Audio Book Review: Murder at St. Margaret by Lynn Morrison, Narrated by Pearl Hewitt

by Freya on December 4th, 2021

An audiobook review of Murder at St. Margaret by Lynn Morrison, Narrated by Pearl Hewitt.

Title: Murder at St. Margaret
Author: Lynn Morrison
Narrator: Pearl Hewitt
Length: 8 hours 16 minutes
Publisher: Marketing Chair Press⎮2020
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Read Synopsis on Goodreads
Stars: ★★★★
Buy On: Audible | Amazon US | Amazon India

My Review:

Note: I received this book from the author via AudioBookworm Promotions in exchange for an honest review.

Natalie takes up a job at St. Margaret college and discovers she has magical lineage. She is tasked with keeping the magical balance but the magic is depleting and no one knows why. On her first day at work, Nat discovers the body of the murdered chef. She along with her magical friends must now solve the mystery of the disappearing magic and find the chef’s murderer.

Set in Oxford, a college town, Murder at St. Margaret is a light and easy cozy mystery with a fascinating plot involving a magical realm that exists all around but that can only be accessed in the college towns of Oxford and Cambridge – the power of knowledge in this towns allows the two realms to intersect. There are three prefects who help maintain the balance between the realms, each prefect being in-charge of different aspects of it all. Natalie is the Head of Ceremonies.

I liked, that all three prefects were women but it seemed odd that men had been ignored for these roles. Oxford is a college town and St. Margaret is just one of the colleges, so it was also odd that there were no prefects in other colleges. Then there is the fact that only Cambridge and Oxford, in the whole wide world have the power to intersect with the magical realm. What about all the other college/knowledge towns across the world?

Lynn Morrison has created an interesting world of magic with characters like ‘H’ the 400 year-old wyvern who looks like a cat to non-magical folk, portraits and autobiographies that speak to magical folk and Eternals who help preserve the magical world connect.

The setting of the story in present-day Oxford led me to discover the college town through the story. I don’t know if all the places described by the author are real but I enjoyed traveling across the town with Nat, seeing the places in my mind’s eye.

The story progresses at a steady pace and I was kept hooked wondering who was the murderer as a line-up of suspects were introduced and eliminated. Witten in the first person, Nat makes for a good character telling the story as she experiences it, meeting new people, dissecting them and their motives as she tries to solve the murder mystery and save the magic.

Pearl Hewitt has done a good job with narration, she brings the story alive with her voice. The characters are easy to identify with her voice variations and accents. I found that I enjoyed listening to her both while doing chores and as a bed-time listen.

I enjoyed the simplicity of language and the storyline. A good read/listen if you like me, are looking for something simple and easy on the mind and ears.

Buy On: Audible | Amazon US | Amazon India