A SMALL HILL TO DIE ON Penny Brannigan, Book 4

A quaint mystery set in a Welsh village filled with quirky residents should offer a narrator a great opportunity to shine. However, Anne Flosnik's narration doesn't bring this story and its characters to life. Penny Brannigan, a Canadian emigrée who is part owner of a hair and nail salon, discovers the body of a teen she recently manicured and gets involved in the murder investigation. A Canadian-Welsh accent makes for confusing listening, while the other characters' accents are just odd enough to be distracting. Characters are difficult to distinguish from one another, making conversations hard to follow. Scenes that should be suspenseful--such as the one in which the murderer is revealed--simply fall flat due to narration that sounds forced. M.M.G. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2013]