Wrapped in Death and Chocolate: A Stacey McKinnon Mystery

The Portman Creamery Mysteries Book 1

By: CS Patra

Narrated by: Abbi Fox

Meet the girls of Portman's Creamery. Led by Irene and Chrissie Garcia-Galvan, they take on the cases that can't be solved and find the ones who did it. Join Pippa, Becca, Mary Beth, Stacey, and Winky as they solve some of their toughest crimes. The latest one takes place within a chocolate factory. When a young woman is found in a vat of chocolate, the case throws everyone into the world of modeling, scandals, and secrets.

©2014 Cithara Susan Patra (P)2015 Cithara Susan Patra

An Okay Whodunit

Wrapped in Death and Chocolate was an okay listen. It was an easy listen but didn't have a lot of substance. The plot was interesting but was repetitive. It went in circles. It could've used more editing and finer details. The characters were one dimensional. On the other hand, I wasn't able to figure it out right away.

Abbi Fox's performance was good. I liked listening to her and I think she saved the story. She had a clean read with nice voice inflections.

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

Just couldn't get into this book

If you could sum up Wrapped in Death and Chocolate: A Stacey McKinnon Mystery in three words, what would they be?

The story was ok, but I just couldn't connect with the narrator. It felt like the book would never end.

Any additional comments?

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

Storyline Seems Alittle Far Fetched...

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

Yes I Would Recommend The Book;The Plot Is Light And Carefree...

Would you be willing to try another book from CS Patra? Why or why not?

Sure I Would...I Like The Author's Writing Style..

What three words best describe Abbi Fox’s voice?

A School Teacher... She Reads Like The Audience Is All School Age Children Instead Of Using Her Natural Voice..

Was Wrapped in Death and Chocolate: A Stacey McKinnon Mystery worth the listening time?

The Middle And Ending Were Far Fetched But I Suppose It Was A Decent Read...

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

Great for all ages!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would, it's a great story.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Wrapped in Death and Chocolate: A Stacey McKinnon Mystery?

When the body was found in the chocolate vat.

Which scene was your favorite?

The end when they pieced it all together. As a child we watched a lot of mystery movies as family fun and reminded me of that.

Any additional comments?

I just finished listening to C.S. Patra’s Wrapped in Death and Chocolate. It reminded me of Nancy Drew, a good old fashioned murder/mystery. I really enjoy those types of books depending on my mood and I was in the mood.

Stacey is a college student, she and a group of other college students help run an ice cream shop and on the side they solve crimes. In this case, a body was found in a chocolate vat at a plant. Each clue they stumbled across led them to a new lead until they finally solved the crime.

The narrator Abbi Fox uses a clear voice. At first I wasn’t sure her voice fit the story but after a couple chapters I warmed to it and found I really enjoyed her voice.

This is the type of story that’s great for all ages. There’s no gore or explicit scenes.

Absolutely delicious!

Would you consider the audio edition of Wrapped in Death and Chocolate: A Stacey McKinnon Mystery to be better than the print version?

It is all a matter of personal taste. I could have read it much quicker and would have still enjoyed the story. It is a good, wholesome story.

What other book might you compare Wrapped in Death and Chocolate: A Stacey McKinnon Mystery to and why?

I have not read a comparable book to this one lately. It is a cute, quirky story. I enjoyed the characters very much.

What about Abbi Fox’s performance did you like?

I was not thrilled by the narrator. The audio performance was very rough.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

With the simplicity of the plot I would not consider making it into a movie. However, I recommend this book. It is a good read/listen.

Any additional comments?

I was voluntarily provided a free copy of this audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher in exchange for this pure, unbiased review.

Loved it..

The plot is interesting with an engaging cast of characters. The narrator, has a wonderful talent for giving a different voice to each character. It makes for an enjoyable listening experience. I’m looking forward to listening to more of this series.
 "I was provided this audio book at no charge by the narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBoom dot com".  

One big "eh" from me

Any additional comments?

"Wrapped in Death and Chocolate" has a decent mystery at it's core but just about everything else is a little too absurd for me to have enjoyed it. This book is about a detective (an actual detective) who gets a murder case and goes to a group of women who "solve crimes" in their spare time aside from running their ice cream shop. Outside of the fact that this premise is ridiculous, (why would a detective need the help of a bunch of uneducated, non-police people to help solve crimes? where the hell are the other cops???) the actual "solving" of the crimes were just these women standing around talking about what might have logically happened (but mostly talking about how the "case" was affecting one of the women). It was hard to listen to.

I hate when books about women belittle their intelligence (why couldn't these women have just been cops? Why was there so much concern about the one who knew the victim's ability to keep her room cleaned and groceries bought? It felt so sexist and weird). The narrator also had an inflection to her voice that I found very irritating. She didn't mix it up at all, just that same inflection throughout. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

book good for a tween to read

I was gifted this audio ARC from the author for a honest and unbiased review
Well let me think. I really do not like writing bad reviews but......
This book had a good chance at being good but, like the other reviewers, why would a police officer ask and give confidential information to a group young adults who don't seem to have time to even sit down.
Please C.S. Patra take another stab at this book and give it better bones.
Now about the narrator Abby Fox did a good job with her voices.
Sorry but I have to score you 3-4-3

pretty good

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher. This book was pretty good. The plot was good. I didn't figure out who the culprit was until close to the end. This is the second book I have read from this author. One thing I can say that kind of bugs me about the writing style is that I feel that a lot of it is very simplistic. Like, the characters would repeat information they had learned or plans they would make. All in the same conversation. This type of thing just isn't my cup of tea, but other than that it was good.

Cozy crime mystery

Would you try another book from CS Patra and/or Abbi Fox?

I will try another book from Patra. The story has potential and the characters were satisfactory. Fox as a narrator left something to be desired . There was little distinction between characters it was hard to know which character was speaking and the voices were all also similar.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The most interesting aspect of the story was the search for the killer in solving the mystery of who why and how. The least interesting part of the story was the by play between characters unfortunately.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

I did not care much for the performance itself. The different characters are indistinguishable by voice or inflection and there was a certain monotone reading aspect throughout the entire book.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

If the book were a movie I doubt I would see it. I'm not sure there is enough storyline for a movie.

Any additional comments?

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher. This is my honest and unbiased review.