STAGED by Elle Cosimano
Published; 10/15/2024 by AMAZON ORIGINAL STORIES
AUDIOBOOK: 1 Hr and 6 Min
Narrator: Megan Tusing



A quirky cozy mystery by the wonderful author who brought us the beloved : Finlay Donovan series. This short novella will appeal to “busybodies” and armchair detectives.
New realtor, Lyda will do almost anything to flip this crumbling old Victorian house, for her first sale. She enlists the aid of Dani, to expertly “stage” the home to facilitate its sale. A mad rush to spruce up the home with multiple contractors coming and going at all hours. The open house is pending and will be upon her in several days. A male rival realtor is in the act of setting up his own open house, directly across from her listing. Unfortunately she returns to the house in the early morning hours, only to find the body of the landscaper in the upstairs bedroom. He has a lecherous past, and there will be no shortage of suspects. Lyda and Dani suddenly become amateur detectives in the hope of solving the murder, and saving the “open house” event.
Elle Cosimano weaves a taught, and funny narrative with many twists and red herrings. This infectious tale will satisfy her legion of “Finlay Donovan” fans. She attains pitch perfect suspense , aided by her witty prose.
I listened to the story, as narrated by Megan Tusing. It was a wonderful experience as she supplied multiple character voices with varying tones and affect. Her performance brought to life the story in the “theater of my mind.” I cannot wait until Cosimano’s next story.
Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Originals for supplying an advance Audio Version of this delightful story.

Home Selling with classic Cosimano Finlay style!! The FMC, who is down on her luck, discovers a dead body and, with her loyal sidekick, tries to solve a murder. If you loved Finlay, you'll enjoy this one too. Megan Tusing captures Cosimano's humorous writing style perfectly. 3.75 ⭐

This was brilliant!! I don't normally like such short stories but this one packed a wallop!! A house for sale.... A dead landscaper and 2 estate agents sleuthing!!

it was great!! Loved the plot, characters were epic!!

yeahyeah! 5 stars

I loved how fast paced these stories are but this is my least favorite in the group so far. This is fine - I didn't care too much about figuring out the mystery. There was no compassion for the friend that died. Short real estate mystery!

➡️This or That⬅️
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These advanced copies are from The Busybodies Mysteries Series through Amazon Prime. It has some serious hits from some of our favorite thriller authors. Here are the two short stories I was given!
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Take it - Staged- This was a murder mystery among a group of relators. Each chapter starts with a little how to sell houses that gets progressively more unhinged. I just thought this was totally unique and unlike anything I’ve read before it was really super fun.
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Leave it- The Reunion Dinner- I thought this was just a short of boring family drama with an insufferable mom. There were too many characters to follow and it just did not hold my interest at all unfortunately. Normally this author is a hit for me but this was quite a miss.
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QOTD- do you enjoy reading short story collections ? What’s one you would recommend ? I always love a Stephen King short story
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The narration is spectacular but as with the rest of this series, I was bored and didn’t connect with nor care about the characters or what was happening at allll

Great audio and a fun, well paced mystery short story. I loved the real estate and house 'staging' storyline.

If you want a short and softer version of the Finlay series, definitely check out this fun short story! This one is packed with mystery and I’d definitely be curious to get a longer story following some of these characters as it was definitely an entertaining and short read!

Elle Cosimano always creates such an enjoyable story with lovable characters!

This is a novella about a realtor who has to solve a crime at one of her listings. Cosimano has a way with crafting characters that you want to root for! Has a similar vibe to her Finlay Donovan series but is still unique. The narration was great and it's a wonderful story to listen to in one sitting! Cozy and quick, a perfect addition to your fall tbr!

Overall, I would recommend Staged and the short story collection as a whole!

This bite-size audiobook was hilarious! I can't wait to continue the series. Megan Tusing's narration is punchy and delivers such an array of personalities in this small town murder mystery.

Lyda is a newbie real estate agent on her last leg. Her boss keeps giving away her listings to more competitive agents. But her best friend Dani has a new scheme - together they're going to stage the perfect open house. Maxing out her credit card, Lyda hires a host of contractors to spruce up the rundown house while she buys everything tiktok recommends for the perfect "you should live here" aesthetic. But when she returns, someone has used her new carpet to stage the perfect murder scene!

The besties tear apart town looking for the killer. Their unorthodox methods include interviews with nosy neighbors and accosting men with vacuums. But the twist at the end and how they caught the culprit was hilarious. This is going to be a instant 5 star when it hits KU audio.

Short little real estate mystery. It’s giving milder Finlay and Vero lol. I also enjoyed the audio narrator on this one.

Thank you for the review copy! I really enjoyed Megan Tusing's narration, which really captured the cozy mystery humor style I expect from Cosimano (I do love the Finlay Donovan books!). This is a welcome short audiobook, perfect for this sunny Fall day where I wanted some laughs, a little fun mystery, and quirky lean into the chaos characters.

Thanks so much Brilliance Audio for the ALC!

Finlay Donovan is one of my all-time favorite books and I'll read anything Elle Cosimano writes.

This one was short and sweet and not too deep as to be expected from an hour long audiobook.

The narrator was great, but the story was just okay for me! Still definitely worth a listen, especially if you're a Elle Cosimano fan!

This is exactly what I needed - a cozy, quick mystery novella. Lyda and Dani were hilarious in trying to figure out the who-done-it. I kept trying to guess things throughout and never could have guessed the murderer!

The narrator did a great job and definitely reminded me of Elle’s other novels!

If you are looking for a quick and easy listen, this is the book for you.

3.75 ⭐️ This was the perfect cozy fall novella! Small town mysteries are so fun and despite being so short I got to know the characters and their dynamics quite quickly. Really enjoyed this!

Well written, cleverly plotted but entirely too short novella that features an agent and stager trying to sell a house. The characters are developed enough and the mystery will keep you guessing, mostly because there isn’t really time to plant very many clues to who the guilty party is or introduce you to the suspects. Other than that, I enjoyed the writing and the staging tips.

This book was so funny. I loved the sisters trying to solve this crime and I honestly had no idea who did it. It was a really cute novella.