Murder in the Flower Beds

A Ray and Cain Mystery, Book 1

By: Gillian Larkin

Narrated by: Sheree Wichard

Length: 1 hr and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

Getting involved in a murder investigation had never been part of Ray Rosenthorpe's retirement plans. But here he was, on a Saturday morning in a garden center, looking at a dead body in a shed.

A woman Ray knows is standing over the dead body with blood on her hands. She claims she had nothing to do with the murder, and asks Ray to help clear her name. Being the kind-hearted soul that he is, Ray agrees to help her.

With his best friend, Cain, at his side, the two are soon deep in their investigations.

©2016 Gillian Rogerson (P)2017 Gillian Rogerson

Murder in the Flower Beds

Murder in the Flower Beds: A Ray and Cain Mystery, Book 1
: Gillian Larkin

This was a fun short cozy murder mystery. The characters were quirky yet mostly likable. I want to find out what their next adventure will be.




The narration was well done. The characters were well portrayed by Sheree Wichard.


“I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.”

Very Enjoyable

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher and found it very entertaining. The characters were delightful and enhanced the charming tale about murder with an ending that surprised me. This is a nice tale that is great to listen to while travelling.

Good Read

Any additional comments?

Murder in the Flower Beds by Gillian Larkin was a good quick read. I enjoyed reading about Ray and Cain trying to clear the name of one of Ray's friends who was standing above a man who was murdered. This was a good read and I didn't expect who was the true murderer.

Quick and Cute

Any additional comments?

It wasn't a very complicated mystery which I appreciated. At first it seemed like the short story was going to be too heavy handed in the character department since everybody was introduced one after another pretty early on. But luckily I was able to catch up and keep everybody straight.

The narrator, Sheree Wichard, was decent. She did her best to put a lot of life into this short story. I would listen to her again.

**This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Boom**

An Interesting Cozy Mystery

Murder in the Flower Beds was an entertaining cozy mystery although for me it was a little hard to follow. The story was entertaining in that it was bubbly and bouncy but I couldn't keep up with who was who. All the different character voices had me confused and it was like a production.

This was the first audiobook I've listened to written by Gillian Larkin. I've listened to other audiobooks narrated by Sheree Wichard and she's a terrific narrator. This story though may have been better as a straight read than applying different voices to each character.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

Cute Garden story

Where does Murder in the Flower Beds rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This audiobook was a cute story but not my favorite. I haven't gotten into the cozy mysteries as much as I do with the romance or mystery or thriller books.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the garden theme. My mother loves to garden and has gone to England to tour gardens, so I understood the appeal for some of the characters.

Which scene was your favorite?

I liked it when it was revealed that one of the characters was dyslectic and another was willing to help them.

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

No strong emotion to this book.

Any additional comments?

I was voluntarily provided with this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher, and/or narrator.

Very entertaining narration

loved listening to this! The narrator did an amazing job of keeping me entertained. Great story, great narration! I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher

Murder in the flower beds

This was such a fun murder mystery. The story was light hearted with a little underlying humor. And Cain seems to be the biggest chicken! This was my first book by this author and I look forward to more mysteries!

I was given this audio in exchange for an honest review.

Short and Sweet English murder mystery

What made the experience of listening to Murder in the Flower Beds the most enjoyable?

This was a fun and lighthearted mystery with some quirky characters, plot twists and a touch of comedy.

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite scene was when the ladies in line for the book signing realized that the new book they were standing in line for was NOT a cookbook as expected. The reaction of the senior adult ladies in line was spot on and exactly how I would imagine they would react!

Any additional comments?

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher

Confused about narration ..

Considering the two main characters in this book are both male I'm a bit confused why they chose a female to narrate it. She didn't do a great job of making the voices sound like men. I thought it was 2 females at first but the names confused me. I read the description which confirmed that Ray & Cain were indeed men. This just made the listen a little odd, and I really think it would have been much better had a man narrated it. Too many characters introduced at once who all sound too much the same..,
Otherwise, the mystery & story itself was a fun short mystery. It was a full story packed into a small time frame but it felt satisfying & full.
I received a free review copy of this audiobook and voluntarily reviewed it