The Maestro

Cold Hollow Mysteries, Book 3

By: Emilie J. Howard

Narrated by: J. Scott Bennett

Maestro: a great or distinguished figure in any sphere.

Grim Reaper: the personification of death.

Combine these two and place them in the small mountain town of Cold Hollow. Sit back and watch the mayhem unfold as sinister dealings are in the air again. There are new arrivals, job placements, and housing to arrange, but with Mayor Myrna Bradbury busy with wedding planning and her fiancé's family arriving in town, will she be able to keep up with the machinations? When a young girl goes missing, Myrna begins to strategize again, only to be stopped by "The Maestro".

Heads on a pike, inventive uses for nail files, garrotes, and twisted nursery rhymes all play a part in book three of the tooth-rattling Cold Hollow series.

©2016 Emilie J. Howard (P)2016 Emilie J. Howard

This series does not disappoint

This was another great book in the Cold Hollow series. It is filled with suspense, mystery, and very dark humor. I liked the new character introduced, Delilah - she was really creepy and disturbing - especially the pleasure she gets from mutilating herself (filing her teeth into points with her metal nail file, etc.). The whole series of books is really engrossing. I finished each of them in one sitting. If you like suspense/horror or are intrigued by creepy little towns, this is a book for you. I listened to the Audible audio version of the book narrated by J. Scott Bennett. He makes the book come alive. I enjoy the voices he gives to each of the characters and his overall performance. I highly recommend this book after reading the previous books in the series.

Twisted!

Here's me thinking that this series couldn't get more twisted, but the author proves me wrong with this edition of the Cold Hollow Series. The Mayor is days away from her wedding when her fiances family come to town. This family is quite....... unique! On top of that, there is a new man in town as well, a man whom the Mayor is suspicious of. She doesn't want anything to disrupt her wedding, and her new "family" will make sure of it.

As I said, this series is dark, but The Maestro takes it to a new level of darkness! All I'll say is Delilah!!! God she is one sick twisted woman!! There isn't much else I can say about this as I definitely don't want to spoil anything as it's better experienced first hand. What I will say is that this series is so good!! It's dark, twisted but oh so gripping! Filled with suspense, mystery, and characters you can't help but enjoy, this series is a must read.

J. Scott Bennett was as awesome as always!! He just knows hows to tell a story and how to grip you from the get go. He has plenty of tones and cadences that bring the book alive!

*I received a copy of this for review. This in no way affected my thoughts.*

Definitely not Maurice Ashley

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com.

I have not read any of the other books in the series, though I wish I read book 2. I think those characters would have been the most interesting, Maurice and Adam. The plot jumps around a lot with a murderous dysfunctional family as a member marries someone from a small dysfunctional town. Meanwhile, a stranger comes to town and people start dying. I actually thought it was more comedy than horror, but I don't read a lot of horror so who knows? I thought it might have been more interesting without showing Reginald's perspective just to keep the audience guessing whether he was really a villain, but it worked out.

The narrator did a good job, but it didn't really stand out above the crowd so to speak.

Family Values

The people of Cold Hollow, Vermont, are recovering from the traumas of the previous books and gearing up for the wedding of mayor Myrna Bradbury and Dr. Tom Gillette. Tom's family comes from North Carolina for the wedding, and a serial killer moves into town. When Myrna is upset by the disappearance of a teenage girl, Gillette "family values" are invoked to take care of the problem.

The general atmosphere of the book reminds me of the Addams Family, and I think you'll understand why when you read the book. Anyway, I enjoyed this book and the narration was flawless. I'll probably go back and pick up books one and two.

(Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this audio book in exchange for an honest review.)

Excellent Story!

This is an awesome story. The author is very talented and as always, Mr Bennett does an amazing job with the narration.

entertaining

I found this audiobook to be quite different in tone from the first book. I missed the second installment but it wasn't difficult to fill in what I missed as far as who married who and so on. This book wasn't as violent (although still lots of it) and thankfully was much easier to follow. It was also almost downright cheerful. I found it much more pleasing than the first book although I liked that one, too. Interesting to the point of being riveting. One can't help but compare it to Dexter. I stopped watching that show because it disturbed me I was cheering on a serial killer (and he killed a dog in his fictional youth - not acceptable!). I have not had the same depth of moral angst with this series because it focuses more on second chances and improving and acceptance.
Narration was good in both books. Good voices for each character.
I was gifted this book in exchange for an honest review.

Marriage is for Life ha ha except in Cold Hollow!

Where does The Maestro rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This series is a blast! Part suspense, a bit of horror, and the Sapranos in Mayberry! And action, don't forget the action.

Also, I am a big fan of J. Scott Bennett. He does a great job on this too.

What did you like best about this story?

What drew me in was the premise of a town filled with parolees. Some rehabilitated, some not so much.

If you could take any character from The Maestro out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Delilah! Simply because I am too afraid not to say Delilah! ROFL

Any additional comments?

Be aware VIOLENCE IS PREVALENT THROUGHOUT. Some language. For me, those issues didn't take away from the action of the story.

This review copy audiobook was provided by the author, at no cost. Which I can only assume was voluntary on their part. I am happy to give my honest review of it. I think I'm suppose to mention how reviewing this was voluntary on my part too.

These books are Great🤔😏👀💍

The books are the best. I would love to be A Cold Hollow resident. It would be an honor to be one of the people to test read her books.

The Maestro

The Maestro: Cold Hollow Mysteries, Book 3
Emilie J. Howard


Cold Hollow continues to grow but some of the residents are still questionable. People are gathering for the wedding of the mayor and the doctor.So things are moving fast. Tom has an interesting family we get to meet. Now I know what happened between books 1 and 4.


The narration was well done.The characters were well portrayed. J. Scott Bennett is always great to hear.



"I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator."

highly recommended!

i loved this story! it was wonderfully written and perfectly delivered by the narrator! I did not expect this story to go the way it did and the end was completely unexpected!