Shattered

Logan, Book 1

By: Valerie Davisson

Narrated by: Leonor A. Woodworth

Meet Logan McKenna...fiercely loyal, and impossibly inquisitive.

In Shattered, the first book in the original mystery series and stunning fiction debut with which Valerie Davisson lets us crave for more, Logan McKenna loses her husband, her illusions, the company they built together, her music, and now, probably her job. But that won't stop her from digging into a murder investigation that keeps Southern California's tight-knit artist community on its toes and law enforcement cluelessly guessing.

At loose ends, and running out of money after buying a fixer upper on the coast, she decides to help out her best friend from high school, Thomas, a Native American artist, and his wife Lisa at their booth at the Otter Arts Festival, in the idyllic coastal town of Jasper, where she and her police officer brother Rick grew up. When one of the talented, young artists is found gruesomely murdered at the festival, Logan is faced with the reality that her best friend not only lied to her, but may be guilty of murder. It's up to her to find out what really happened that night, before the murderer kills again.

If you enjoy listening to Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon, James Patterson's Murder Club, J. A. Jance's Joanna Brady, or more general: a mystery novel with a strong female character, you will quickly fall in love with Valerie Davisson's Logan McKenna - guaranteed!

©2014 Valerie Davisson (P)2016 Valerie Davisson

4

4/5 Shattered by Valerie Davisson
Narrated by Leonor A Woodworth
Runtime: 7 hrs and 1 min
Summary:
Sort of an odd cozy mystery that bounces around past and present.

Additional Comments:
• super slow beginning. I almost forgot that part because I heard the first hour then put the book aside for about 2 months.
• Narrator fit the main character well. She has a really nice voice but not a huge range.
• Some character leaps of logic are bizarre.
• It’s hard to like or pity the murder victim. She’s kind of a prickly jerk.
• Thomas and Lisa are saints. I am surprised at their lack of reaction to one of the major plot points.
• I liked Rick but always had to remind myself who he is. Same for Ben. Lola. And Dime Box. The chess lady. The waitress. They are great characters… there is just a lot of them.
• Conclusion is somewhat satisfying, but Logan’s main problem for school got sorted like a fairy godmother came rampaging through.
• I did not get the feeling of authentic school drama. Oh, schools are hotbeds of nonsensical problems but I don’t see them investigating good test scores. And I don’t see perfect test scores happening no matter how good the teacher is. There is always a few kids who couldn’t care less.
Conclusion:
If u can wade through the poor pacing, there is a good story here.
*I received a free copy of the audiobook. I have chosen to review it. All thoughts are my own.

SHATTERED

This is the first book in this series. Its a good cozy mystery. Its a little more serious than what I consider cozy. I liked the storyline and it held my interest. Ill continue to the next book. Leonor Woodworth does a great job narrating this book.

great story !

Loved the whole thing ... narrator was great and story line was excellent. made for a perfect listen.

Good

Good story of how Logan when she has lost almost everything. Yet when a friend is accused of murder, and doesnt defend himself.She delves in to learning glass making to help find answers. A good beginning to the series. Narration which was good and added to the story. Given audio for my voluntary review

Interesting Setting for Cozy Mystery

I'm going to do my best to write this without spoilers because many of the reviews have spoilers and it's hard to get a good sense of a book before you read it if you can't read the review. 🙂

What I had the hardest time with was understanding what type of book this was supposed to be. In the end, I think it seems like a cozy mystery, but that was not what I thought going in. Adjusting my expectations was helpful.

I struggled with some of the language. It was published in 2014, so the use of the term Indian rather than First Nations or other accepted terms was kind of startling.

The narrator did well overall. Sometimes the point of view changed between 2 different female characters, and I think it would have been helpful if she had changed the voices a little bit more to make those POV changes a little more clear.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom