The Secret of Chestnut Hall cover art

The Secret of Chestnut Hall

A Blooms, Bones and Stones Cozy Mystery, Book One

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The Secret of Chestnut Hall

By: Olivia Swift
Narrated by: Becky Boyd
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About this listen

A contract to restore an old garden and a handsome client...what more could a girl ask for? Well, a good mystery of course!

Jasmine Summer - or "Jazz”, as her friends and family call her, takes on a contract to restore an intriguing old garden for her client, Evan Sutherland.

Evan: He’s quite a famous mountaineer who is trying to leave behind a shattered life and an ex-wife who almost ruined him.

Chestnut Hall: Evan’s house and garden have a mysterious past that intrigues Jazz and Evan. The discovery of a secret grotto leads them both into situations they would never have dreamed about...and into unforeseen dangers.

Will Evan be able to leave his past behind? What dangers lie within the grotto? Will there be a happy ending for Jazz and Evan?

©2018 Lirios Publishing (P)2018 Lirios Publishing Christian Fiction Cosy Detective Fiction Genre Fiction Mystery Women Sleuths Women's Fiction
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This was a short and sweet cozy, I would say it leaned heavily to the romance side, which progressed quickly, but because it is a cosy never it never went further than kissing. There is a mystery and I liked how you we were never sure what it actually was, with the twists the author wrote in. I do like my stories longer because you get to know the characters better but for a novella and the start of a new series it was fun. There might have been slightly too many characters (especially with it being short) that other than the main ones, I lost who everybody was because you didn't get to know that great. The gardening job was an unusual occupation for the main character, you don't get to many gardening sleuths but don't worry you weren't confused with lots of Latin plant names etc and It was more of a way to uncover the bones and a mystery.
Jasmine has been asked to restore an old garden for a new home owner, Evan. There she discovers more than a growing attraction to the handsome owner when she discovers a secret grotto and a knife buried in the dirt. Is it a murder weapon? The previous owners wife did disappear. Can Jasmine and Evan find out what went on in the house?And if a murder really did occur where the dead is?
The narrator was okay. I did have to change the listening speed because she either spoke to slowly or to fast and I found it hard to concentrate but when I got the speed right she was pleasant enough.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Short and sweet

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A nice book, but it took me a while to get into it. The plot and characters are nice enough, but the Chocolate Magic Cozy Mysteries remain my favourite series by this author.

The secret of Chestnut Hall.

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This story is as much a romance story as it is a mystery. The characters have chemistry, at least for the amount of time you get to spend with them. The mystery (and romance) are satisfying with plenty of characters along the way to give you a pool to guess from. The ending does feel a bit abrupt, however.

Overall, the audible narrator is alright. She starts off reading one sentence at a time. To clarify, there’s a pause after every sentence, as if it’s the end of a paragraph which is distracting as well. She mispronounces prescribed as “perscribed”. I can’t stand narrators who mispronounce basic English words. Especially when they’re staring right at it as they read it.

NOTE: This copy was provided to me free of charge as a digital review copy. The opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone, I was not paid or requested to give this book a certain rating, suggestion, or approval.

Baskerville Book Reviews

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starting book draws you in, settles you with a good selection of characters that appear in the series. Good beginning point for seeing a clean, fun, and mystery story. Well done

Great

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Very well written story about a mystery mixed with a bit of romance. Both parties have been burned before but find themselves beginning to trust each other while working on redecorating an outside property. Great narration and a quick cozy read.

Great quick story!

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