Brilliant story brought alive by great narrator

I had previously read the book and was interested to see how this could be improved as an audiobook. The characters are really fleshed out by the narrator and I was so disappointed when it ended all too soon! can't wait for the next one

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Harry Potter comes to Oxford

Oh wow, I really enjoyed this book. Imagine Harry Potter with the talking portraits and statutes, ghost flying around and weird and wonderful creatures. Now imagine him solving a murder and you would be some way to imagining this book but it is so much more than that. There are two mysteries going on in this book as well as the elaborate party planning and learning of magic, the main mystery (the murder) does get solved but I think the second one (the leaking/disappearance of magic) is going to be an on going event in the series and a good reason to get the next book. The mystery was interesting and kept me guessing but it was the characters that I loved, especially H the wyvern and the mischief he gets into with his flame sneezes. Being set in Oxford was also fun, I really felt like I was walking down the halls of Hogwarts but it still kept the English feel about it some how. The party planning even worked and didn't detract from the mystery investigation. It was just a fun magical cozy mystery and I can't wait for the next book.
Natalie is about to start her dream job at Oxford university as head of ceremonies but her first day doesn't turn out to be Disney Land magical. First she finds the chef who is going to be cooking all the gala food for the biggest event of the year, lying dead in the kitchen. Then she touches a key left by her predecessor and learns all the magical stories her grandfather told her about Oxford was true and he should know he worked there for years. She gains help navigating through the magical world that has just opened up to her from H, who everybody thinks is a cat but is actually a four-hundred-year-old wyvern with a taste for dairy and alcohol. If that wasn't had enough but the murder should never have been allowed to happen, the magic that protects the school seems to be disappearing leaving everybody vulnerable and its her job to restore it. Can she plan the party of the year, find a killer and track down what is wrong with the magic? All in her first week? It's a lot to do but armed with her lists, a new set of friends and a beginners level of magic Natalie has no other choice.
I liked the narrator. I have heard Pearl Hewitt read a number of audio books by different authors but somehow it always seems like different characters and I never imagine characters from the wrong series in the book she is reading. She is just a talented narrator.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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A mystery to hold your attention

Book 1 in the series. I love cozy mystery stories. This story written my Lynn Morrison was very well detailed. The characters were stron and engaging. There were a few characters in the book Harry, Nat and Edward
Once you start listening you’ll wonder what next , it had many twists and turns . You’ll never guess what happened at Oxford grab it and see

Pearl Hewitt was good . Her voice is strong and clear

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Enjoyable Fun Paranormal Mystery

My review is written after reading and listening to this fun book, if you are a fan of fun cosy mysteries but haven't tried one with a paranormal element I would urge you to give this one a try, I have every confidence that you'll love it, I know I certainly did.

This is my only book by this author and personally, I think she writes well, the plotline is well thought out and the story moves along at a good pace. The story is set in Oxford a place I know well although I haven't been back there for over twenty years I thought that the author had a real feel for the place and had done her research on the colleges and the town.

I'm English and sometimes the accents of the characters just don't seem right but in this case, they were spot on, although the wyvern/cat's accent made me smile as I tried to work out where the dialect came from, I really liked this character but then I do love dragons. The characters are interesting and well-developed and suited the setting, all in all, it was a very enjoyable fun paranormal mystery which I feel can be enjoyed by a wide age range and audience.

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Enjoyed

I did enjoy this fun mystery. a good mystery and then you have a magical thrown in . Natalie finds herself thrown into this world. We have appealing characters Murder at St. Margaret was a blend of mystery and urban fantasy

Fun Mysterry

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Terrible dreary

Narrator uninspiring with an infantile voice. Plot massively dull with 2 dimensional characters and odd sub plots. One of the worst in your collection. I can’t believe I wasted a credit on it

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