• Dead As a Doornail

  • When The Fat Ladies Sing, Book 3
  • By: Linda Kozar
  • Narrated by: Michelle Babb
  • Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (134 ratings)

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Dead As a Doornail  By  cover art

Dead As a Doornail

By: Linda Kozar
Narrated by: Michelle Babb
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Publisher's summary

With her wedding to Hudson just months away, all Lovita's plans seem to be going awry. A crooked politician is running for mayor, his girlfriend is opening a new beauty shop in town, and the contractor building Sue Jan and Monroe's dream home is found dead, with Monroe the prime suspect. To top it all off, the money from the high school band's fundraiser has disappeared. Now the kids won't be able to go to New York City to march in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Before Lovita walks down the aisle, all the girls have to do is nail the real killer, find the missing money, save their beauty shop, and rescue the little town of Wachita. Can two big, bodaciously beautiful women do it? Piece of cake.

©2012 Linda Kozar (P)2015 Linda Kozar

What listeners say about Dead As a Doornail

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

A fun who did it.

Disclaimer: I received this book from narrator Michelle Babb for an unbiased review.

This is a new genre for me; also a new author and narrator. The book is a fast easy read that makes it a good choice between my non-fiction reading.

This is book three in the Fat Ladies Sing Cozy Murder Series. I have not read the other books in the series but had no difficulties following the story. This book could be easily read as a stand-alone book. The story takes place in Wachita, Texas. Our protagonist is Lovita, who co-owns a beauty shop with her best friend, Sue Jan. Lovita is busy planning her wedding to Hudson. Sue Jan is having a new home built. On a visit to the building site, Lovita and Sue Jan find the contractor dead. Lovita and friends are off to solve the murder. Oh, did I mention the women say they are big bodaciously beautiful.

The book is well written. The pace is fast. The dialogue is full of humor and sassy attitude. The plot has enough twists and turns to keep the reader’s attention. The character development is good. Over all it is a fun book to read for an escape.

Michelle Babb did an excellent job narrating the book. If Babb is not a native Texan, she sure did a great job with the Texas twang.

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5 people found this helpful

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

REALLY A FUN SERIES!

Would you consider the audio edition of Dead As a Doornail to be better than the print version?

I think it always is...but I only listened!

What did you like best about this story?

The Girls...Lovita and SueJan!

What does Michelle Babb bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She was really good....Michelle is an excellent narrator!!!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Sure, it was super cute!

Any additional comments?

** I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review **

Michelle contacted me on goodreads and asked me if I wanted to listen and review this book, since I had listened to book 1, and I was happy too! I love the 2 fat ladies and this book does not disappoint...Lovita and Suejan are the owners of a beauty salon/boutique, and amateur sleuths! When a large amount of cash for the high school goes missing and a murder happens in there sleepy little town they start to secretly investigate...

This was so cute, other than the mystery the girls now have great guys and Lovita gets married at the end....I really enjoyed it!!

Great little cozy mystery, and really good narration. I recommend!

Thanks Michelle!!

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4 people found this helpful

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

Dead as a doornail

Any additional comments?

I listened to the audiobook of Dead As A Doornail by Linda P. Kozar. It is the third book in the When Fat Ladies Sing series. This is the first I have listened in this cozy mystery series but that didn't stop me from understanding the story line, following along with the characters and enjoying the mystery.

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3 people found this helpful

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

Christian Mystery –– Surprisingly Good

What made the experience of listening to Dead As a Doornail the most enjoyable?

I've read a few christian books. A few were good, some were OK, most were pretty damned awful. So I'm not a big fan. As you would expect, no sex and no bad language. It's a book I'd give to my 90 year old mother....not a book I'd generally enjoy myself but this book is surprisingly good. Cozy mysteries are full of tropes and they're not usually all that original but I found myself enjoying this a lot. There were one or two "christian" moments that made me wince but overall a great book.

Any additional comments?

Michelle Babb provided me with this audiobook for review so I should mention her narration. I'm not sure if it's her natural voice but she has a voice that reminds me a little of Allison McLemore. It just drips Southern honey. Her female characterisations are superb. Her male voices aren't as good. They're OK and don't take away from the story too much but not as good as her female voices.

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3 people found this helpful

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

A fun cozy mystery

Linda P Kozar is new author to me. I loved her quirky characters. Michelle Babb did a great job with her performance with this book. I enjoyed the unexpected events in this story. I found the ending to be perfect. This is the 3rd book in a series, but definitely is a standalone. I was voluntarily provided with this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, narrator, and/or publisher.

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2 people found this helpful

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

Disappointed

What disappointed you about Dead As a Doornail?

** spoiler alert **
* I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review *

I was excited to listen to this audiobook. The storyline sounds fun and the reviews aren't bad either. But I didn't enjoy it, I couldn't fell empathy to any of the characters. Here's why:

. Sue Jan finds a dead body on her future house and is so shaken that decides to have dinner. Out. With friends. Really?

