The Port Elspeth Jewelry Making Club

By: Holly Tierney-Bedord

Narrated by: Connie Shabshab

From the author of Sweet Hollow Women comes a novel for fans of Liane Moriarty and Megan Abbott about the secrets that hide in the shadows of even the most ordinary-seeming lives.

2013.

Idyllic Port Elspeth, Connecticut, is rocked by tragedy.

Shortly after their high school graduation, Evangeline Maddingly, daughter of one of the town's wealthiest old-money families, and Oliver Prescott, son of one of the town's wealthiest new-money families, are found dead in an isolated cabin in the woods, outside of town.

The circumstances surrounding their untimely deaths are murky at best, thanks, in large part, to a sweeping effort from those in power to shut down any negative publicity that could harm the reputation of the pristine, ocean-side community.

Five years later...

A small group of strangers gathers to create jewelry for one of Port Elspeth's many fundraisers. Before long, friendships are forming, and old secrets are being revealed. Along with discovering how to make a perfect pair of chandelier earrings or cabochon necklace, these unlikely sleuths find themselves at the heart of solving the murders that took place half a decade earlier.

©2018 Holly Tierney-Bedord (P)2019 Holly Tierney-Bedord

Fun story

Enjoyed listening to the story very much. First time I’ve read this author and enjoyed the different personalities and characters she portrayed. It was a interesting storyline with lots of different twists and turns and fun personalities. Connie‘s different voices for each character gave them all personality and portrayed each character so well, she really brought them to life.

Is a jewelry making club really solving an old cas

The Port Elspeth Jewelry Making Club by Holly Tierney-Bedord is mystery at it's best.

Is a jewelry making club really solving an old case of murder?

We follow the ladies of The Port Elspeth Jewelry Making Club as they gossip and discuss things that used to be in Port Elspeth's past. The group is made up of ladies from different classes, backgrounds, and ages. They plan to make jewelry and then sell it at the Women's Club fundraiser. However, things get a little off course, and making jewelry becomes the last thing the ladies are worried about.

There is Candance, new to town, and the group's founder, Pearl, and Margo, mother ad daughter both single at the moment. Then we have Audra, the art teacher from the next town over, followed by Vivienne, an ex-socialite and Oliva, her sixteen-year-old daughter. Once they meet for the first time, their lives begin to intertwine. As they become friends, they help each other through some hard times and significant life challenges.

The Mystery
Our group of ladies discusses an old case where two high school seniors from prominent families are involved in a murder-suicide about five years earlier. The kicker is that the young man involved is Vivienne's son. So, the other ladies sit and gossip, discretely asking questions and getting information from people they know. It's funny how it plays out, and I honestly fell for the most obvious red herring. I was positive that I knew who did it. However, I was so wrong.

The Narrator
Connie Shabshab does a fantastic job. I love the voice that she uses for Vivienne. I was immediately able to picture Vivienne perfectly in my head. Ms. Shabshab keeps your attention as she adds the perfect amount of drama to the story.

Five Stars
So, between Ms. Tierney-Bedord and Ms. Shabshab, this story ultimately came to life. I was engrossed and entertained. It is such a fabulous mystery. Therefore, I am rating it with five stars. I look forward to Ms. Tierney-Bedord's next book, In the Heart of Windy Pines. I highly recommend the Audible book or the kindle edition.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this audiobook review of The Port Elspeth Jewelry Making Club by Holly Tierney-Bedord.

This Guest Review is for Baroness' Book Trove.

Until the next time,
~Jen

If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out BaronessBookTrove.com.

zany cozy mystery

be sure to pay close attention to the prologue! this somewhat complex story unwinds slowly, gradually increasing pace until the d e n o u m e n t brings all the loose ends together. the narrator has a lot of fun bringing to life the various characters

A Whole lot of fun!

This was an interesting story with a lot of fun characters. I enjoyed getting to know them. One of those stories that you wish would go in so you could follow their lives for a bit longer. I did hate the husband. And I think I was supposed to!
Connie Shabshab brought life to the writing of the author and I enjoyed her narration.

Enjoyable

I really enjoyed this book. Listening to the Audio was great! The narrator did a good job with the voices. The story, wow. Who would have though a group as mixed as this would be so good together! I loved them.

Ps. I listened to this at 1.25x with no issues!

Solving an Old Case

Cadence started a jewelry club, for charity and thinking it was a way of making friends. Her husband and her were new in town, Friendship begin but the secrets of what happened and how it comes out. Makes this a gripping tension filled story that the author does so well. Given audio also for my voluntary review and my honest opinion

A very interesting story

This story opens on Cadence and her husband Dave. Cadence has relocated to a new town and the jewelry making club is her way of making friends. Chapter by chapter, we are introduced to those friends and their association with Port Elspeth. The concentric circles of their various worlds kept intersecting and the group very soon finds themselves at the center of a five-year-old murder mystery.

The whodunnit became pretty clear, pretty early (to me) but I must confess that the way the story wrapped up was very anti-climatic. Some things, like the white car and what happened to the teacher, were never explained.

I really enjoyed the narration. There were some wildly divergent characters, from gentile Southerners to overzealous one-percenters. They were all very-well narrated.

Page turner, great characters, and great narration

You won’t be able to predict what happens in this page turner. Some will love it for this reason and others will love it for the reason I did: the characters!Boy were there some characters! Some were easy to love and some were easy to hate. The actress narrating the book really brought the characters to life and her voices made it easier to distinguish between them.