

Recently I enjoyed two fun mysteries narrated by the always enjoyable Johanna Parker who has a soothing voice with just a little twang and spunkiness added to it for her Southern protagonists. Johanna Parker has won both an AudioFile Earphones Award and an Audie Award for her narrations. Her most notable narration has been Sookie Stackhouse from Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire Mysteries.
Brownies & Broomsticks
by Bailey Cates
Brownie & Broomsticks is the first of the Magical Bakery Mystery series. Katie Lightfoot leaves her job in Ohio to open a new bakery in Savannah with her aunt and uncle. If you love baking too, there are instructions at the beginning of the digital audiobook for how to get recipes from the story for Lightfoot’s Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies and Cheddar Sage Scones. But more than just recipes are brewing, Katie learns in the novel not only is her aunt a witch, but she is too! Add in some potential love interests and if that wasn’t enough drama a customer is murdered and her uncle is the main suspect. Parker only narrated the first in the series, with the also charming Amy Rubinate narrating the subsequent nine installments. The book is also available in print from BCCLS libraries.
Beaches, Bungalows, & Burglaries
by Tonya Kappes
Part one of Tonya Kappes’s Camper and Criminals Cozy Mystery series, Beaches Bungalows, & Burglaries is another enjoyable mystery narrated by Johanna Parker. Mae West (no, not the Hollywood actress, but the wife of Paul West who was arrested for a Ponzi scheme) has been forced to downsize considerably from her big city NY lifestyle to living in a camper and trying to make a go running a tourist campground in Kentucky. Things are tough enough with residents blaming her for her husband’s thievery, but then he escapes from jail and turns up dead. Parker’s fans will be pleased that she narrates all 20 books in the series including the most recent Blossoms, Barbeque, & Blackmail.
Do you love mysteries? Consider joining us for the Hoboken Public Library Mystery Book Club!
Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager