The Bitter Taste of Betrayal

An Angel Lake Mystery

By: CeeCee James

Narrated by: Jennifer Groberg

The only thing worse than a ship overrun with Elvis impersonators is having to find the missing one. When Elise Pepper decides to take a long overdue vacation, she discovers that her Caribbean cruise isn't going to be quite the relaxing trip she'd hoped for. Instead of enjoying a quiet getaway, she finds herself in the middle of a theme party. Who knew there were so many Elvises and Marilyn Monroes in the world? But when an Elvis goes missing and it turns out he was a wealthy philanthropist, Elise is dragged into the mystery as the last person to see him. As she tries to convince everybody of what she saw, her frustration turns to fear when she realizes that she's trapped on board with a killer who will stop at nothing to silence her.

©2016 CeeCee James (P)2017 CeeCee James

Good mystery

Cozy takes place on a Cruise. Fast read (listen) with decent mystery. Not much romance in this one except emails and text. Narrator's timing was good. Narration was good as well (she did better than first book). I had in both ebook and audio but mostly listened while multi-tasking. Clean read.

Conspiracy on the High Seas

Where does The Bitter Taste of Betrayal rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is a light-hearted and thoroughly amusing story about two friends and an exotic cruise to trouble and mystery. It's different from most of the audiobooks I've listened to recently but just as good.

What other book might you compare The Bitter Taste of Betrayal to and why?

It's a light-hearted, cozy mystery story similar to the Sam Cheevers and Joanne Fluke.

What about Jennifer Groberg’s performance did you like?

Groberg has a voice that is animated but easy to listen to and kept the story interesting.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

The story is a little bit long for one listening session. I broke it up over three or four days.

Any additional comments?

A good story. I'm hoping there are more by this author.

Join the Adventure!!

What a fun audiobook! I haven't listened to all of CeeCee James books on Audible yet, but I am well on my way! I love her writing, and if you like Cozy Mysteries, you will adore The Bitter Taste of Betrayal: An Angel Lake Mystery! This is Book 2 in the series....let me say, I cannot wait to get Book 3! The main character Elise is great, and her best friend Lavina cracks me up! I am still laughing at some of her goofy comments....CeeCee James must be a funny lady. Hehee!

In this book the ladies are on a cruise, ready to relax and have some fun. Of course, that is not going to happen....who could have fun with a killer onboard??!! I won't tell you anything about what happens because you can read that in the description, but as you listen to this book, you will feel like you are on this cruise ship with them. The characters and plot are well developed and the descriptive details set the scene perfectly! The mystery is solved at the end, so there are no cliff hangers!! Thank you for that....I like the sense of closure!

Although isn't necesaary to start with Book 1, you should anyway because it is equally entertaining. If you don't, though, there is background information so you can better understand who the characters are. I love these characters and their adventures, and that is what keeps me coming back for more! I'm sure you, too, will feel the same!

The narrator is the same as one as the first book. She does a great job with the voices (and funny accents). She makes it easy to tell who is speaking at the time.

I can't wait to join Elise in her next adventure! She makes me smile and laugh. I hope you decide to join us, too! Thank you for reading my review! :-)

Great Book!

Any additional comments?

This is a great book; this is the second book in the Walking Calamity Mystery series written by CeeCee James and narrated by Jennifer Groberg. The only thing worse than a ship overrun with Elvis impersonators is having to find the missing one. When Elise Pepper decides to take a long overdue vacation, she discovers that her Caribbean cruise isn't going to be quite the relaxing trip she'd hoped for. Instead of enjoying a quiet getaway, she finds herself in the middle of a theme party. Who knew there were so many Elvises and Marilyn Monroes in the world? But when an Elvis goes missing and it turns out he was a wealthy philanthropist, Elise is dragged into the mystery as the last person to see him. As she tries to convince everybody of what she saw, her frustration turns to fear when she realizes that she's trapped on board with a killer who will stop at nothing to silence her.This is a great book with a wonderful story and well developed characters. The story flowed very well and was very enjoyable. This book will keep you reading long into the night and you will not want to put this book down until you finish. This was such a great read and full of surprises.The narrator Jennifer Groberg did a wonderful job with this book. She did a great job with the different voices of each character in this book. It was very easy to listen to and I didn’t want to stop listening until the end. If you are looking for a great book with well-developed characters then you need to listen to this book. I am looking forward to listening to the next book by this author and narrator. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader’s copy of this book. The free book held no determination on my personal review.

