The Dead Dog Day

The Cora Baxter Mysteries, Book 1

By: Jackie Kabler

Narrated by: Zara Ramm

When your Monday morning begins with a dead dog and ends with a dead boss, you know it's going to be one of those days. And breakfast TV reporter Cora Baxter has already had the weekend from hell, where the man she'd planned a fabulous future with unceremoniously dumped her.

Now Cora's much-hated boss has been murdered. The list of suspects isn't exactly short, but as the enquiry continues, the trail leads frighteningly close to home. Why is Cora's rival - glamorous, bitchy newsreader Alice Lomas - so devastated by their boss' death? What dark secrets are Cora's camera crew hiding? And why has her now ex-boyfriend vanished?

The race to stop the killer striking again is on....

Jackie Kabler worked as a newspaper reporter and then in television news for 20 years, including nearly a decade on GMTV. She later appeared on BBC and ITV news, presented a property show for Sky, hosted sports shows on Setanta Sports News and worked as a media trainer for the armed forces. She is now a presenter on shopping channel QVC. Jackie lives in Gloucestershire with her husband, who is a GP.

©2016 Jackie Kabler (P)2016 Audible, Ltd

Critic reviews

"Jackie has real insider knowledge and it shows. A proper page-turning thriller. I couldn't put it down!" (Lorraine Kelly)

Start is a bit slow but persevere its worth it

I only purchased this book as Zara Ramm was the narrator and love her. Started listening to this several times and just couldn't get into it - however once I got past the first half an hour I was hooked.
Quirky and funny characters and a story line that had me guessing and guessing
Loved it!

Booze, sex, clueless questioning

What did you love best about The Dead Dog Day?

The thing I loved best about The Dead Dog Day is Zara Ramm. Superb narration.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The main character doesn't actually do any investigative work - she is a reporter, and assigned to cover the murder of her boss, but she doesn't do any investigation, and she even, supposedly, likes covering crime. But all she really does is drink--a lot--gossip, and sleep around while daydreaming about another man. If the title of the series is called The CORA BAXTER Mysteries, then it seems like it should be about Cora Baxter actually figuring out the mystery.

Have you listened to any of Zara Ramm’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Zara Ramm does a great job narrating this story. I really liked her on the Chronicles of St. Mary's by Jodi Taylor, but she does an equally great job with this book. In fact, she was the only reason I even gave this book a try.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The moment in the book that particularly moved me was when it was finally over. Cora Baxter is an idiot; in the last three chapters, the action FINALLY picks up, but even when she HAS BEEN TOLD (not figured it out herself) what is going on, she doesn't take precautions against bad things happening to her.

Any additional comments?

I don't think I will be reading the next books in the series, which is unfortunate because I was ready for a modern, this world (not alternate reality) woman to solve crimes and stick it to the police and show them how it should be done. Unfortunately, the Cora Baxter Mysteries will not be the ticket.

Not For Me

I didn't really care for this book. The characters seemed flat and after a few chapters I could care less about what happened in the story.

Depends what you like, I guess

Caution: the narration is recorded at so fast a speed it sounds like one of those super-speeded-up auto dealer ads. Understandable only by setting speed to .75, which ruins Zara Ramm's voice quality.

Otherwise... I got about 45 minutes into this without coming across any wit (a gaggle of female twits laughing at their own jokes does not constitute wit), any trace of a mystery or for that matter anything much else other than endless descriptions of every piece of clothing, every nuance of makeup (someone else wondering how another someone else keeps her mascara from running is not of great interest to me), every stuffed toy and tchotchke in every room -- you get the idea.

Just as a check, I sampled several other pages. More of the same -- 4 words about "that murder" amid an endless description of -- you guessed it-- every article of clothing, every color in the room, an infinitely uninteresting list of every stuffed toy... and oh yes a lot of giggling at their own (unfunny) humor.

Still, there are those who seem to enjoy exactly this sort of thing. Fortunately, Audible's exchange and return policies have served me well -- so far.

Zara Ramm's narration of Jodi Taylor's St. Mary's series is superb, with every character easily distinguishable from every other in every word. But I suppose there's only so much even she could do with this material.