Poison in Paddington

Cassie Coburn Mysteries, Book 1

By: Samantha Silver

Narrated by: Patricia Santomasso

When Cassie Coburn moved to London, she never thought she'd be involved in a quadruple homicide.

After a car accident ended her medical career before it even started, Cassie moved to London on a whim, expecting to see the sights and live the typical tourist backpacker lifestyle. Instead she finds herself accompanying a French private detective, Violet Despuis, as they attempt to find out who poisoned four people in the middle of London.

Cassie's life soon includes this crazy detective, an ancient landlady with a curious past, a mischievous orange cat who likes going for walks on a leash, and a super-hot pathologist that Cassie is sure is out of her league. And they haven't even found the murderer yet....

The Cassie Coburn mysteries are a cozy mystery series featuring a Sherlock Holmes-style sleuth. If you want a light, fun, modern mystery featuring a San Francisco girl totally out of her element in London and a crazy French woman who happens to be very good at noticing things, then this is the series for you.

©2016 Samantha Silver (P)2017 Samantha Silver

What fun

What a wonderful series. It is really fun. I don’t normally buy both kindle and audio but this time I have.

A real who-dun-it

Sassy and persistent, the dynamic duo solve the murder mystery.

The narrator kept the pace going.

I was given a free review copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Cozy and Fun!

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this unrealistic cozy mystery by Samantha Silver. The characters were intriguing, the premise totally original but unrealistic. The narrator Patricia Santomasso did an excellent performance with the distinguished voices for the various characters. I loved how she was able to give Violet Dupres a french accent, while Cassie had a fitting american one. I loved the details of observation and deduction to determine who the target was and eventually the motive for the murder and who the murderer was. I found the insights to be thought provoking. The setting of London for the book added to the story. This book is a standalone listen and beginning of a series. I would love to see Cassie take her medical orthopedic surgery career in another direction and continue her adoption of Biscuit. I requested this review copy audiobook and have voluntarily written this review. I will definitely listen to more books by this author and narrator.

Mass Murder to cover a personal murder?

As Poison in Paddington by Samantha Silver opens, Cassie Coburn gets into a car accident that has just ended the career as a surgeon that Cassie is just about to embark upon. Six months later, healed in body but not in mind and with a new $10 million settlement from the driver high on drugs, Cassie moves to London to find new life. Moving into a youth hostel, Cassie is disturbed to find her bike lock broken and her bicycle stolen, so she goes to report it at the police station. And this is where Cassie meets Violet Despuis, a Frenchwoman consulting in serious cases for the police department. Violet immediately deduces a lot of significant details about Cassie, which impresses the American woman. Then, just a day later Violet calls Cassie to come visit her, having found Cassie's bike when she needed a break for her mind in her case. In a few short moments, Cassie has found herself involved in a sensational murder case in which four people have been poisoned with strychnine in stew.

Cassie gets involved in the investigation as Violet's assistant. I really enjoyed the way this book created a female Sherlock Holmes without ever trading on that fact. Violet makes deductions in the same manner as Sherlock Holmes, while Cassie performs the role of Watson effectively, but she is much sharper and not as obtuse as Watson, who is inspired incapable of making any deductions of his own. As someone who was very nearly a doctor, she is able to prove a valuable assistant to Violet in the medical understandings of her case. In addition, she serves as Violet's confidante and Boswell. Violet finds an apartment for Cassie in her own building, and their manager, Mrs. Michaels, is a delightful woman in the same light as Mrs. Hudson. But what I especially like about this book is the way that it does not rely upon the fame of Sherlock Holmes to draw attention to the book. Since the television show came out, there have been a lot of Sherlock Holmes pastiches, but most seem to have poor plots and characters and seem to rely on the name of Holmes to make sales. So I am impressed by the way Silver refuses to try to take advantage of the connection to Holmes. A fun side note is that in passing, Cassie watches a celebrity talk show featuring Martin Freeman, who plays the role of Watson, her own role, in TV's Sherlock.

Patricia Santomasso does an amazing job of narrating the audiobook. She uses good voices and accents that suit the characters. Further, her expressions fit the attitude of the book, making the listening experience highly enjoyable.

I really enjoyed Poison in Paddington. The book gripped me from the opening moment and kept my attention until the last moment. Many books as short as four hours lack the depth to keep the mystery full of important details, but this book manages to keep things moving well and fascinating. I give this book five stars!

Disclaimer: I was given this book by the author but that in no way had any influence on my review.

What one irresponsible person can do in an instant!

I am really enjoying the premise of these stories. The characters are completely fleshed out, also all different and abnormal as people should be. Glad to have found
Ms Silver. Was getting bored by expected reactions.

Good Cozy Mystery!

I really enjoyed listening to this book. The storyline was original and held my interest. I would enjoy other books in the series.

Fresh and clever mystery Excellent narration

The main character plays off a "Monk" like logical character giving this fresh approach life and dimension. To me the very best part of the story are the characters, Violet, Cassie and Jake who , while relatable, have more depth than usually found in cozy mysteries. The characters have unusual stories but are not kooky or comical. It is not the mystery but how the characters deal with it that makes this story intriguing.

Practically perfect in everyway

Here's my bias: I am an American who has spent a lot of time in the UK; the main character is American who moves to the UK. The author does a great job highlighting the discoveries a person makes about the cultural and language differences.

This book is a very good updating of the Sherlock Holmes stories. The 2 main characters parallel Holmes and Watson but more than that, the author has captured Doyle's laying out of the mystery and its solving. Very well done.

The narrator added to the enjoyment of the book. I did notice she was sometimes a little gaspy (at the ends of words) but it did not detract from her performance. You can hear what I mean in the sample.

I did receive this audiobook via a promotional code through Audiobookboom (so I got it for free) but I just bought book 2 with one of my own precious credits from my annual membership :)

An Enjoyable and humerus Mystery

If you enjoy having a lot of giggles while you listen to a mystery. Than you should listen to this first book. A damaged Amercan Doctor who comes to London to restart her life gets involved in a murder and becomes the side kick of a female Sherlock Holmes. Get this first book and hear the rest.

Wonderful start to a series

Any additional comments?

This is a well-written book with a well-paced plot that incorporated several well-placed red-herrings to keep you guessing. Although this was a shorter storyline, I wish it was a little longer, the story is well told, all the important details are included in the story. The characters are well developed and have an interesting partnership. Just the right amount of humor keeps the story light and enjoyable.

I listened to the audio version of this book. Narrator Patricia Santomasso has a pleasant voice. She has great diction and comedic timing. Her accents complement the characters bringing the story to life. Her contribution of storytelling ability really added to an enjoyable reading experience.

I was given a copy of this book in hopes that I would give an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.