Merit Badge Murder

Merry Wrath Mystery, Book 1

By: Leslie Langtry

Narrated by: Bailey Carr

From USA Today best-selling author Leslie Langtry comes a mystery series of laugh-out-loud proportions....

When CIA agent Merry Wrath is "accidently" outted, she's forced her into early retirement, changes her appearance, and moves where no one will ever find her - Iowa. Instead of black bag drops in Bangkok, she now spends her time leading a young Girl Scout troop. But Merry's new simple life turns not-so-simple when an enemy agent shows up dead at scout camp. Suddenly Merry is forced to deal with her former life in order to preserve her future one.

It doesn't help matters that the CIA sends in her former, sexy handler to investigate...or that the hot new neighbor across the street turns out to be the local detective in charge of her case. And when Merry is forced to take on a roommate in the voluptuous form of a turned KGB agent/bimbo, things become trickier than wet work in Waukegan or cookie sales in the spring. Nothing in the CIA or Girl Scouts' training manuals has prepared her for what comes next....

©2014 Leslie Langtry (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Girl scouting with an ex-CIA operative

Merry Wrath, a former CIA agent whose cover has been “accidentally” blown is trying to stay under the radar in Iowa in Merit Badge Murder by Leslie Langtry. But on a camping trip with the girl scout troop she leads, Merry comes across the body of the number four Al Qaeda operative, Ahmad Maloof. What is he doing in Iowa? But things get worse when Merry runs over Carlos the Armadillo, the top drug lord in Colombia, who dashes in front of her car with no opportunity for Merry to halt. Thus, her former CIA partner, Riley, comes to town to manage things. Then, Svetlana, a blond knockout Russian FSB agent whom Merry has turned and who has just had to flee Russia, shows up at Merry’s door, announcing that she is Merry’s new roommate. Riley pushes Merry to accept “Lana” into her home to hide and protect her, which Merry grudgingly accepts. But soon news cameras from every network news station show up in front of Merry’s door, including Wolf Blitzer from CNN, creating more problems. But worse issues arise when Lana finds Midori Ito, the sadistic and torture-loving head of a Japanese gang syndicate, dead in Merry’s kitchen. Why are the top terrorists in the world converging in Iowa?

The book continues with adventure and fun, as we watch Merry try to figure out who is friend and who is foe. We take turns with Merry questioning the veracity of each person in turn.

This book is full of excitement, with a touch of humor too. I liked the dynamics among the four main characters. Merry and her lifelong best friend Kelly help each other out and cover for each other. I really enjoyed the scene where Lana takes over their girl scout troop with great success and the adoration of the girls, as well as their fathers. I also appreciate the way that Merry, the narrator of the book, thinks of the new hot detective who has just moved in across the street from her as her future husband. This is so indicative of how many women think about the men they have a crush on, especially ones they don’t have a close relationship with. Merry’s conflicted relationship with Riley, her former CIA partner, also comes across as realistic. But I must say as a 4th generation Californian, I don’t think that Riley’s dedication to tofu and other health food is particularly caused by his being from my state.

I also enjoyed the CIA weaponry that Merry has stashed from her years in the field. My personal favorite was the camera hidden inside a box of tampons, since men tend to be afraid to get too close to feminine hygiene products.

I enjoyed the narration of Bailey Carr in the audio version of this book. She makes me think that I really am hearing Merry’s voice. I am not sure about her Russian accent, though. I have had several Russian friends, and they do not sound like the voice Carr uses, but this does sound like an accent you might see on some of the Cold War movies. However, I do really enjoy the experience of listening to the book, and that is what is important.

I particularly enjoyed Merit Badge Murder and am eager to get to move on to the next book in the series, which I definitely plan to listen to soon. I give this book five stars!

Action packed mystery!

This is an action packed mystery. Great, interesting characters and serious action. I wasn’t a huge fan of the storyline *only* because it was so action packed. I am definitely more of a cozy mystery fan. Also, the narrator’s slow enunciation with almost a pause between the words was super distracting. I set the speed to 1.25 and it was perfect. Not noticeable as sped up, and finally sounded normal.

I love the name and it was a great little mystery

I enjoyed this book it was a great little mystery. The only thing I didn't like was that Mary, an adult Woman, & former CIA agent acts like a teenage girl when it comes to the two men in her life it just seems over the top & does nothing to enhance the story.

Fun

I liked this very fun but not boring. I love Merry! Can’t wait to read the next one!

!Entertaining - not really funny

**Spoilers**
First, what CIA agent retires (her cover was blown) moves back to her hometown around the corner from her BFF and expect to live undercover? Merry Wrath did. She made superficial changes in her appearance, a change in her hair color and contact lens. Somehow after a drunken night with her BFF, she divulges to her BFF, Kellie, what her previous occupation was. How is it that no one else in town recognizes her?

The CIA gave her a substantial settlement but not a back ground to withstand the basic scrutiny of the local police? They did blow her cover.

Merry Wrath, a girl scout leader, former CIA spy, is still adjusting to normal life (she is still using Dora the Explorer sheets for drapes) after a year. Dead bodies turn up, a new police chief moves across the street and she gets a visit by her former handler. Throw in an attraction for the hot new police chief and her former handler and you have all the ingredients for this story.

Merry has a few skills in sulking around and using guns. The funny scenes are when she has to keep Rex, the police chief, the dark about her previous employment
If you take some of inconsistencies into account, then this is an entertaining story. It does not have the comedic supporting cast that you will find in Fortune Hunter, written by: Jana DeLeon or Claire in the Jackrabbit series by: Ann Charles. Nor does Merry suffer from being a blundering amateur detective like Claire.

What I can tell from the closing dialogue, Merry is looking forward to some interesting action from the mutual attraction between her and Rex and her and Riley.

This has left me with a desire to listen to another Fortune Hunter book. I miss the funny support cast.

Cute & Fun

If you're looking for something to sink your teeth into I would keep looking. However, if a fun, quirky listen (while your doing something else) is what you want, this books for you.

Great Story....performer, not right for the story!

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes the book was awesome, performer was not right for the part.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Riley was my favorite character...Loved how cocky he was.

Would you be willing to try another one of Bailey Carr’s performances?

She was good, but if someone was retired from the CIA, the book shouldn't be narrated by someone who sounds like they are 12.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Yes, yes, yes!

So-so story.

I've read better. like the other readers, I kept comparing this story to the Miss Fortune series. This story is weak and the author failed to keep her story straight.
Failure to pay attention to the story line is a common error of authors. For example, at one point Merry is dressed for battle with a gun holstered on her hip. In one scene the gun is holstered, then it's in her hand, and then it's holstered again. At no time was the gun drawn. This type of writing happened several times in the story. How the author and the proof readers missed it is beyond belief.
It is beyond me how a Police Detective can call out Swat for an operation without reporting to his Supervisor first.
The narration is lousy as the narrator can not do male voices and should only be part of a team. As for her speech pattern, she speaks ploddingly and reminds me of Howard Kossell. Yep, I'm old.

I was unimpressed

The main character acted and thought more like a middle or high school student especially when it came to the opposite sex. It was hard to imagine she was an adult much less someone with the years and experience in the CIA she supposedly have. It was very annoying and detracted from the story for me.

Liked the story, Hated the narration

My God, I had to speed up the narration! She was speaking at a glacial pace! With pauses... a lot of pauses for drama...
Read this instead.