Invitation to Die

Emily Castles Mysteries

By: Helen Smith

Narrated by: Alison Larkin

Twenty-six-year-old Emily Castles is out of work…again. So when famous romance author Morgana Blakely offers her a job helping out at a conference in London, Emily accepts. Just as eagerly, American blogger Winnie Kraster accepts an invitation from Morgana to attend as a guest, not realizing she has, in effect, accepted an invitation to die.

As a cast of oddball characters assembles at the conference hotel, grievances, differences, and secrets begin to emerge.

When Winnie goes missing, and then is found murdered nearby, Emily begins to suspect that someone involved with the conference is responsible. Could it be one of the organizers, one of the authors, a member of the hotel staff, or even the supplier of the chocolates for the conference gift bags?

Emily teams up with guest speaker and eccentric philosophy professor Dr. Muriel to find out. Offbeat and engaging, this entertaining comic mystery is the first to feature amateur British sleuth Emily Castles.

©2013 Helen Smith (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Not my thing

cozy-mystery, amateur-sleuth, London, writers

Droll humor and wacky characters are the best parts of this book. There is something a little dull with the plot, but I can't quite put my finger on it. It just didn't suit me.
Purchased as Whispersync on the cheap courtesy of Book Gorilla.
Alison Larkin is an expressive narrator.

Started slow but then very entertaining

After a slow start, this turns into an enjoyable and funny murder mystery. I found the voice performance a little annoying at the beginning but it grew on me.

ok interesting premise

not my favorite
a little hard to follow
anything pertaining to book shows is always of interest

Invitation to Die unabridged audiobook

Such a fun story. Yes it was somewhat silly in places but that added to the charm and endearment of the characters. All in all this was a good clean mystery. I gave it four stars instead of five because I had no difficulty in solving the crime and that was somewhat disappointing for me. I also thought that some of the silliness was over the top and warranted a less than perfect star rating. I will recommend both this book and this author in future.

Cute Storyline :-)

I listened to the book Invitation to Die: Emily Castles Mystery Series, Book 1 on Audible in one day, as it is short enough to do so, but still long enough to feel like a full story from start to finish. This is my favorite length of audiobook because it fits into my schedule perfectly. :-)

I thought this book was really funny and the storyline was clever! I enjoyed the characters and their quirky ways. The author, Helen Smith, now has a new fan...me! This is the first full book I have listened to of hers, and I plan to read more!

For those of you interested in cozy mysteries, you are in for a treat! The narrator does a fantastic job. I love her accent, though I'm sure that to some of you, she doesn't have an accent at all. I hope she is the same narrator in future books written by Helen Smith. She did a great job with her volume, pace, and inflection. She was a joy to listen to, and I recommend you give this book a go!

Again, for those of you who love cozy mysteries, you will enjoy both the book and the audio for this story. It is funny, and it kept me engaged. I look forward to finding out what else Helen Smith has in store for her listeners!

Thank you for reading my review!! :-)