a word about ‘waiting on Wednesday’:
I have decided to start participating in this book blogsphere meme with a few small changes of how it’s regularly blogged about by my fellow book bloggers. I will either be introducing my current reads of upcoming releases as I am in the process of reading them and/or I might be releasing a book review about a forthcoming title by which I had been blessed to read ahead of publication. The main purpose behind the meme is to encourage readers and your fellow book bloggers to become aware of new books being released which caught your eye and which held your interest to read. Sometimes if your still in the process of reading the books, its the titles which encouraged your bookish heart. I look forward to spending the next seasons of the year, talking about the books I have on hand to read, the books I’ve been reading and the books I might not even have a copy to read but which are of wicked sweet interest to become a #nextread of mine.
Today I am linking with Can’t Wait Wednesday via Wishful Endings!
Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!
As you might have inferred by my JOY in having Vivian Conroy visiting with my chatters during @SatBookChat last year (see #SatBookChat’s archives – One & Two) and how much I *loved!* reading her Cosy Historical Mystery “The Butterfly Conspiracy” (see also Review) – it will not come as a surprise how much I have been wanting to start listening to her Murder Will Follow Cosy Mystery series! This is her Digital First book series released by Canelo I’ve been wanting to dig inside ever since we first crossed paths on #bookTwitter and became united through the #bookcommunity we both frequent therein.
This is why this morning I have a special announcement to make in regards to the Murder Will Follow series as the fourth novel will release this forthcoming March – making me grateful she reached out to me to help host (and there are several other book bloggers hosting today as well!) her Cover Reveal! Being a part of her Cover Reveal Team also helped me re-seek out this series – to see where the audiobooks are available and I have the delightful news in sharing I found the first two novels are already being featured on #Scribd! How wicked lovely is that?! I’ll be returning to #Scribd in March and I am going to be happily listening to the first novel “A Testament to Murder” when I do!
On my connection to Vivian Conroy:
I am quite active on the socially bookish side of the twitterverse (ie. #bookishTwitter); a lot of the writers and readers I enjoy conversing with on a yearly basis were first ‘met’ somewhere in a chat or a serendipitously lovely convo – either organised through a Twitter chat or a randomly engaged convo between them and I. I do not recollect how I first came to find Vivian Conroy or if in fact, she originally found me – I do know I immediately took to liking her Historical Fiction focused Twitter chat: #HistFicChat. Similar to my passion for #HistoricalFix (hosted and founded by Erin Lindsay McCabe – of which, due to her return to writing has been on sabbatical for three years) – this is a chat where Historical readers and writers can happily find each other, interact and chatter their bookish hearts out about the historic past whilst discovering new #mustreads!
I had the chance to review two of her novels: “In Peppermint Peril” and “The Butterfly Conspiracy” whilst I also had the opportunity to have her as guest author via my chat @SatBookChat. Ahead of the New Year, I also received good news my purchase request for her first Romance novel was accepted by my local library (“A Family by Christmas”) which I enjoyed reading and asked them to purchase the sequel “A Valentine’s Proposal” which I spotlighted ahead of her second guest appearance on @SatBookChat!
I am disclosing this, to assure you that I can formulate an honest opinion, even though I have interacted with her through Twitter and have reviewed her novels; as I treat each book as a ‘new experience’, whether I personally know the author OR whether I am reading a book by them for the first time. And this extends into sharing my honest impressions, thoughts and views whenever I am hosting a guest feature or a promotional post on their behalf.
Ooh, I nearly forgot – as I have been actively requesting Ms Conroy’s collective works at my local & regional libraries (as one encourages print & the other encourages audio requests) – I put in a new request for the very first installment of the #MurderWillFollowMysteries in audiobook – they graciously accepted my last request for her Stationery Shop Mysteries (“Last Pen Standing”) and I am hopeful they can source “A Testament to Murder”. Otherwise my plans to listen to this lovely via #Scribd is right on track for Spring!
Speaking of my past two purchase requests – “Last Pen Standing” has been such a hit with other patrons I’ve not been able to get it back yet to listen to myself and “A Valentine Proposal” is still in processing which means I am unsure if I will have it in my hands to read ahead of St Valentine’s Day despite having requested it in January! This series Little Shops on Heart Street are under her Viv Royce pen name and are published via Entangled Publishing.
Before I share my first thoughts & reactions to the audiobooks themselves (via their samplers provided by #Scribd) I want to reveal the Cover we’re all wicked thrilled to be sharing on our social & blog spaces today – help us celebrate and spread the word to your fellow Cosy Mystery enthusiasts in your life! Don’t forget to let me know why you love reading these lovelies yourself!
An Exhibition of Murder
Subtitle: A Murder Will Follow Mystery
by Vivian Conroy, Viv Royce
Narrator: Gordon Griffin
Former Scotland Yard investigator Jasper is back on the case, this time in the glamorous and cultured city of Vienna.
The opening of an archaeological exhibition brings with it intrigue and evil as a fabled cursed golden death mask lives up to its dark past and death strikes at the exhibition. While digging up pieces of history, these archaeologists have also been burying secrets – deadly ones – and it’s up to Jasper to uncover the truth before the murderer strikes again.
