Ruby's books: Audiobook Tour Book Review: A Murder In Mount Moriah by Mindy Quigley

The Mount Moriah Mysteries by Mindy Quigley

Author: Mindy Quigley

Narrator: Holly Adams

Length: 9 hours 36 minutes

Series: The Mount Moriah Mysteries, Book 1

Audience: Over 18

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Publisher: Mindy Quigley

Release Date: Apr. 15, 2015

My Rating: 4.5 Cups

Source: Audiobookworm Promotions

Blurb (from Goodreads):

From award-winning mystery writer Mindy Quigley comes a hilarious tale of small-town intrigue and big-time crime.

For hospital chaplain Lindsay Harding, facing death is part of the job. After all she spends her working days comforting sick and dying patients. But when the annual Civil War reenactment in her hometown of Mount Moriah, North Carolina, produces a real casualty, the Grim Reaper suddenly gets a little too close for comfort. With the clock ticking, the police struggle to unravel how and why a beloved local reenactor was shot in front of hundreds of onlookers. As fingers point and tempers flare, another victim ends up laid out on Lindsay's front porch.

Lindsay's life is in danger, but her efforts to expose the century-old sins that lie at the heart of the mystery are undermined by her disastrous love life, her no-good mother, and a ninja-like squirrel - not to mention the small matter of a dangerous killer who'll stop at nothing to keep a sinister secret. Will courage, curiosity, and Lindsay's irreverent brand of religion be enough to catch the killer before she becomes the next victim?

*Disclaimer: I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Mindy Quigley. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it

You know that feeling when you think you know what book you're going to read, you settle down on a comfy couch and start reading it, and then the entire thing is completely different and yet everything you hoped for? That's what happened to me and this first book in the Lindsey Harding series.

I was pretty sure I was going to be listening to a cozy mystery, but instead I read a book about life. In a way I was reminded by some of the books I had to read in high school, which at first it may sound scary, but it actually isn't. I wish I had this book in high school.

A Murder In Mount Moriah starts off on a very high note and it only goes upwards from there. It starts off with a bad date, and it continues with a murder, that may or may not be accidental. But underneath the mystery of this murder there's something else. There's the story about love, relationships, human nature, friendships, gossip, self love, racism, and greed. Lindsey Harding, our heroine, investigates the murder because she feels like she has to get to the bottom of this story. And also because she was really upset when the police at first were suspecting the victim's wife of having killed her husband during the war reenactment. And this, my dear readers, is where the magic happens.

I have to say, I had a moment where I had to step back a little bit because I was about to cry. There's this beautiful scene with the victim's wife and Lindsey, where the wife reveals a big secret to our lovely heroine, and I was about to bawl my eyes out. And then when I came back I found myself yet again in tears, this time from laughing so hard. Some of these scenes were outrageously funny, from an incident involving Lindsey's ex, so her date at a baseball game. It was absolutely fantastic.

The mystery behind the murder was also very interesting. I wasn't sure who or why wanted Vernon dead, but once the pieces started falling in place, I was on the edge of my seat.

The narrator did a wonderful job bringing all these characters to life. I had so much fun listening to Holly Adams narrate and create all the different voices for each and every character, from changing accents, to even talking like one of the characters who had an...unfortunate incident involving a bee. I may be a newbie to audiobooks, but I do believe I've found one of my top narrators.

All in all, I truly adored this book. It was the perfect start for a series, and I am very excited to see where this is going. If you love cozy mysteries and stories about small towns, you need to pick this book up. You won't be sorry!

Mindy Quigley is the author of the Mount Moriah cozy mystery series, which is based in part on her time working with the chaplains at Duke University Medical Center. Her short stories have won awards including the 2013 Bloody Scotland Short Story Competition and the 2018 Artemis Journal/Lightbringer Prize. Her non-writing career has been stranger than fiction, taking her from the US to the UK, where she worked as the personal assistant to the scientist who cloned Dolly the sheep, and as project manager for a research clinic founded by the author J.K. Rowling.

She now lives in Blacksburg, Virginia, with her Civil War history professor husband, their children, and their idiosyncratic miniature Schnauzer.

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An actress and physical theatre performer for many years before becoming a Voice Actor, Holly continues to divide her time between stage, screen, circus, and audiobook narration.

Holly began her VO career doing radioplays and audiobook characters with the amazing Full Cast Audio company. Since then, Holly has voiced radio and web commercials, various e-learning projects, documentary shorts. . . and of course, audiobooks! She has been nominated for Best Fiction and Best Female Narrator. Holly has conservatory training; her attention to tone, energy and rhythm make her work personal and dynamic. Holly’s performance projects abroad (Italy, Afghanistan, Haiti, Russia, the UK, France, and the Middle East!) support her training and skill with dialects and languages.

Holly records for Audible, Deyan Audio, Christian Audiobooks, Tantor, and more. Holly loves telling stories!

When she’s not in the recording studio, she is on stage or screen; favorite projects include Richard II, A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It, the films "Here Alone", "Gotham Blue" and "Your Loving, Virginia", working with girls in Kabul for the Afghan Children's Circus and with performers in Balan, Haiti, as well as with her ‘home circus’ Circus Culture. Holly is a SAG-AFTRA performer, a graduate of the International Dell 'Arte School, and holds a Master's in Theatre, Education and Social Change. Https://shearwaterproductions.com/voice-actor and on IMDb as Holly Adams III.