Killer Deadline

A Nikki Bryant Cozy Mystery, Book 1

By: Lauren Carr

Narrated by: Anita Alger

Folks in Pine Grove, Pennsylvania, claim that where Nikki Bryant goes, trouble is not far behind. Her refusal to back down from a challenge has made Nikki Bryant a top investigative journalist.

When an online friend nudges her to join him in a pact to reconnect with their first loves, Nikki and her boxer dog Elmo leave the bright lights of Las Vegas for the charming town of Pine Grove. There, she must face the biggest challenges in her career and life - the first love she had left behind and her father’s unsolved murder.

But before she has time to unpack her car, Nikki stumbles upon the dead body of local news anchor, Ashleigh Addison, her childhood rival. Could Ashleigh’s death be connected to an explosive news story that she had teased about airing live? Did that explosive story have anything to do with the murder of Nikki’s father?

With the clues in her father’s cold case hot again, Nikki intends to chase down the story of her life until she catches his killer - no matter what it takes.

©2020 Terri Lynn Zaleski (P)2020 Terri Lynn Zaleski

I loved this cozy mystery!

This is the first I see elements of You've got Mail thrown into a cozy mystery!
It's hip and adds to the many secrets Nikki must uncover in this small town she left behind many years ago. I love the intelligent dog she brings along too! Where can I get one to help me with my house chores?! He is so cute, even if he drools, and many consider him ugly. Lol. I loved that he has his own Instagram page adding more flavor and humor to this fantastic book. I got swept in the whole tale as Nikki became a suspect in a childhood rival's murder and races against the clock to clear her name and possibly discover her dad's murderer. I was given an audio copy by author but was not required to provide a positive review. These thoughts and opinions are my own.
I thought the narrator did an excellent job, and she added a funny echo effect when Nikki had an inner thought. I can't wait to read/listen to the rest of the series.

Breaking news is what she lives for

Killer Deadline
A Nikki Bryant Cozy Mystery #1
By Lauren Carr
Read by Anita Alger

Nikki Bryant's life was changed when her father was murdered when she was 12 years old. Now Nikki has returned to Pine Grove, PA, as an award-winning investigative journalist, and solving her father's cold case is on her to-do list. Of course, she also has her family's local television station to run. And then there is her first love to try reconnecting with. And don't you dare call Ryan Spaulding her brother - there are no blood relations between them, just two widowed parents who got married.

And then there is the 5-year contract her childhood enemy just signed with the station- UGH! When Nikki's jock about murder being one way to break a contract becomes reality, she's left to put her investigative skills to use to find any connection to her father's murder and clear her name. Of course, she's not about to refuse any help Ryan might offer in her search for answers.

First off, you are going to LOVE Elmo - Nikki's crime-solving, social media star, of a dog. Elmo has some very unique skills that leave you with at least a smile on your face. And unlike Gnarly, of the Mac Farraday series, Elmo doesn't fall on the wrong side of the law. Nope, he is one law-abiding dog.

Killer Deadline is the first book in the Nikki Bryant series, which presents cozy mysteries set in Pine Grove, Pennsylvania. Nikki's family is an interesting mix of complicated, and she's finally returning home after establishing herself as an investigative journalist. Her return includes taking the reins of her family's tv station, which has been under her mother's guiding hand since her father was murdered years ago.

This story has plenty of amusing scenes that will keep it light and unbogged down by the murders. The setting is contemporary, and the genre is definitely on the cozy side of mystery. I enjoyed this book in the audio format and at just over 6-1/2 hours an easy read that I could listen to in one week as I commuted to and from work. Anita Alger narrated and did an excellent presenting the story so that it was well-paced and engaging. Whether you enjoy reading or listening to your book, this is one you'll want to add to your summer TBR list.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I provide my honest opinion. All thoughts expressed are my own.

This is an exciting new series by Lauren Carr!

