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  • Murder at Hawthorn Cottage

  • A Melissa Craig Mystery, Book 1
  • By: Betty Rowlands
  • Narrated by: Joan Walker
  • Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (376 ratings)
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Murder at Hawthorn Cottage cover art

Murder at Hawthorn Cottage

By: Betty Rowlands
Narrated by: Joan Walker
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Summary

Meet Melissa: cat lover, caring mother… daring detective?

Melissa Craig is absolutely delighted with her new life in an old crumbling cottage, spending her days pruning the primroses and getting to know Binkie, the ginger cat next door. She only wishes she had made the move to the countryside sooner.

But when a knock at the door brings news of a shocking discovery, she suddenly finds herself thrown in to the middle of a baffling mystery: the bones of a young woman have been found in the woods just behind her new home.

Perhaps the little village of Upper Bembury is not as idyllic as it first seemed?

Strange phone calls in the night convince Melissa that the police are barking up completely the wrong tree, so she can’t resist doing a little digging of her own. From the bingo hall to the beauty salon and beyond, her search ruffles a few feathers and uncovers many of the village’s most scandalous secrets, but gets her no closer to finding the culprit.

The discovery of a tatty old photograph in a drawer is the final piece of the puzzle she needs, but as a newcomer in this close-knit community, does Melissa have what it takes to get to the bottom of this extraordinary murder mystery alone?

A joy to read! An absolutely unpausable whodunnit for fans of Agatha Christie, P.D. James and Faith Martin.

This book was previously published as A Little Gentle Sleuthing.

©2018 Betty Rowlands (P)2018 Bookouture

What listeners say about Murder at Hawthorn Cottage

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    190
  • 4 Stars
    103
  • 3 Stars
    57
  • 2 Stars
    13
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Performance
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    39
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Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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    152
  • 4 Stars
    90
  • 3 Stars
    48
  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
    12

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Another place to be.

I’ve enjoyed this beautifully narrated and highly descriptive story thoroughly both, whilst washing the car and in the gym. The time just flew by with a well paced and beautifully written, twisting tale that took me to another place.
Murder in the morning next!

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Sadly disappointing

When I saw that this was the first of a series I was so pleased as I love following sleuths from one book to the next. It was sad for me, as I was totally uncaptivated by the characters and the story. I plodded on for quite some time and in the end had to give up as I simply didn't care what happened next. Obviously there are listeners who enjoy this story line but unfortunately I am not one of them

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Oh so slow!

Frustratingly slow story line. I found the characters bland. The narrator frequently read in an over enunciated and dramatic manner where I found there to be nothing of suspense or significance in the story line requiring this. For me, this book was a waste of a credit.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Mr
  • 22-09-18

A great story

Hi great story line. a star writer
you feel you could be there in the story
on to next book

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good story,

The storyline was good. I didn’t see the end coming. The narrators voice grated. Her normal narration of Melissa was good and a pleasant easy to listen to voice, but the voice she put on for the other characters male and female, young and old, all seemed a bit like a cackling witch.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Disappointed

The book I feel had no real story to it. It just drifted along with odd clues here and there and a disappointing ending.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Charming story spoiled by the narration.

I liked the story but struggled with the narration. It was touch and go as to whether I sent it back or not.
The narrator seems to want to end most of her sentences on an up note, rather than a normal English voice which ends sentences on a down note. I managed to get over this annoyance by speeding up the narration slightly which somehow reduced my irritation.

Whether I can stand going through this on the next book remains to be seen. Perhaps the narrator will have altered her narration to be less simpering.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Really poor narration and unbelievable story

The narrator was awful, with poor intonation and everyone sounds like a bumpkin. The story was also frustrating as it didn’t hang together well with massive leaps of logic, poorly drawn characters who are unbelievable and cartoonish, and improbable story line. There is nothing ‘cozy’ about this story just annoying, the author swings from poetic imagery that doesn’t fit the style of story but would fit a Magnus opus and makes the story clunky to cliches that are like nails down a blackboard.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

So slow

A good book to help you sleep a very week story line with an uninteresting reader

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

excellent

thoroughly enjoyed the plot, superb narration which brought the characters to life making the tale even more believable

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1 person found this helpful