Murder at Blackwater Bend

By: Clara McKenna

Narrated by: Sarah Zimmerman

Following a whirlwind engagement to Viscount "Lyndy" Lyndhurst, Stella Kendrick is finding her footing within an elite social circle in picturesque rural England. Except tea time with refined friends can be more dangerous than etiquette faux pas - especially in the company of Lady Philippa, the woman Lyndy was once set to marry, and her husband, the ostentatious Lord Fairbrother....

Outrage erupts and accusations fly after Lord Fairbrother's pony wins best in breed for the seventh consecutive year. The man has his share of secrets and adversaries, but Stella and Lyndy are in for a brutal shock when they discover his body floating in the river during a quiet morning fishing trip....

Suddenly unwelcome around hardly-grieving Lady Philippa and Lyndy's endlessly critical mother, Stella faces the bitter reality that she may always be an outsider - and one of her trusted new acquaintances may be a calculating killer. Now, Stella and her fiance must fight against the current to catch the culprit, before they're the next couple torn apart by tragedy.

©2020 Anna Loan-Wilsey (P)2020 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Description and flow

I love how she takes time to describe what is seen, smelled, touched, tasted, and thought by the characters. She is good at creating atmosphere. The only thing I dislike are the antagonist in the story, what you're supposed to dislike them.

Great characters and mystery

I enjoy this series. The characters, Stella and Lindy, are likeable and its nice watching their relationship evolve. The mystery is solid. I hope that Lindy's mother and Stella's father have some karma coming. This is a clean mystery with a little romance . I would start with book 1 to see how the characters meet. The narration is good. It is paced well and the voices / accents are well done. I found the narrator's voice relaxing to listen to. I had both the kindle and audio so I switched between reading and listening.

Daddy go home

In this second installment, my was rooting for Stella to finally tell her father to go home. Or for Lyndy to stand up for her and stop her father's treatment and obnoxious behavior. But with him being made a complete fool by the "reporter" I was cheering!

Can’t abide snakes

I started this book months ago but couldn’t get past the subject of snakes. Finally I read the first few chapters on Kindle and got past the worst of the snake activity. After that, I listened and enjoyed. Lundy and Stella are very likeable and the nasty characters are delightfully spiteful, arrogant and downright rude. One hopes they will get their comeuppance but I won’t give that away. I did solve the mysteries long before the end but that was satisfying too. I am ready for the next book.

The plot

Captivating storyline and the plot twist was unexpected. This book takes you on a journey and what a journey it was.