The Venom in the Valentine

Viola Roberts Cozy Mysteries, Book 5

By: Shéa MacLeod

Narrated by: Yvette Keller

Viola Roberts is down in the dumps after discovering her boyfriend, Lucas, is snowed in back east. Her best friend, Cheryl, agrees to substitute a girl’s weekend for the romantic Valentine’s Day he had planned. Massages and mani-pedis for the win!

That is, until the hotel guests start receiving venomous Valentines, and one of them ends up dead. In a remote resort on the wild Oregon coast, it’s up to Viola to get to the bottom of things before any more guests fall to the killer’s poison pen.

Viola Roberts Cozy Mysteries:

1. The Corpse in the Cabana
2. The Stiff in the Study
3. The Poison in the Pudding
4. The Body in the Bathtub
5. The Venom in the Valentine
6. The Remains in the Rectory
7. The Death in the Drink

©2017 Shéa MacLeod (P)2018 Shéa MacLeod

Fun Cozy Mystery!

Any additional comments?

A fun cozy mystery with no graphic sex or violence. Female hotel guests receive poison pen letters, who is sending them? Then, a murder! This was a nice lighthearted Valentine's Day mystery with a little romance. Nice narration and character performance by Yvette Keller. I look forward to listening to the other books in the series!

Another enjoyable listen

There’s something about the way the narrator speaks that makes me think she really is the main character and that main character is a real person. I love how she brings the characters to life. Shéa MacLeod does a wonderful job creating realistic characters who each have a mind of their own. In tandem, the author and narrator have made a world I love visiting in my free time.

Great cozy mystery

I really enjoyed this entertaining story in the Viola Robert's Cozy Mysteries Series. Viola once again attracts trouble and a simple weekend away brings poison-pen letters and death threats. Her sleuthing tendencies go into overdrive as she tries to find the vile letter writer, solve a murder and cope with prejudice. The narrator of the audiobook again did an excellent job of showing the humor and really bring the characters to life. Her pace was just right and the voices are consistent from book to book. This story has a great plot, lots of humor and an unexpected twist. I especially love how each book can be read as a stand-alone but at the same time the characters lives build in depth with each new story.

A fun listen

If you could sum up The Venom in the Valentine in three words, what would they be?

Fun, clever dialogue

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I enjoyed the repartee between Viola and Cheryl. The setting of a Valentine's day get away was also fun. There is not a lot of depth to the characters.

Have you listened to any of Yvette Keller’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I enjoyed this performance as much as the last. She brings each character to life and also brings out the humor in the clever dialogue.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I listened to this in one sitting while taking a driving vacation.

Any additional comments?

Very enjoyable way to pass the time on my drive.

Valentine’s Venom

I love this series! Viola gets her friend Cheryl to spend a weekend celebrating Valentine’s Day with her. They are going to spend a relaxing weekend pampering themselves. But someone is found murdered. Viola’s antics are so fun! She gets herself into the middle of trouble a lot. I listened to the audiobook and the narration brings the characters to life equally as well as the story does.

Entertaining Short

Great book, Loved it. I recommend this book/series I love the narrator, her voice is so relaxing.

Viola has gone to a posh resort for Valentine's Day with Lucas. Before he gets there, someone has been writing nasty letters to some of the guest, on of which dies. Viola to the rescue. This short story was prefect for a little fix. It was a fun and easy listen. Viola's snarkiness is great and her relationship with Lucas is so sweet. Another listen to get lost in while doing any type of work or driving.