3.11.2021

Back to the Burgh and Beyond ~ Review with Giveaway

 


Back to the Burgh and Beyond 
The Owl's Nest Mysteries #1 
By C.S. McDonald
Read by Maren Swenson Waxenberg

Alexa Owl has returned to Pittsburgh (the Burgh) following her divorce, which ended amicably. She's back and starting a new business putting her fashion and sewing skills to use in The Owl’s Nest Couturier Shoppe

Everything is simply perfect until she has a visitor from the past enter her shop. And this visitor isn't from her past but from the building that now houses her business. Detective Bobby Starr needs Alexa's help to help him solve a murder case from his past - a murder he didn't solve while he was alive. Bobby's future in the Guardian Angel Squad is riding on this and they only have days to solve this cold case.

How do you solve a case that is more than 60 years old? Go back to 1953 when the case isn't yet cold. 1953 has many disadvantages - the first being a total lack of technology. I mean how is a girl supposed to do research without the web? 

Back to the Burgh and Beyond is a fun read, or in my case, listen. This isn't a long book as it is just under 6 hours and the narration by Maren Swenson Waxenberg works well with this book. The story is definitely concluded when the end comes but it in no way feels as if it is a standalone title as there are most definitely some threads that were not tied off. The cast of characters blends well and they have a few personality quirks that give them an added depth. On a whole, the characters are interesting and believable. For those who like diversity of lifestyles in their reading, you do have it in this book though it isn't a major focal point.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I offer my honest opinion. All thoughts expressed are my own.

*Of note there is a bit of drinking both in the past and the present, and smoking in the past, so if you object to this type of behavior in your reading you are forewarned. 


Book Details:

Book Title:  Back to the Burgh and Beyond (The Owl's Nest Mysteries) 
Author:  C.S. McDonald
Category:  Adult Fiction, 208 pages
Run Time: 5 hours, 59 minutes

Genre:  Cozy Mystery
Publisher:  McWriter Books
Release date:  Sep 10, 2020
Content Rating:  G. C.S. McDonald's books are appropriate for YA readers as well as adults--no bad language or sexual content.

Book Description: 

Meet Alexa Owl. She's returned home to Pittsburgh after a divorce to start a new life and a new business, The Owl’s Nest Couturier Shoppe. Much to her surprise, she's getting more than she ever bargained for: Detective Bobby Starr, and he's no ordinary sleuth. Bobby is an angel who's returned to Earth in hopes of earning his way into the Guardian Angel Squad. He's been sent by none other than Saint Pete to acquire Alexa’s help to solve three cold case murders he left behind. Except, here’s the catch: he’s only been allotted four days to solve the first case! How in heaven’s name is she supposed to do that? Alexa is a professional seamstress—not a detective. Bobby insists the only way to solve the first case is to return to 1953, and Alexa’s not in love with that idea at all!

Buy the Book:
Audible

Amazon ~ B&N
Add to Goodreads
 
You May Also Enjoy One of C.S. McDonald's Fiona Quinn Mysteries. Available in Audiobook, Ebook, and Print:
 
(The Fiona Quinn Mysteries are for everyone--adults love the books and they are appropriate for teens and tweens too!)

MURDER ON POINTE by C.S. McDonald
BUY THE BOOK:
Audible ~ Amazon
Add to Goodreads
 

 
BUY THE BOOK:
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Add to Goodreads

 
 
 
BUY THE BOOK:
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Add to Goodreads

 

 
BUY THE BOOK:
Audible ~ Amazon
Add to Goodreads
 

 
BUY THE BOOK:
Audible ~ Amazon
Add to Goodreads
 
 


 
BUY THE BOOK:
Audible ~ Amazon
 
 

 
BUY THE BOOK:
Audible ~ Amazon
 
 

 
BUY THE BOOK:
Audible ~ Amazon
 

 
    BUY THE BOOK:
Audible ~ Amazon
 

Meet the Author: 

