This is a review of the 6 ebook Amazon Original Short Stories Collection.

This collection contains six short stories. They are all about busybodies, nosy neighbors or meddling relatives. I thought that these stories/cozy mysteries were all good reads.

In Staged by Elle Cosimano the story is about a real estate agent who stages a house and then tries to solve a case. This was a fun story that included two friends staging a house. But then when something bad happens they try to become detectives.

In The Reunion Dinner by Jesse Q. Sutanto a family dinner turns deadly. This story takes place during the Chinese New Year celebration. Josephine is hosting the dinner, when her son surprises her by bringing an unexpected guest. This was a fun crazy story.

In Crime of Fashion by Emma Rosenblum a $3 million dollar necklace disappears during a closed photo shoot. This was a fun mystery to try to figure out who stole the jewelry.

In The Nosy Neighbor by Nita Prose Marge has been spying on her neighbors Doris and Bob for years. This was a fun story because Marge had her suspicions. I really enjoyed both Doris and Marge. This was such an amusing story.

In One Lucky Subscriber by Kellye Garrett a viral stunt takes place at the mall. A social media influencer/Youtuber sets up a a crazy challenge in a mall. This was a an enjoyable read.

In A Classic Case by Alicia Thompson a woman who loves old movies develops a crush on the store owner. In this story the video store clerk is usually grumpy. And old Mr. Hoffman rents the same film every week. When Audrey becomes concerned she tries to figure out what has happened to her favorite older gentleman.

Overall this was a fun series. If you like cozy mysteries and want to see some new stories by your favorite authors then definitely check these out.


Thanks to Amazon Original Stories and netgalley for allowing me to read this book.

This compilation of six novellas by six mystery writers highlights the 'amateur sleuth.' The introduction to the collection reads: "Every nosy neighbor, gossipy friend, and meddling relative is just one good mystery away from becoming a detective. From behind locked doors or out in broad daylight, driven by chance or curiosity, amateur sleuths get in over their heads in these six hair-raising hilarious stories."

I"ll give a brief description of each novella.

*****
Staged by Elle Cosimano

Struggling real estate agent Lyda and her friend Dani are staging a neglected Victorian house that Lyda's desperate to sell. The century old disaster has a sagging front porch, crooked walls, and dusty foul-smelling carpets.

To spruce the property up, Lyda has hired handsome gardener Sawyer Mackenzie, who's outside showing off his sun-kissed hair, tight jeans, and toned chest. Sawyer, a lothario known for 'loving and leaving 'em', has broken a few hearts around town.

Lyda and Dani go off to purchase some things for the staging and return to find Sawyer dead in the house. The gardener is sprawled on the bedroom floor, with his clothes scattered around, and a giant purple hickey on the side of his neck.

When the authorities can't nab the the killer Lyda steps up to save the day.

*****
The Reunion Dinner by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Josephine Ying is very excited to be hosting her extended family's Chinese New Year dinner for the very first time. Josephine's husband suggests she's gone overboard with the roasted whole pig, but Josephine retorts, "Everyone traveling from all over the country to come to dinner." This includes the couple's son Keith, who works on Wall Street and says he's bringing a 'fabulous surprise.'

Josephine pictures a necklace or bracelet from Tiffany's, or perhaps an expensive handbag. But when Keith arrives....VERY LATE....he says "Ma, Ba, remember how I said I had a surprise? Well, I'd like you to meet Lacey, my fiancée." Josephine is gobsmacked, as are other family members, some of whom already know and hate Lacey.

During the dinner Lacey drops dead: "Her eyes were open, staring glassily at nothing. There was foam at the corners of her mouth." Josephine is fearful her son Keith will be accused of murder, so she uncovers the killer herself.

*****
Crime of Fashion by Emma Rosenblum

Meticulous Nellie Otis is an assistant at the fashion magazine 'Elle', for which she "maintained, with precision, a systematically structured fashion closet that housed designer clothing and accessories." Nothing in Nellie's purview has ever gone missing.....until now!

A three-million dollar Bulgari necklace has disappeared from a fashion shoot. The necklace was on a designated jewelry table, with Nellie and an armed security guard beside it. When Nellie went to fetch a soda for the cover model, the guard apparently fell asleep, and the necklace vanished. If the Bulgari isn't found, heads will roll, specifically Nellie's head - ESPECIALLY because editor-in-chief Charlotte is blaming Nellie for the theft.

To save her job Nellie makes it her business to catch the culprit.

