Murder, Mayhem, and Macarons **Complete**

by Kimberly Titus

Alex Davis had barely gotten her feet wet as an accountant in New York City when a travel mixup landed her in the middle of a murder. Her life takes an unexpected turn as she plays detective, as well as accountant, with sexy millionaire, Kent Abrams. But the more she digs, the more skeletons she finds lurking in the shadows. Can she unravel the mystery before her own life unravels before her eyes?

Genres: Mystery, Romance, Fiction, Cozy, Ebooks

Kindle Edition

Published June 24, 2021

Reviews

[Liz McGlinchey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun characters, easy to read, and good plot pace! The Kindle Vella concept is interesting, not sure I would read another book broken up into episodes like this, but would definitely read something from the author again!

[Angel · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book really needs editing. Poor grammar and spelling errors in a published book is a No No! The writer has promise, but the story was very simple and not there yet. It also needs a content editor. The main character repeatedly behaved in unlikely ways that did not fit her character. No a 30 something woman is not going to be blind dating frat boys. Other characters were mentioned without reminding the audience who they were. At one point her boss Jacqueline showed up at the Atlanta office when she was supposedly back in NYC, but that is not explained.

[Jill Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alex is a fun, sarcastic, character who is super fun to read. I enjoyed the flirty, fun dialogue. This story is packed with quirky characters--many who feel like people I've met and worked with myself. If you enjoy Janet Evanovich, this story feels like a similar style. I'd call it a quirky high-heeled mystery. Looking forward to reading more from this author!

[Eileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of those random things I read because of a Kindle challenge where you had to read a Vella, and even though I'm not a fan of a "one-chapter-at-a-time" story, after reading a couple of chapters I did want to finish the rest. Overall, I enjoyed it, but you could tell that because it was a Vella, it was written to leave you at least wanting to know more at the end of every chapter. There's a different feel to a story when it's written that way, so sometimes it seems like not a lot happened except for the one thing that the author wanted you to do know so that you would want to know the next thing. I'm perhaps not explaining it well, but I guess the original version of this would have been back in Dickens' time when that's how he released his stories. He would publish one chapter in the newspaper and readers would wait anxiously until the next chapter was published. I'm guessing this is Kindle's version of this.

This was no Dickens, but it was a fun story. It would have greatly benefited from a good editor, and my rating would have been higher as a result. The characters were fun, and I did enjoy the overall twist at the end. I liked the characters enough that I would want to read another story with them. However, I would much prefer to buy the entire book rather than buying each chapter separately. It would be nice if that were an option.

Overall, it was an interesting experiment, but I'm not sure if I'll be reading a lot of books through this medium.

[Jenni Steinmetz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was part of the New Kindle Vella. I’m doing the summer challenge and reading one was an achievement. I’m not a fan of the chapter at a time but it can be nice when you only had a few minutes to read.

Now on to the hook review. The characters were really likable, it had me hooked at the beginning. There were some grammatical errors but it was easy to overlook because the story and characters were great. I guessed part of the mystery but it had a twist that shocked me. I was so hooked I read it in 2 days, I had to know how it was going to end. If you’re looking for a quick and fun reas, I recommend.

[Debra Hahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author was a refreshing read. The quick wit, crazy antics of the girls.
The plot that didn’t spill the beans until the author ment it to be.
A great mystery, and I’m wanting to read more of her books.
Debra H.

[Brittany Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book/Vella episodes! Fun quick read! I look forward to more adventures with Kent and Alex to see where they each end up.

[Susie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars, rounded down to 2. Reading Murder, Mayhem, and Macarons is like eating a lot of cotton candy. It’s fluffy and sweet but without much substance. If that were the only issue, I might have rated it higher. But this “Kindle Vella” book was also in serious need of editing, chock full of typos and grammatical errors that were impossible to overlook. The Vella platform was new to me, and I’m not really a fan. I’d rather pick up a whole book than pay by the chapter. If I were reading each installment as it dropped, the little teasers and comments from the author might have been more compelling. The book is listed as a humorous mystery; I would label it as a rom-com and mystery hybrid. It reminded me of a cheesy Christmas mystery movie with broad humor, caricatures and stock characters, and a ridiculous but entertaining plot. Like one of those movies, it was a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours but left me wondering where those hours had gone.

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story, needs more editing. Spelling, grammatical, and storyline errors were abundant. Hated the kindle Vella format.

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a good book. Light, humorous, and fun to read with a little murder tossed in to keep things interesting.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an ok book. I'm not impressed with the Vella concept. I have one other book that I got to start for free and I will try to continue that one. This is not a bad book, just not my cup of tea.

[Mainon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this through Kindle Vella.

The good:
-I was fairly well hooked from the first chapter. A dash of The Devil Wears Prada in an accounting firm with the promise of murder and mayhem? Yes, please.
-The author notes at the end of each chapter, usually talking about inspiration for a particular line or incident, were charming and fun. Sortof like a bonus cozy chat with the author.
-Forensic accounting as the heroic sleuthing skill of the main character was a fun development.

The bad:
-This really needed a(nother?) pass by a copyeditor. The typos were distracting, especially in later chapters, which made it feel like the completion was rushed.
-Some of the plotting in the final chapters didn't feel carefully thought through; the second half didn't live up to the promise of the first.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

First - I will never read another kindle Vella book again! The episodes were disruptive and then the stupid tokens! I ended up paying $7 for a book I thought was free!!! Second, there were so many grammar and typos throughout - it just needed a good proof reading.
Finally - the characters and the story were well developed, entertaining, and the reason I couldn’t quit after the first 10 free episodes. Oh and the last $2 was because I was 3 tokens short for the last episode!!!!