For twenty-six years C.S. McDonald’s life whirled around a song and a dance. Classically trained at Pittsburgh Ballet Theater School, The Pittsburgh Dance Alloy, and many others, she became a professional dancer and choreographer. During that time, she choreographed many musicals and an opera for the Pittsburgh Savoyards. In 2011 she retired from her dance career to write. Under her real name, Cindy McDonald, she writes murder-suspense and romantic suspense novels. In 2014 she added the pen name, C.S. McDonald, to write children’s books for her grandchildren. In 2016 she added the Fiona Quinn Mysteries to that expansion. She decided to write the cozy mystery series that everyone, including teens and tweens, can read and enjoy. Presently, the Fiona Quinn Mysteries nine books with a tenth slated for 2021. The books are also available on audio, narrated by Maren Swenson Waxenberg. Cindy’s newest venture is The Owl’s Nest Mysteries. Once again, she has set her cozy mystery in Pittsburgh. The female protagonist, Alexa Owl, is much different from Fiona Quinn. The Owl’s Next Mysteries has a little grit, a little time travel, a little romance, and a whole lot of cozy! Ms. McDonald resides on her Thoroughbred farm known as Fly by Night Stables near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Bill, and her poorly behaved Cocker Spaniel, Allister.

Connect with the author:  Website  ~  Twitter  ~  Facebook
 
Tour Schedule
Mar 1 – Olio by Marilyn – book review of Back to the Burgh and Beyond / giveaway
Mar 1 - She Just Loves Books – audiobook review of Back to the Burgh and Beyond / giveaway
Mar 2 - Laura's Interests – audiobook review of Saddle Up for Murder / giveaway
Mar 3 – Rockin' Book Reviews – audiobook review of Back to the Burgh and Beyond / giveaway
Mar 3 – Gina Rae Mitchell – audiobook review of Back to the Burgh and Beyond / giveaway
Mar 4 – Gina Rae Mitchell – audiobook review of Murder on Pointe / giveaway
Mar 4 - Laura's Interests – audiobook review of Back to the Burgh and Beyond / giveaway
Mar 5 – Rockin' Book Reviews – audiobook review of Good Like to Murder / giveaway
Mar 8 – Locks, Hooks and Books – audiobook review of Back to the Burgh and Beyond / giveaway
Mar 9 – Book Corner News and Reviews – book review of Murder on Pointe / giveaway
Mar 9 - Splashes of Joy – audiobook review of Back to the Burgh and Beyond / giveaway
Mar 10 – My Tangled Skeins Book Reviews – audiobook review of Back to the Burgh and Beyond / giveaway
Mar 10 - Wickedly Romance – book review of Back to the Burgh and Beyond / giveaway
Mar 11 – Book Corner News and Reviews – book review of Back to the Burgh and Beyond / giveaway
Mar 11 - Wickedly Romance – book review of Murder on Pointe / giveaway
Mar 11 - Blooming with Books - audiobook review of Back to the Burgh and Beyond
Mar 12 – Splashes of Joy – audiobook review of Murder on Pointe / giveaway
Mar 12 - Books Lattes & Tiaras – book review of Back to the Burgh and Beyond / giveaway
Mar 15 - Blooming with Books - audiobook review of Murder on Pointe
Mar 15 – She Just Loves Books – audiobook review of Tastes Like Murder / giveaway
Mar 15 - Chit Chat with Charity - audiobook review of Saddle Up for Murder / giveaway
Mar 16 – Olio by Marilyn – book review of Murder on Pointe / giveaway
Mar 16 - My Reading Journeys – book review of Back to the Burgh and Beyond / giveaway
Mar 17 – Westveil Publishing – audiobook review of Back to the Burgh and Beyond / giveaway
Mar 17 - My Reading Journeys – book review of Saddle Up for Murder / giveaway
Mar 18 – Musing of Souls – book review of Back to the Burgh and Beyond
Mar 18 - Books for Books – audiobook review of Murder on Pointe
Mar 19 – Books Lattes & Tiaras – book review of Murder on Pointe / giveaway
Mar 22 – Westveil Publishing – audiobook review of Murder on Pointe / giveaway
Mar 22 - Musing of Souls – audiobook review of Tastes Like Murder
Mar 23 – Locks, Hooks and Books – audiobook review of Tastes Like Murder / giveaway
Mar 23 - Lisa's Reading – book review of Back to the Burgh and Beyond / giveaway
Mar 24 – My Tangled Skeins Book Reviews – audiobook review of Murder on Pointe / giveaway
Mar 24 - Books for Books – audiobook review of Back to the Burgh and Beyond
Mar 25 – BookishKelly2020 – book review of Back to the Burgh and Beyond / giveaway
Mar 25 - Chit Chat with Charity - audiobook review of Back to the Burgh and Beyond / giveaway
Mar 26 - BookishKelly2020 – book review of Murder on Pointe / giveaway
Mar 26 - Lisa's Reading – book review Tastes Like Murder / giveaway

Enter the Giveaway:

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~ Blooming with Books