This series packs romance, adventure, mystery and charm. A Year Without A Duke begins with a mystery that plays throughout this five book series. Join in the search for the missing duke. With some of regencies biggest names in romance and compelling stories of love, bravery and suspense, A Year Without a Duke has it all.
Unleashed
Kate Turner DVM, #2
Eileen Brady
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Narrator: Caroline Shaffer
Date of Publication: August 4, 2015
Abridged or Unabridged: Unabridged
Length of Production: 8 hrs and 7 mins
Dr. Kate Turner is happy with her new life in Oak Falls in upstate New York. Working as a relief veterinarian at a small house-call practice, she truly enjoys helping her patients.
All that changes when client Claire Birnham is found dead, an apparent suicide. A talented artist, Claire had everything to live for: new job, Manhattan apartment, her Cairn terrier, Toto. As feisty as the "Wizard of Oz" s Toto, he and Claire were devoted to each other. Kate can t imagine Claire simply abandoning her pet. Was her death murder?
Questions end when police arrest young kennel helper Eugene. The fragile friendship between Kate and police officer Luke Gianetti frays as she ignores his advice and keeps asking questions. House calls provide gossip and clues, some helpful, some not so much, as she treats her animal patients. Did Claire s recent insurance windfall prove too tempting for her hard-working and hard-drinking mother? What does trouble in the art gallery where Claire worked signal? How huge a grudge did heavy metal rocker A. J. hold against high school sweetheart Claire after she dumped him? Was Claire a threat to A. J. s rich new girl?
Dr. Kate mixes real medicine with murder as she risks her life over Claire s death, aided by insights from a former fire investigator, a.k.a. her Gramps. "Unleashed" is just as irresistible as Dr. Kate s first adventure, "Muzzled."
I had the good sense when I found the first book in this new series Audiobook Jukebox, to request both at the same time. So it was a no-brainer for me to start this book as soon as I finished the first one. This story picks up a few months after the events of Muzzled and things have settled back down.
This time the story opened during a murder. There is absolutely no mistaking that it was well thought out and planned precisely to emulate a suicide. There are no clues to the who, just the facts of what happened. Knowing this kept me hyper aware of every interaction Kate had with potential suspects as she questions the official report. Unfortunately, this really didn't help me figure out who or why, any faster than Kate.
The various animals that Kate comes in contact with, continues to be an interesting aspect of the story. These peeks into the workings of a veterinarian's typical day are an educational and fun piece to this series. I was also excited to see that we got to learn more about Kate's Gramps. His insight and guidance, though reluctant, have helped Kate navigate these mysteries that she keeps finding herself drawn into.
Caroline Shaffer's performance was great. Voices were made distinctive though tonal, speed and accent changes. She added to, instead of distracting from, the story.
I think my biggest issue with this book was that there was some repetition of facts. A couple of times, it seemed that were were getting the same information, told two different ways. Not clues, mind you, just background information on Kate or one of the men in her life. I really didn't need to hear about how Luke is playing the field after his break up with his long time fiance - got it the first time. Just little things like this, Maybe it wasn't as noticeable in print form, but it stood out in audio. Overall though, I did enjoy the book and look forward to potentially a third book in the series. I gave this book 3 stars.
Special thanks to Audiobook Jukebox and Blackstone Audio for the opportunity to listen and review this book.
Muzzled
Kate Turner DVM, #1
Eileen Brady
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Narrator: Caroline Shaffer
Date of Publication: July 14, 2015
Abridged or Unabridged: Unabridged
Length of Production: 7 hrs and 38 mins
As she learns more about the murdered couple a twisted scheme of fraud and deceit begins to develop. Each one of her house call clients provides a clue to the mystery. Is the tattooed biker who loves to bake a hit man? Did a ten million dollar lawsuit drive the filmmaker to shoot for real? Or perhaps the estranged daughter got tired of waiting for her inheritance? As the number of suspects goes up so does the cups of coffee and pieces of pie Kate wolfs down, leaving her nerves jangling and her pants too tight. Before she knows it someone tries to frame her for the murder. Who can she trust? The bookkeeper with her pet parrot, Capt Hook, stuffed into her cleavage or the grouchy office manager who knows where all the bodies are buried?
In this "pet noir" author and veterinarian Eileen Brady takes the reader behind the scenes to mix her medicine with murder.
I have read cozy mysteries about people with all kinds of different jobs, but I had never read one about an actual Veterinarian. As a matter of fact, I don't think I have read many books period about animal doctors. So this this book immediately caught my attention when I saw it available on Audiobook Jukebox. This was both a new to me author and narrator.
Dr. Kate Turner is filling in as a relief veterinarian in the small town of Oak Falls in upstate New York, while the regular veterinarian takes a very much overdue vacation on a cruise around the world with his cancer survivor sister. The story starts with Dr. Kate almost to the home of an elderly couple who breed and show champion spaniels. When she arrives, she finds them both dead in what looks like a murder/suicide. Except that everything she knows about the couple seems to make this an unlikely scenario. Oak Falls is a small town, and it seems that everyone she meets has a different story or theory about the couple that may have led to their death.
Caroline Shaffer did a really good job separating the voices, taking clues from the story to make each person unique in some small way. She had an appealing tone, even when she was laying on the thick New York accent. Her pacing and emoting was well done, making this an enjoyable listen.
If you enjoy stories involving animals, you will have a good time with this book. The clues were well thought out and though I was surprised at the end, looking back, I could see that they were all there. They just had to be put in the right order. I had a good time with this story and am happy to have discovered not only a new author, but a new narrator. I gave this book 4 stars.
Special thanks to Audiobook Jukebox and Blackstone Audio for the opportunity to listen and review this book.
I had the good sense when I found the first book in this new series Audiobook Jukebox, to request both at the same time. So it was a no-brainer for me to start this book as soon as I finished the first one. This story picks up a few months after the events of Muzzled and things have settled back down. 
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