I really enjoyed the narration of this audiobook. Also I always enjoy a book that comes with a recipe. For the most part I really liked Marvie, although I found some of the North vs South comparisons were sometimes entertaining and funny but sometimes a little tiresome. At times the story moved a little slow for my taste but the mystery definitely kept my attention. Any book with books, a library, and/or a cat will be good!

Marvey "Do You Have A Library Card" Harris moves to Peach Coast, Georgia to be the Director of Community Engagement because she felt stymied in her job as librarian in NYC, she wanted an opportunity to put her library ideas and ideals in motion at a micro-level. Marvey has been in Peach Coast for a few months and has made a really good friend in fellow newcomer and bookshop owner Jo Gomez is one, but when a local author ends up dead at her book signing, Jo is the prime suspect in the case since, as the owner, she knows the ends and outs of the To Be Read bookstore. To help her friend Marvey must use her research and outreach skills to investigate this murder before the book is closed on Jo's freedom.

Murder by Page one is a decent cozy which I suspect would make a better Hallmark movie. What worked for me, I enjoyed the library politics, the passion Marvey had for her job, Marvey's multicultural friendships, and the storyline about her cat Phoenix. The narrator did sound a bit older for 28 years old, I also thought, Marvey's character should have had more of a Brooklyn accent since she was a native New Yorker, however I thought the narrator's southern accents and male and female voices were stellar. Also, the narrator does a fantastic job of portraying Marvey's love and concern for her cat Phoenix, the narrator really kept me interested in that storyline the way she acted that out. What did not work for me which is in no way the fault of the audio company was the lack of real diversity in the town. Hopefully publishing companies will start to get serious about representation, and give readers real diversity in cozy mysteries. Yet with some crucial tweeks The Peach Coast Library mystery series has the potential to be a really good series, I look forward to the next installment, hopefully more people of color will have moved to Peach Coast.

"Do you have a library card?"

There was a time when I would turn my nose up at a cozy mystery. As a habit I read a lot of thriller, procedurals and hard-hitting crime fiction. The cozies were just too cute and always had recipes in them and skimmed the surface when I wanted to dig deep.
These days, however, a book like Murder By Page One, a cozy mystery featuring diverse characters is a perfect read. I listened to the audiobook, my first audio ARC from Netgalley. This narrator is perfect. She is engaging and sounds lively and interested in the novel.
Murder by Page One is book 1 in a series set in fictional Peach Coast, Georgia and I will for sure be picking up other books by this author as well as watching for other books in this series. I so enjoyed meeting Marley, the community director for the library and the cast of characters that join her in sticking their nose into the whodunit mystery, considering that one of her closest friends, owner of a local bookshop, is suspected of murder. There's something about a bunch of middle aged folks with nothing to do but solve crime that just tickles me lately.
This book was great for setup of the series and characters; like other reviewers, I hope we see fewer comparisons between Peach Coast and New York and also less explanations of southern colloquialisms and culture. You get it or you don't.
Altogether, I enjoyed this listen! It's a solid first release in a new series and waiting on book two. In the meantime I am going to check out Olivia Matthews previous books.

Murder By Page One (A Peach Coast Library Mystery from Hallmark Publishing) by Olivia Matthews
Narrated by Janina Edwards
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
Release Date: March 23, 2021

Murder By Page One is the first book in the new "A Peach Coast Library Mystery" series from Hallmark Publishing by Olivia Matthews! This cozy mystery is set in small town, Peach Coast, Georgia and has a book-ish theme!

New York librarian, Marvella "Marvey" Harris moves from Brooklyn to Peach Coast, Georgia, for a new job (and better opportunity) at the local library. Marvey's best friend in Georgia is Jo Goumaz, who runs the local book shop! I love the book connection setting up this friendship!

The mystery was well laid out and kept me guessing until the end!

The author has created a wonderful new world, with rich and likable characters! I look forward to future books!

The narration by Janina Edwards was great! She definitely has a grasp on Southern speech! Her narration made me feel like I was in Georgia!

I'm so grateful to Olivia Matthews, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this ARC audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Very cute cozy mystery set in Southern town. Marvella “Marvey” Harris has just moved from Brooklyn to take over library promotion in a small town in Georgia. A murder happened at a book store right before a book presentation. An author has been killed. So who did it and why?

“Do you have a library card?” That and some peach cobbler, which I am now very hungry for, and a cup of coffee! My kind of place!
We are in Peach Coast. Georgia, and unfortunately, there is a body of a local author, and we are on a quest to find her killer. When her friend becomes the primary suspect, Marvy Harris, is determined to help her.
This one will keep you guessing right up to the end, I kept thinking I knew, but was wrong, and you will have to keep reading for the answers here.
This is the first book in this series, and I’ll be looking for the next rendition, they are a read to get lost in and keep you on your toes.

I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Hallmark, and was not required to give a positive review.

This book was a nice light read - a twisty little cozy mystery. I enjoyed the warm, soothing voice of the narrator and found myself identifying with Marvey, as she attempted to fit in to a new job and a new area, and of course because of her love of libraries. I thought the choice of the name for the bookstore, To Be Read, was perfect! I also adored poor Phoenix, the cat. I would love to see him take a role in helping solve the mysteries in later books in the series. I am also interested to see how the budding romance between Marvey and Spence plays out.

This is a review of the Audio version of the book by Dreamscape Media. The reader of the book was very good, with a definite southern accent. This is the first book in a new series. Marvey Harris is a librarian who moved four months previously from Brooklyn NY to Peach Coast GA with her cat Phoenix, who seems to still be homesick. She does marketing for the library, and her best friend Jo Goumaz runs a book shop. I tend to like books that talk about libraries and bookstores! Jo is sponsoring a book signing of several local authors in the Coastal Fiction Writers Club. During the signing, one of authors, Fiona, was missing. Marvey, Jo, and Spence (the local newspaper man and a friend of Marvey and Jo) go to look for her. They find her dead in the storeroom.