*****
The Nosy Neighbor by Nita Prose

Septuagenarian Marge has known her across-the-street neighbor Doris for fifty years. According to Marge, Doris is a busybody with her nose up in everyone else's business. Marge isn't the one to talk, however, because she stares out the window at Doris and her husband Bob all day. According to Marge, Doris is a jumped up floozy, but Bob is "slowing down, sicker than usual, wheezy and unsteady on his feet."

Marge is surprised when Doris comes over one day and announces, "I've booked Bob and me a special long weekend in Spain. We'll be studying flamenco.....[and] you never know, one of us might like it so much, we may never come back!" Doris asks Marge to look after the house while she and Bob are gone, and to be sure to water the newly planted hydrangeas in the backyard.

Marge can't resist the opportunity to snoop around Doris's house, and for various reasons, Marge suspects Doris killed Bob. Marge tries to prove Doris is a murderer....which leads to a surprising finale.

*****
One Lucky Subscriber by Kellye Garrett

Internet sensation Kidd - who does outsize stunts - is staging an event at the American Dream Mall, which has three million square feet, one-hundred-plus stores, five floors, two mini-golf courses, and one indoor theme park.

Ten contestants, flown in from all over the United States, are vying to win $50,000. The idea is that the players are given a head start to hide in the mall, each one carrying a case with fifty grand. Kidd announces, "I'll be spending the next eight hours playing the world's largest game of hide-and-seek. The [contestants] can hide anywhere they want. I find them. The money's mine." On the other hand, anyone who isn't found within the eight hours gets to keep the money. Kidd's team will film him during the search, and Kidd expects the video to make a big splash online.

Contestant #4 teams up with contestant #2, and they find (what they think is) an excellent hiding place. The game proceeds, and after some hours Kidd has located several players and is approaching the hiding place of players 4 and 2. Around this time there's a big kerfuffle and Kidd is injured. Kidd insists, "Someone tried to kill me. We're trying to figure out who...." and he begins accusing everyone in sight. This leads to surprising revelations, and a light bulb moment helps contestant #4 resolve the case.

*****
A Classic Case by Alicia Thompson

Audrey is a rather shy young woman who looks forward to Wednesdays. Wednesday is the day Audrey goes to the 'Keep It Classic' video store to rent an old-timey film. It's also the day Audrey meets up with Mr. Hoffman, "the sweet eightysomething-year-old-man who came in at precisely two o'clock to renew his rental on his favorite movie, 'She Who Laughs Last', starring notoriously reclusive 1960s ingenue Katia Kelly."

There's another reason Audrey patronizes the video store. She has a HUGE crush on the owner, Grant, a nice-looking fellow who always wears jeans, a heather-gray T-shirt, and a soft plaid flannel. Grant is polite, but other than that, seems to take no notice of Audrey.

One Wednesday, Mr. Hoffman doesn't show up at 'Keep It Classic', much to Audrey's chagrin. Audrey tries to get Grant to 'investigate', but he shrugs off Mr. Hoffman's absence. Audrey decides to go to the elderly gent's house herself....and when Grant shows up as well, things take an unexpected turn.

This little mystery has fun elements and a not-so-surprising ending.

****
All the suspense stories are fun, but my two favorites, for their 'twists', are The Reunion Dinner and The Nosy Neighbor.

Thanks to Netgalley, the authors, and Amazon Original Stories for a copy of the book.

This was such a fun series! Each short story was well crafted and left me wanting a full length version. Some of these authors were already go-to authors for me, but I’ve added a few more to my list now after reading these stories.

Thank you to NetGalley + the authors for my advance copy!

I was really excited by the premise of this collection, but overall it fell a little flat for me. I enjoyed 4 out of the 6 stories, but only one (The Reunion Dinner) really stood out.

Individual reviews with further thoughts have been left on each individual story’s page. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and authors for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my thoughts.

STAGED
I enjoyed the format of this short story how each chapter started with a relevant quote about home staging that also fit in with the story, but overall the writing was painful. The over-use of referring to characters by their full names after the initial introduction or by name over and over again instead of switching it up with a pronoun here or there was grating. Additionally, I felt like so many of the names were fake sounding (vs realistic character names if that makes sense) and some of the plots/dialog were written quite silly as well (making lighthearted jokes about not killing each other right after your friend was murdered, tampering with the crime scene with the cop right outside). I really struggled to get through this short story, but was intrigued enough to at least see the resolution.

