I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a great job. The storyline was interesting but the main character was not my favorite. She was grieving but seemed like such a bitter old lady that knows better than everyone around them. I’m sure others will love this one but I wouldn’t read more in this series. I do really like me the author’s writing style and would read another series with a different main character.

I recently finished the audio book of Grounds for murder, By Betty Ternier Daniel’s.
Overall I enjoyed the book. It wasn’t super suspenseful but a nice overall mystery. I didn’t start connecting the dots till about 3/4 the way through, which is nice. I like to keep guessing.
I loved that the main character was a feisty older woman, which is a nice change to the younger, sexy types.
The story takes place in Canada so a few words and phrases was new to me.
Overall I enjoyed it and was glad i read it.

This unbiased review is from a copy provided by NetGalley

This was an easy listen and enjoyable cozy murder mystery set in Saskatchewan. Most of the characters were likable except for the one that is found dead in someone else’s car she decided to borrow. While I found bits of it unbelievable and wanted to yell at the main character to open her eyes and get a clue, it was an enjoyable book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc audiobook.

Grounds For Murder is the first book in the Jeannie Wolfert-Lang Mystery series by Canadian author, Betty Ternier Daniels. The audio version is narrated by Dawn Harvey. Six months widowed, Jeannie Wolfert-Lang misses her husband Frank and his contribution to their farm on Crystal Lake in the small prairieland community of Bunchgrass, north of Saskatoon. But despite encouragement from her son and daughter, who live and work in Saskatoon, there’s no way she will consider selling, wanting to protect the flora and fauna of the lakeshore from unsympathetic development.

But Monica Ashton, of Ashton Realty, is persistent, unscrupulous, and even resorts to blackmail, to try to get her to sell. When she turns up uninvited at Jeannie’s, just as a summer storm renders her car undriveable, Jeannie has to either welcome a guest for the night or allow Monica to borrow her car. It’s Monica, dead in Jeannie’s car at the bottom of the ravine the next morning, and when it turns out the car was sabotaged, it’s quickly assumed that Jeannie was the target.

But who would want to kill Jeannie, and why? Could it be the disgruntled anonymous buyer for whom Monica was acting? Surely there are plenty of other available properties on the market? Or is it the young man hanging around her property who seems to think he’s entitled to a few lakeshore acres of her land for his healing centre?

And then there’s the attractive older man who claims to be a freelance reporter writing about transfer of farmland. Even when he reveals he’s an off-duty cop, she’s not entirely sure she can trust him. But then the intimidation ramps up, and she’s glad to have him around. The RCMP corporals advise her not to stay in her home alone, so she’s soon, unintentionally, making herself unwelcome with her tenant farmers and ends up staying with her sister.

Before the culprit is finally revealed, several people come under suspicion, and there are threatening emails, messages, vandalised possessions, and a deadfall trap. Two canines are wounded, a young man is mistakenly shot, and there’s a kidnap during a nail-biting climax. There’s also a bit of romance with the cop that Jeannie’s not sure she’s quite ready for.

Daniels easily evokes her setting with some lovely descriptive prose and her quirky protagonist manages to endear herself to the reader despite her occasional tendency to be direct to the point of rudeness. Her friends good-naturedly put up with her abrasiveness and condescension, so there must be more to her that will be revealed. The cop tells her “You’re prickly and opinionated, but I love being with you.” This is very enjoyable Canadian cosy crim and it will be interesting to see what Daniels has in store for Jeannie in the next instalment.
This unbiased review is from an audio copy provided by NetGalley and ECW Press.

This audiobook was made available for me to listen to and review by NetGalley. An enjoyable cosy mystery set in Saskatchewan, Canada, with mostly enjoyable characters. Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a cozy murder read

This cozy Canadian mystery was an enjoyable listen. We meet Jeannie who finds herself right in the middle of a whodunnit...in more ways than she (or the reader) could imagine. The townspeople and other characters she encounters are charming, and sometimes annoying--just as expected in the first of what I assume will be more mysteries to come in this series.
I thought the plot was a little slow at times, but it is cozy and not action-packed terror on purpose, I assume. I enjoyed the descriptions of the scenery and felt that captured my imagination in visualizing the community. There were some unexpected elements, so I appreciated that it wasn't so predictable throughout.
The narrator did a superb job at capturing all characters, and definitely added to the story.
Thanks to NetGalley and ECW Press for this ARL. All opinions are mine.

I enjoyed this book mostly but I wanted a lot more from the characters. I realize the main character was an older woman but they made her seem ancient. The narrator was not my favorite. Overall middle of the road for me.

2.75 stars rounded up

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reader copy!

Publish Date:09/24/2024

Jeannie finds herself alone after the death of her husband. Then the realtor that is pressuring her to sell her farm winds up dead as well. Who was trying to buy her property? And who wants it bad enough to kill for it? She teams up with Derek, an off duty cop, to try and solve the mystery all why trying to not end up as the third person dead.
I don’t think I was the right demographic for this book. Jeannie is an older woman who is kinda grumpy and her inner monologues are infuriating at times. Derek wasn’t a lot better. I just don’t feel like I can connect to perpetually negative characters. Especially ones that come across as whiny. I can’t decide if it was the audiobook that I disliked or the actual story.

I listened to the audiobook. Jeannie has a sought after farm that everyone is trying to get her to sell after the death of her husband. But she is content with her peace and quiet on the farm. The realtor her children are working with was found dead in Jeannie’s car after a bad crash, breadline cut. Was it meant for Jeannie? She is determined to find out who is behind everything. It’s an easy and enjoyable listen.

