Lucky Penny (Miranda Vaughn Mysteries, #3)

by Ellie Ashe

[jesstheaudiobookworm]

4.5★ Audiobook⎮ Ellie Ashe has added another gem to the Miranda Vaughn Mysteries series! She has also proven that a great writer can “take their act on the road”, so to speak. Each Miranda Vaughn story has a vastly different setting and premise for the mystery, but each one is as engrossing as the next.

Lucky Penny revolves around a casino and resort setting. It’s described in such vivid detail that the scenes naturally unfold in the listener’s imagination. This setting was even more conducive to the accidental shenanigans Miranda somehow always becomes involved in. Real life casinos and resorts are meant to foster feelings of escapism and excitement. Lucky Penny's literary versions do the same.

Each installment in the Miranda Vaughn Mysteries series has its own all-encompassing mystery that begins and ends with each novel. Unlike other mystery stories, listening isn’t only about solving the mystery before the protagonist. It’s about solving the mystery alongside the protagonist and experiencing her journey.

Miranda Vaughn is an innately endearing and relatable main character. Her personal story is the larger over-arching plot throughout the series. Her romantic life starts out as an inconvenient (to her) crush in Chasing the Dollar, evolves into a will-they-won’t-they scenario in Dropping the Dime, and reaches a satisfying culmination in Lucky Penny. My favorite thing about this romance is the naturally flirtatious manner in which it is written. Throughout the series, the romance remains a subplot, never outshining the individual characters or respective mystery plots. Ashe writes it in such a way that it enhances the development of her characters, instead of hindering it, and still satisfies the [seemingly obligatory] romance requirement for Cozy Mysteries.

There’s even the slightest teasing of a love triangle, which I cannot complain about either. Even if it had developed into a full-fledged love triangle, the excellent character development would have prevented it from becoming too obnoxious. Excellent writing can save stories from typical blunders like that. In a (sub)genre usually deficient in fully developed characters, Ellie Ashe is churning them out like a machine. Her writing style is highly enjoyable and will keep listeners invested in her series and its delightful characters.

This is one of my favorite cozy mystery series. In fact, it was the first title off my tongue when making audiobook recommendations in a doctors’ office last week. Ashe really has something great going here and I hope we see much more of Miranda Vaughn in the future.

Narration review: Teri Schnaubelt deserves a lot of the credit for making this series so enjoyable. Her voice adds to the coziness factor and gives voice to the many colorful characters. She was 100% the right selection to narrate the series. Everything she does is professional-grade, from voice distinction and emotional emphasis, to timing, articulation and pacing. This is an excellent series in any format, but Teri makes it so much better. ♣︎

➜ This audiobook was graciously gifted to me by its author, Ellie Ashe, in exchange for a review containing my honest thoughts and opinions. Thanks, Ellie!