THE REUNION DINNER
Really enjoyed this one! I loved the family personalities and dynamics, the drama of the intertwining relationships, and the unexpected twists!

CRIME OF FASHION
The writing felt silly, half the character names were ridiculous, but the worst thing was the repeated uneducated mentions of OCD.

THE NOSY NEIGHBOR
I’m having a hard time deciding what I thought on this one but liked it for the most part. I wasn’t sure where the story was heading at first, since it was made obvious that Doris killed Bob early on but I thought it was a great reveal that Marge had been talking to her ashes the whole time. I also really enjoyed the banter between Doris and Marge, as well as Marge’s denial of her nosy nature. However, I felt like the reveal that Doris killed Harold too happened so fast and I would have liked a little more time in the story to unpack that plot point and Marge’s reaction.

ONE LUCKY SUBSCRIBER
I thought the premise for this was really interesting and unique, but maybe not well suited for a short story as it was hard to get to know the characters and fully visualize the setting.

A CLASSIC CASE
This wasn’t what I was expecting but I thought it was quite cute and sweet!

The Busybodies collection features six short stories from a few authors I've read and liked a lot and a few who I'd wanted to read. Ultimately, my favorite stories were from the authors I was already familiar with - Alicia Thompson and Jesse Q. Sutanto. I appreciated the variety in this collection.

This was a really fun short story collection from some notable, auto buy authors. I enjoyed the lightheartedness of each of story and the tongue in cheek humor that often left me chuckling. I enjoy when authors work together to establish a central theme for a short story collection.

Busybodies is an engaging anthology featuring six novellas that delve into the chaos caused by meddling relatives, nosy neighbors, and social media influencers. Each story is filled with mystery and clever twists and captures the essence of characters grappling with unexpected events.

In “Staged” by Elle Cosimano, real estate agent Lyda finds herself investigating when her landscaper turns up dead in a home she’s trying to sell. The character-driven narratives offer enthralling insights into their lives.

I was pleasantly surprised by the contributions from authors like Garrett, Thompson, and Rosenblum, alongside familiar names like Cosimano, Sutanto, and Prose. Their unique perspectives make this collection an enjoyable read.

Overall, the anthology is a delight with clever storytelling that leaves you wanting more. I’m grateful for the e-galley of *The Busybodies Collection* via NetGalley.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the Amazon Originals short story collections that are free for Prime subscribers in the Kindle app. I especially appreciate the ability to add on free Audible narration, which ultimately is how I listened to this series (although I am very grateful to have received an ARC of the digital ebook from NetGalley). As a whole this collection has some powerhouse authors and excellent narrators.

Staged by Elle Cosimano, narrated by Megan Tusing
As a fan of the Finlay Donovan series, I was looking forward to this real estate murder mystery. I liked how this book started off with friends prepping to sell a house with some suggestion of possible romance, but then there’s a turn toward murder and mystery. It’s all packed in such a brief book that I never felt like I could sink my teeth in to the plot or characters. Lots of potential but overall a bit of a miss for me. Interestingly, narrator Megan Tusing received a SOVAS nomination for this in Outstanding Audiobook Narration – Short Story Anthology – Best Voiceover!

The Reunion Dinner by Jesse Q. Sutanto, narrated by Eunice Wong
If you love Sutanto's Aunties series or Vera Wong, give this a shot. In this story Josephine Ying is eager to fulfill Chinese New Year hosting duties when tragedy strikes. A surprise guest ends up dead, and Josephine takes it upon herself to get to the bottom of it. This started out cheeky and humorous but ultimately became a bit too silly and intertwined to believable. The narration was great. This was my second favorite book in the series.

Crime of Fashion by Emma Rosenblum, narrated by Brittany Pressley,
This short story brings a bit of mystery into the fashion world as an expensive necklace goes missing on a photoshoot. I found this decently interesting because of the setting, and I would recommend it to fans of The Devil Wears Prada, The Bold Type or Gossip Girl. In general, it's probably a bit forgettable, but it's a very readable short story that fits in with the series.

The Nosy Neighbor by Nita Prose, narrated by Sherri Slater,
I am a big fan of Nita Prose, so I was really looking forward to this fourth installment. This short story really embraces the "busybody" in main character Marge who spies on her neighbors and suspects nefarious deeds afoot. This book had a fun few quirks but lacked the endearing charm of The Maid series.