[MonicaBD · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first Vella novel. Turns out it is exactly what I was looking for; a well developed mystery with well developed characters and a sense of humor. The story had an appropriate balance of mystery and romance with two main characters who are likable AND believable.
I particularly enjoyed Alex’s witty inner dialogue and her chemistry with Kent.

[Rachelle Oliver · Rating 3 out of 5]

This needed editing ... lots of typos and grammar issues. And I don't care for the new Kindle Vella format at all. But this was a cute cozy mystery. Had some funny moments and lots of things happened that kept the story moving.

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed it! This was my first Kindle Vela experience. The story was entertaining and exciting. A fun read!

[Janis · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 4-star review is for the story. I liked where the author was going with this, however the typing errors were distracting. I read stories like this for the pure entertainment value of them. I don't mind if parts of the story line are far fetched. I can overlook the "Lucy & Ethel" predicaments the characters get themselves into. But my biggest pet-peeve is when there are SO MANY grammatical & typo errors. I don't pretend to be a world class speller or know the correct word to use and I sure as hell couldn't string enough sentences together to make a story that anyone would enjoy reading. But I know how to use spell check and a thesaurus and I could ask for a proofreader. Even setting the work aside and going back later and rereading it probably would have generated a lot of corrections.
I absolutely do not like the Kindle Vella and having to buy tokens to unlock chapters on top of the $ I already spend on reading Kindle books. It seems like double dipping. I don't like waiting a week between episodes when I can go to a full length book and read as much or as little as I want to. I'll keep following this author and hope she publishes a full length book at some point. I agree with so many other commenters here. I started the Vella for the Summer Reading Challenge. NOT FOR ME!

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

The only reason I even tried Kindle Vella was the Kindle challenge. (Kindle Vella is a scam. Oh sure, they give you free tokens but to unlock each "chapter" they're varying amounts. And the smallest amount, 200 for $1.99 is way more than I need to actually finish this "book". And you can't buy the book for a flat amount.)

So basically, this is Amazon's version of wattpad. To go through the annoyance of unlocking chapters as you go wasn't worth it. Also you have to scroll up and down vs swiping, super annoying. And as I'm sure others have noted, there's mistakes. To be expected, I suppose. The story was decent enough but in this format it really gets annoying. (The rating is for the story only, BTW. There's some wacky things in it, eyeroll worthy. But I've read worse things via KU.) I also haven't completed it because I only have enough tokens to unlock the final part but not the previous two, so what's the point? If I'm going to spend money, I'd rather just buy a book.

Would I recommend kindle Vella? Hell no!
Would I read again? Only if it was in an actual book format. Then I could actually find out how it ends.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 - 3 stars

I read this book via Kindle Vella - it's a serial concept, as in, the book is separated by its chapters. The first 3 chapters are free; the rest are not. If you want to keep reading, you purchase tokens to continue. Tokens seem to be reasonably priced.

But the truth is, I am NOT the fanbase for Vella. I need the WHOLE BOOK AT ONCE! And you can't just buy it outright.

Vella also allows Authors to self-publish. There's a whole rating system with Fan Favorites, etc. Anyway, this story has a good premise and is mostly fun to read. But it has grammatical errors that bothered me a bit, such as "Him and I".

It was fun to try something new. And to confirm that Vella isn't for me. But before you discard the idea, give Vella a try. Kindle (Amazon) starts you with 400 free tokens, which is just about enough to read a whole "book"/story. (Token cost per chapter is based on total number of pages or some such algorithm, so not all chapters cost the same amount.)

[Rhonda]

A light read with some comic moments. I liked most of the characters but there were some really unlikable characters to. This book was a serial in Amazons Vella stories. I would not have been willing to spend the money to unlock all the chapters for the book. I finished it during a free period. It is not that I didn't like the book, I just didn't like it enough to spend that much to finish it. I prefer the serial reads on Barnes and Noble. They are always free and have helped me to find new authors and read things I would not normally have read.

[Tania · Rating 3 out of 5]

New York Accountant meets a Georgia businessman and gets pulled into a questionable romance and murder mystery. Surrounding characters are pretty superficial, but main character has some depth. Story is interesting, though additional editing would have smoothed out the rough edges. Chapters are pretty short. I do not care for the Kindle Vella format - neither having to continually pay credits to read another chapter or the scrolling format of the book.

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for the epic summer challenge on kindle. Interesting story, but I don’t know how to earn/purchase more tokens to be able to finish the book, so I terminated it after the free sample. I am not an episodic reader like this, except perhaps for long classics.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved Alex. She was smart, scrappy, and competent. I read this on Kindle Vella. The episodes were titled as southern sayings. Joyce was the secretary from Atlanta that said most of them. She was funny. The author gave away a free epilogue. I cannot wait to start the next Vella.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! The Kindla Vella format kind of makes it difficult to stay in the story, but even with that added struggle, the story was really enjoyable. The characters were fun to get to know and the mystery was intriguing. I loved the bonus epilogue the most- Kent is such a hunk.

[Nanette Fandino-Diaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first set of Kindle Vellas. It was an interesting serial read. I enjoyed the characters and the storyline. I don't think that I can thoroughly enjoy reading fiction in this episodic format. I like controlling the pace of the story development and how much can binge in one sitting.

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

That was such a hoot to read!

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story was cute. I like the serial read concept. I already read serialized chapters on my Nook app so it wasn't much different than that.

[Breanna Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun story, but it needed another pass or two with the editor.

[Jeanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read,

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book, love the lead character and the wit of the author. Funny and enjoyable. Look forward to reading other books by this author. Read it as a kindle Vella, would rather just read the book.