Cottage on Gooseberry Bay

Santa Who?

By: Kathi Daley

Narrated by: Angel Clark

Length: 4 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

USA Today best-selling author Kathi Daley brings you a heartwarming mystery series about finding answers and fostering hope while building friendships and embracing the magic of life by the sea and small town holidays.

Ainsley Holloway had come to Gooseberry Bay to find answers about her past. She’d come to find an explanation for the dreams that haunted her after the death of the cop who’d both rescued and raised her. And she’d come to identify the family she couldn’t remember but knew in her heart she’d once belonged to. Ainsley hoped that by finding these answers, she’d also find healing. She hoped that once she’d resurrected the memories buried deep in her mind, she’d find peace.

The Cottage at Gooseberry Bay is a series about not only finding answers, but finding hope.

It’s a series about shared heartbreak and hardship.It's a series about shared holidays, festivals, and celebrations. It’s a series about shared heartbreak and hardship. And it’s a series about the bond that can be forged amongst strangers when tragedy binds two or more individuals with a common goal.

In book 8 in the series, Ainsley is out walking her dogs, Kai and Kallie, when she finds a man dressed as Santa sitting on a bench. The man has blood on his jacket and looks to be confused, so Ainsley goes over to speak to him. When she discovers that the man seems to have some sort of amnesia and cannot remember who he is or why he is in Gooseberry Bay, Ainsley decides to take him back to the peninsula. She enlists the help of the others to help her find the identity of the man, but as they begin their search they find evidence that a man dressed as Santa was last seen running from the scene of a murder. The man seems like such a nice guy, and Ainsley and the others find it hard to believe that this particular Santa is a killer. Deputy Todd figures he has all the proof he needs and arrests the man, but Ainsley still isn't sure, so she sets out to dig a bit deeper hoping the truth is buried deep within the evidence.

Meanwhile, Adam seems to have become an honorary Geek Squad member, Ainsley gets a new clue about the whereabouts of Wilma, and it's Christmas, which means the annual ball out at the Winchester place, local events, tree cutting. holiday decorating, and everything that makes a cozy mystery Christmas, cozy.

©2021 Kathi Daley (P)2021 Kathi Daley

Audiobook Narration Distracts from Excellent Story

I am enjoying these books immensely. I like the stories and the relationships between the characters in the ensemble cast. i appreciate the addition of the audio book. I am a longtime audiobook afficianado. However, There are two elements of the audiobook narrator's performance that seriously need improvement.

1) Ainsley/Ava's character is an intelligent, independent, compassionate young woman who is wise beyond her years and is thriving in her new community. The voice used to portray this character makes her sound positively ditzy, like a "dumb blonde." Having read several ebooks in this Gooseberry Bay series prior to switching to audiobooks, I don't like this potrayal of Ainsley's character. It's hard to take her seriously as a private investigator with such a voice.

2) When the audio reader speaks narrative phrases, such as, "i said," or "he suggested," the delivery sounds disjointed and mechanical -- very distracting.

i don't make these negative comments lightly. I adore Kathie Daley as a writer and am very much enjoying this book series. i would simply like to see these changes made in order to enhance the audiobook readers' enjoyment of their listening experience.