I ended up getting a copy of this from the library after Netgalley and it’s a typical summery cozy mystery. So it’s light with some comedy and a whodunit. If you like that, you will enjoy this book! It’s not super complex and I enjoyed it!

I’m not sure if it was because of the audiobook format, but this book just didn’t keep me interested and ended up being a DNF for me. I also didn’t realize before reading that it was part of a series, so maybe that’s why it felt like I was missing something. I did enjoy the narrator and writing style though. Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!

The Girl with the Dragonfruit Tattoo is the third installment of Carrie Doyle’s Plum Lockhart mysteries. Set on the tropical island of Paraiso, Plum is experiencing significant advances in both her personal and professional lives. However, when Juan Kevin’s estranged wife shows up, Plum decides to accept an old friend’s invitation to join her on a luxury yacht for a dinner party. During the dinner, Plum meets a young server who starts making accusations against people on the yacht and later washes up dead. As a result of Plum’s connections to people on the yacht the police reach out to her to go undercover to assist in the investigation.

The author of this series has done a good job with creation of her characters and settings giving the reader sufficient description to enable them to envision the exact scenes as they are taking place. By bringing in characters that Plum has an already established history, the author also enriches the present storyline with the events of the past which further increases the reader’s connection to Plum and the entire storyline. Through the use of multiple unique settings, the author sets up a series of interesting twists and turns in the plot which lead to a surprising and novel revelation of both culprit and motive. I look forward to more in this series to see how Plum’s relationship with Juan Kevin as well as the increasing positive trend that her involvement with the local law enforcement is taking.

The narrator of this book has done a fabulous job of creating a variety of distinctive voices for each of the characters in this book as well as maintaining an excellent pace throughout and utilizing significant changes of inflection to emphasize the variety of scenes allowing the listener to remain engaged and interested for the entire audiobook.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Dreamscape Media and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Exactly the cozy mystery you knew you needed. Don’t have a bad word to say! Such a fun summer audiobook thriller if you’re looking for something to accompany you on hot girl walks or anything of the sort!!! 🫶🏻 we love a cozy mystery and one that wraps up well like this

A cute and enjoyable whodunit cozy mystery with a tropical backdrop. If you enjoy tense, psychologically manipulative and twisty thrillers, this isn't what you're looking for. But if you want a lighthearted and no stress beach read this summer, this is it. I realize now this was part of a series but read fine to me as a standalone. Thank you to Dreamscape Media, Poisoned Pen Press, Carrie, and NetGalley for an ARC and an ALC of this title!

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the audio version. I have read it another book in this series and if you like cozy mysteries then you would love it. I really like the characters and the story kept my interest. The narrator did a good job.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60677366

The Girl with the Dragonfruit Tattoo was an entertaining whodunnit murder with multiple plots weaved throughout. A great cosy mystery which was fun to listen to. The narrator did a great job aside from a particularly dodgy Irish accent for one of the characters (well, I think it was supposed to be Irish).

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to review the audiobook.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but I just couldn’t. The premise sounded interesting and I love cozy mysteries. As an audiobook it’s really important to have a good narrator. This narrator struggled a lot with pronouncing Spanish names and differentiating the characters. I may try other books in the series in print format.

I originally tried this book in print and struggled to connect with the characters so it was a DNF. When I saw the audio book form come out I was excited to give it another go. There are a few books, even some that ranked nationally that I wouldn't have gotten through and enjoyed if I didn't have the audiobook option.

The narrator did a good job at switching voices for each character and bringing the story alive. I didn't DNF but it also didn't blow me away. It was a good cozy mystery, but what I missed was a deeper connection with the characters. Plum coms off as annoying and entitled, which made her hard to root for. The twist at the end fit the genre and I though was well played.

Overall the impression of the book, now that I've been able to listen to it has improved my rating of the book overall. Also this is the third book in a series, but it works as a standalone novel.

Thank you Dreamscape media and NetGalley for allowing me access to this audiobook.

I struggled to get into this book and found the pacing was really slow. I didn't know this was part of a series and felt something was missing so maybe this is why.