With a nosy journalist desperate to breathe life into the rumour that the mask brings bad luck to anyone possessing it, and the police eager to blame a famous cat burglar who recently pulled off a string of daring robberies, Jasper is on his own in bringing the true culprit to light.
Places to find the book:
ASIN: B083NQBQ4Z
Also by this author: The Butterfly Conspiracy, A Family by Christmas
on 26th March, 2020
Published by: Canelo (@canelo_co)
A Testament to Murder (book one) – cross-released in ebook & audio
Honeymoon with Death (book two) – cross-released in ebook & audio
Under the Guise of Death (book three) – a Digital First release
An Exhibition of Murder (book four) – a Digital First release
Converse via: #MurderWillFollow and #VivianConroy
Let’s talk about Books 1 & 2, shall we?
Beginning with “A Testament to Murder” –
A dying billionaire. Nine would-be heirs. But only one will take the prize…
At the lush Villa Calypso on the French Riviera, a dying billionaire launches a devious plan: at midnight each day he appoints a new heir to his vast fortune. If he dies within 24 hours, that person takes it all. If not, their chance is gone forever.
Yet these are no ordinary beneficiaries, these men who crossed him, women who deceived him, and distant relations intent on reclaiming the family fortune. All are determined to lend death a hand and outwit their rivals in pursuit of the prize.
As tensions mount with every passing second, retired Scotland Yard investigator Jasper must stay two steps ahead of every player if he hopes to prevent the billionaire’s devious game from becoming a testament to murder…
The narrator for this novel is Gordon Griffin.
Griffin does a wicked good impression of someone who is exasperated with someone’s antics or at least the discourtesy of not realising when they are taking advantage of someone; such as Hattie taking far more luggage with her than necessary! More hilarious is the differences in their temperament for heat – her recent husband finds it exhausting just to stand in it whereas Hattie seems to thrive off accelerating temperatures where you could nearly bake yourself if you weren’t careful! This of course becomes a bit of a row between them – as Conroy shows how ill tempered her husband is with her stability in the weather whereas he’s dearly unfortunate and miserable!
This audiobook sampler is quite an interesting segue of interest to draw you into the story. It alights where Hattie is full of remorse for having gone through with her marriage & wedding to this bloke of whom she isn’t now as keenly sure she was motivated to be round. At least not by how she’s critically taking stock of him – questioning her own motives and feeling dearly in need of a fix of spirit which she hopes might come through via retail therapy.
Presumably it is her Uncle of whom is being crafty about his heirs and the ways in which he wants to leave behind his assets. Even Hattie, aware of his circumstances (of health or of age) knows she ought to be on good terms with her Uncle less she draw a shorter stick when it comes to an inheritance; Conroy discloses all of this as if it were merely matter of fact and just an ordinary day in these characters’ lives. No one seems to question their motives for the long-term but simply take it as a given that this is how they shall be spending these particular moments in the here and now.
In regards to the narrator directly:
I personally never heard the style of Gordon Griffin’s narration and I was most impressed by how he articulated the characters and gave you such an ease of entry into the story itself! He has a lovely voice and this is definitely spoken narrative vs theatrical narrative (at least in this sampler!) – where each of his words are a treasure to listen to as he takes you confidently into a new series you have been dearly curious about reading for quite a long while (at least for me!).
I liked how easily it was to attach to his rhythm of delivery and I knew almost instantly I would appreciate hearing this story in full! He does alter his voice when he’s shifting between men and women; just enough to know who is in-scene and it made listening ever so enjoyable! He just has one of those kinds of voices you want to hear more of and that is a good sign for a narrator!
And, continuing with the second in the series “Honeymoon with Death”, shall we?
After a whirlwind romance and dream wedding, the new Mrs Ramsforth is whisked away to an idyllic Greek island by her adoring husband. But as soon as they arrive at their luxurious hotel overlooking the azure sea, Damaris is struck by the feeling she’s been here before…
Puzzling over the familiarity, Damaris’ honeymoon goes from unsettling to a complete nightmare when she finds herself standing over a dead body, unable to explain how she got there.
Now only one man can save her – fellow holidaymaker and former Scotland Yard inspector Jasper. But even he starts to doubt Damaris’ innocence when he discovers that it’s not her first time embroiled in a murder case…
The narrator for this novel is Gordon Griffin.
Re-aligning into installment via the sampler grips you straight-off because of how Mr Griffin is using his voice to give you a dramatic pull back into the Murder Will Follow series! I felt this was a smashing place to begin an audiobook sampler because it immediately hooks your interest!
There is such a somberness to this emotionally convicting story – about how dearly afeared one woman is about being cast off alone and isolated from others; she is mortally afraid of being alone and Conroy takes you into the heart of her growing anxiety. This story felt a bit more atmospherically compelling – how you are connecting with the heavier layers of the emotions within the story itself and the overlaying unknowns of what is ahead of the character herself – you nearly want to reach out and give her a good bear hug, just to assure her everything will be alright – even if it isn’t or you can’t be sure how it could work out.
In regards to the narrator directly:
I love when narrators can etch out an emotional awareness about a setting, a story’s arc and/or a character’s journey – in this regard, Mr Griffin truly pulled me through this cadence of emotional drama Ms Conroy wanted her readers to not only feel but to feel as it were washing through their mind as they first settle into this installment of the series. To better understand the concerns and the state of mind of her lead heroine and to better respect what why these fears are immediately important to understand. I definitely can tell these are dramatic Cosies and I cannot wait til March to start listening to the series!
Isn’t this a beautiful way of displaying the full view of a book cover!?
I learnt (from Ms Conroy) these are a special treatment by Canelo & I find them smashing!
Ever since I first started interacting with Ms Conroy, I’ve noticed the artful book cover designs alighting through her Twitter feeds and finding myself drawn into them. The splash of colours and the artful presence of an old world style of representing a setting in vivid detail is what drew my eye – plus, I love art for art’s sake anyway and these look like such a wonderful piece of scene where you gather just a ‘glimpse’ of a hint of each of the installments of this series!
Being a girl who loves to travel, I must admit, each of these wide angle book covers Ms Conroy has shared over the past few years has been a treat of delight because you simply get to travel the world with her series & it is always a BIG REVEAL to not just see the design itself for each new cover which graces her novels in Murder Will Follow *but* to chatter about how lovely it is to be visiting the next locale of interest!
Thereby I am eagerly excited to see what everyone things about going off to
Vienna!
I am thankful to have been part of the book bloggers revealling this book cover!
Kindly visit with Elaine @ Splashes Into Books | @bicted
& Stacy @ Stacy is Reading | @stacyisreading
I’d love to hear from you dear hearts! What kinds of Cosy Mysteries & #CosyCrime novels do you enjoy reading? Do you prefer Contemporary and/or Historical or a mix of the two like me? Have you heard of this book series previously or is it one you might consider adding to your TBR? I’d love to hear your thoughts – especially if you’ve had the chance to read part of the series itself as I am always wondering if my readers & visitors alike are gravitating towards the same stories I am on any particular week | month | year!
If anyone wants to know more about Scribd kindly leave me a comment or DM me.
NOTE: Similar to blog tours wherein I feature book reviews, book spotlights (with or without extracts), book announcements (or Cover Reveals) – I may elect to feature an author, editor, narrator, publisher or other creative person connected to the book, audiobook, Indie film project or otherwise creative publishing medium being featured wherein the supplemental content on my blog is never compensated monetarily nor am I ever obligated to feature this kind of content. I provide (98.5%) of all questions and guest topics regularly featured on Jorie Loves A Story. I receive direct responses back to those enquiries by publicists, literary agents, authors, blog tour companies, etc of whom I am working with to bring these supplemental features and showcases to my blog. I am naturally curious about the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of stories and the writers who pen them: I have a heap of joy bringing this content to my readers. Whenever there is a conflict of connection I do disclose those connections per post and disclose the connection as it applies.
{SOURCES: Cover art of “An Exhibition of Murder”, the book series banner, the cover reveal banner as well as the synopsis’s and author biography were provided by the author Vivian Conroy and are used with permission. Post dividers and My Thoughts badge by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets were embedded due to codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: #WaitingOnWednesday badge using Unsplash.com (Creative Commons Zero) Photography by Pacto Visual and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2020.
I’m a social reader | I love sharing my reading life
.@SatBookChat?#BookCover Reveal
featuring the #CosyMysteries by @VivWritesis happening on the morrow! Socially and via #JLASblog!?Be sure to visit with @joriestory & follow the author's feeds for more info!?
Missed her #SatBookChat?
Read the convo: https://t.co/ze06VRVM1R pic.twitter.com/gEeIZh5VUj— #SatBookChat (@SatBookChat) February 11, 2020
LOVE chatting w/ @VivWrites via #HistFicChat & #SatBookChat whilst *loved!* her #HistoricalMystery style w/in her other series (https://t.co/rjSkyIUyNl) Now I get to celebrate *this!* series which is also in #audiobook!
⬇️#BookCover Reveal @ 10a NYC via #JLASblog! pic.twitter.com/jFueDt17b8
— Jorie, the Joyful Tweeter ?? (@joriestory) February 12, 2020
.@joriestory #WaitingOnWednesday
feat. #MurderWillFollow series by @VivWritesI adore #amreading #CosyMysteries – these are delishly dramatic and the #narrator @GordonGriffin truly left me itching to hear these in full!☺️#JorieLovesAudiobooks
➡️https://t.co/ffMnvu0aSp pic.twitter.com/s3REYE8MrE
— Jorie, the Joyful Tweeter ?? (@joriestory) February 12, 2020
Comments via Twitter:
Wherever retired Scotland Yard inspector Jasper goes, murder follows! The Riviera, Greece, Venice … where will death strike next? Find out at 3PM today when @bicted @stacyisreading and @joriestory reveal the cover of An Exhibition of Murder, the next 1920s read! pic.twitter.com/AGBTPuy62O
— Viv Writes Mystery & Romance (@VivWrites) February 12, 2020
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