• The Musubi Murder

  • By: Frankie Bow
  • Narrated by: Nicole Gose
  • Length: 6 hrs and 44 mins
  • 3.3 out of 5 stars (505 ratings)

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The Musubi Murder  By  cover art

The Musubi Murder

By: Frankie Bow
Narrated by: Nicole Gose
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Publisher's summary

Small town life, big academic egos, corruption, revenge, and Spam musubis! The Musubi Murder is the first campus crime novel set in Hawaii, and the perfect gift for mystery lovers, Hawaii expatriates, disillusioned academics, and anyone who fancies Spam (the meat). Renowned Hawaii-born voice-over artist Nicole Gose brings her spot-on vocal characterizations and impeccable comic timing to this reading.

©2015 Frankie Bow (P)2015 Frankie Bow

What listeners say about The Musubi Murder

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
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  • 2 Stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

cute (not silly) campus comedy cozy

This is a decent light mystery and very good campus comedy - if you've taught or even studied on a 21st campus, you'll chortle. Too bad about the "chick lit" label. The protagonist does have a light love interest tangled in the mystery but that's far from central to the plot or humour. Four starts might be a tad generous, but I enjoyed this more than most light mysteries and laughed more than most comedy. If Bow writes a second instalment, I'll download automatically.

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11 people found this helpful

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

Highly Recommended

What did you like best about this story?

The book is very amusing, and has some really great little twists along the way! The characters are also fantastic. The narrator does a very good job at distinguishing between character voices during dialogue and really gets into character.

Any additional comments?

This is a great murder mystery! It's definitely a page turner, but it's also not stressful to read, and has a lot of well done subtle comedy.

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11 people found this helpful

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

Great new cosy series

My Review
Frankie Bows' first Professor Molly Barda Mystery provides a good platform for the introduction of both the setting and the characters of her new series.

I enjoyed the setting, a university campus which, due to financial restraints has a deteriorating infrastructure and decor. The academic staff have also suffered the indignity and frustration of losing all authority over students. Heaven forbid a student be upset, offended or reprimanded lest they should leave, taking their uni fees with them! This situation contributes to some quite comical efforts of self restraint on Molly's part, involving her trying to chastise and punish students for their misdemeanours without actually saying so! Molly has far more patience than I, I would soon be out of a job!

I like Mollys' house, OK not the smartest, but probably a whole lot more interesting than the modern hermetically sealed clean and tidy abodes of some people ... Mentioning no names!

Then there is the murder mystery, It wasn't too difficult to be a little ahead of the story, but I must say, there were some rather stomach churning inferences along the way regarding the mortal remains! Some of the situations Molly found herself in gave the listener some nail nibbling moments! Poor Molly becomes as bewildered as a teenager when romance - or potential romance - students politics, friends, doubt, money, science, fraud and murder are all thrown in to the melting pot. Luckily for us, it's all spiced up with a little humour, romance and a touch of pathos.

I'm just not sure about the ending though. Having said that, it is the first book in a series, and now that everyone has been properly introduced, I look forward to many more Molly Barda Mysteries.

Narrator
Nicole Gose is new to me, I enjoyed her work very much, she certainly is a talent. Her voice is very clear, she has good timing and tells a story well, this is so important. I loved the regional accents, reminded me a little of Maori English. I found one little fault, and even then I guess it's a personal thing, and that is the voice of Emma, it was a little high pitched for the comfort of my ears.

I'd say this book makes an excellent audiobook, Nicole Gose as narrator was well chosen, and sound quality and production are both of a high standard.

I think listeners would be happy to know that Nicole will narrate all future Molly Barda Mysteries, so let's hope she does.

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10 people found this helpful

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

A taste of the Hawaii with a little mystery

Which character – as performed by Nicole Gose – was your favorite?

I really enjoyed the characters of Molly and Emma. You could tell that Molly was from the mainland compared to Emma's native speech and accent. Ms. Gose kept me in the story with her realistic characterizations and I can't wait to hear more of her work.

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

At over 6 hours, it would be hard to do in one sitting but the chapters are so that you can stop and come back and not feel lost.

Any additional comments?

The Musubi Murder is a great start to hopefully a new series of books by Frankie Bow. Molly, a college professor, is drawn into the murder of a well know but much hated local businessman. This is a solid mystery and I would recommend it to those 15+ years. I look forward to reading more about Molly, Emma and Pat.

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6 people found this helpful

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

Terrific book!

If you could sum up The Musubi Murder in three words, what would they be?

Entertaining, engaging, funny!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Cannot choose between Molly, Emma and Pat - each of them with distinct and likeable personalities.

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

Absolutely! Engaging and entertaining.

Any additional comments?

