REVIEW: Caught Dead Handed

 Caught Dead Handed
Author: Carol J. Perry

**I originally first reviewed this book in April 2020. Then I lost track of the series amid my ponderous TBR & Life Happening. While clicking through Scribd, I saw the series available to listen on audio,and decided to start at the beginning and read this series from the start -- perfect start to Halloween season!**

Here is my original review from April 2016 (additions following):

Lee Barrett has come home to Salem, Massachusetts with her sights set on a reporter's job at WICH-TV. When she shows up for her job interview, not only has the position already been filled, but she discovers the station's late-night psychic, Ariel Constellation, dead in Salem Harbor. Instead of a news anchor job, she finds herself filling the dead psychic's job -- introducing late night cheesy horror movies, and answering calls from viewers looking for psychic advice. She becomes Crystal Moon for the show, Nightshades. When another body is discovered and strange things start happening around the station, Lee becomes an amateur sleuth to discover the identity of the killer.

Caught Dead Handed is the first book in the Witch City Mystery series. There are 3 books in the series so far.

This book was a fun read! I love cozy mysteries, especially ones with cats. The main character, Lee, not only fills Ariel Constellation's job, but adopts her cat as well. The cat's name is Orion, which Lee changes to O'Ryan. The plot is a nice mix of mystery and humor. I liked the main character. She doesn't take herself too seriously. I mean how can you take yourself seriously when your job is to dress up in a gypsy costume and pretend to be psychic?

The twist in the plot wasn't a big surprise. I had it figured out a few chapters before it was revealed. But that didn't impede my enjoyment of the book. The writing, plot, and characters were all well done, maintaining my interest all the way to the end. I did feel that things wrapped up rather hurriedly at the end, but I can't fault a 400+ page cozy for moving too quickly. The pacing was very well done. I just felt the wrap-up was handled a bit too fast, with the mystery solved just a few pages from the end, without much information on what happened afterwards.

But, I guess all of that is in book 2.....which I will, of course, be reading. It doesn't take a psychic to figure that one out!

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My 2020 re-read of this book:

I listened to this story in audio format. The audio is about six hours long, narrated by C.S.E. Cooney. She has a pleasant voice and reads at a good pace. The plot is cute and fun. I can't imagine being a late night horror host, but the main character, Lee, really rises to the occasion and gives it her best! This is definitely a great autumn/Halloween listen. I'm kicking off my season of all things witchy, scary and creepy with this cozy series. 

I'm definitely reading through all the books this time!

One thing I find annoying about Scribd -- this audio book on Scribd is the Abridged format. I didn't realize it until I got to the end. It seemed impossible that a 400+ page cozy could be read in six hours! I compared the running time with the same audio book on Audible. Scribd - 6 hours. Audible - 8 hrs 52 minutes.  I do not want to listen to audio books with 3 hours of the plot yanked out of them!! Several plot points I remembered from my first reading of the book are missing.....grrrrrr.

I'm on my 30-day free trial of Scribd. Not listing whether the audio books are abridged or unabridged, (and most audio cozy mysteries on the site appear to be abridged) may just be a deal breaker. I still have a few days to make up my mind......but the abridged issue has me leaning towards cancelling.