• Crime and Poetry

  • Magical Bookshop Mystery Series, Book 1
  • By: Amanda Flower
  • Narrated by: Rachel Dulude
  • Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (473 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Crime and Poetry  By  cover art

Crime and Poetry

By: Amanda Flower
Narrated by: Rachel Dulude
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $15.47

Buy for $15.47

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Rushing home to sit by her ailing grandmother's bedside, Violet Waverly is shocked to find Grandma Daisy the picture of perfect health. Violet doesn't need to read between the lines: Her grandma wants Violet back home and working in her magical store, Charming Books. It's where the perfect book tends to fly off the shelf and pick you.... Violet has every intention to hightail it back to Chicago, but then a dead man is discovered clutching a volume of Emily Dickinson's poems from Grandma Daisy's shop. The victim is Benedict Raisin, who recently put Grandma Daisy in his will, making her a prime suspect. Now, with the help of a tuxedo cat named Emerson, Violet will have to find a killer to keep Grandma from getting booked for good.

©2016 Amanda Flower (P)2016 Tantor

What listeners say about Crime and Poetry

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    267
  • 4 Stars
    131
  • 3 Stars
    61
  • 2 Stars
    10
  • 1 Stars
    4
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    262
  • 4 Stars
    99
  • 3 Stars
    34
  • 2 Stars
    12
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    235
  • 4 Stars
    108
  • 3 Stars
    46
  • 2 Stars
    14
  • 1 Stars
    4

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Magical Books, A Talking Crow, Great Easy Listen

This book is escapism at its best. Is it blood and guts kind of murder mystery? No. Hard core investigation? No. Small town, friends and family closeness? YES, YES, YES . . . with a few rotten eggs thrown in . . . Grandma Daisy and her Charming Books Bookstore and the her friends, The Red Inkers, the local writers group who meets at her bookstore, are a varied bunch of folks, and include Police Chief David Rainwater. When Grandma Daisy's boyfriend (and carriage driver), Benedict Raisin is found murdered, and she becomes a suspect, her granddaughter, Violet goes on a search for the real killer. With a little help from the books in the book shop and Benedict's cat (who Violet has named, Emerson), Violet sets out to clear her grandma's name. This magical story takes me back to the books of my childhood . . . clean, fun and anticipation in every chapter. I love the talking crow, Faulkner. The story of Violet in high school and now her return twelve years later, and how she reconciles herself to what happened in the past. In one word, this book is absolutely DELIGHTFUL.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Interesting premise, but heroine acted stupidly

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

People who don't mind when amateur sleuths interfere with police investigations.

What was most disappointing about Amanda Flower’s story?

Heroine failed my 3-strike test: 1) she lied to the chief of police, whom she believed to be a good guy, about possibly being attacked on the street; 2) she withheld information in an ongoing murder investigation, and 3) she let a suspicious character, whom she knew worked for a company that opposed her family interest, into her car when she was on her way to gather info on the case. I stopped listening at about the halfway mark. Too bad, since the premise was interesting.

Have you listened to any of Rachel Dulude’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have no complaint about Rachel Dulude's performance. I have not heard her before, so I have no basis for comparison.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment, since the premise intrigued me.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Narrator needs to tighten up pronunciation

Well read, entertaining story, but the narrator mispronounced a few words and it jarred me out of the story. Specifically, hearth and refuse (the noun form) come to mind. Tighten it up, Rachel!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • AJ
  • 09-30-17

This author is wonderful

Listening to Crime and Poetry gave me many hours of pleasure. Amanda Flower knows just what her readers want and her series is fresh and lovely. The narrator is particularly gifted. I highly recommend this series. I can't wait to read the next book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

3 and a half stars

This was an okay cozy mystery. The pace is rather slow and the characters aren't fully developed. The plot was okay. The story wasn't bad but it was just typical. I will probably get the next one to see if it is more developed.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

An okay listen

I like the concept of this book - magic-y stuff appeals to me. Unfortunately, I don’t love books where the main character does stupid things - which the protagonist here most certainly does. Also in parts the writing seems a bit bare-bones, even questionable (the night after meeting a friend of her grandmother’s who drives a carriage there is a carriage in the driveway - but it doesn't occur to our protagonist that it probably belongs to the same person.)

The narration is okay, but just that (and yes, WHY is there no one making sure narrators gets pronunciations correct? This is a pretty consistent problem in Audible. As written books have editors why don’t read books have people checking this? Every Audible book I have listened to has a “produced by” tag. The Producers need to step things up! Maybe the author could listen to the book before it gets released? Seriously!!! But I digress.)

Neither the author nor the narrator were bad enough for me to stop listening after a few chapters, but neither were they good enough for me to think about purchasing the next book. Oh well.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Enchantingly entertaining

Ms. Flower has captivatingly intertwined mystery, romance, and magic into a delightful " who dun it".
With the strong intelligent female lead, a interesting grandmother who owns a magical bookstore with a talking crow, two "hot" romantic interests, and a cute tuxedo cat this book will leave you wanting more. Truly enjoyable

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

loved this book! I got mad when I had to sleep!

I wanted to listen straight through, but had to sleep and work. interesting lovable characters. can't wait for prose and cons!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Good but predictable

This audiobook it's just like some of the others I listen to good but he gets predictable halfway through. nice try thow

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Good story had unreached potential

I enjoyed the book but was very let down by the sudden end. It didnt feel completed, like there were loose ends. That was disappointing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful