The Third Girl

Molly Sutton Mysteries, Book 1

By: Nell Goddin

Narrated by: Becket Royce

Boston girl Molly Sutton moves to a small village in France to lick her wounds after a divorce. Castillac is charming, the croissants amazing, the wine delectable. Molly's new life is full of contentment, if a bit short on excitement.

But then a girl goes missing...and Molly's world gets turned upside down.

Truth be told, no one in the village feels safe. They struggle to believe such darkness could exist in a friendly village, where people spend most of their time thinking about nothing more frightening than what to have for lunch.

And when the missing girl's distraught parents come to stay at Molly's bed and breakfast, she is drawn into the case, like it or not.

Will Molly and the French detective figure out what happened to Amy Bennett before someone else disappears?

©2015 Nell Goddin (P)2024 Nell Goddin

Fun cozy mystery set in French countryside.

Any additional comments?

The Third Girl by Nell Goddin is the first book in the Molly Sutton Mysteries, which is a delightful cozy mystery set in the French countryside. The story begins within hours of Molly Sutton arriving from Boston to a quaint village in France. Seeking a fresh start after a failed marriage, Molly purchases an old rundown country house near where she once attended college. Molly desires nothing more than to enjoy the community's good food and slower lifestyle. However, within a few days of moving into the area, one of the local art students vanishes without a trace. The rest of the story is figuring out what happened to the young woman.

I really enjoyed this story, which is well plotted and well written. What I loved most is the dialog between the characters as it flows naturally as if the reader is listening in on their private conversations. And the "who did it" caught me completely by surprise. As someone who frequently judges books by their covers, it's a shame the cover isn't more revealing of the delightful book inside, like so many othe cozy mystery covers are like.

I listened to the Audible version of this book narrated by Becket Royce who did an excellent job. Her style is very natural and conversational, with differing voices for all characters. In short, I definitely recommend this audiobook for fans of cozy mysteries!

Slow and Disjointed

This one had great potential but never really took off. A lot of filler that just made the story messy. There were so many miscellaneous characters that did not add anything to the story. No clear profession in the story or build up. It was suddenly solved and then over. I still have no idea how we got there. No real crime solving occurred.

The narrator is what kept me listening.

Poor quality

Stilted reading and writing. Poor French accent. If you can't do it right don't do it. Speak English. Too many unnecessary words and facts as I find with a lot of these inexpensive kindle books.

Get past the narration

If you can get past the illogical narration, with poor French pronunciation and the inexplicable placement of French accents in the narration, the story is somewhat interesting. Divorcee moves to France on a whim, buys an old house that she converts to gite, gets to know the locals, and helps solve a string of murders. OK summer read. Nothing more.

Distractions

There was too much sexual innuendo and talk about breasts that did not add to the story or help build a character study. It slowed the pace.

Just okay

Would you try another book from Nell Goddin and/or Becket Royce?

No

Would you be willing to try another book from Nell Goddin? Why or why not?

No, I was underwhelmed by this book and the story. Quite repetitive.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

It was okay.

Do you think The Third Girl needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No

A bit of mystery and fun

Light hearted mystery sprinkled with the American stereotypical view of French life. Nice story to pass time.

so again a assistance. for go to do pi we really

struggled to finish
yawn
needed more solid connections among the main characters
hope this helps
go to start and collect 200 dollars

Great book!

I thoroughly enjoyed both the quality of writing in the book, as well as the narration. Both well done!

Unlikely to move to book 2.

The writing simple, the reader undistinguished and without characterizations. Repititious use of so many phrases and descriptors.