Page Princess: MURDER OF A YOGA INSTRUCTOR by Meredith Potts

Title: MURDER OF A YOGA INSTRUCTOR

Series: Hope Hadley Cozy Mysteries #3

Author: Meredith Potts

Narrator: Rachel Carr

Length: 1 hours 33 mins

Publish Date: 03.08.2017

Audible Release Date: 02.26.2018

Publisher: Meredith Potts

Category /Genre: Cozy Mysteries

Recommended for: 12+ due to content

Listenability: OK ~~or NSFW~~

Received from: Meredith Potts (as an Audible gifted copy)

Goodreads link: Murder of a Yoga Instructor

Date completed: 05.02.18

Description from the publisher:

Inner peace becomes difficult for Hope Hadley to find when she shows up for her yoga class one morning and discovers the dead body of her handsome male instructor on the ground in the studio. When Hope discovers that her instructor's good looks had caught the attention of a number of his married female students, the pool of suspects becomes surprisingly large. It's going to take more than some deep meditation for Hope to crack this case.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MURDER OF A YOGA INSTRUCTOR is the third book in the Hope Hadley Cozy Mysteries. While each will probably stand on its own, it’s probably best to read each in the order of release.

Now, if this is the first book you have picked up for this series and you think you are starting where a cliff-hanger left off, you didn’t. Great beginning! For such a short story, there are actually two murder mysteries in one.

While I like the set up for the story, I don’t particularly like the hostile dialogue. The suspects, Hope, and her brother, Joe, are all rude and argumentative during questionings. My suggestion is to sprinkle a little sugar around. Remember: you get more bees with honey. Of course, I do have to ask myself if that hostility is in the writing or only in the narration. I’m not certain.

So the long and short of it is that I liked the story idea, but the execution fell a little flat. It had a great beginning and a dark (true-to-life) ending. The one thing I do want in a cozy mystery – the bad guy doesn’t get away, so I’m satisfied for now.

Narration: Rachel Carr’s narration style would best be described as “rushed.” Take a breath. Relax. Not every sentence should have the same emphasis and cadence. While not monotonous, there is no variety in reading either. Rachel has a pleasant voice, but I had to listen twice just because I lost concentration due to the flow of her story-telling.

Note: while I was given this book as a gifted audiobook copy, my opinions are my own and are given freely.

Hope Hadley Cozy Mysteries:

1. Fame is a Killer

2. Fishing for a Murderer

3. Murder of a Yoga Instructor

4. Drowning in Deceit

5. A Not So Merry Christmas Murder

6. Killer Injustice

7. Murder of a Restaurant Critic

8. Murder of a Movie Producer

9. Killer Holiday Office Party

10. Murder Hits Close to Home