Enjoyable Mystery Well Narrated

I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook! The story continued to build throughout to the end. The characters grew on me as the story progressed.

I felt the narrator captured the emotion of the story well including the suspense!

1 person found this helpful

I love Bernadette!!

A Dead Husband by Anna Celeste Burke, narrated by Rebecca Mitchell is Book 1 in the Jessica Huntington Desert Cities Mystery series. If you are a fan of cozy mysteries, this is a great choice! The plot is fast-moving & action-packed, the characters are likable & well-developed, and the storyline is engaging & entertaining. (I'll let you read the plot synopsis on your own so I don't give away too many details.) I love Anna Celeste Burke's writing; all of her books are addicting and super funny! Even though I own all her books on Kindle (and some in print), I still couldn't help myself...I wanted to listen to them on audio, too! Hehe! As expected, Jessica and her crew are so much fun, and Bernadette is every bit as lovable as I remember her to be. She's my favorite character!

The narration by Rebecca Mitchell was okay. Everything sounded clear - professionally recorded and edited - without any noticeable distrations. However, I found her to sound a bit robotic...more like she was reading from a script than playing a part. I had the advantage of having read the book prior to listening, so I already felt a personal connection to the characters. But, for those who are introduced to the series through this audiobook, I'm not sure if there will be any personal connections made. Yes, there were scenes where Mitchell put more emotion into it, but overall I felt her performance could have been better. Now, I will say I LOVED how she played Bernadette! She made her character come to life; it was awesome!! I feel like I got to know her even better than when I just read the book. If Mitchell could give personality to the other characters the same way she did with Bernadette, it would be a 5-star performance.
**I see that R.M. also narrates the rest of the available audiobooks in this series. I went back and listened to the samples, and it sounds like she really improves over time. Based on what I heard, I decided to continue listening to this series on audio.**

Overall, I give 4/5 stars to the audiobook A Dead Husband: Jessica Huntington Desert Cities Mystery, Book 1 by Anna Celeste Burke, narrated by Rebecca Mitchell. The writing is excellent and the mystery of it all will keep you guessing. Whether you are age 20 or 70, if you are a fan of clean mysteries, I recommend you give this one a try! Happy listening!

Thank you for reading my review. I hope it was helpful. :-)

1 person found this helpful

Desert heat isn't the only killer in this book.

I enjoyed this story as its a nice little mystery, with plenty of twists as the story develops. The characters were a fun bunch.

Jessica is an unemployed lawyer and moves back to her child hood home to help come to terms with her impending divorce. She soon learns that a cheating husband is the least of her problems, when she receives a phone call from her best friend asking for her help. Laura has just stumbled over the body of her husband and her alibi is spending the night with Jessica....Well until she went home with the waiter that is. Jessica has to pull out all the stops and throw a few punches and shoes to clear her friends name.
This is the first story I have heard, read by this narrator but I liked her style and will look out for more books read by her as well as the next book in this series.

1 person found this helpful

Fun and murder among the rich!

chick-lit, cozy-mystery, situational-humor, verbal-humor, California, friendship, the-mob
Having pots of money, designer clothes and shoes, a pricey residence, and rich friends doesn't mean that Jessica still had the marriage or really knew what to do with the law degree she got seven years ago. Nor does she know how to help her best friend stay safe after finding her husband murdered and learning that he was connected. Both of them learn a lot, and sometimes wish that they hadn't. A good mystery without a lot of gore, with terrific characters, and really high on the laugh-o-meter. A fun read!
The audio is performed slyly by Rebecca Mitchell.

1 person found this helpful

Very Enjoyable

I wasn't sure I was going to like this one. Jessica seemed like a character I would instantly dislike. But, I'm glad I continued listening. Jessica and her her friends are very likable and the mystery they are involved in is realistic. I look forward to the next book.

1 person found this helpful

Ms. Burke once again excels with her gift of story telling.

Ms. Burke once again excels with her gift of story telling. She delivers an intriguing heroine who is intelligent and beautiful but struggling with her impending divorce and inability to have produced a child with high end retail therapy. While she has her demons she also has a huge heart with loyalty and generosity towards those she cares about. When a childhood friend is accused of murdering her husband, Jessica and her Cat pack are on case even if it means risking their lives. Ms. Mitchell gives a wonderful performance in narrating and nuancing each character that assists in keeping the storyline crystal clear.

A good story

This book starts out well and with the mystery of her friends dead husband it keeps up the intrigue all throughout the book. I enjoyed this story. I did not especially like the narrator. This is a good story so if you get a chance to read/listen you will enjoy it. I was given a free copy of this audiobook at my request and this is my honest review.

The narrator did a fab job with this excellent bk

This is the first time I have ever listened to an audio book--I already knew the story and had read and reviewed the book. I loved it then and I loved it now. The narrator did a fabulous job!

Entertaining and compelling mystery

This audio book is narrated by Rebecca Mitchell and found it to be an entertaining and riveting story. Ms. Mitchell did an excellent job of making each character in the story unique so that I had no problems in knowing who was speaking at any time. The plot was quickly paced and I have to say that it was interesting to see how "the other half lives" by visiting with Jessica in her Palm Springs world of the rich. I can always count on Ms. Burke to deliver a compelling and unique cozy mystery.

better with robotic voice re google voice app

read/pre-order all Burke's books/series but audio reader confusing & monotone &/or not pre-read yuck, skip