Very impressive how the reader can switch from standard to Pidgin English so easily and convincingly. The feel of Hawaii is authentic. On par with Sarah Caudwell for excellent dry humor - but very different style. Broadly appealing to fans of cosy mysteries, and even better for anyone who has an appreciation for the quirks of working in an academic environment.

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6 people found this helpful

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

A delightful witty murder mystery!

I loved this book! This story "The Musubi Murder" Is a fun, quirky murder mystery. It has a great plot, suspense and comedy. I listened to this book in one sitting. I didn't want to turn it off.

Follow along with Molly, a college professor as she solves a murder at a campus in Hawaii. We were listening to this book today while at the dinner table and we had many laughs! We were at the part where Molly was complaining about 25% of the students plagiarizing their papers. This book is very enjoyable and family oriented. Lots of danger too!

The author, Frankie Bow did a great job writing this story! This is my first read by this author and I found her writing style to be quite witty and up with the times. The plot was great, the killer had me baffled until the end. The narrator, Nicole Gose did a fantastic job delivering this story to us. I loved all her voices and witty Hawaiian accents. The voices sounder very authentic too! I honestly felt like I was listening to a movie! Good job to you both. :)

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5 people found this helpful

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

Absolute dreck

Any additional comments?

This book represents an egregious waste of resources. I can't believe someone actually agreed to publish such sophomoric sawdust. The dialogue is SO silly and there is so much filler I finally listened to it in high speed so I could get through it.

Professor Molly Barda and her two sidekicks have much in common with "The Three Stooges" with all the staged pratfalls and head-slapping but without the laughs. In particular, the main character (who is supposed to be a PhD) is so dull-witted that it's unlikely she could have survived into adulthood before pulling some bone-headed move like staring up into a rainstorm until she drowned - she's completely unbelievable. If this book was presented as young adult fiction and the three characters were young teenagers, it would at least be believable, if not much more enjoyable. If you decide to risk it and listen to this book, the final scene will illustrate what I mean. No adult woman, let alone a professor, would behave with such gross stupidity.

The performance is ... well, the best and worst I can say is that the narrator perfectly captures Barda's extremely annoying character. Gose has a high-pitched, slightly nasal voice that grated on my nerves as much as the writing did.

I have no idea how anyone could rate this book at even three stars, let alone five. In a world where we have writers (and recorded books) by the likes of Raymond Chandler, Agatha Christie, Martha Grimes, Dorothy Sayers - how does this book get five stars? Even stacked up against the dozens of lesser stars who nonetheless produce entertaining (and clean and cozy) mysteries, this one is simply appalling.

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4 people found this helpful

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

Fun, funny, and (mostly) squeaky clean.

What did you love best about The Musubi Murder?

It's one of the few academic novels to take place in the era of MOOCs, the Completion Agenda, and constant budget cuts. No mahogany-panelled offices here. (Not for the professors, anyway.)

Who was your favorite character and why?

Poor Dan Watanabe, the longsuffering department chair. He does his best, but it's never enough. He keeps a giant jar of antacid tablets on his desk and gulps them down by the handful.

What about Nicole Gose’s performance did you like?

She really "becomes" the main character. And her Pidgin is perfect. If you've ever had the displeasure of hearing fake Pidigin, you'll really appreciate her narration.

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

The reader is kept enticed from chapter to chapter, yes. You always want to know what's going to happen next.

Any additional comments?

Four stars instead of five because this story is not suitable for everyone. There are some PG-rated themes in the story, and there is even one swear word.

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4 people found this helpful

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

Eh brah, dis one good book!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Frankie Bow knows the Big Island and local academic politics. So often, people write about Hawaii without ever having been here. This audio book is refreshing, entertaining, and gets things right.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Numerous plot twists keep the action going right up to the dénoument.

Which character – as performed by Nicole Gose – was your favorite?

All of the characters were spot on. One of the strengths of Ms Gose is that she is from Hawaii and the characterizations are excellent.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Not extreme, just an enjoyable read.

Any additional comments?

Both Frankie Bow and Nicole Gose know how to walk that very fine line that provides an experience that remains true to local culture but still is comprehensible to readers who don't live here. (It's actually quite a trick to accomplish this.)

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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

Good solid mystery!

If you could sum up The Musubi Murder in three words, what would they be?

Fun, humorous, intriguing

Would you recommend The Musubi Murder to your friends? Why or why not?

I would recommend this audio to those who like "cozy" mysteries and also to those who like things just a little bit darker.

What about Nicole Gose’s performance did you like?

The narrative was well done, in fact I often forgot that one woman was also providing the male voices for the audio. That's a great narrator!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

It's NOT a headless skull!

Any additional comments?

My only complaint with this audio is that there is at least a three second pause between each chapter...just long enough to make me wonder if it's stopped playing and just enough to be annoying.

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