A Twist of Oleander

Maddie Malone Mysteries Book 1

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Pub Date 31 Jul 2019 | Archive Date 19 Sep 2019

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Description

An escape from madness leads to murder…

After a manic episode, Maddie Malone moves to a small town, where she finds romance and intrigue. Then her uncle is found dead, poisoned by oleander leaves in his tea. The police think it’s suicide. Maddie knows it’s murder. Now it’s up to her to prove it…

An escape from madness leads to murder…

After a manic episode, Maddie Malone moves to a small town, where she finds romance and intrigue. Then her uncle is found dead, poisoned by oleander leaves in...


Advance Praise

A Kindle Scout finalist, 2018: “…the big reveal during the climax is satisfyingly unexpected and exciting.”—kindle scout editorial review.

"This is a well-plotted cozy mystery, and you do a great job casting plausible suspicion on all of the main characters so that the big reveal during the climax is satisfyingly unexpected and exciting." -Amazon Kindle Scout Editorial Review 2018

A Kindle Scout finalist, 2018: “…the big reveal during the climax is satisfyingly unexpected and exciting.”—kindle scout editorial review.

"This is a well-plotted cozy mystery, and you do a great job...


Available Editions

EDITION Ebook
ISBN 9781988856117
PRICE US$2.99 (USD)

Links


Average rating from 30 members


Featured Reviews

This is an excellent start to a new series. Maddie Malone is a nurse who has suffered an emotional breakdown.
Her mother suggests she go visit her aunt and uncle, hoping a change of scenery will help.
As fragile as she is, Maddie is not prepared for the unexpected death of her uncle, nor is she ready for a romantic relationship, which seems to be happening.
While I wouldn't consider this a cozy mystery, it is definitely a great story. The characters are unique and the story unfolded smoothly.
I hope there will be more in this series.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for approving me to read this book.

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A Twist of Oleander is a fun murder mystery with a touch of romance; a brilliant way to start the series. Maddie Malone is the main character and it is written from her point of view. Working hard as a nurse, she unfortunately suffers a breakdown and is diagnosed with Bipolar. This is shown very well in the writing of her character without going too deep; you can still feel the highs and the lows that Maddie experiences throughout the story.

She goes to stay with her aunt and uncle where she spent a lot of her childhood when unfortunately on the night she arrives her uncle dies unexpectedly. It is a suspected suicide, but Maddie does not agree. She starts to do her own detective work to find out what really happened to her sweet uncle.

This is a classic 'who-dunnit' story that will keep you guessing until the end. Its very well written and is an easy read with short chapters that brings Maddie's story to life.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for approving me to read this book, all opinions are my own,

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Maddie is a nurse in ER and suddenly finds the stress of the job too much. She collapses and is eventually diagnosed as being bipolar. She heads off to relatives in a small town to come to terms with her illness and find peace Her uncle dies, the police determine that it was suicide but Maddie knows better and that it was murder. She determines to bring the murderer to justice. The death occurred during a dinner party involving oleander tea and all of the diners turn out to have possible motives. There's romance for Maddie too - the suave doctor or the old childhood friend. The twists, turns, motives and red herrings are all well-written and keep the reader on their toes. Sometimes they get rather complicated though and sometimes the text is not a flowing as it might be. I guess the writer's brain was flying faster than the fingers. Maddie's feelings concerning her illness are well researched and you empathise with her. The final denouement is clever although I predicted it for once. A reasonable cosy detective romance which has potential to develop into the series that the title suggests is coming.Thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

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Gripping, realistic, predictable, entertaining.

This was an enjoyable read and I look forward to the next book. Maddie the main character is a nurse finding herself as a patient and not a very good one either. Stress at work aggravated her medical condition and she finds herself within a family crisis filled with mystery. I liked how the mental illness was interwoven within the story along with a bit of romance.

I didn't understand the Artist's character or what role she played in the story, it added a bit of confusion for me, but overall I loved the novel. I hope in the next book the relationship with her mother can be elaborated on more.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the e-read Kindle edition. This is my honest review.

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I truly enjoyed reading Raven McKray's A Twist of Oleander! Maddie, an ER nurse, experiences a complete mental breakdown - whilst on duty! She acknowledges that she makes a rather bad patient. Maddie's mother suggests she take a leave of absence from nursing and visit her aunt and uncle at their country estate. Maddie has very fond memories of visiting her relatives when she was young, and decides to go for it. At first, everything looks great, including her own little private cottage - that is until there is a mysterious fire in her cottage, before she can even move in. Oh, and then her uncle dies the very first night she is there! If there is such a thing as a delightfully entertaining and cozy detective/murder mystery, this is it. A bit of romance doesn't hurt, either. I'm happy to learn this is the first in a series and look forward to reading more to come from Raven McKray.

As always, I am most grateful for the opportunity to read this arc. Thank you NetGalley, the author, and the publisher, for the arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Maddie Malone is an emergency room nurse. When she finds herself the patient, rather than the caregiver, she knows it is time for a break. Her mother suggests Maddie take some time to visit her aunt and uncle in the country. Maddie has fond memories of times spent there when she was younger.
Tragically, the country does not turn out to be as soothing as all hoped. From a fire upon her arrival, to the death of her beloved uncle shortly after, Maddie is having a difficult time healing and finding her new path. Add to that the offer of a new job, in nursing, and her being drawn into a romantic triangle, and tension stays with Maddie from the first page to the last!
While the police seem satisfied to call her uncle's death an accident or, more likely, suicide, one small clue assures Maddie that Uncle John's death was anything but accidental. He had so much he was looking forward to in life. Mixing artistry and science with romance, this book offers a lot to a wide variety of readers.

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After reading so many mystery/"cosy crime" books, most plots can get very repetitive and easy to predict. A Twist of Oleander was anything but. The story follows Maddie Malone, a nurse who suffered a manic episode and takes some time away from the city to stay with her aunt and uncle at their cattle ranch. Not long after, her uncle is dead, and the case is quickly dismissed as a suicide. Maddie isn't the only person who highly doubts this is the case and is determined to find out the truth. With plenty of suspects and motives, she has her work cut out for her.

It was quite refreshing to read a book that had an autistic character, even as a supporting character, and not have it talking about autism in a negative light, or as something that should be cured. Especially since he was portrayed well. This book had a lot of representation, which is quite a rare thing in the books of this genre I have read by other, more well-known authors. And it was written well, too.

However, something that irked me a little was the amount of time the book spent on potential love interests. Every time she seemed to meet a man, they had something, and then she would spend time thinking about how she felt towards them, ultimately deciding to friendzone or avoid them. The amount of time spent on romance subplots was high enough to pull me out of the story and plot a little since this is supposed to be more of a mystery than a romance book. It's not enough to be a huge issue though, as I still thoroughly enjoyed the book.

The ending was something I didn't see coming when I started reading. I always thought it was one of the original suspects that Maddie had decided on, but by the big reveal, I had already guessed who it might be. I'm not sure if this is due to it being predictable by that point, or just being able to spot someone who doesn't have an alibi immediately, but even knowing what was to come, the ending still managed to shock me.

I would recommend this book to fans of M.C.Beaton's "Agatha Raisin" series. The main characters are both women, however, there is maybe 20 years age difference between them. They do still spend a lot of time pursueing love interests and getting themselves into dangerous situations.

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This looks to be a great start to a new series. I enjoyed the characters and the quaint small town. There was romance along with a good mystery.
Many thanks to BooksGoSocial and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Maddie goes to a small town, to her relatives, to find peace. But her uncle dies, so, she needs to solve this mystery and show the police it was not an accident. Thank you Netgalley for this copy.

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Thank you Netgalley and BooksGosocial for the book for a review.

This is going to be a great series. I enjoyed the characters and like the bit of romance with mystery. I will look forward to the next book

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Quick, fun read. Wonderfully written so you are kept guessing who the killer is until the very last second. The characters are lively, well written and come alive on the pages. Add in a twist of romance and you have the perfect weekend read.

Thank you NetGalley, Raven McKray and Keystone for this advanced reader edition and hearing my honest review. Looking forward to reading more with you
#partners

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Maddie, an ER Nurse, goes to her aunt and uncle's small town in Canada to relax, regroup, and figure out her future after she suffers a manic outburst. at work. Once there, Maddie meets many many new people, and she also gets reacquainted with those whom she had known since she was a little girl. At her welcome house party, Uncle John suddenly dies. The police and townspeople believe that he had committed suicide, but Cassie knows that he was murdered. What happens next is Maddie, Clayton (the handsome doctor), and Alex (the Farmhand and friend) try to figure out the cause and reason for John's death as they also try to work out their feelings.

