Reviews for the Ella Westin Mysteries



Married To Murder






"Married To Murder is a fun whodunit with snappy dialogue and a tongue-in-cheek delivery of the plot. Mystery readers should enjoy this story - I know I did."

-Evelyn David, author of the Sullivan Investigations Mysteries

*****

"Jennifer Oberth's Married To Murder is a fresh and quirky new addition to the cozy historical mystery scene. Ella Westin is a witty and determined sleuth and Oberth's writing is wonderfully comedic."

-Jamie Freveletti, author of Running From the Devil, winner of the Lovey Award & 'Best First Novel' by the International Thriller Writers & Barry Award for 'Best Thriller'.

*****

"Loved this book."



-Carol Bright

*****

"Charmingly written, light-hearted mayhem. If it was TV (and maybe it should be) it would be a cross between a murder mystery and a situation comedy."


-Ursula Stange

*****

"With a smart, sassy heroine, there was no way I wasn’t going to like this story. Jennifer Oberth does a great job of developing the main character (which is not always the case with short stories). Additionally, the plot moves along quickly, the dialogue is realistic, and the mystery is, well, mysterious. Dontcha hate it when you figure out the end waay before the character does? Fortunately, this story isn’t predictable or trite in anyway. I enjoyed reading it and so will you if you enjoy mysteries, Mrs. Marple, or female law enforcement officials."

-Hannah Young

*****

"With tongue firmly in cheek, Ella runs her wedding day, a murder investigation, and everyone else she comes in contact with. As well as being funny, the story offers a good mystery puzzle which isn’t always easy in a short story. I think we’ll be seeing more of Ella."


-Lisa Deckert

*****

"This is such a fun story to read and I laughed out loud throughout! Less then 20 pages long (in the e-pub version) I was able to read it while my 2 year old slept and by the end of it had me wanting to read more stories with Ella and her friends. As it is a short mystery the story moves quickly, but the writing is sharp and flows well. The twist in the end surprised me and as an novice sleuth, that does not happen very often, which was very impressive! I highly recommend this story and I am sure Jennifer’s other stories are just as enjoyable."


-Jennifer Alexander

*****

"Angela Landsbury meets Ms. Marple… This was a fun short read of less than 30 pages… Ella Westin combines a dry wit with a keen mind and is a character that was interesting to share an adventure with… I think that in the short amount of words and pages that the author used this was a tale that fleshed out nicely and had a pretty cool twist at the end… I have to admit I deduced the “villian of the plot” near the end but not fast enough to spoil the entire experience….

I also would like to see what other adventures there is in store for us, if any, starring Ella Westin!"


-Jackie B

*****

"In Married to Murder, Jennifer Oberth introduces the reader to a quirky new character on her wedding day. The supreme commander of the law of nature is a guy named Murphy and weddings are no exception! It’s bad enough tripping over it your murdered Matron of Honor without having your husband to be as the number one suspect.


"Ella is due to become Mrs. Joe Westin in three hours but first all she has to do is bake a new wedding cake and prove her husband-to-be innocent by finding the real murderer. She must do all of this while wearing her wedding dress. In addition she is trying to figure out what her soon to be in-law family (a bunch of “Retired” Pirates) is up to.


"Set in 1875 New England this short story is written in a stark dry style as a first person narritive incident report. Ella is an agent for an unnamed United States agency and she is very good at her job as an investigator. It will take all of this talent and ingenuity as well as a great deal of Yankee stick-to-it-ness to accomplish her task.


"This story is enjoyable and entertaining read for everyone! You will not be disappointed by it."


-DRPPERD




"How would you like to be awakened and roused from your bed on your honeymoon to solve a murder?! That’s what happens to Ella in Honeymoon Homicide! Poor lass can hardly grab a robe, let alone breakfast while mischief and mayhem abound.

If you like a good who-done-it…a story that you can’t put down, then you simply must get Honeymoon Homicide. If Sherlock Holmes were female, her name would be Ella Westin.
"Can’t wait to read the next in this exciting series!"

-Linda Dix

*****

“Absolutely loved the second book in the Ella Westin series. Great humor and great wit. Characters are also great.”

-Cassie Exline

"An entertaining murder mystery set in 1827. This reminded me of Agatha Christie's stories when Poirot or Miss Marple solve a mystery by picking up on subtle clues that no one else has noticed. A short read - and thoroughly enjoyable. I can't say too much about the plot as I don't want to give the ending away!"

- G. Rogerson




"Ella Westin is a young newlywed on a train ride with her new husband, Joe, meeting new people and trying to enjoy what should be a peaceful journey. However, with her typical luck, Ella must solve a murder that occurs right before her eyes. Poison hides somewhere on the train, waiting to eliminate anyone who uncovers too much of the murderer's plot. Can Ella protect her hapless husband, Joe? Can she fool her fellow passengers long enough to prevent another murder and stop the culprit?

Jennifer has created an exciting mystery with an interesting surprise. Ella's unique personality and approach to life in a time where women held second-class status gives the tale a modern feel.

I haven't read any other books in this series, but I could still enjoy the story and understand the characters and plot without that background. Hints appeared to previous adventures, which interested me but didn't detract from the story at hand.

I was surprised and disappointed to find almost no character or scene description in Toxic Train. Too much description is a problem I see most often, but I do need enough to know roughly what characters look like, how old they are, and how to distinguish one from the other. Jennifer's characters managed well with scant description, which is an accomplishment, but the missing scenery gave a hasty and dry feeling to a tale that could have had so much more richness to it. Without any description, the story lost its historical feel and blended into any other time period. A large part of my enjoyment in reading historical fiction is the transport to another time and the things I learn from it.

I'm not one to try to guess "whodunit" before the story ends, but I'm also not one to ignore the possibility. I didn’t guess ahead of time, and I enjoyed the surprise and the ensuing adventure that the killer's identity prompted. Toxic Train is a fun and entertaining read with some good challenges to convention to make the reader think, fun setting, and interesting mystery.

I approve this title for Awesome Indies. http://awesomeindies.net

I received this book from the author for the purposes of an unbiased review.
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