(rounded up from 3.5 stars)

A good start to a new cozy mystery series set in rural Saskatchewan, Canada. The main character is Jeannie, a 60-year-old farmer whose husband died in a car accident six months before the start of the story. She’s kind of crabby and rude sometimes, but seems to be working on letting her softer side show more often.

An unscrupulous real estate agent wants to buy her land and Jeannie has no intention of selling - to her or to anyone else. Without giving too much away, the woman winds up dead while driving Jeannie’s car so it seems that Jeannie was the real target. An off-duty cop from Saskatoon (2 hours away by car), Derek, teams up with Jeannie and the local police to figure things out. I was a little surprised that Jeannie jumped into a relationship with Derek, given her being recently widowed, and they had had a good marriage.

I enjoyed the local atmosphere, including the descriptions of the land and Jeannie’s lush gardens, her pride and joy. The mystery was a good one, with a number of potential suspects. Friends and neighbors abound, so it will be interesting to see where this series goes next.

I bounced between the audiobook and the ebook for this title, which was very convenient, and allowed me to continue with the story even when I could not sit down and read - or when I could not listen. The audiobook was well narrated by Dawn Harvey. She excelled when voicing Jeannie.

Thank you to ECW Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book and for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

Jeannie is a recent widow that handles her grief through her artwork and working in her garden. She is pestered to sell her land by a realtor. She develops a relationship with the realtor, but when they borrow her car - they are killed in a crash. It seems that the person wanting her house is willing to kill for it !

Jeannie goes into detective mode with this fun whodunit mystery.. It's pretty base level, nothing crazy, but it was a cozy read. I would read more by this author or character, it just wouldn't have me running to the shelves.

Thank you to NetGalley and ECW Press Audio for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Dawn Harvey the narrator’s voice reminds me of Cloris Leachman I absolutely love it!!!
I didn’t enjoy this as much as I hoped. Did I guess who was trying to kill Jeannie no and I love when I don’t see it coming, however I felt it was a bit drawn out, and Jeannie wasn’t super likeable. The way she wanted a commitment with Derek after such a short time was pretty weird. I’m not sure I would read another one if I had to pay for it.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this audio!

I didn’t like this book as much as I thought I would. The narrator did great.

The audio was good and I liked the voice for the narration! This book was slow for me to get into but I'm not usually an audiobook reader. It was a good cozy mystery with an older FMC.

This high quality audio is the first in a series of cozy mysterys. The narrator did a good job. However the mystery was overshadowed by the constant references to the background and scenery . It was a predictable mystery with a variety of side characters. I found the mystery entertaining and the main character likeable. This would suit anyone who enjoys a cozy mystery as long as you are not put off by over descriptive background.
Thank you netgallery and publisher and author.

This audiobook was made available for me to listen to and review by Betty Ternier Daniels, ECW Press Audio, and NetGalley.

The narrator of this audiobook is Dawn Harvey. Dawn did a good job with using dedicated different voices for the various characters. I thought she did a really good job with the voices, which made this much more interesting.

This is a bit of a standard cozy mystery story, set in a small farming village in Saskatchewan, Canada. Jeannie is newly widowed and mourning her late husband, Frank. She's 60, her kids are adults who live on their own, and her farm has quite a few chores. Jeannie has chosen to stay in her village and on her farm for a variety of reasons. Her kids wish she would move to town, Saskatoon, and have been working with a realtor who is murdered by someone trying to kill Jeannie. Jeannie has the help of a friend familiar with police procedure, as well as the support of her sister, tenants, and friends, with which to solve this crime before anyone else gets hurt.

This was decent. Jeannie is a crabby Boomer, and I found her to be charmingly abrasive. She's not obnoxious, just believable for her age and small town. Also, she's opinionated but not karenlike. I liked her friends and family quite a bit. They seemed to give Jeannie grace, so I assume some of her prickliness was due to grief. I will say the romance storyline felt awkward more than organic.

I think this suffers from the author telling too many details or clumsily written background scenes. This has a slight first book awkwardness, but the mystery is decent. I'd check out the next book in this series. I'm sure the skill gained in crafting this book will result in an even better cozy next. All in all, this is average to slightly above average🤷🏾‍♀️ a solid 3.25.

Thank you to Betty Ternier Daniels, ECW Press Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.

Cute cozy mystery, I liked that the character were older adults later in life you don’t see that often. The main character is very likable and the narrators did a great job!

The cover sold this book to me and really happy that I was chosen to review the audio version. I liked this audio alit and it would make a great book club listen along. Have recommended to the women in my book club. Well written and executed

I love a good cozy murder mystery and this one didn't disappoint. It kept my interest and was easy to listen to plus it made me want to continue in the series, which is not an easy feat.

Jeannine has lost her husband and her land is wanted by a real estate agent that is a shark. The realtor will not leave Jeannine alone and has gone to the extent of blackmailing Jeannine. However, the realtor ends up dead and now everyone is wondering if Jeannine was really the target. If so, then why?

Thank you #NetGalley for the advance listen

Grounds for Murder is an easy quick read with likable characters and a plot that has a few twists that were definitely unexpected. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was very good with most of the voices but there were a couple that were a bit over the top or annoying. I don’t fault her, voicing a man’s voice is difficult for a female the only fault that I could honestly find would the voicing of the children. While there was not much children’s dialogue but the small amount that there was did make me want to fast forward through it. But, all in all I really enjoyed the plot, the twists, and the romance which is harder to do when an older person is the main character but it was done very well! We might be older but we are not dead! Lol.
Enjoyable and entertaining! A solid 3.75 stars for me!