Murder in Waiting

About This Audiobook

Lynn Cahoon’s *Murder in Waiting* delivers a deceptively light mystery that quietly ratchets up the tension, anchored by Jill Gardner—a bookstore café owner whose dry humor and street-smart instincts make her more than just another amateur sleuth. When a local historian turns up dead just before a historic home tour, Jill’s curiosity pulls her into a web of small-town secrets, real estate rivalries, and a wedding-planning disaster involving her best friend. The charm of the setting—sun-drenched coastal California with its gossipy locals and tourist traps—belies a story with genuine emotional weight and a few genuinely unsettling moments. Narrator Susan Boyce elevates the material with a performance that’s both precise and effortlessly natural. She gives Jill a wry, slightly weary tone that feels lived-in, and distinguishes side characters with subtle vocal shifts rather than caricatures. The audiobook’s pacing is deliberate but never sluggish, letting clues unfold organically. What sets this apart in the crowded cozy mystery field is its balance—warm humor without sentimentality, danger without melodrama. It’s the kind of listen that pulls you in quietly and keeps you hooked with sharp dialogue and a protagonist who actually thinks before she acts.