Book Review: Ukulele Murder by Leslie Langtry

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Ukulele Murder (Aloha Lagoon Mysteries #1) by Leslie Langtry
Narrator: Susan Marlowe
Series: Aloha Lagoon Mysteries #1
Published by Gemma Halliday Publishing on 07-27-18
Genres: Cozy Mystery, Mystery
Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
Format: Audiobook
Source: Narrator
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Nani Johnson thought she had it made when she moved from Kansas to the resort town of Aloha Lagoon, Kauai. In spite of her certifiably crazy mom, Nani is determined that nothing will stop her from becoming a ukulele virtuoso! Unfortunately her Julliard training doesn't help her break into the local music scene due to some heavy competition from the Terrible Trio—three hostile, local musicians. The only work she finds is a few bar mitzvahs and gigs at the kitschy Blue Hawaii Wedding Chapel.

But when one of Nani's competitors drops dead right after a public feud, Nani becomes the police's main suspect. A missing murder weapon, mysterious threats, and a heck of a frame-up job all have Nani worrying she'll be trading in her flowery muumuus for prison orange. Enter hunky local botanist Nick Woodfield, who just might be able to help her clear her name...that is if he doesn't have secrets of his own. With the bodies stacking up, the danger closing in, and the authorities circling, Nani must track down a killer...before she ends up the latest victim of the Ukulele Murderer!

Nani Johnson moved from the Kansas plains to Hawaii with her mother after her father’s death. After a year living there, she’s still struggling with becoming a well-known ukulele player due to the fact that she is not a real Hawaiian, and plays second fiddle to three important ukulele players on the island. Almost wishing those three musicians to be dead, because they are not nice to her and she seems to be not good enough for them, Nani sees her ‘wishes’ become true when one of the players appears dead one evening. The big problem here though is that Nani is a person of interest in the murder investigation.

I’m a sucker for cozy mysteries, and having the perspective of listening to one set in Hawaii and with the word ukulele in the title was just too much for me to resist. I have to say that as cozy mysteries go, this one kept me really interested from the start, and kept guessing all along who the murder could be. It’s not that I’m not interested in other occasions, but I tend to enjoy without giving it too much thought. Listening cozy mysteries is one of my ways of decompressing.

The story is well built, and I thoroughly enjoyed the setting and atmosphere. I especially liked to learn some facts about Hawaii and about one of the hardest woods in the world. The characters were, in general, likable, but there was not too much character development. The only character that didn’t convince me was Nani’s boyfriend. It seems he was just an artifact to assist in telling the story. He voiced some of Nani’s thoughts but he did little else, apart from tagging along with Nani and her friend.

Susan Marlowe’s narration was fantastic. Adding value to the book and not disturbing the story. She kept a good pace and delivered great character interpretations, while also using different voices for them. Following dialogs was a breeze, and she kept my attention at all times.

It was a good cozy mystery and it fulfilled its mission: providing me with some good hours of stress-free entertainment. I’d recommend it to anyone into cozy mysteries.

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.

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