Don't listen if you'v ever been on a real cruise

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
The author made so many errors about cruising, it was painful to listen to the story. Every cruise ship has basic similarities, about which Cee Cee James was unaware. She called the crew "staff", there are no coffeemakers or microwaves in cabins; crew is never allowed to socialize in passenger lounges, crew would not allow passengers in "crew only areas" are but a few mistakes she makes. Every cabin has a safe, so if you wanted to hide a key, you would lock it in your safe., not in your underwear drawer. Passengers agreeing to give up their room, with no replacement room? Really? I've never been on a cruise with entertainment in the dining room; it's always in another venue. You don't have to call for a taxi at the port in Miami, they are lined up, waiting for you. I was really excited to get this book, as we are avid cruisers, and really enjoyed her first book. However; I was sorely disappointed. A few mistakes, I could understand, but there are many more I did not list. If you are going to write about a cruise, please do your homework. Narrator is good.

Would you recommend Bed, Breakfast, and Bones to your friends? Why or why not?
No, not this one.

Any additional comments?
I don't like to give negative reviews like this, but I was so taken aback by the lack of cruising knowledge.
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How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

If the author got the details even close to reality, it would have been much more enjoyable.

What does Jennifer Groberg bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She has a nice voice, and good inflection.

Was The Bitter Taste of Betrayal worth the listening time?

no

Any additional comments?

I liked the first book in the series

The bitter taste of betrayal

I love a good cozy mystery! the characters in this audio book were colorful and interesting and likable.

A bit confusing

Elise is on her first cruise. Strange things just keep happening and the story she is getting from the ship employees doesn't match what she is experiencing.
The whole mystery was a bit confusing to follow and all of Elise's anxieties didn't help matters.
Interesting story. The narration was all right.

A Cruise Ship mystery

Elise and her lifelong best friend, Lavina, take a Caribbean cruise when all sorts of strange things take place in The Bitter Taste of Betrayal by CeeCee James. The first night in the dining room, some of the other ladies at her table point out a man to Elise as a childhood TV star who now is worth millions of dollars and is a true philanthropist, giving away 90% of his income. Lavina tries to set up Elise, who has just had her divorce finalized, with various men on the ship, even tricking Elise into dressing up for a Marilyn Monroe/ Elvis costume party. Trying to escape the chaos, Elise stumbles out of the room to the outside deck, where she encounters the philanthropist, who looks very sick. When he faints, Elise runs back into the ballroom to find a doctor, only to find the man missing when she returns. Worried about the man, Elise asks questions of her steward and those around to figure out what is going on. But each time she gets different answers. What has happened to the missing man? Is he safe? Or even alive?

This book grabbed my attention from the start and kept me going, preventing me from being able to go to sleep because it was so riveting that I had to listen to the whole book in one sitting. The plot moves quickly and with real creativity. Some of the characters come across as lively and fun to get to know, making me wish I could know them in person, in particular Elise and Lavina's room steward and housekeeper. But some other characters didn't come across as memorably as these particular ones.

Jennifer Groberg performs the audio edition of this book. She takes what is already an existing, exciting manuscript and turns it into a book that immerses you, the listener, into the world of Elise and Lavina.

I am very happy that I was able to listen to this book. The Bitter Taste of Betrayal gave me a lot of fun to listen to. I liked the previous book, The Sweet Taste of Murder, but I loved The Bitter Taste of Betrayal. The solution showed creativity and cleverness. I give the book five stars!

Disclaimer: I was given this audiobook by the author, but that in no way had any effect on the content of my review.