Whispers of Murder

Till Death Do Us Part #1

by Cheryl Bradshaw

It was Isabelle Donnelly’s wedding day, a moment in time that should have been the happiest in her life…until it ended it murder.

Three women, three motives to kill:

--A jealous sister
--A company CFO
--A newfound friend

But which one is plotting against her? Which one wants her dead?

Think you know who did it? Think again.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Romance, Short Stories, Fiction, Suspense, Mystery Thriller

83 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 16, 2012

About the author

Cheryl Bradshaw is a New York Times and 11-time USA Today bestselling author writing in multiple genres, including mystery, thriller, romantic suspense, supernatural suspense, and poetry. She is a Shamus Award finalist for best private eye novel of the year, an eFestival of Words winner for best thriller, and has published over fifty books since 2011.

Raised in Southern California, she now lives in North Texas. When she's not writing, she loves jet-setting to new countries, exploring the outdoors, and playing with her grandbabies.

For a free eBook, click here: http://cherylbradshaw.com/get-a-free-...

Book series in order by Cheryl Bradshaw:

Georgiana Germaine (Mystery Series)

1. Little Girl Lost - USA Today Bestseller
2. Little Lost Secrets
3. Little Broken Things
4. Little White Lies
5. Little Tangled Webs
6. Little Shattered Dreams
7. Little Last Words
8. Little Buried Secrets
9. Little Stolen Memories
10. Little Empty Promises
11. Little Hidden Fears

Sloane Monroe Mystery/Thriller Series

0. Silent As the Grave (prequel to series)
1. Black Diamond Death
2. Murder in Mind
3. I Have a Secret
4. Stranger in Town - Shamus Award Finalist
5. Bed of Bones - USA Today Bestseller
6. Hush Now Baby - USA Today Bestseller
7. Gone Daddy Gone - USA Today Bestseller
8. Smoke and Mirrors - USA Today Bestseller

Sloane Monroe Stories - Mystery Novella Series
(with characters from the main series)

1. Deadly Sins: Sloth
2. Deadly Sins: Wrath
3. Deadly Sins: Lust
4. Deadly Sins: Greed
5. Deadly Sins: Envy
6. Deadly Sins: Pride

Sloane & Maddie Peril Awaits - Mystery Series
(Spinoff Series with Sloane Monroe & her sidekick Maddie)

1. The Silent Boy
2. The Shadow Children
3. The Broken Soul
4. The Widow Maker
5. The Familiar Stranger

Addison Lockhart Ghost Mystery Series

1. Grayson Manor Haunting
2. Rosecliff Manor Haunting
3. Blackthorn Manor Haunting
4. Belle Manor Haunting
5. Crawley Manor Haunting

Stand Alone Mystery/Thriller Novels

1. Eye for Revenge - USA Today Bestseller
2. The Perfect Lie
3. Hickory Dickory Dead - USA Today Bestseller
4. Roadkill - USA Today Bestseller

Reviews

[Rossy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Enjoyable, short read. Could have had more character development, but the plot and twists were interesting and kept you wanting to find out who the murderer was.
One thing I didn't like: The cover. No. NO!

[Lori Henrich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Isabelle Donnelly is about to get married. No one in her family approves, but she is determined to go through with it anyway. When she wakes up from her honeymoon night she finds her husband dead. Not sure what to do the first person she calls is her longtime friend Emmett to rescue her. Her husband was poisoned, but was it really meant for Isabelle. Is someone trying to kill her.

Excellent plot. Kept me interested for the first word. I like the authors style and would like to read more by her but unfortunately our library doesn't have anything else by this author. And since I have tons of other material to read I will have to pass for now.

Quick read, but well worth it.

[Catherine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible. Dull, one-dimensional characters, a boring flat plot, ridiculous cringey dialogue (“Her blanket caught on the door jamb when it shut giving the officer outside a sneak peek of her naughty bits”). I think my eyes nearly rolled out of my head half a dozen times. Only saving grace: I didn’t guess whodunnit. Probably because I just didn’t care.

[Alexandra Webb · Rating 2 out of 5]

(Review originally posted on the Self Publishing Experiment blog July 30th, 2012)

2.5 Stars

It’s a good thing I bought Whispers of Murder for free, a promotion from the author Cheryl Bradshaw on twitter, because I wouldn’t have been happy about spending $2 on it. I was aware it was a novella when I purchased it and I had read some of the reviews. The reviews were mixed, some saying that there were bad typos and others that were singing praise. There was an author note saying that originally the wrong file was uploaded and that the problem was fixed, so I gave it the benefit of doubt.