I really enjoy the characters in this series. The twists and turns are exciting. No disappointments here at all. I can’t wait for the next installment.

This didn’t really hold my attention and the big reveal ended up annoying me. Ultimately I just think cozy mystery type books are not for me.

I would not be likely to recommend this one.

I will say that I felt like the narrator did a good job with a variety of voices.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for accepting my request to audibly read and review The Girl With the DragonFruit Tattoo.

Narrator: Elizabeth Cottle
Published: 02/28/23

Loved the colors on the cover, bright and cozy-esque. The island/skull didn't work for me. I mention this because I found myself backing away from the book. I judge a book by its cover. If I had been in a bookstore, I would not even pick it up to read the synopsis. For the sake of this review, the title was a seriously perplexed why -- it is too long.

Sadly, the book was a miss for me. It actually started with the character name -- Plum, seriously why? I struggled to finish the book. There was nothing that appealed to me. Please know, the cover did not affect my feelings towards the story.

I wasn't crazy about the narration.

This is my first read and the third in the series. It is a standalone. Reading in order allows for character relationships and growth, however, I didn't feel lost.

In good conscience, I'm not comfortable going higher than two stars. However, I would purchase this for the right person; I have a friend who would enjoy this. Forge ahead if being named Plum doesn't bother you.

As a cozy mystery, I found myself enjoying the plot and the story. I loved that it included turtles and I would love to be on a yacht.

As for as the narration; the MC’d voice was okay, but all the rest were very annoying (Gerald, etc). It took away from the enjoyment of the story.

Narrator: The narrator did a good job of switching among the characters. Overall it was just ok for me. Listening to the audiobook felt more of a story time with me being read to versus being told a story and feeling part of the story.

Story: It was a slow start for me and didn't pick up. I got through about half of the audiobook before anything really happened. The characters were interesting and the elements for a good story were there, but it didn't come together for me. I think I would have enjoyed this more in first person.

I did not read the first two books in this series and I don't believe I missed anything important to the third book by not reading it. It did well as a stand alone.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

I started this series from the beginning and I'm glad that I did. I love knowing the back-story. I also am hating Plum less as the series goes on. In the first book, she was terrible and I hated her, so I am glad that she is becoming more tranquile and less abrasive and hateful. The irony of her being annoyed at her "friends" for behaving exactly as she used to is often lost on her, which is amusingly annoying. I do love me some Juan-Kevin and her assistant though. I will definitely read the next book in the series.

#TheGirlWiththeDragonFruitTattoo
#NetGalley

Narrated by Elizabeth Cottle ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Story by Carrie Doyle ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A fun modern Agatha Christie type who done it story. This reminded me of the show Death In Paradise. I was happy to find this part of a series and am keen to start It Takes Two to Mango.

DNF - 62%.
This one wasn’t for me. I rarely don’t finish a book, but I just couldn’t get In to this one. The narrator uses similar voices for all the male characters making it difficult to differentiate between the characters. I didn’t find any of the characters particularly like able.

The Girl With the DragonFruit Tattoo by Carrie Doyle is the 3rd book in the Trouble In Paradise! cozy mystery series. This is the first book in this series that I have read and it was easily read as a standalone book. I really enjoyed the warm and sunny atmosphere/setting of this series and feel as though it would make a wonderful summertime read. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the MC and the side characters quite yet, the fancy demeanor they all seem to have is slightly off-putting. However, I am planning to read the previous two books in this series and am greatly looking forward to doing so.
3.75 stars rounded up to 4 stars out of 5.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an audiobook copy of The Girl With the DragonFruit Tattoo by Carrie Doyle. My comments are an independent, honest review.

I received the ARC for the second book in this series last year and liked it. However, this year I decided to go and read book 1 before I read this book since I hadn't read the series starter yet. I wish I hadn't. Book 1 made me despise the female MC, and I'm not sure how I didn't catch these things about her in book 2, but I began to catch them in this book. She's just annoying and privileged and vindictive, and not the typical MC you see in cozies. This book was at least a little bit of a departure from the previous two books, but I don't think I'll be reading anymore in this series.