The Corpse in the Cabana (Viola Robert Cozy Mystery #1) by Shéa MacLeod Narrator: Yvette Keller
Published by Self-published on 08-29-16
Genres: Cozy Mystery, Mystery
Length: 4 hrs and 47 mins
Format: Audiobook
Source: Audiobookworm
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Overal Rating:
Sassy, snarky Viola Roberts quit her boring accountant job to pursue her dream of writing novels, even if it meant eating ramen noodles every day. Now that her career has taken off, she’s headed to a writers’ conference at an exotic Florida resort complete with white sand beaches and swaying palm trees where she plans to lounge in the shade drinking frosty beverages with little umbrellas. And, of course, no sojourn to tropical climes would be complete without her boozy, wise-cracking best friend, Cheryl. When Viola discovers the diva of the author world dead (as a doornail) of unnatural causes, the police immediately consider Viola their prime suspect. But when the head detective turns a gimlet eye on Viola’s best friend, the author has had enough! Along with help from hunky fellow writer, Lucas Salvatore, Viola is determined to ascertain who killed the corpse in the cabana before she, or Cheryl, wind up in jail. Or worse.
Cozy Mystery is one of my favorite genres. An easy to digest story with intelligent women as main characters, some humor, and a lot of guesswork. I thought this audiobook was right up my alley, but I felt a bit disappointed.
What really annoyed me from this one were some of the degrading comments the main characters made about other women. I could not find Viola, the main character, likable at all, and I did not understand her obsession in finding the murderer, as she admittedly hated and envied the victim. It seemed women in this book were constantly attacking, judging, and envying each other, an attitude that I also find tiresome in the real world, and which I, fortunately, see less and less.
Viola’s friend Cheryl needed much more development as a character. She was just used to give the story more dynamism, and make Viola the smartest one of the pair. Her comments seldom added anything new to the story, as they were echoes and mirrors of Viola’s words.
I like reading stories about strong and intelligent women who don’t need to put others down to feel better about themselves. who don’t get involved in catfights, and this wasn’t the book.
There were some grammatical errors that hampered the book, and somehow I was not able to get invested in the story. It was probably a mix of unlikable characters and clunky writing. Even though it is a short book I struggled to finish it.
I found Yvette Keller’s narration suitable for this story and the main character, although the dialogs felt a bit stiff and unnatural. It worked fine for the main character, since she was quite frivolous, but not so much for the others.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.| Story (Plot) |
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My name is Elena. Since I was a little child I loved science fiction and fantasy, and I can’t resist a good novel. In 2015, while wait I started to listen to audiobooks and I discovered the pleasure in being able to read while doing my daily tasks, so there’s always an audiobook playing on my phone. If you see me with my Bluetooth headphones on, please be gentle, I get easily startled.
I live with my boyfriend, which I met during my six-year stay in Belgium, four cockatiels, eight lovebirds, and a hamster in Madrid, Spain; and I like to spend my free time knitting and sewing while listening to audiobooks.