I love Lauren Carr's writing and now I get to listen to the audio books as well! It is so enjoyable listening to her books I have read in audio form! It is a wonderful "refresher" to my mind of stories I only partially remembered. Her writing is the type one can listen to/read more than once and still enjoy!

Killer Deadline is a great title for this particular book. The Cover image is a great choice, too!

The human and non human characters and the background scenes are fantastic! It is so easy to lose oneself into the story. As always, Lauren Carr has added much humor and outrageous antics corresponding with adventure, mystery and suspense.

This book is about an individual who walked away from her one true love because of unique conditions. Years later, she is a successful newsperson who must now decide whether she should leave her success to return home to take over the small town news media station which has been in her family for years. Is her love still single? She is urged by her email friend to "give it a shot". The email "pal" challenged her to face her dilemma and he would face his as well.

In the meantime, she is determined to solve a past murder. As she pursues this, other individuals start expiring.

The Narrator, .Anita Alger, did a very good job with her voice fluctuation and enunciation, but her voice was too delicate and "airy" for the "manly" main character which slightly annoyed me. Other than that, I totally enjoyed this audio.

I offer a Four and a Half Stars rating.
This was gifted me with absolutely no pressure for a positive review. This is my honest review.

embarrassing

Did Lauren Carr actually write this or did the immature narration style ruin the story?

Sassy cozy

This is my first Lauren Carr book, but it will not be my last as she has written a whip smart savvy and sassy female investigator in Nikki Bryant.

Nikki Bryant, investigative journalist and known to be a trouble magnet, and her dog, Elmo, whom is an online celebrity that gets recognized everywhere they go, is heading back to her hometown to possibly rekindle an old romance and take over the family business.

Naturally, as soon as Nikki arrives, she finds her old rival and current stations anchor dead. She reported she had new information on case and Nikki’s father was a cold case that Nikki planned to investigate further.

Will she be able to finally uncover her father’s killer and possibly her old rivals if they were linked somehow?

I really enjoyed this cozy mystery as I felt connected to the characters and it didn’t feel false like so many other cozies can be. Plus the narration on this book was great and was easily followed. I can’t wait to read book two, as we will follow Nikki, Elmo and hopefully her new love.


Thank you Ireads book tour for the complimentary audiobook. All thoughts are my own.

Intriguing Cozy Mystery

My THOUGHTS ON THIS BOOK

I love this cozy mystery by Lauren Carr! Nicki is returning home and determined to find her father’s murderer, even though it has been years. And she realizes it is not going to be easy! Then when another murder happens, she wonders if it is all connected.

This is a mystery that kept me listening until the book was finished. The story is full of interesting characters that grip your heart. Nicki is strong willed and determined to go after what she believes in, but I have to say Elmo is my favorite. I loved that boxer and his part in the story. This is a true Cosy Mystery and I can’t wait for the next book in this series!

This is my first audiobook I have listened to and I must say I am impressed. It took me a while to get use to the narrator, Anita Alger’s voice but after a while it was great. And Ms. Alger does an excellent job with changing her voice with each character. Her expressions throughout the story made the book interesting and easy to listen to. And the audio quality was very clear, no distractions that I heard. I was surprised at how fast the book goes while I am doing other things while listening. I will sure be listening to more book in the near future!

Thanks to the author for a copy of the audio book to listen to in order to write this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The thoughts and opinions here are mine alone!

What fun!

I enjoyed listening to this new Lauren Carr mystery, which, like all her books, is made more entertaining by the characters' quirky pets. In this case, the heroine's dog Elmo, who is a social media influencer, made me laugh out loud. I like escaping to the communities of friends and family that Lauren constructs for all her series, and look forward to revisiting Pine Grove again when the next installment is dropped.

Anita Alger did a great job narrating. I was especially impressed by how well she shifted to the male voices, which often can be distracting when a narrator tries too hard to sound like the opposite voice.

5 Stars

Killer Deadline is an entertaining and interesting cozy mystery with interesting characters and a well written plot. I look forward to the next book in this series.