One Lucky Subscriber by Kellye Garrett, narrated by Jordan Cobb
Unfortunately, this is the dud of the bunch. I had a hard time keeping track of or caring about any of the oddly-named characters. The writing felt forced with awkward analogies, misfired metaphors and superfluous similes. The plot is difficult to follow, but I might summarize the chaos as some sort of financially-motivated social media competition in a mall? I think? While I was excited to be exposed to a new author through this read, I discovered that I am not the reader for Kellye Garrett. If you read and/or listen this short story because it's free to Amazon Prime subscribers or perhaps you are committed to completing the series, I would recommend turning it into a drinking game for every "GoPro."

A Classic Case by Alicia Thompson, narrated by Helen Laser
A Classic Case of saving the best for last! This final Busybodies chapter is the best of the bunch. Admittedly, I am a biased romance devotee who will possibly over-inflate a rating for a book that involves chemistry or crushing. Alicia Thompson comes through with a cozy mystery for anyone who has nostalgia for Blockbuster video. When Audrey picks up on a break in rental enthusiast Mr. Hoffman's routine, she begins to suspect something terrible has transpired. As she tries to get to the bottom of his absence, her path must cross with the "hot and grumpy" clerk. This short book is less sinister than the rest but still plays into the busybody mystery theme.

Busy Bodies, there’s a mystery around every corner by multiple authors such as Jesse Q Sutanto,, El CosaMano, Nita Pros, Emma Rosenblum, Kellye Garrett and Alicia Thompson.. The anthology is made up of six short Cozy mysteries that range from hilarious to quirky and there’s even one that gives you a creepy uneasy feeling but all great and so worth reading once I started with the first one I couldn’t stop my favorite who is either nosy neighbor or family reunion but all are worth picking up you can either get them in this one book or separately with Kindle unlimited that also has the audio narration with it, something I absolutely appreciate it. From a necklace that goes missing in a lot door scenario to a family reunion dinner that doesn’t go the way the host thinks it should, A lonely and shy girls search for her Tuesday afternoon video searching partner and a funny but creepy one called lucky subscriber to a woman who is asked to watch the house of her neighbor who is also the vein of her existence and loses her mind in the process. These books are so funny I am laughing just remembering them I four out of the six books in my opinion were five star reads not to mention the great narration on the audiobooks I just can’t say enough about this funny quick laugh out loud fall on the ground laughing mysteries. So so good! #NetGalley, #AmazonOriginals,#Busy bodies,

The Busybodies Collection is a cozy crime/mystery short story collection featuring stories from six different authors: Elle Cosimano, Jesse Q. Sutanto, Emma Rosenblum, Nita Prose, Kellye Garrett and Alicia Thompson. Each story is a standalone and is between 30-50 pages so is designed to be read in one sitting (each one took me around half an hour to read) and the stories do not need to be read in order.

Staged by Elle Cosimano 2⭐: This book tried to do too much in 40 pages and didn’t end up doing anything particularly well. The characters so say have been friends since secondary school but there’s a complete lack of emotion when one of them is murdered. This short story tries to have a romance subplot alongside the mystery which was completely unnecessary.

The Reunion Dinner by Jesse Q. Sutanto 4⭐: This was such a fun short story! I loved the plot twist and how the clues all come together at the end. I wish this had been a full length book so we could’ve developed some of the motives a bit more.

Crime of Fashion by Emma Rosenblum 1⭐: This book made 40 pages feel so long. There were too many characters who were introduced but had zero personality. Within the first page the author uses OCD to describe someone who likes things to be neat and orderly and continues to use it in this manner throughout which was infuriating.

Nosy Neighbour by Nita Prose 5⭐: I really enjoyed this short story and definitely want to read more of Nita Prose’s books. Despite it being 30 pages long, I thought the plot was interesting and I liked the double plot twist. The characters were well developed however I would’ve love to read a full length book about Marge and Doris over the years.

One Lucky Subscriber by Kellye Garrett 3⭐: The premise of this book was so promising and I loved the setup of the high stakes hide and seek game however the plot fell flat.

A Classic Case by Alicia Thompson 4⭐: This was definitely on the cozier end of the mystery spectrum however I enjoyed it. I liked that Alicia Thompson kept it very simple for a short story and everything wrapped up really nicely.

Overall I love these short story collections and hope that this is something Amazon continues to produce in the future. They are a great way of discovering new authors and due to their length are perfect for getting out of reading slumps or for if your brain needs a break.

