Fascinating "Cozy" Mystery

Set at a women's college in 1896, I found this listen to be fun and quite interesting. Concordia Well, a young teacher, is a strong (for the times) and very likable character. The descriptions of the lifestyle, architecture, and clothing is just wonderful. The story depicts the plight of females during this period, several murders, and a little romance. I totally enjoyed the quotes from famous literature (especially MACBETH) sprinkled throughout the story. Narration by Becket Royce was superb! I understand there will be more books released in the series~I will definitely be listening. Highly recommended...

Audiobook provided for an honest review

4 people found this helpful

Looking forward to the next Concordia!

My Review
A great big welcome to Concordia! A refreshingly different cozy within an historical setting.
There is much more to this story than the publishers summary suggests, yes, there's murder and mayhem, romance, intrigue, mystery and surprises, as there should be. However, I found this to be a really well written story about thoughtfully created characters. The relationship between Concordia and her mother is fragile and touching, as this aspect of the story gradually unfolds, the listener is always wanting more.
I enjoyed Concordia, a brave young woman for her time, and I look forward to her adventures in future books. I think the ending will surprise a great many listeners, excellent story.

Narrator
This was my first time listening to Becket Royce, and I enjoyed her performance very much, she doesn't do that annoying overacting thing which is so irritating and distracting. Her voice is rich and easy on the ear, her characterisations are subtle, yet distinct, the listener is never in doubt as to which character is speaking. I do hope Becket narrates all future Concordia books.
However, I did find the sound quality to be less than perfect, some of the consonant sounds came through as a little grating to the ear, the "S" sounds in particular. Perhaps future recordings might improve this fault.

3 people found this helpful

Dangerous, Unseemly and Irresistable

I have read and listened to many mysteries (some with female heroines) set in Victorian Britain and was drawn to Dangerous and Unseemly because it was set in America in 1896. Concordia Wells is a professor at a women's college in Hartford, CT. At odds with her family,at least with her mother over her choice of career over marriage and motherhood, Concordia is contented with her busy life educating and shepherding young women. All is not well at the college though; money has gone missing and embezzlement is suspected. A series of troubling events begin with Concordia's discovery of the body of the college Bursar. The death is ruled a suicide but Concordia doubts the verdict. Then she suffers a great personal loss when her sister dies of a mysterious lingering illness.

Filled with multiple vivid characters, many of whom are not at all what they appear to be, Dangerous and Unseemly is both an engrossing mystery and a look at the plight of women of the era. Deemed to be unfit for anything other than marriage, any woman who did not walk that path was considered suspect and subject to great censure. I'd like to say that life was better for women in America than in Britain at the time but that would be wishful thinking. Concordia herself is a very likable character, at times impetuous but always intelligent and resourceful.

Becket Royce's narration is excellent. She is the very personification of what I imagine a well brought up and educated young woman of the time might sound like. I particularly like the way she handled the characters who speak with a foreign accent; just enough to differentiate them, never veering into parody.

I highly recommend Dangerous and Unseemly!

2 people found this helpful

Entertaining and Historical, Well Performed

What made the experience of listening to Dangerous and Unseemly the most enjoyable?

One whole side of my family came from Hartford, which I knew well when I was growing up, so I particularly liked the evocation of the setting in an earlier time. This is as much historical novel as mystery story, and the manners of the time, especially as they applied to women, were by far the most enjoyable part for me.

Would you be willing to try another book from K.B. Owen? Why or why not?

Maybe. This was capably written but not gripping.

What about Becket Royce’s performance did you like?

Becket Royce's performance was by far one of the strongest aspects of the book. She is a strong, clear reader who differentiated one character from another but never strained or overdramatized. She reads with an ease and professionalism that are very enjoyable to listen to.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not so much a moment as a character, the lady principal. I enjoyed the justaposition of her unbending strength with her title, by which she was always referred, of "lady principal." This takes on added resonance, of course, as the story progresses.