Everything you love in a Lauren Carr mystery

4.5 STARS. KILLER DEADLINE is a quick-hit cozy mystery, clocking in at just six and a half hours of listening. The short length, along with the super-cute cover and that it is written by Lauren Carr, made it a perfect choice for me in a time when I’m craving the escape of an entertaining story but don’t have a lot of time for one. When there’s precious little time to dedicate to reading for pleasure, I know that I can choose one of Carr’s books (I’ve read a bunch) and feel confident I’ll be thoroughly entertained.

For those readers not familiar with Lauren Carr’s books, know that KILLER DEADLINE is the first in a new series of cozy mysteries, and it’s lighter fare than Carr’s other books. That’s not to say that it’s not entertaining or that anything is lacking. It is, and there’s not! There is of course a well plotted mystery or two, a strong and intelligent female, quirky secondary characters, a little romance, and a lot of laughs, often via a four-legged character. In KILLER DEADLINE, readers get all of the things Carr does well but in smaller doses than her usual mystery novels.

“If anyone had told me five years ago that I’d be human to a canine social media influencer, I would have told them that the world would have to go mad first. Little did I know…”

Meet Elmo, the celebrity boxer. Elmo is a remarkably talented and intelligent pup, and while he’s a happy helper to his mistress, help’s only going to happen if she’s polite about her requests. Elmo’s character and antics are a delightful counter to the more intense business of solving murders and for main character, Nikki, avoiding being a victim.

“Kristine exuded an air of flawless confidence.”

I have absolutely no reason for including this irrelevant-to-anything quote, but I don’t often hear or read my name in a book, and I most certainly haven’t heard that said about me, so I am including it because it made me giggle. (And though my guess is that in print, it’s actually “Christine” with a “C,” I’m taking this as a win.) Another random tidbit was the setting of the story is in a small town near Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and I lived in a small town not far from Latrobe, Pennsylvania for about seven years. It was awesome to return there via KILLER DEADLINE and visualize my town as the fictitious Pine Grove, PA. Carr's descriptions are top-notch.

I am very much looking forward to the next installment in this cozy mystery series, and I very much hope that Anita Alger returns to narrate. All the other books I’ve listened to have been narrated by Mike Alger (I imagine there’s a relation there), and it was a nice change of pace, especially given our main character is female. Anita’s performance of the various characters was outstanding, and other than a few unnaturally long pauses between sections/transitions, she did a great job. Her pace was just a little slow at regular speed, but it was a little too fast at 1.25x, but I settled on the latter because I am impatient and want the story faster.

A New Series

Lauren Carr has several popular series and releases numerous books every year but, apparently, she isn’t busy enough because here she is starting another one 😉 I love those other series that are what I consider traditional mysteries with various elements of law enforcement and, although Killer Deadline is very different, being a true cozy, I do believe Ms. Carr has come up with another fun series.

There are two things I can always expect from a Lauren Carr book, a good deal of humor and one or more very appealing pets, and Killer Deadline has both; surely Elmo the boxer has established himself as one of my favorites and the author’s brand of humor is unforced and understated with none of the silliness often found in cozies. Nikki is a sleuth who comes by it naturally, being an investigative journalist from a big city, and she’s drawn to looking into her own father’s murder years before, especially when an old rival is murdered soon after Nikki comes home. Everything seems to revolve around the local TV station owned by Nikki’s family and both deaths, including the new one, are rooted in the past.

Elmo, meanwhile, is busy being a social media icon and Nikki is second guessing her decision to move back home and run the TV station but, at least, there’s potential for a romance with her old crush, Ryan. Add in investigating murders, running a top-rated TV station and coping with the eccentricities of a small town and Nikki is a very busy lady. I’m looking forward to more of her adventures.

This was also my introduction to Anita Alger as a narrator and I thought she did it well, with good tone and pacing. Her male vocalizations were a bit lacking but I think she’s fairly new at this and reading in the other gender isn’t easy. I’m sure she’ll continue to strengthen that aspect of her narrations.