Murder By Page One by Olivia Mathews was a perfect audiobook! It was sweeter than peach cobbler and and flew by! If you like Hallmark Movies and Mysteries you'll love this library themed mystery!

I did not enjoy the narration of this audiobook. The narrator is very articulate and does a great job pitching her voice in various ways to differentiate characters. However, this story is told in first person and the protagonist is twenty eight years old. The narrator sounds much older, so the voice simply didn’t fit the character. It sounded like Marvey’s mother was narrating instead of Marvey herself, which really disconnected me from the story.

The story itself was a lot of fun. The author does a great job depicting small town southern living, and the main set of characters were charming enough that I would like to be friends with them if they existed in real life. There’s a hint of possible romance to come, but this book is really centered on budding friendships.

Like most cozy mysteries you need to suspend your disbelief a bit in order to really enjoy it. The local police are painfully inept, most of the characters have little issue with being asked very direct and personal questions by someone they barely/don’t know, and a town of roughly one thousand residents has a library with at least five full-time staff plus part-time openings. If you can look past that, this is a fun read and a good introduction to what will probably become a series. It also introduced me to my new favorite saying - “Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit.”

My Audiobook rating is two stars, but my book rating is four stars.

(I received an advanced copy of this audiobook from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.)

Marvey has recently moved from New York to work at a library in a much smaller town in Georgia. She enjoys the freedom that a smaller library offers and loves asking everyone she meets if they already have a library card (felt that was slightly overused throughout the story).

Just when her day was shaping up so nicely, attending an author book signing at the friend's book shop, "To Be Read," one of the authors turns up dead. And Marvey's friend, Jo is prime suspect. Local law enforcement (who seem rather Barney Fife-like) have their focus on Jo to the exclusion of searching for any other suspects. As researcher extraordinaire, Marvey is compelled to turn amateur detective. She partners up with the owner of the local newspaper, Spence.

The story line is fairly light-hearted and not particularly deep. I'd put it in the category of soap opera writing. Sort of mind candy for those who may not have time or interest in much character development or literary depth.

Sentences overloaded with adjectives and tedious descriptions (faux leather couch, faux oak shelf--why not just have a leather couch or oak shelf?). Using it more than once seemed odd. Felt like any time a character entered a room, the reader was going to get a real estate description of the furniture and where it was placed (does it really matter what color a chair is?). I think by the end of the book, readers will also know almost every piece of clothing in Marvey's wardrobe. An occasional description is fine, but I honestly do not care to hear everything described in detail. Just gets in the way of the story.

Reading the book in print would have made it easier to skip over the unnecessary descriptions. But I felt the audiobook was hard to listen to. But if you are looking for something not too deep, this may fit the bill.

Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of the audiobook, Murder By Page One from NetGalley for the purpose of review. No other compensation was received.

A cozy mystery for bibliophiles and/or cat lovers. The new director of community outreach for the local library has relocated from Brooklyn to this small town in Georgia where she befriends the local bookstore owner and asks everyone she meets if they have a library card. An admirable first novel with likeable characters, some tension established for future books as well as a potential love interest. Wardrobe descriptions mostly about color (a rich chocolatey brown, a brilliant blue) and too much detail about a passion for chocolate-covered almonds that did not figure into the mystery. I received a download of the audiobook from NetGallery in exchange for this honest review.

Murder By Page One by Olivia Matthews is the start of a new series - A Peach Coast Library Mystery.
It is a cozy southern mystery with a dash of humor and a dose of romance. There is a new librarian in town, Marvey. She is from New York so she has some adjustments to make to survive in small town Georgia. She enlists a friendly co-worker to act as her Southern expression translator for the daily deluge of "Bless her heart" and "Butter my butt and call me a biscuit." Marvey has become great friends with, Jo, the owner of the local bookstore, To Be Read. At an event held at Jo's bookstore, a local author is killed and Marvey has to solve the murder so her friend, Jo, will not end up being charged with murder. Very reminiscent of the series 'Murder She Wrote" - the audio book narrator is excellent - with just the right variations in character voice and accent presentation - it is a quick, enjoyable read!

Murder by Page One by Olivia Matthews is such a perfect cozy mystery. I love a book that involves libraries, mysteries and a bookstore! When a local bookstore owner, Jo, hosts a book signing and becomes the focus of a murder investigation, the main characters Marvey and Spence work together with Jo to prove her innocence. Secrets are uncovered! Truths are revealed! And all while danger is lurking! This is such a cute story. This could become a Hallmark movie that everyone would love!
Thank you to NetGalley and Hallmark Publishers for an advanced readers audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I don't read a lot of cozy mysteries but I was looking for something that would be a light read/listen while I was doing other things and this story fit right in! I enjoyed hanging out with Marvy, the newcomer to the area and its library, while she and her new friends solved a murder mystery. I felt like I was right there at the dinner party, listening to the phone conversations, or stopping in at the local bakery/coffee shop.
The story was easy to follow, cleanly written, with a bit of humour added in. This is the first book in a new series but it also be good as a stand-alone. I would recommend it either way.

Thanks to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to listen to this cozy and provide a review.

This audiobook has been a delight! The story is well-paced and balanced. I've been listening to more audiobooks lately, and the narration makes all the difference. This narrator is incredibly soothing and relaxing. She doesn't try any goofy accents yet is able to convey all the characters easily. There are many Southernisms and colloquial phrases which help to build the setting's charm.

As a library assistant, I find it funny how concerned our protagonist is with bringing in new library patrons, metrics, etc. It made me laugh when I was reshelving in the stacks.

I recommend this book and certainly the audiobook version!

