Book Title: Saddle Up for Murder: A Fiona Quinn Mystery #7
Author: C.S. McDonald
Category: YA Fiction, 178 pages
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: McWriter Books
Release date: May 14, 2019
Content Rating: G (The Fiona Quinn Mysteries are for everyone–adults love the books and they are appropriate for teens and tweens too!)
Book Description:
Fiona is in total shock when her mother arrives unannounced on her doorstep. What’s going on? Why, she’s left Fiona’s father, that’s what. Yikes! Worse, a horse trainer is murdered outside his ex-wife’s home in Pittsburgh, and the trail leads directly to a Thoroughbred racetrack in the neighboring state of West Virginia. Get ready, because the suspects are mounting up and heading down the stretch. Whoa! Fiona and Detective Landry aren’t horsing around with this homicide!
My Review
I chose to listen to this book after receiving a free audio copy from iRead Book Tours. All opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased.
This is not your typical cozy mystery. It’s as much about Fiona’s mother showing up on her doorstep as it is about murders. Fiona’s mother is a force all her own. She’s opinionated and funny, although I can see how a little of her can go a long way. She’s also smart and ends up helping out in the investigation in her own way. Between her and Fiona’s next-door neighbor, there’s quite a bit of humor in Saddle Up for Murder.
As for the murder, it’s not real obvious who the murderer is, and that’s always a good thing.
The narrator’s voice takes a little getting used to. It’s not as soothing as some of the audiobook voices I’ve heard, but now that I have listened to a few of these, I’m used to it, and it’s like listening to an old friend. Her timing and inflection were very good.
The more I listen to the Fiona Quinn mysteries, the more I enjoy them. I’m looking forward to listening to the next book on my list, Matrimony, Mayhem, and Murder.
About 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
Giveaway
Enter to win a signed copy of
DEEP BLUE MURDER
(a Fiona Quinn Mystery)
(ONE winner/USA only)
Gleam
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Apr 7 –Bound 4 Escape – audiobook review of SADDLE UP FOR MURDER / giveaway
Apr 9 – Paws.Read.Repeat – audiobook review of WAVES OF MURDER / giveaway
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Apr 18 –Review Thick And Thin – book review of MAMBO AND MURDER / giveaway
Apr 18 – Christa Reads and Writes – book review of DEEP BLUE MURDER / giveaway
Apr 18 – Splashes of Joy – book review of DEEP BLUE MURDER / giveaway
Apr 19 – Just Another Reader – book review of MURDER ON POINTE / giveaway
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Apr 20 – Blooming with Books – audiobook review of TASTES LIKE MURDER / giveaway
Apr 20 –Paws.Read.Repeat – audiobook review of SADDLE UP FOR MURDER / giveaway
Apr 20 –Review Thick And Thin – book review of SADDLE UP FOR MURDER / giveaway
Apr 21 – Just Another Reader – book review of WAVES OF MURDER / giveaway
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Apr 25 – Just Another Reader – book review of GOOD LUCK TO MURDER / giveaway
Apr 25 –Review Thick And Thin – book review of BON VOYAGE TO MURDER / giveaway
Apr 25 – Leanne bookstagram – book review of TAKING NOTES ON MURDER / giveaway
Apr 25 – Paws.Read.Repeat – audiobook review of MATRIMONY MAYHEM AND MURDER / giveaway
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Apr 27 – Paws.Read.Repeat – book review of DEEP BLUE MURDER / giveaway
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Apr 28 – Bound 4 Escape – audiobook review of DEEP BLUE MURDER / giveaway
Apr 28 – Cassidy’s Bookshelves – book review of DEEP BLUE MURDER
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