AUDIOBOOK REVIEW & GIVEAWAY - Back to the Burgh and Beyond by C.S. McDonald

 

Join us for this tour from Oct 3 to Oct 28, 2022!


Book Details:

Book Title:  Back to the Burgh and Beyond (The Owl's Nest Mysteries, Book 1) 
Author:  C.S. McDonald
Category:  Adult Fiction, 208 pages
Run Time: 5 hours, 59 minutes
Genre:  Cozy Mystery
Publisher:  McWriter Books
Release date:  Sep 10, 2020
Content Rating:  G. C.S. McDonald's books are appropriate for YA readers as well as adults--no bad language or sexual content.

Book Description:

Meet Alexa Owl. She's returned home to Pittsburgh after a divorce to start a new life and a new business, The Owl’s Nest Couturier Shoppe. Much to her surprise, she's getting more than she ever bargained for: Detective Bobby Starr, and he's no ordinary sleuth. Bobby is an angel who's returned to Earth in hopes of earning his way into the Guardian Angel Squad. He's been sent by none other than Saint Pete to acquire Alexa’s help to solve three cold case murders he left behind. Except, here’s the catch: he’s only been allotted four days to solve the first case! How in heaven’s name is she supposed to do that? Alexa is a professional seamstress—not a detective. Bobby insists the only way to solve the first case is to return to 1953, and Alexa’s not in love with that idea at all!

I received an advance review audiobook for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you C.S. McDonald and iRead Book Tours. I'm excited to be a part of this tour.

Back to the Burgh and Beyond is the first in the Owl Nest Mystery series. I love a good cozy mystery combine it with an element of time travel and I am intrigued! In this first installment we meet Alexa Owl. She’s recently moved back to Philadelphia, PA to start a new life and business, The Owl’s Nest Couturier Shoppe. Much to her surprise, Detective Bobby Starr is not your average sleuth. Instead, he’s an angel who has returned to Earth in hopes of earning his way into the Guardian Angel Squad. Bobby needs to get Alexa’s help to solve three cold cases in four days. No problem, right? Bobby insists the only way to solve the first case is to travel back to 1953. Alexa isn’t so sure.

This book is an absolute delight. The mystery element is entertaining yet realistic. The story is comical and fast-paced. The transitions from the current to the past is seamless and adds a level of depth that I can’t say I’ve read in a cozy mystery before. Having said that, I do hope to read more of this type of genre mixed novel. The chemistry between Alexa and Bobby is fun and I enjoyed how they interact with one another. The descriptions were spot on, and I felt like I was experiencing the book along side Alexa and Bobby.

The narrator was great and really brough this story to life. The voices used were amusing and kept me wanting to listen more. I honestly found myself look for chores to do just so I could keep listening. It was that hard to walk away from.

I highly recommend this series and can’t wait to read more! 

Overall Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Buy the Book:
Audible

Amazon ~ B&N
Add to Goodreads


Meet the Narrator:

Ms. Waxenberg is a voice over artist and presentation coach.  She serves as a consultant to the Professional Development Company, Inc. teaching presentation and interview skills seminars to a variety of clients, Columbia MBA, and SIPA graduate students.  Maren has a 30-year background in special events, performing arts production and the entertainment industry.   In 1996, she founded Maren Productions which produces audio books, radio and television voice-overs, and podcasts.  Maren Productions also offers special event production and consultancy services. 

Ms. Waxenberg has worked in Special event production with George Trescher Associates, theater production and management at the TheatreVirginia in Richmond, the Guthrie Theatre, Minneapolis, and The New Dramatists in New York. She edited and formatted feature films for ABC Motion Picture Post Production.  Maren served as the concert manager of The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall for four years, produced events for the promotion department of The New York Daily News, and has produced chamber music recitals at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.  Ms, Waxenberg has produced, directed and performed in numerous Off-Broadway theatre productions.  She trained with the CoActive Training Institute.

