. I appreciated the performance that Doughty gives.

I had a great experience revisiting Juniper Grove with Rachel in <strong>Death of a Scavenger</strong>. The story was fun, as were the characters. I also appreciated that the description specified that the book is totally clean, with "no foul language, sex, gore, or graphic scenes of any kind." I look forward to the next book's being released on audio and will eagerly visit Juniper Grove again. I give the book five stars.

High School Frenemy to Murder Victim

I enjoyed this light-hearted murder mystery. Many of the neighbours and townsfolk from the first story in the series are back again and deep into the murder plot as they help the local police chief ( much to his chagrin) to figure out who murdered the town troublemaker while everyone was distracted by a community scavenger hunt.
A decent puzzle and a lot of interesting characters.
Worth your time if you're a cozy fan.