For some reason, the two policemen seem to focus on Jo as the only suspect. Marvey and Spence decide to try to find other suspects and to find evidence that Jo could not have been the murderer. Their primary suspects became Betty and her son Bobby. Shortly after Fiona came to town, Betty's husband, Buddy divorced her and marred Fiona. Betty has been making up derogatory stories about Fiona ever since, and has turned many townspeople against her. Shortly after people realize Marvey is trying to help Jo, she begins having "accidents". First all her security lights came on at 2am. Then, the chair in her library office collapsed when she sat in it. Then, she found a cottonmouth snake in her car front seat, and was almost hit by a speeding car in a parking lot.

I learned a lot of southern sayings and it was amusing to hear Marvey ask everyone she talks with if they have a library card. The book gets very exciting as we near the end, and Marvey and Jo meet the surprise killer. I can see a possible romance for Marvey in a future book.

Murder By Page One was a fun and intriguing read. I love any book with a prominent animal character, and the additional setting of a bookstore is a plus. The characters were engaging and the story moved along at a steady pace. It was a fun read and the narrator did and excellent job.

I am loving every minute of this cozy murder mystery. Librarian, Marvey moves from Brooklyn, New York to the small town of Peach Coast, Georgia.

I loved all of Marvey’s comments about Brooklyn. Being a former Brooklynite, the author Olivia Matthews was just "dead-on" with all the Brooklyn references.

Murder By Page One was a fun and intriguing read. And, of course, Phoenix the cat was fun too. In fact, considering Phoenix’s demeanor, if he could talk, I bet he’d be tawkin’ Brooklynese too! And of course, any book with a murder that takes place in a bookstore...at a book signing is worth my time.

Murder By Page One, is the first book in the Peach Coast Library Mystery series. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series!

This is the first in a new mystery series and I'd like to thank Hallmark Publishing and Dreamscape media for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced copy. I alternated between reading the written version and the audio arc. The narration in the audiobook was well paced. Unlike most audiobooks I didn't have to speed it up.

This cozy mystery is set in a small town in Georgia called Peach Coast and centers around a librarian named Marvey who has recently moved from NYC. While she's dealing with homesick cat and settling into her new role at the library she's quickly made fast friends with some prominent locals. While attending a book event at a friend's bookstore they discover the dead body of one of the authors. Marvey must help her friend clear her name by finding the real killer.

It took me awhile to get into this story though. There were many NYC vs The South comparisons and some were just ridiculous. I wish that would've been toned down more. I understand people from NYC love to talk about how they're from NYC but Marvey had notes for simple Southern phrases that were easy to figure out. The town seemed fairly diverse so it couldn't have been that backwoods to constantly treat it like a completely different world.

I actually guessed the killer too and I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. I did like how the town was set up and Marvey's love of books was showcased well throughout. I'll continue on with the series.

This book is the first in a new series, Peach Coast Library Mystery.
Marvella “Marvey” Harris has just moved from Brooklyn. She works in the library in Peach Coast, Georgia. There is a booksigning at her friend Jo’s bookstore. It doesn’t go well with a death of an author at the store. Jo becomes the primary suspect.
Marvey uses her skills to look into the matter and try to open the detective’s perspective on this crime.
I enjoyed Marvey being a New York transplant and her non-southern look at idioms and other traditions.
What I didn’t like was the stereotypical portrayal of the southern detective.
I was given an advanced reader’s copy of the audio version from Netgalley and Hallmark Publishing. I am not required to give a positive review.

Janina Edwards did an outstanding job narrating the audio version of Murder by Page One!

Marvey recently relocated to Peach Coast as the community events coordinator at the local library, when she is not investigating (strike that, attempting to clear her friend as the key suspect). There are multiple references to library card and book comments that make this murder mystery a lot of fun along the way.

Always a good read when you are finishing it up at 3am. :) Very enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher (Dreamscape Media) and the author/Olivia Matthews for the opportunity to review the advance read copy of the audiobook Murder by Page One ... in exchange for an honest review. Well done!

cozy-mystery, librarian, bookseller, small-business, small-town, amateur-sleuth, murder, murder-investigation, author, friendship****

The former Brooklyn librarian, the ditzy bookstore owner, and the body of the author meet in the bookshop. The characters and relationships are engaging, the story moves along at a steady pace with diverting twists and red herrings. I thought it was an entertaining, fun easy read.
Janina Edwards is an excellent voice actor and great to listen to.
I requested and received a free temporary audio copy from Hallmark Publishing and Dreamscape Media via NetGalley. Thank you!

Murder by Page One is a very well written cozy mystery. Loved the plot and character dynamics. I highly recommend this book.

This was the first book in a new series. It was ok but I felt like it dragged on quite a bit trying to set the scenes and characters. I think this could be a good series though, I enjoyed the main characters dialogue and of course, the mystery.

Librarian and New Yorker, Marvey has just moved to Georgia. While she soon’s settles in with book groups and jewelry making, she still feels like a fish out of water sometimes. Her cat, while not the cuddliest of pets provides some solace. But nothing makes Marvey feel better after she discovers a body on the floor of the bookstore. With newspaper owner, Spence and her fellow librarians at her side, Marvey is sure she can identify the killer, if he doesn’t find her first of course. A fun cozy that’s bound to put a smile on the face of the crankiest reader