It wasn’t the writing that made this a poor read for me, it was the plot line. Even in a novella, I expect mysteries to be just that, mysteries. There wasn’t a whole lot of solving in this book and it had almost every cliche known to the amateur detective genre. (If this wasn’t supposed to be an amateur detective book, I’m not exactly sure what it was supposed to be.) It only left you guessing “who did it” because of the massive amount of characters shoved into the story.

The characters weren’t fantastic, they weren’t unique enough to remember and I couldn’t really care about them. Even in a novella I expect good characters, maybe I’m picky, but if you can’t make me care about the characters why should I read it?

I read this in one sitting, which was a plus of novellas, and there wasn’t any glaring typos like some of the reviews said, but I can’t figure out how this book made it into the top 100 of Amazon’s mysteries list. A quick and easy read, somewhat enjoyable, but not highly recommended.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let’s go to Isabelle Donnelly’s wedding. A wedding that was
planned very quickly by the bride and groom. Why so fast??
They hardly knew each other.
Then the wedding night….the bride becomes a widow by
morning. What is happening? Why is her new husband dead?
Was he the intended victim or was the bride?
Short enjoyable read. Colorful characters in a puzzling plot.
Keeps you guessing until the end. The twists and turns will keep
you on the edge of your seat.
Thanks to the author for the eBook. My opinion is my own.

[Marilyn Slusher · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short story by Cheryl Bradshaw. Izzy is a very confused young lady that marries a man that is a scammer, then is murdered. Not the best storyline. The ending was a surprise! That I did enjoy.

[Krystyna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wine and dine

Not worth buying! One part of the solution was really obvious and the second became so. Worth buying? Not really. The characters could have done with more padding. Only buy if you want all the authors work

[Marcia-Lee Finocchio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honeymoon gone wrong!

This Author is fantastic! Have enjoyed all of her books so far. This book is no exception, great storyline, and characters. If you haven’t read her books, give her a try.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those that made me wanting more. All of Cheryl's books are great quick reads. just a little taste of something for me to escape reality and getting myself wondering about who did it. it is part one so remember to read part two too.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Novella

This is a great novella from one of my favorite authors. Often, I read novellas that simply seem rushed and one dimensional. Not so with Ms. Bradshaw's Whispers of Murder. The characters are well developed and her plotting has the depth of a full length novel. Now I'm on to Book 2 in this series! Highly recommend!

[Beth Roger aka Katiebella_Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and sweet. A fast paced thriller that keeps you guessing who did it. I never saw any of the other twists coming.

[Mickey Noel]

Great story!

Well written and clever plot, but could have been longer! Thought I had the story figured out, but not by a longshot. This author never disappoints!

[Darcia Helle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm never happy about writing negative reviews, but I always have to be honest. The only positive thing I have to say about this book is that the writing itself is fine, aside from some obvious editing issues. Sentence structure is good and the author gets a nice rhythm going. Her writing is easy to read. From there, it all falls apart.

First, I have to comment on the cover. The photo gives me the impression of a historical piece, but this is a modern day story. This issue doesn't affect my rating or review, it's just something worth mentioning.

Next we have the characters. There is virtually no character development. I'm aware that this is a novella, but short fiction does not have to and should not be vague and incomplete. I read this entire book and still have no idea who these people are. Even the barest details were absent, such as physical descriptions. Are the characters tall, short, fat, skinny, pretty, ugly? I have no idea. And I find it impossible to care what happens to characters I know nothing about.

Next we have glaring plot holes and actions that are entirely too convenient with no explanation. For instance, in one scene a friend rushes into Isabelle's hotel room to check on her well being. How did he get in? Hotel staff doesn't just let strangers into a person's room. In another scene, someone is drugged and unable to stay conscious. Yet no one takes this person to the hospital or so much as suggests a doctor visit. The drugged person is simply coddled and put to bed.

I'd like to say there was some redeeming factor in the end, but there wasn't.

[Jen_C · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not for me. I wanted to drop-kick the heroine. She annoyed me. Emmett continued to come through for her even though she seemed to dense to know she loved him.

Some quotes:
“But I thought the ceremony never finished?”
“He got to the I-now-pronounce-you-man-and-wife part right before your body plummeted to the floor. Leo practically threw himself on top of you to seal the deal with a kiss, and that quack of a pastor allowed it even though you were lying there like Sleeping Beauty.”