I found a Twist of Oleander to be well written. The characters are very well developed and the plot kept my guessing on who the killer could be. I loved the web and flow of writing of Ms. McKray's style. This is an excellent start to a new series. This is a suspenseful and romantic book that will leave you guessing who did it until the very end. Thank you NetGalley and Ms. McKray for giving me a free copyof this book, and this was my honest opinion.. I look forward to reading more of your work.

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After suffering a breakdown at work, Maggie retreats to Canada to her Aunt and Uncle's place for some rest and recuperation. However at a party thrown in her honour, her uncle is poisoned and dies.
A easy flowing cosy mystery with quick pace and likeable characters. A good read.

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You can find this review and all of my others over at www.readbookrepeat.wordpress.com

Actual rating of 3.75

Maddie has had a rough go. She had a mental breakdown, has had to take a possible extended break from her job, if she decides to go back at all, and everyone looks at her like a leper. When her Mum suggests going to stay with her Aunt Cassie and Uncle John in Kenowa for a little while, she jumps at the chance. Things are going well on her arrival until her Uncle John falls ill and dies. While the police believe it was suicide, Maddie and a few others in town don't think that's a possibility, so they start to investigate the suspects who could have been responsible. Was it John's supposed friend from the hunt club? Young Alex who stood to gain everything? Or was it Tuppence, a possible old flame from way back? Time is running out for Maddie, and she needs to uncover the truth quick, all while fighting off the advances of the nice Dr. Clayton and Alex's jealousy.

I was pleasantly surprised by this novel. I honestly forgot that I had it sitting in my Netgalley list. I was absolutely riveted and kept glued to the page. The pacing is incredibly fast, and the story is a quick, simple read that keeps you guessing. I had a couple of ideas about who could've done it, but I wasn't a hundred percent sure until the reveal. One of my suspects did turn out to be the killer, but for a different reason than I expected.

The characters are likeable and quirky, each with their own distinctive voice, and I feel that should this continue as a series (as I'm hoping it does) the characters will be given a chance to grow even more and develop with the story and world. One thing I was sure of, the story had a very juvenile feel to it. I'm not sure if this was because the characters came across a bit juvenile, or whether the writing itself made the story sound young. I can't quite put my finger on it. This gave the story a bit of a messy feeling vibe as the characters and narrative sometimes read rather stilted which had the power to jolt me out of the story itself.

The story itself also came across as a bit airy fairy at times, that's honestly the only way I can describe it. Very naive sounding, the characters and the narrative itself came across rather over dramatic when it wasn't necessary which irked a little bit. The romance between Maddie and Clayton felt rather forced and dramatic, as well as unnecessary, but maybe that was the point? I was rooting for Alex the whole time anyway.

The mystery was well thought out and plenty of red herrings were in play to make you question everyone in Maddie's world. I understand Maddie's breakdown being the reason behind her going to Kenowa to stay with her Aunt and Uncle, but I don't understand the point of it in the bigger picture? I'm not sure if it was just used a plot mover, or if it's going to be more involved as the series continues. I did like that one of the characters, Randy, is autistic, and I really hope that this characters gets time to develop in future instalments.

All in all, this was a light hearted, quick and easy read, a nice little mystery if I do say so myself. I'm looking forward to continuing with this series and seeing where Maddie and Co. end up.

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I was pleasantly suprised - the characters are likeable and relatable and Raven McKray had me guessing until the end! Also the story is fast paced had me glued to the pages throughout most of the book!

Thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the eBook!

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this was a really good mystery novel, it kept my interest and had me looking forward to more in this universe. Overall I had a good time reading this.

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I found this book to be extremely predictable but in a good way. It was somewhat easy to tell where the twists and turns were taking you in the story but I loved every minute of it. I would highly recommend this book to any mystery lovers who don't mind not being surprised by the ending.

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This took me a little bit to get into the story. It is an suspenseful story with unique characters. There are plenty of twists and turns to some time the may not flow smoothly. Still this was an interesting read.

All thoughts and opinions are my own, and in no way have I been influenced by anyone.

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I admit, I do love a good old-fashioned murder mystery. I found Maddie to be an interesting character, and a great female lead. There is a dash of romance mixed in, which I didn't mind, but wasn't my favorite part of the plot. (Not totally sure Maddie should be running towards a romantic entanglement when she's there because of some mental health issues). That said, I enjoyed how quickly the plot moved along, and how well the setting was described. There were enough twists that I was kept guessing until the very end. A great mystery, and I look forward to seeing more of Maddie in the future!

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