Key to Savannah

Made in Savannah Cozy Mysteries Series, Book 1

By: Hope Callaghan

Narrated by: Valerie Gilbert

Length: 4 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Months after the untimely death of mafia-made man Vinnie Garlucci, his devoted wife, Carlita, discovers a mysterious key in one of his pockets while sorting through his belongings.

With help from her daughter, Mercedes, she sets off to find out what the mysterious key belongs to and soon discovers she has inherited property in historic Savannah, Georgia. Carlita views the property as a sign and remembers Vinnie's dying words to her to get their family out of the mafia.

Against the wishes of her three sons, mother and daughter embark on a road trip to explore the property. While they're gone, someone breaks into their home and vandalizes it. This is the second time it has happened since Vinnie's death and Carlita is convinced that it's somehow tied to the mafia.

Carlita and Mercedes are looking forward to leaving their old life behind with a fresh start in beautiful Savannah. They quickly realize you can run but you can't hide from the past.

©2017 Hope Callaghan (P)2017 Hope Callaghan

Enjoyable and Funny

I listened to this while mowing my lawn. It had a good story line and is quite funny at times.

A short glance at mobster family

This is a light and entertaining story. There are many funny and exciting moments. This is a part of the series but does not end on a cliffhanger; however, I am looking forward to book two.

The narration was done great, with nice accents for the main characters.

sluggish reading

I enjoyed the story but the reading was too monotone and sluggish. I didn't enjoy the pace at which the narrator read the story. Do not believe I will listen to any other books she narrators.

amazing and great book

What I love most about this book is the narrators accent. book 2 please because this book has me wanting more. if you can make me this is a true mobsters mystery, you have gained a fan for life.

Starting of a great series !

I loved listening to this audiobook ! Both story and characters were great !Now I can't wait to see what happens next ,

A gripping listen

Carlita Garlucci said goodbye to her husband, Vinnie, a few short months ago, promising him on his deathbed that she would pull their three sons out of the Mafia family business in Key to Savannah by Hope Callaghan. Now as she finally is sorting through her husband's clothes, she finds a key to a safety deposit box, which she takes her daughter, Mercedes, to check. At the bank, they learn that Vinnie added Carlita's name to the account the same day he died -- was murdered? -- and open the box. There they find a deed to property in Savannah, Georgia and a dozen incredibly valuable-looking gems. So Carlita and Mercedes make up their minds to move from Queens to Savannah, to the strong opposition of Carlita's sons.

Taking off on the spur of the moment to check out their new property, the women find an abandoned restaurant and grocery store with two apartments above them that is supposed to be haunted. They also meet their new neighbor, the tattoo artist SteveO. From him they learn that the former owner, George del Mario, was murdered six years earlier and the place left vacant ever since. After getting estimates on the work needed to fix up the place, they return home to find that someone has tried to torch their house, not the first break-in since the death of Vinnie. While putting their house on the market and getting ready to move, they find that life is still a challenge as they try to set out for a new life.

The first half of this book kept me riveted from the start. I found the plot intriguing and the characters clever. I do wonder how accurate the depictions of the wife and daughter of a member of the Mafia were. Are they really as sheltered as Carlita and Mercedes appear? Would the wife of a Mafia member really use the word "shoot" instead of the stronger expletive? However, as drawn, these women seem perfectly natural in their behavior, as Vinnie kept his wife and daughter very sheltered. The last third of the book was less exciting. The plot shifted from less of a mystery to more of a drama.

I really enjoy the performance Valerie Gilbert gives of the audiobook. She voices the characters cleverly, using distinct New York accents for the Garluccis and light Southern accents for SteveO and his sister, Autumn. I would have expected a stronger accent for the Georgia natives, but they still sound clearly distinct from the Garluccis.

I have mixed feelings about Key to Savannah. Much of it kept me drawn to the story. But I lost some of my interest the last third or so. I will probably listen to book two of this series because I loved the characters and see a lot of potential for future books. I give this book four stars.

Not bad

The first book in the Made in Savannah series wasn’t bad. I’ve purchased the next in the series hoping it will be better. The narration was good.

A Fun Journey!

🔎 I don't think that there is anything that I can add to the Publisher's Summary, which is detailed without spoilers.

These relatively short (5 hours) books seem to be popping up everywhere. Hope Callaghan writes a very clever and somewhat light tale – even though the story line is complex and can be dark (Mafia, anyone?) I really liked it. 4 strong stars

Valerie Gilbert gives a 5 star performance – after I sped it up to 1.25x (my preferred move) Excellent!

As for Overall, I am going to average the story & the performance for a whopping 4.5 stars. Well done, ladies.

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Loving my new favorite author!

Love this book and can’t wait till I read the next in series! Even the hubby enjoyed listening to it while we traveled.

Mystery enjoyed

I enjoyed listening to this story, my first from Ms. Callaghan narrated by one of my fave narrators. The reason I chose it, Ms. Gilbert did some amazing accents, loved the one she gave Mercedes.
An interesting story of new beginnings, courage after tragedy and hope for a better future.