Melanie offered up the silent treatment for a few minutes and then said, “Answer one question for me.” “What?”
“When you woke up that morning in the hotel and realized what had happened to your—whatever his name is—what did you do?”
“Why does it matter?”
Melanie frowned. “Answer the question.”
“I called Emmett, so what?”
“And today, after you got Dad all checked in, what was the first thing you did?”
Isabelle smirked. “That’s two questions.”
“Don’t be a smart ass.”
“You know who I called. I told you when you walked over here.”
Melanie rifled around in her pocket, pulled out her keys, and stood. Before she was out of earshot, she turned around. “Seriously, Isabelle, you can be pretty stupid sometimes.”

[LadyCalico · Rating 1 out of 5]

The characters were flat and phony, the plot and murderer predictable, and the police procedures dumb. The author must never have read or watched any good police dramas to have so little idea about law or proper procedure. I quit listing things that were hokey, senseless, and stupid since the task quickly became overwhelming. The stupidity of the police was, however, eclipsed by the stupidity of the civilians. I almost rolled off my chair when the "smart" heroine was depicted as her high school valedictorian. I guess that could happen if the school's average IQ was 70 and the heroine's was 71. The writing was loaded with misused words and grammatical errors. People made "latch-ditch" efforts and "glossed" around the room, but I guess that is because they were too "unorganized" to wonder about "what lied beneath."

[Lance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read and enjoyed all of the full length novels in the Sloane Monroe series, I was looking forward to seeing how well Ms. Bradshaw would do with a shorter story. Just like the longer selections, this novella keeps the reader guessing until the very end. There are so many twists and turns in the story that to describe any one of them would be too big a spoiler!

All of the characteristics of Ms. Bradshaw' s work that I enjoy are evident here: believable characters the reader can relate to, a fast paced story that doesn't drag at times, and surprises that occur just when you think you have it figured out. I will state that the first twist, when the bride collapses during her wedding, grabs your attention within the first couple pages and you won't want to put it down. An excellent quick read.

[Ginger · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a freebie when I downloaded it back in 2012. A quick read which I needed to stay on track with my yearly goal. I thought I had guessed the killer half-way through, but luckily, I didn't. Those are the good points. I did not like the story at all. The whole "mystery" was far-fetched and the way things were handled, were just way off. For instance, what law enforcement officer allows just anyone to search for evidence, and bring it in without donning gloves first??? Really???!! There is a second book in this series, but I have no desire whatsoever to read it.

[Sara Noble · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute little story. I wish it were longer so I could learn more about the characters and the blooming romance between the heroine and her childhood friend. The plot was predictable, but I liked it because I wasn't ever "confused" like some of these other intense murder-mysteries can be. I hope Ms. Bradshaw will continue on with these characters, build them up more, and explore a fiery romance between the two. Good read, thank you!

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I realize that the book was just like an episode of a crime show. First there was a mystery (murder case), second came the investigation with the main character being in near-death situations, third came the climax, where the murderer is confronted, lastly came the resolution with a happy ending. In the end, it was rather hard to develop a strong attachment to many of the characters. It was too short.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick but effective little mystery

What a great short story. Well thought out and planned like a great literary ballet! Cheryl Bradshaw has a wonderful creative mind. I know it's not easy to write a complete story that is not too short but still small enough to be a novella. Whispers of Murder had an attention grabbing beginning, suspenseful middle and a climatic finish.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a pretty okay book. Short read, that's for sure. I started it one day, got half way through it and finished it in an hour the next. It was pretty obvious who the murderer was to me, but you never know.

[Shirley Henning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable short story.

a five star for me is a book I cannot put down-----however, this book was not too detailed to be boring and the content really kept my interest. I definitely recommend this book and thank the author-----i will consider some of her other books.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't really read through the reviews to know this was a novella so I was kind of surprised when I was suddenly at the end. Nice easy read, free on Kindle Unlimited. Look forward to reading the next book next.

[Maxine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would put this into the Novella category, it didn't seem very long (I read it on kindle). It was a good story with Cheryl Bradshaw's usual twists and turns. Unfortunately it was a little predictable, but still enjoyable.

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good book, I just wish it were longer! Very fast read,only like 83 pages! I really like the characters, and look forward to reading more from Cheryl. Bradshaw!

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow, I didn't realize it was THAT short.

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book.... I read it in just a couple of hours...

[SandraE · Rating 2 out of 5]

With such twists and turns the book should have been more enjoyable and it wasn't. It was missing the spark necessary for one to really get attached to the characters.

[Nadyne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really one for me.

[Lillie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young woman's whirlwind romance and quick marriage leads to death and mystery. A short book that could have benefited from a little more thorough editing.