loved meeting these new characters!

great story, great people, and fantastic narration. super good, can't wait for more! "you should see the other guys" haha!

2 people found this helpful

Amazing audio

I was gifted a copy of this audio and I’m so glad I took a chance on it! It was so good! Some mystery, some spice, some damaged MCs, a tough as nails FMC… ALL OF IT. Loved it.

Murder mystery

Blind Bake surprised me with its grit, and I'm still not quite sure where it falls in either genre or trope. It has elements of a cozy mystery, but then it gets dark and sometimes disturbing. Some subject matter is about as far from "cozy" as it can be, while other parts are more laid back and humorous. I will say that the story leans more toward the dark and twisted the further into it you get. Some things are a little over the top and require a good deal of suspension of disbelief. That said, the mystery did hold my interest, and there's also some romantic tension between Noah and Maddie. We do get a satisfying ending for the murder in this first book in the series, but there's an ongoing mystery that is left unresolved, as well as the romance (or not). To be honest, I'm undecided whether I want Noah and Maddie to work in the long term or not. They do have chemistry, but I'm waiting to see how I feel about them as the series moves forward. Shannon McManus and Chris Brinkley narrate this one, and to the best of my recollection, this was my first time listening to either. They both capture the tone of the story quite well, and I'd certainly listen to them again. In the end, I liked the dark and gritty more than the cozy in this one. I also like the characters, so I'll be interested to see where things go from here.

Loved!!

A binge worthy book. I was hooked from the first chapter. I love Maddie. She is strong, does not put up with crap, and is so kind to those who need it. This is a series that could become an auto-buy for me. I enjoyed the tension between Noah and Maddie and can't wait to see where their relationship goes. I also want to see more of Office Lance. He and his momma were too cute.

The narrators were excellent. Shannon is one of my favorites, so I didn't expect otherwise.

Thank you, Valentine PR, for an audio copy. I've already downloaded book 2 to start tomorrow.❤️

Love this Book ❤️

I LOVE this book and it has made me a huge fan of Denise Grover Swank.
Maddie is a fascinating character that takes her responsibilities as care giver to her Aunt Deidre with dementia very seriously. That's why she has two jobs and one is an Uber driver. However, that's how she needs up taking a horrible man to a bad part of town and then he ends up dead. This puts Maddie at the center of the murder investigation.
Now new Detective Noah Langley has just moved to Cockamamie, TN for a quieter less hectic way of life. So on his first day he didn't expect to walk in on CockamamIe first murder in years. Now his prime suspect is the hot girl that just gave him a black eye, Maddie Baker. The two are now stuck together trying to solve the first murder since Maddie's mom was killed years ago.
While Maddie and Noah keep butting heads while trying to solve the mystery the sparks soon start to fly and no matter how hard Noah tries to deny his feelings he feels drawn to Maddie.
You will fall in love with these characters and the secondary characters are just as intriguing. The second book is already out and you will need it ready because you will need more of Maddie Baker and her group of friends!

Wonderful little murder mystery!

Blind Bake, an Audiobook by Denise Grover Swank is a murder mystery involving Noah and Maddie. This is book one is the Maddie Baker mystery series. She’s recently returned to her home town to care for her aunt. There, she meets a new police investigator, Noah. She becomes a person of interest in a recent murder.

Enjoyable murder mystery. Noah has past issues he is dealing with that get to me after awhile…Maddie just has to get involved in everything…even things she shouldn’t. This was a fun read. I thought it was a romance…not much here. So, if that’s your thing, I don’t suggest this one. Nevertheless, it was a great murder mystery and I enjoyed it! Nice little departure for me.

This Audiobook was narrated by Shannon McManus and Chris Brinkley. These two made the story more intriguing and engrossing for me and I loved their interpretations of the characters! All around great story!!

I am volunteering to leave a review for an Advance Reader Copy of this Audiobook.

Maddie Baker Mysteries!

Blind Bake (Maddie Baker Mystery, Book 1) is an entertaining listen. I'm a huge fan of Denise Grover Swank and was thrilled to get a chance to listen to this mystery. Told in dual pov Maddie & Noah's romance is winsomely weaved into the mystery plot. The writing style is compelling and captures your mind. Small Town romantic suspense, with an unexpected plot twist. Looking forward to listening to the next audio in the series.

Shannon McManus, Chris Brinkley dual narration was really good. Highly entertaining, bringing out the characters and their story. Both inflections were very easy to listen.

Loved the story and narration

Blind Bake is the first in a new series by Denise Grover Swank. Denise’s books are always entertaining, creative and fantastic.

This book is filled with humor, great suspense and a group of great characters.

Maddy has suffered great loss in her life but is one tough chick. She is a wonderful caretaker, friend and a badass who will challenge anyone to protect others are make sure justice is served.

Noah is a grumpy detective who has been assigned for a new case. Underneath the gruffness he is a kind and caring person but he doesn’t let many see that side of him.

Initially there is distain between Maddy and Noah but as the case progresses and they spend more time together…there begins to be some respect, trust and understanding.

Denise does an amazing job with these characters and this story. You will be engaged through the entire book. I am looking forward to the next book.

Shannon McManus and Chris Brinkley did an amazing job being this book to life. Chris’s voice is as soon as butter, swoony and perfection for Noah. Shannon’s voice is strong, sweet and beautiful as Maddy’s voice. The emotions, personalities and voice variance for each character was performed beautifully. I love how audiobooks being a whole new experience to enjoying an authors words.

I am looking forward to seeing how this series progresses!

This is my first book by this author and I was favorably impressed. When I looked her up I discovered that Denise Grover Swank is a well established author who has been on many best-seller lists and I can see why. This book starts a new series for her about Maddie Baker, who recently returned to her small hometown to care for her aunt, who has dementia. No sooner does she come to town than there is a murder for which she is a prime suspect. The investigating detective is also new to town, having left a big city for a safer jurisdiction in which to work. He has been tasked with the role of cleaning up the town’s police force and improving their abysmal number of closed cases. Both Maddie and Noah are investigating this murder as well as the unsolved murder of Maddie’s mother when Maddie was a teen. There is strong chemistry between the two, but a conflict of interest, life goals, and Noah’s confidence in his own judgement conspire to keep them apart. This leads me to suspect a will they, won’t they dynamic to their interactions as this series progresses. I had the opportunity to listen to this book in audiobook form and found that both narrators were perfect for their roles reading their respective characters’ POV. I was impressed with this as a well plotted book with well-written characters and a great deal of humor thrown in. I would not hesitate to pick up a book by this author again, and I am looking forward to seeing how this series progresses. I am voluntarily submitting this review after listening to a complementary copy of this audiobook.

Very entertaining on several levels

This was my first Denise Grover Swank book and she has a new fan in me. The murder mystery aspect was very entertaining and had me guessing through the whole story. There were so many different ways the story could’ve played out. It was impossible to guess the outcome and that is exactly what I like in a mystery novel. The characters were so easy to love. Maddie is amazing, strong, independent and caring. Detective Langley had the right amount of sensitivity and bad boy possessive energy that I love in an MMC. The narration was amazing. Both Shannon McManus and Chris Brinkley were so great and brought these characters so much personality!! I will definitely be following up on this series!!