. Three people find a dead body. The police release two of them without interrogation/any other explanation. It bugs me so much (and I blame Patricia Cornwell and Tess Gerritsen for that).

. Police wants to keep Sue Jane's future husband for another interrogation round, and she flips out because (in her opinion) it's an absurd he be a suspect. Are you kidding me?? He found a dead body!

. The mystery is light and the characters don't do any investigation.

. How does the news spread so fast around Wachita? One minute something happens and in the second minute, everyone knows. It's minutes, literally. Is it some of those case of collective unconscious? They mention a person as being the one responsible for all the gossiping, but who tells her everything?? How does she makes time to tell everyone in minutes?

. Lovita is so judgmental. In almost every description she does, you can find nasty comments.

. In some moments the pace of the narrative is disrupted by tons of unnecessary descriptive details. And Lovita's nasty comments.

Narration is for sure a difficult job. You have a lot of characters, they need to sound different, with their own personality and at the same time, you have to keep the pace. Michelle Babb does that very well. The only thing I didn't get was Hudson's accent. He sounds slightly British sometimes, but his nationality is never mentioned.

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

Yes. She does a pretty good job.

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2 people found this helpful

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

New mystery series to me.

What did you love best about Dead As a Doornail?

This was a fun mystery! Although it was the 3rd in the series, it was my first and I am excited to start at the beginning. Fun characters, good mystery, although it was kind of predictable, no surprise ending but still good. ,

What was one of the most memorable moments of Dead As a Doornail?

I just enjoyed the friendship between the two main characters.

What about Michelle Babb’s performance did you like?

I thought the narrator was really good with all the personalities and accents, except maybe Hudson, who I couldn't figure out where he was from until near the end when It was mentioned. But it was still fine since she had a distinct "voice" for him. I will read the first two after listening to this!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not really.

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2 people found this helpful

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

Fat Ladies are GREAT

What made the experience of listening to Dead As a Doornail the most enjoyable?

The narrator. The Southern accent of the narrator just set the stage. She kept your attention with all the different character voice each with its own Southern effect.

What other book might you compare Dead As a Doornail to and why?

Having read several mysteries series lately, I would put this one up against any of them. The charm of the beauty parlor/boutique is cuter than some of the other series I read that have knitting shops, snow globe shops, or bakeries.

What about Michelle Babb’s performance did you like?

There were many things about Michelle performance that I liked. Her Southern accent was excellent. Her changing her voice for the various characters. Her input of the other noises such as the phone rinning.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, if I could have I would have. I read it while I drove so my stopping point was when I got home or wherever I was going. It was most difficult to hit the stop button.

Any additional comments?

The primary story line of the mystery was great. I enjoy trying to figure out "who done it". Although it was easy to figure who could have done it, who actually did it came across well. The sub-story of love, friendship, and family just added to the book. The humor was excellent and sometimes very subtle. Loved the book & will definitely be reading more of this series.

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

Fun series!

Lovita is preparing for her wedding to Hudson, but things aren’t that easy. First, her best friend Sue Jan’s husband, Monroe, is accused of murder right in the middle of his campaign to be Wachita’s mayor. His competition is running a nasty campaign which includes having the candidate’s girlfriend open an upscale beauty shop to compete with Lovita and Sue Jan’s own shop. Then, the money that was raised for the high school band to march in the Macy’s Day Parade in New York City is stolen. It’s up to Lovita and Sue Jan to save the day. They do have their work cut out for them, especially since they need to do everything before Lovita and Hudson's big day.

This is the third book in the “When the Fat Ladies Sing” series. It’s the first book I read (listened to) in this series and I didn’t feel lost at all. I was able to jump right in and be excited for Lovita’s wedding even though I wasn’t really familiar with the characters. As always when I jump into the middle of a series (I really hate when I do that, I’d rather start at the beginning.), I want to go back to see how the characters’ relationships all grew through the years. It’s no different with this one. I want to hear how it all began. However, I have no problem if I don’t get a chance and just listen to the next books.

The narrator, Michelle Babb, is a natural and does the voices for all the characters. Her voice is pleasant to listen to and she performs each character to perfection.

Dead As A Doornail is funny, fast-paced, and filled with quirky characters. The relationship between Lovita and Sue Jan is perfect. They are best friends through thick and thin. I’m definitely going to stick with this series. It’s so much fun “discovering” new-to-me cozy mystery series.




FTC Disclosure: The narrator provided me with a copy of this book to review. This did not influence my thoughts and opinions in any way. All opinions expressed are my own.

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

Entertaining & Fun from Chapter ONE

Entertaining & fun from chapter one! So many personalities! You will laugh out loud! I have not read any of the other books in this series before this one. I will be grabbing 1 & 2 asap! The narrator had great accents for each of the characters and made them each come alive in your mind, very well done!

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