Gumboots, Gumshoes & Murder - A Cozy Detective Style Black Comedy Murder Mystery

The Gumboot & Gumshoe Series, Book 1

By: Laura Hesse

Narrated by: Carrie Burgess

A cop, a pig, and a serial killer walk into a bar.

Seal Island is home to a moonshine making billionaire, a pot growing fisherman, a celebrity flower child, a handsome romance writer, a sex addicted realtor, a womanizing pub owner, a cop, a pot-bellied pig…and a serial killer.

The island is serene and remote. It is only accessible by boat. The residents like it that way, until those with the deepest and darkest of secrets start dying in the most bizarre of ways.

Upon discovering widow Eliza Bone floating bottoms-up in her Oscar fish tank, the one clue that the crime solving duo of Sergeant Betty Bruce and her pot-bellied pig, Gertrude, have is a set of muddy gumboot tracks left at the scene. Their problem: everyone on Seal Island wears gumboots. As two more people die and secrets begin to unravel, Betty and Gertrude soon find themselves in the cross-hairs of a serial killer.

In the end, only Gertrude may be left standing!

If you love funny murder mysteries, then Laura Hesse's Gumboot & Gumshoe Series is the perfect listen. Stay tuned for more adventures with Sgt Betty Bruce and Gertrude as they continue to solve crimes on the not-so-sleepy little Seal Island in The Dastardly Mr. Deeds.

©2011 Laura Hesse (P)2018 Laura Hesse

Great Series

I was given a free copy of this book at my request and have voluntarily decided to leave this review. Very entertaining, makes you laugh. A light fun story ,with lovable characters. A pig and a cow go down to the pub for a beer what's not to love. found it easy to keep up with all all of them. Certainly a break from the mysteries I usually listen to .

a pleasant, cozy read

This book delivers exactly what it says it will: an escape into a cozy and picturesque world where everyone has an amazing homestead and some sort of unusual pet. The mystery was not the most interesting (or the most sensical, but maybe the 2nd book will clear that up), but it's got that cozy feel, some quirky characters, and an environment you want to imagine yourself in. Listening to this wrapped up in a blanket with a hot drink in hand is a great way to spend a rainy afternoon.

Delightful

Fun and suspenseful. Nicely drawn characters — both animal and human! An enjoyable adventure. Beautifully narrated.

A perfect afternoon listen!

I certainly enjoyed this book! Interesting plot and characters. How can you go wrong with a female lead, a pig, a cow and murder! The animals had such human personalities it was hard not to love them. Overall, it was a perfect afternoon listen. Enjoy!

Good but could have had a clearer ending

I liked this light and quick afternoon read. The plot was good throughout as we watch Betty investigate the murders and put the pieces together. The author gives clues towards different suspects and keeps you engaged guessing who the serial killer throughout the story up until the very end.

However, in the last minute or so of the story there is a line that leaves doubt to the validity of the confession? Maybe I misunderstood, but it seemed to me that we got to the point where the killer is revealed and there is a boasting confessional type scene only to turn around and discount it in the concluding remarks.

I even listened to the last little bit a couple times to try and understand if it really pointed at one of the other suspects, but it remains unclear to me; as far as I could tell I think its left as a cliffhanger....?

Aside from the ending, it was a quick and easy afternoon mystery. I also thought it was super cute that Betty's sidekick, Gertrude, is a potbelly pig.

The narrator was good, she was somewhat expressive throughout, not so much as one would have hoped for in the beginning but it improved as the book progressed. However, I found myself tuning out her voice as I was doing mindless stuff around the house like vacuuming. It was enough of a problem for me that I even had to replay some of the same parts multiple times; all of which is extremely unusual for me, and it was not as though I had a lot on my mind distracting me.

I received a review copy at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review.

I enjoyed this

Well done. I listened to this twice to see if I missed any clues. The pig and cow were a bonus. I enjoyed the mystery. I voluntarily listened to a free copy of this and am giving an honest review. The narrator did a good job bringing it to life.

Fun read.

The description of the island life was interesting. All the characters human and animals were great. Loved the pig!

Right in My Face The Whole Time

Great mystery book. The ending left me hoping for book 2. I loved the relationship each character had with Betty. Can’t wait for book 2

Excellent

The story was interesting and a little different. The narrator did a great job bringing the story to life very well!

Horrible narrator

The story is probably not that bad, unfortunately the narrator made it absolutely awful. The poor thing does not know what punctuation is for, therefore she ignores it completely. It was very difficult to listen to her monotonic voice reading without any emotions. I had to repeat every chapter for 2-3 times just to be able to follow the story line.