Meet the Author:

For twenty-six years C.S. McDonald’s life whirled around a song and a dance. Classically trained at Pittsburgh Ballet Theater School, The Pittsburgh Dance Alloy, and many others, she became a professional dancer and choreographer.During that time, she choreographed many musicals and an opera for the Pittsburgh Savoyards. In 2011 she retired from her dance career to write. Under her real name, Cindy McDonald, she writes murder-suspense and romantic suspense novels. In 2014 she added the pen name, C.S. McDonald, to write children’s books for her grandchildren. In 2016 she added the Fiona Quinn Mysteries to that expansion. She decided to write the cozy mystery series that everyone, including teens and tweens, can read and enjoy. Presently, the Fiona Quinn Mysteries includes nine books with a tenth slated for 2021. The books are also available on audio, narrated by Maren Swenson Waxenberg.

Cindy’s newest venture is The Owl’s Nest Mysteries. Once again, she has set her cozy mystery in Pittsburgh and the female protagonist, Alexa Owl, is much different from Fiona Quinn. The Owl’s Nest Mysteries has a little grit, a little time travel, a little romance, and a whole lot of cozy!

Ms. McDonald resides on her Thoroughbred farm known as Fly by Night Stables near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Bill, and her poorly behaved Cocker Spaniel, Allister. 

Connect with the author:  Website  ~  Twitter  ~  Facebook ~ Instagram

Tour Schedule:

Oct 3 – Mystery Review Crew – audiobook review of DOUBLE DOG DARE / giveaway
Oct 3 – Paws.Read.Repeat – audiobook review of BACK TO THE BURGH / giveaway
Oct 4 – Duckfacekim09 – audiobook review of BACK TO THE BURGH / giveaway
Oct 4 - Leanne bookstagram  - book review of BACK TO THE BURGH / giveaway
Oct 5 – Olio by Marilyn – book review of DOUBLE DOG DARE / giveaway
Oct 6 - Literary Flits – book review of DOUBLE DOG DARE / giveaway
Oct 6 - Rockin' Book Reviews – audiobook review of DOUBLE DOG DARE / giveaway
Oct 7 – Books for Books – audiobook review of BACK TO THE BURGH
Oct 11 - Leanne bookstagram  - book review of MAXED OUT / giveaway
Oct 12 – Book Corner News and Reviews – book review of DOUBLE DOG DARE / giveaway
Oct 12 - Duckfacekim09 – audiobook review of MAXED OUT / giveaway
Oct 13 – Bound 4 Escape – audiobook review of BACK TO THE BURGH / giveaway
Oct 13 - Bigreadersite  - book review of DOUBLE DOG DARE / giveaway
Oct 13 – She Just Loves Books – audiobook review of DOUBLE DOG DARE
Oct 14 – Blooming with Books – audiobook review of MAXED OUT / giveaway
Oct 17 – Splashes of Joy – audiobook review of BACK TO THE BURGH / giveaway
Oct 17 - Paws.Read.Repeat – audiobook review of MAXED OUT / giveaway
Oct 18 – Splashes of Joy – audiobook review of MAXED OUT / giveaway
Oct 18 - Cover Lover Book Review – book review of DOUBLE DOG DARE / giveaway
Oct 19 – Splashes of Joy – audiobook review of DOUBLE DOG DARE / giveaway
Oct 19 - Duckfacekim09 – audiobook review of DOUBLE DOG DARE / giveaway
Oct 20 – Blooming with Books – audiobook review of DOUBLE DOG DARE - giveaway
Oct 20 - Leanne bookstagram  - book review of DOUBLE DOG DARE / giveaway
Oct 21 – Books for Books – audiobook review of MAXED OUT
Oct 24 – Bound 4 Escape – audiobook review of DOUBLE DOG DARE / giveaway
Oct 24 - Paws.Read.Repeat – book review of DOUBLE DOG DARE / giveaway
Oct 25 – Locks, Hooks and Books – book review of DOUBLE DOG DARE / giveaway
Oct 25 - Cheryl's Book Nook  - book review of DOUBLE DOG DARE / giveaway
Oct 26 –Gina Rae Mitchell – book review of DOUBLE DOG DARE / giveaway
Oct 27 – StoreyBook Reviews – book review of DOUBLE DOG DARE / giveaway
Oct 28 - Books for Books – audiobook review of DOUBLE DOG DARE
Enter the Giveaway:
DOUBLE DOG DARE (an Owl's Nest Mystery) Book Tour Giveaway



Comments

  1. Thanks so much for this lovely review! I am so happy you enjoyed Back to the Burgh and Beyond!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review it. I'm looking forward to book two! :)

    ReplyDelete

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