2 people found this helpful

Cozy little mystery

While this isn't my typical go-to reading material, I really enjoyed this book. The heroine is smart, opinionated, and quite daring for her time. There were parts I felt that the action dragged a bit, but loved the little historical details woven throughout the tale. There were many twists and turns along the way, and just when you think you have it all figured out, you discover that you don't. My only issue with this book is the overuse of keeping the reader in the dark while the heroine discovers a key to the mystery. Using it once in a book is okay, but more than that and it's just trite. If Concordia figured out a clue, then the listener should be clued in as well. Leaving it unsaid to create suspense is a cop-out, in my opinion. The narrators voice was just perfect for this genre, though; very polished and crisp. It lent authenticity to the story and set the right mood for listening.

I received this book from AudioBookBoom at no cost in exchange for my honest review. My opinion is that this book is a solid 4. Great listening for a rainy or cold, lazy-on-the-couch day.

1 person found this helpful

Good Upstart for Concordia Wells Mystery Series!

Main character Cordelia Wells brings this 19th century to life as she manages tough, grievous situations at home and uncanny, deadly situations at the girl’s college where she is a new instructor. In addition to the task of becoming acclimated to her role as professor, she is assigned to direct a play. Simultaneously the steadfast instructor gains an education of her own as she unveils hidden character-gems of her estranged mother, learn about her colleagues via their quips and quirks, investigates mysterious happenings at the college, finds out what is really behind her sister’s strange illness, and resolves a gambit of other unknowns. Author K. B. Owens does a good job shedding light on the era’s Women’s Movement and bringing forth a cast of mischievous characters whose deeds range from playful to fatal. The story’s light nature makes this a delightful “who-done-it."

Narrator Becket Royce did a good job keeping the tale in good form.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom.

1 person found this helpful

Pedestrian and disappointing attempt at a first mystery novel

I so very much wanted to love this book, in the hopes of a new series to read/listen to. About 30 minutes into it, the narrator, an 1890s English teacher, instructed one of her pupils to "lay across the ladder". So right away, the author lost me. Surely an English teacher would understand the difference between lie and lay. Clearly there was no editor, or there was an incompetent one. The prose was often terse and yet sometimes labored.
The story was actually pretty good, even though the characters were a little two-dimensional. At times I found myself wondering if the narrator were somehow to blame, as her delivery was sometimes annoying, making too much of a very ordinary turn of phrase, a little like listening to a children's story.
All in all pretty disappointing.

1 person found this helpful

the joys of co-ed life, with murder sauce

An unseemly lesson in murder. The year is 1896, and college professor Concordia Wells has her hands full: teaching classes, acting as live-in chaperone to a cottage of lively female students, and directing the student play, Macbeth. But mystery and murder are not confined to the stage, especially when the death of Concordia's sister, Mary, appears to be foul play. To make matters worse, the women's college is plagued by malicious pranks, arson, money troubles, and the apparent suicide of a college official. With her beloved school facing certain ruin, Concordia knows that she must act. As she struggles to seek justice for her sister and discover who is behind the college incidents, there are some closest to Concordia who do not appreciate the unseemly inquiries and bold actions of the young lady professor. Can she discover who is responsible before she becomes the next target?

As it happens, historical mysteries are a particular favorite of mine, but I expect the mystery to be complex and exciting, and the history to be well researched and have no glaring errors. This book is *definitely* one of the “good ones” on both counts, and more besides.

The setting is Hartford, CT just before the beginning of the 20th century, and the novel takes place mostly at a Women’s college. The author portrays her chosen time extremely well, and I found it very easy to become absorbed in both the time and place. Not only is this a very well done mystery, involving murder, grand theft, and other crimes and felonies, but there is a thoughtful presentation of several social issues, and we see the beginnings of institutions we now take for granted, such as social services, public health awareness, and women’s suffrage.

The plot has more twists than a mountain road in KY, and although I had an inkling of one of the villains, I certainly didn’t have the whole picture, until the very end.

The characters were beautifully drawn, and true to life in any place or time, though they functioned comfortably in their settings. Again, the author excelled at presenting viewpoints very different from ours, and social expectations that have changed fairly drastically, as well. But, in the end, people are people, and no matter when or where they lived, we are all motivated by the same things, and when we go off the rails, it is for, mostly, the same reasons, essentially. The characters in the book were accessible and very believable, and, for the most part, sympathetic. I do get the sense that this might be a 1st in series …and if so, it will be a series of which I intend to keep very close track, indeed.

