Review: Murder on Devil's Pond

Murder on Devil's Pond by Ayla Rose
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Narrated by Maria Ru-Djen
Presented by Dreamscape Media

This was a sweet lil cosy mystery!

Hannah Solace runs a sweet lil inn with her sister Reggie, until one of her close friends - an 80yr old recluse - is murdered. Now she has to solve the mystery in order to clear her name.

This whole story felt very wholesome.

Hannah strikes me as an old lady at heart - her bond with Ezra forms over birds and bees, plants and gardening. Their relationship is sweet, and there was certainly no harm in a dog being involved, too. I really liked the setup.

Ezra naturally has a greedy family, greedy neighbours, and a secret past, so there's plenty to keep you guessing. Most of the characters beyond Hannah and Ash are frustrating and shallow, helping us sympathise with Hannah and what she's going through.

I thought the characters were well-written, and brought to life well by the narrator. Not too many pauses, and a lively voice helped the story to flourish and kept me entertained.

The mystery didn't suck me in too much, but at the same time it was just pleasant to listen to the story flow along. I enjoyed travelling along with it and the conclusion was satisfying. A little bit of a stretch in places, but ultimately sweet enough to be entertaining throughout.

I'd recommend this easily to fans of cosy mysteries. It's the first in the series, too, so we can look forward to more of Hannah and her delightful little inn.

With thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC

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