This is a fun set of stories that I really enjoyed reading. Some were more engaging than others, but all had a fun mystery. I highly recommend these for anyone who loves mystery and short stories.

Thank you net galley and publisher for this ARC. This was a fun series of short stories. Some of the authors were new to me.

This was a fun little set of short stories. I’ve read books by almost all of these authors except Alicia Thompson so I was familiar with their work before and was excited to read these.

Staged: Fun quippy characters which is classic Cosimano, and I liked the small town everyone knows everything thing but could have used a bit more.

The Reunion Dinnner: Loved the meddling matriarch in this one and the giant family vibes were great. Also wanted more of this one though.

Crime of Fashion: This one really stood out to me, I feel like the setting and characters were developed really well really quickly.

The Nosy Neighbour: Like The Maid, this story was very straightforward and simple until it wasn’t. Not sure that I liked any of the characters but it was entertaining enough.

One Lucky Subscriber: I thought this was the most unique of the stories, the setting and situation were really cool.

A Classic Case: I really liked this one. It was sweet. But I also think it was a bit contrived, one of the main characters withheld a lot of information unnecessarily.

Overall I think most of the mysteries were predictable, which given that they’re short stories isn’t much of a surprise. If you’re expecting big twists you won’t find them here, but if you’ve enjoyed any of these authors work before then these will be fun little reads. Thank you to Amazon and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC!

This is my second collection of Amazon short stories and I have enjoyed both of them. It’s fun to be exposed to new authors and read different work from loved ones!

One of my favorite things about this collection is how true to their voice each author was, while also exploring something new.

I have been a big fan of Nita Prose's previous work, and I loved reading about a different character from her -- all while maintaining the engaging writing and quirky characters I love.

I really enjoyed the Alicia Thompson story -- she is a new-to-me author and I will definitely check out some of her work now. I enjoyed the movie store setting and it ended up being a very sweet story.

I am a huge fan of Jesse Q. Sutanto and enjoyed her story and all the family drama.

Overall this was a fun collection and a great way to check out new authors! Looking forward to reading the next Amazon collection.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

Thanks to Amazon Publishing and NetGalley for early access to the Busybodies collection of stories. Busybodies is a collection of six short stories which is now available from Amazon. I love mysteries with neighbor-next-door vibes, and these are so fun! Not quite cozy mysteries, these fun novellas have had me entertained throughout. These are almost all written authors I’ve read before and really enjoy - Elle Cosimano, Jesse Q.Sutanto, Emma Rosenblum, Nita Prose, Alicia Thompson, and (new-to-me author) Kellye Garrett. They are now available for free if you have Amazon Prime - and that includes the audio too!

this was a short story collection of all little mysteries. My favorite one was probably “a nosy neighbor” by Nita prose. It actually made me laugh out loud. The others were just ok, not too exciting, but not horrible.

Busybodies is another fun novella collection from Amazon! A few hits, a few misses, but a mostly good time.

Staged by Elle Cosimano - I LOVE Elle's work, and this was like her Finlay Donovan series meets HGTV. An endearing friendship duo and a kooky bunch of neighbors lead to an unlikely detective case.

The Reunion Dinner by Jesse Q. Sutanto - This felt like a mix of the author's Vera Wong and Kwan's Crazy Rich Asians. Fun, funny, and plenty of drama!

Crime of Fashion by Emma Rosenblum - Devil Meets Prada but make it klepto. I didn't love this one.

The Nosy Neighbor by Nita Prose - This one had strong Desperate Housewives vibes for me! I enjoyed the plot and pacing. Recommend.

One Lucky Subscriber by Kellye Garrett - My least favorite of the bunch. Like reality TV meeting low budget social media nonsense. Pass.

A Classic Case by Alicia Thompson - I don't even remember what this was about. I guess that's the review.

A collection of short stories written by a bunch of popular authors. Each one has it's own short story that involves women who are trying to figure out a mystery. I love the idea and enjoyed each of these, they are available on Amazon and great little shorts if you enjoy a mystery.

First off, I absolutely love the Amazon Originals collection of novellas -each anthology has been an absolute hit and the Busybodies Collection was no exception. This collection offers plenty of funny and romantic and slightly suspenseful moments that will keep readers entertained with each story!

These were fun, and I'm enjoying these collections that Audible has been able to pull together. I think my favorites of this collection were the first and last stories by Elle Cosimano and Alicia Thompson, respectively. I would have gladly read an entire full length book of the first story in the series. I'm excited to see what other collections Audible pulls together.