Outstanding Mystery and Narrator!

Eleanor Rockwell receives a special guest at her Cat Rescue center – a cat named Belladonna. The sheriff’s deputy delivers Belladonna, whose owner is an accused murderer, along with her silver tray into the care of Eleanor. That’s when the fun begins and Eleanor and her staff become entangled in murder, an evil mayor, small-town gossip, and 27 million dollars!

Leanne Leeds, the author, weaves a magical story with interesting characters and a storyline that will keep you listening and at times laughing. The quirky Belladonna is fun and entertaining in a condescending manner – she is the epitome of cats! Leeds reveals the storyline slowly and deliberately while building the characters. I found myself loving each and every character, well, almost all of them. Leeds is very descriptive and paints the characters vividly with her words. The plot twists were well done and natural. The dialogue flowed well also.

The narrator, Meghan Kelly once again gives a wonderful performance! She brings each character to life and mesmerizes with her voice. Kelly is gifted at assigning unique voices to each character and being consistent. Her energy and flawless delivery are key! I am always amazed at how Kelly can capture the essence of each character vividly and yet slip in and out of them fluidly. I truly enjoy listening to Kelly.

This is a great cozy mystery further enhanced by the narrator, Meghan Kelly! Don’t miss it!

There were no issues with the quality or production of this audiobook.

2 people found this helpful

Different, Delightful, I want More!

Ellie has her hands full! What with running a furiously growing cat shelter and trying to be there for her daughter Evie, the last thing she needs is to be knee deep in a murder investigation! Then there’s that odd silver tray, the talking kitty, and the fear that everyone will think she’s nuts! “Crystals, Belladonna and Murder” brilliantly kicks off the new Silver Circle Cat Rescue cozy paranormal mystery series! This was a totally different experience for me. I’ve never listened to a cozy mystery where the characters faced the challenges that Ellie and especially Evie face every day! Their story is woven beautifully into the mystery at hand, making this story a compelling listen on so many levels! No spoilers! Just know that there is nothing naughty going on! These characters, ALL these characters are DELIGHTFULLY realistic, so much so that I wanted to put a few on “time out”! The dialogue, so realistic that I swear I heard those very words, those sentences, coming out of my kids mouths, my mothers mouth, back in the day! It rings that true! It’s that believable! The flow of the story is perfect. From beginning to end, it all makes sense! It kept me engaged. It kept me listening and guessing, wrongly or course, who done it! When the reveal came, I was surprised, but once all the facts came to light, I got It! It all made brilliant, beautiful sense! The narration was fantastic, the voicing choices so perfectly fitting each character’s personality, so clear, truly bringing the authors beautiful words to life! I loved everything about this one. Five fabulous stars!

2 people found this helpful

Cozy & Mysterious (With A Magic Cat!)

I had the pleasure of listening to Crystals, Belladonna, and Murder by Leanne Leeds, and I must say, it was an enjoyable experience. This was my first book by Leeds, and I was impressed with the pacing, little bits of humor, and overall "feel" of the story.

Although this was one of my first cozy mysteries, I found the book charming and mysterious (which I think is the whole point of cozy mysteries). The story kept throwing curveballs at me, and just when I thought I knew what was going on, I was way off. I enjoyed the way Leeds kept me guessing throughout the entire book.

The plot itself, while at times felt a bit overdramatic, I found it to be just right for this style of book. As I mentioned above, Leeds kept me guessing, and paranormal/magic elements were welcome and added quite a bit to this story.

The narration by Meghan Kelly was excellent, and she added the right level of sass/snark to certain scenes while keeping the story moving along. Her pacing was perfect, and I found myself fully immersed in the story.

Overall, Crystals, Belladonna, and Murder was a great listen, and I recommend it to anyone looking for a charming and mysterious cozy mystery.

1 person found this helpful

Great new book in a new cozy series

I enjoyed Crystals, Belladonna, and Murder (#1 in the Silver Circle Cat Rescue Mysteries) by Leanne Leeds. After being laid off, Eleanor (Ellie) Rockwell moved to Tablerock, a small town near Austin TX, to fulfill her dream of opening a cat shelter. She and her daughter Evie have made it a success with the help of a few volunteers. The police bring her the former mayors cat, Belladonna and her tray, after the mayor was accused of murdering her estranged husband. Then the cat started talking, and things really got strange. Another death, an inheritance and Ellie is sussing out the mystery. The narration by Meghan Kelly is wonderful. She creates unique voices for the characters with different accents and vocal qualities. Her performance brings characters and story to life.

1 person found this helpful

Enjoyable!

I enjoyed this cozy murder mystery. The story is interesting and my attention was easily kept. The characters are plentiful and entertaining. The author does a good job bringing them to life.

I did listen to this on audio. Meghan Kelly did the narration. She is spectacular! I love listening to all the different voices she come up with and how they fit each personality perfectly.

1 person found this helpful

Enjoyed

I always look forward to listening to a story narrated by Meghan. Cozy mysteries are fun little stories. I love to listen as she brings each side character to life from the beginning. Looking forward to listening to more in the series!

1 person found this helpful

an awesome story

I really enjoyed this story. It was full of great characters & cats. The plot kept me guessing and I couldn't put it down. The idea of someone leaving their fortune to a cat c rescue was a great twist. I loved it.

Engaging story & characters

Hooked from the very first words & enthralled until the very last. The right balance of mystery, humor, & colorful characterizations. Will definitely check out more by this author and I am ALWAYS running to listen to whatever Meghan is narrating. She doesn’t just record a book, she lives in it!

My Thoughts on Crystals, Belladonna and Murder

This was an interesting start to a new series, but I’m not sure that I will be continuing. Honestly, the main reason why I gave it a try is that I have begun to take an interest in cozy mysteries. I enjoy them as a nice palate cleanser in between my normal romance listens. And I liked the fact that the narrator was one that I have really enjoyed in the past. To be completely honest, the fact that I once again enjoyed the narrator’s performance is probably one of the main reasons that I even finished this story.

It started off pretty good but then I felt like the story didn’t progress very quickly. Or maybe it was just me that felt like more should be going on. Also, if I’m completely honest, while I am a big fan of cats in general, I didn’t really care for Belladonna. So not liking the cat that this story centered around was kind of problematic. For me she came across more snarky and rude then the casual, unaffected cat persona I think the author was going for. I thought there was an interesting dynamic between who I consider to be the main character, Ellie and her daughter. I liked her dynamic with her daughter. And I liked the nice little group of friends and coworkers she had around her. But the story at points kind of felt like it dragged on for me. And then things really picked up towards the end. However, I am just not sure that it was enough for me to continue the series.

Fabulous💫

Loved this story!
I was hooked from the start.
The narrator…Meghan Kelly was fantastic!