I really enjoyed listening to this book. The narrator did a great job and it had you thinking one thing and then another as you tried to figure out what happened. Makes me glad I have a library card and hopefully use it to read the next book in the series.

While I really enjoyed the story and the characters for this one the narrator of the audiobook wasn't my favorite so I felt my attention slipping quite a bit. That being said though, it was a solid start to a new cozy series and had a lot of the elements I love in a good cozy mystery. The characters were well done and developed, and the setting, a small southern town was great. I loved the juxtaposition of Marvey's straight forward approach to everything against the nuisances of the southerners. Overall this was a good mystery and I look forward to book two, though I will likely read that one and not listen to it.

The Peach Coast Library Mysteries is a new cozy mystery series published by Hallmark. Olivia Matthews is a new author to me, but I will check out her other books. This was a well written and plotted story to start off this series. This story finds Marvella (Marvey) recently moved from New York to small town Georgia to begin a new library job. Realizing that she has little to no chance of promotion in New York, she decides to try her luck at the Peach Coast Library. She has two wonderful friends that play a large part in the story, Jo, a local bookstore owner and Spence, the son of wealthy townspeople. When Jo is suspected of a murder in the storeroom of her store, Marvey realizes that she needs to do something as the police are not searching for other suspects. With Spence’s help, will they be able to prove Jo’s innocence.

I really enjoyed the characters in this story. The three besties are wonderful characters and supportive of each other. The secondary characters are also great, even with a few quirks to make them interesting. I love the way the library staff and patrons rally around to help each other. Corrine, the supervisor at the library is a wonderful character and boss. I liked how she stood behind her employees and stood up to the mayor. The mystery is interesting with several suspects. I tried to figure out the mystery, but kept changing my mind. The reveal was well done, and tied together all the loose ends. I enjoyed this story and will watch for the next in this series. The narration by Janina Edwards was well done. Her expression, tone, voices and pacing were all well done. I recommend this book to cozy mystery lovers, and if you enjoy audiobooks, listen to this one.

Murder on Page One is a cozy mystery centering around librarian Marvey Harris trying to solve a murder and clear her friends name. The book features a lot of local townspeople and really has that home town feel to it. I listened to the audio book and enjoyed it.

Loved the audio narration of the book. Well represented with the right tones that were intended at every juncture. The plot is fast paced and keeps you engrossed as well. The characterization is brilliant t with the right emotions thrown in. The suspense at the end is justified and something you wouldnt expect. The book stays with you post completion. I would like to try the physical copy of the book as well

I really enjoyed this book! The characters were fun. I loved the interactions between them, and the growing friendships that Marvey made as a newbie to their tiny town. The plot was great too. Things stayed interesting while Marvey used her research skills to clear her friend's name. The one thing that bothered me was the near obsessive describing of the color and/or material of things. It was a little distracting at times.

I listened to the audiobook and LOVE the narrator! Her voice was great to listen to, and I liked the way she did the voices for the different characters.

Listening to this book you can feel as though you have been beamed up and transported to this quiet town in Georgia. Everything in the storyline makes you feel the slow pace, hear the southern drawls, experience the uniqueness and nosiness of a small town setting.
   Enter a librarian from NYC to a new position at the library and how she has to learn to adapt to the ways of her new community. She’s met with some trepidation but especially so when a murder occurs at a book signing and she finds herself acting as a sleuth.
   While playing detective she wins over several members of the community who then join her in her search of the killer but not before she is dangerously sabotaged several times to discourage her inquiries.
   What is most charming, is no matter who she meets in various situations—good and bad— she always offers  her standard line: “Do you have a library card?”.  
   Unlike some murder mysteries that zip you along from scene to scene………this was in character of the southern setting, slow and methodical and left you with a longing for peach cobbler.

Thank you to Net Galley, the author, and publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed listening to Murder By Page One. I like the narrator, the characters, the small southern town and the mystery. It was an enjoyable, fun read. I highly recommend it if you like cozy mysteries. I also love the fact that the main character was a librarian!

Great first book! Love the characters and their Southern charm. New to the small town of Peach Coast is Marvey Harris (I love how she asked everyone she meets if they have a library card!), and her new friend Jo (bookstore owner) is suspect of a murder that happened in her storage room.
I listened to the audio book and enjoyed the Southern accent; it really made the story come to life!
Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape for the opportunity to listen to this audio version for my honest opinion.

3.5

My first cozy mystery! I listened to the audio and the narrator was excellent! I love stories that take place in the south. The town is just charming. The Southern euphemisms and fun cast of characters were a nice escape. I could easily see this as a Hallmark movie.

The beginning captured my attention but the mystery was a bit on the weak side for my tastes. This could be due to the fact that this is an unknown genre for me. That said I still enjoyed the book and I definitely think Cozy Mysteries have a certain time and place for me. I liked the main character and feel she has potential and I'd read the next book for sure. Now, I'm seriously craving me some, "Peach cobbler!"

I'd like to kindly thank NetGalley and Dreamscape Media and Hallmark Publishing for granting me access to this Advanced Audio Recording.

3 likes

This is not necessarily a bad book. I just cannot get into it at all. The writing isn't gripping and the narrator's voice is quite grating so it's hard to fall into the story and unfortunately I can't finish.

Quaint ‘lighthearted’ murder mystery - it sounds like an odd pairing but it works. The author does a great job at building characters & developing the town. The murder mystery aspect keeps you guessing to the end. The book provides a satisfactory ending while so leaving room for future sequels.

I loved the depth that the narrator brought to the characters - whether their skepticism, humor, or their purposeful question of asking if the townsfolk have a library card.