The narrator did an excellent job. Her pacing, text shaping, enunciation and expression are impeccable. She is able to differentiate her characters using subtle changes in tone, rate of speech and emphasis, so that, without ever overdoing things, we know, without having to be told, exactly who is speaking. She is able to do this with the male, as well as with the female characters, and *that* to me is the sign of a first class narrator.

I happily give both book and narrator an enthusiastic 5 star rating, and unreservedly recommend this book to anyone who, like me, enjoys historical and/or cozy mysteries.

1 person found this helpful

Such fun

I am required to say: This audiobook was provided by the narrator at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com. So I’m really, really happy to be able to also say that the narration was far and away the best part of this book. The plot and story had a fair number of issues fighting with nice characterization and fun dialogue (and a setting of Hartford, Connecticut – my backyard), but the reading – by Becket Royce (and now I want to be named Rebecca so I can go by Becket) – was one of the best I’ve listened to in a while. Character accents were present without being overwhelming; humor was nicely accentuated; best of all were moments such as when the text mentions someone giving an unladylike snort… and Becket Royce complies. I have a new go-to narrator.

So, now, the book itself. I should be slamming it with three or even two stars. I saw just about everything coming light years away – what was wrong with Mary, and which of the two men courting our heroine Concordia Wells was a bad’un, and the secret behind the enameled dagger. This is not because I was being clever – I’m never clever at guessing who dunnit and whatnot – but because all of this was telegraphed with great clarity.

The plot also relied heavily on clichés. If you haven’t ever read a book or watched a television show before, this might be a spoiler: when someone told Concordia that there was something very important they had to tell her – but they didn’t want to tell her now, they would meet her tomorrow … well, really, how many books or tv shows have there ever been where that setup actually resulted in the person showing up at said meeting and imparting the very important message? (I should start a list.) (I’m very surprised not to be able to find this on tvtropes.com; it’s almost “Lost In Transmission”, but not quite...)

The writing - in terms of well-chosen words strung together to form pleasing sentences free of grammatical errors - wasn't perfect. There was at least one example of “lay” for “lie”. And the scary, scary note left pinned with a dagger - “Beware – next time a real stabbing could happen!” – really isn’t very scary. But aside from these quibbles and the larger problems mentioned above, I was happy listening to Dangerous and Unseemly – which is a great title, by the way. As mentioned, the dialogue was very nice in places, lively and life-like, and particularly fun to listen to. Blessings on author and reader for the fact that it was “mischievous”, not “mischievious”! I can forgive a lot for that.

I enjoy a good historical mystery. (Does this class as a cozy? I guess this is a cozy.) I enjoy books set in boarding schools and colleges – such enclosed, self-contained environments. And I enjoy books set around theatre productions, particularly Shakespeare of course, and D&U features a student production of Macbeth. (I know someone who would be quite irked at the pronunciation “McBeth”; I forgave it.) (One line regarding that play started a little plot bunny for me: “Lady Macbeth still had a tendency to giggle during her sleepwalking scene…” That could totally be worked in.) I can’t really say this was a great mystery - the disparate parts of the plot (what happened to Concordia's sister, the death(s) at the college) didn't necessarily play well together.

I couldn’t help wondering if the author is a fan of L.M. Montgomery. Our heroine Concordia is a ginger, and puts up the familiar lament that a red-haired lady can NOT wear pink. And at one point she admires dresses with “gigantic puffed sleeves” and elbow cuffs.

1 person found this helpful

A logical person's historical mystery

Well researched and well written. Characters are clearly defined and any mustache twirling is at the behest of the reader's imagination only. Clues are present and ready for reader to draw from. A fine period piece set in an uncommon city and setting. An excellent read!
The audio performer, Becket Royce, has a clear, professional delivery with good delineation of characters and pleasing to the ear. I listen on tablet speaker while knitting and heard no annoying deficits.

1 person found this helpful