(Review for Staged)
the setup…
Lyda is a new real estate agent trying desperately to clinch her first sale. The property at hand is a sad Victorian needing lots of work. Dani, her best friend since childhood, is now a home stager (trained on TikTok), sees a diamond in the literal rough and has workers readying it for the next day’s open house. They leave landscaper Sawyer Mackenzie behind as they run off to do some last minute errands, only to return and find the lothario’s dead body in the master bathroom upstairs!

the heart of the story…
The subject is busybodies and as this is a small town, everyone knows everybody else’s business. There’s the next door nosy neighbor Mrs. Price, Sawyer who was dating Marilee (Lyda’s cleaner) but broke up with her, George the painter whose cousin Tansey was dating him before…well, you get the picture. They’ve all converged at the house around the same time so there’s no shortage of potential suspects and amateur sleuths.

the narration…
Megan Tusing brought just the right airiness to this cozy mystery/comedy. Her storytelling skills were great.

the bottom line…
It’s not a complicated mystery and all the busybodies contribute to solving who killed Sawyer. It was intriguing enough for me to try and figure it out (I was wrong) and it has the author’s signature touch in pairing Lyda and Dani to do the investigation. It was just what I was hoping it would be. Really recommend the audio format. 3.5 stars

(Review for The Reunion Dinner)
the setup…
This year, Josephine Ying is hosting the Chinese New Year dinner, normally done at the home of Big Uncle (Liuyi). But she now has the chance to break the trend since he broke his leg after an unfortunate fall and Josephine is going all out. She and husband Adam are also excited about their son Keith coming home with a surprise. Unfortunately, that surprise is new fiancée Lacey who they’ve never met or known about. But others at the dinner seem to know her well…and they’re not happy.

the heart of the story…
It’s Josephine’s point of view here as she takes stock of the situation. There’s her sister Yolanda who divorced husband George a year ago and still hasn’t shared why. Her daughter Francine had the most viral reaction when Lacey showed up. And, nephew Porter was awfully uncomfortable at seeing her. Not long after her arrival, Lacey drops dead in the middle of the room! Whodunit?

the narration…
Eunice Wong was pitch perfect as Josephine, keeping me on edge through the end. She was a fantastic storyteller.

the bottom line…
This is a kick of a story that had a plethora of suspects and motives. But, I still wasn’t prepared for that surprise at the end. So very, very clever. Oh, and do yourself a favor…dinner is best served up on audio. 4 stars

(Review for Crime of Fashion)
the setup…
Nellie Otis is a fashion assistant at Elle, responsible for the “fashion closet” and she’s on location at their current photo shoot. After she returns from getting a drink for Marlee Price, the aging famed musician at the center of the project (she’s the replacement star for the one who fell ill), everything goes crazy as the $3 million Bulgari necklace on loan for shoot is now missing. The armed guard who minutes ago was caught snoozing is now searching frantically for the piece and sort of holding everyone hostage in the meantime. Some of the fingers are being pointed at Nellie so she’s got motivation to help find the precious piece.

the heart of the story…
There’s more here than what is on the surface. Charlotte Plepto is the new editor-in-chief who unceremoniously forced out her predecessor with wealthy Daddy’s bankroll. Pointer, the disgraced photographer, is on his first major assignment after having been accused of misbehaving with the models and he has an axe to grind. Nellie has her hands full and she’s the low woman on the proverbial totem pole and her boss, Farrah Freeze the fashion director, isn’t making it easy.

the narration…
Brittany Pressley is one of my favorite narrators and she brought the characters and story to life. And, she delivered the fun.

the bottom line…
This was more The Devil Wears Prada intrigue than mystery but it was fun. I had a sense of who was really behind the theft and got most of it right. It didn’t matter because it was the behind the scenes treachery that took center stage. 3.5 stars

(Review for The Nosy Neighbor)
the setup…
Marge remembers the day when the “flamboyant” Doris and her husband Bob moved into the neighborhood almost fifty years ago. She’s been snooping on her, reporting what she sees to her husband Harold regularly. But lately Marge is beginning to think that Doris is planning to get rid of Bob and doesn’t think he’ll be returning from their trip to Spain.

the heart of the story…
It’s all Marge as she justifies her role as the proverbial nosy neighbor as just looking out for everybody. Well, when you start digging deeper, be careful what you find. Think Gladys from the old show Bewitched.

the narration …
If I had to imagine what the ideal voice would sound like to depict a nosy neighbor it would definitely be Sherri Slater. She nailed Marge as well as Doris.

the bottom line…
This was another funny little mystery that fits well into this busybody collection. I had several laugh-out-loud moments and the little twist at the end brought a couple of surprises. Short but clever. 3.5 stars

(Review of One Lucky Subscriber)
the setup…
Kennedy has sole custody of her little brother DJ so her time is valuable. But when Kidd, his favorite YouTube creator, comes up with a crazy challenge to celebrate reaching 10 million subscribers, she gives in and participates because the payoff is insane…and so is the challenge.

the heart of the story…
I’m not sure. Frankly, I was lost most of the time until the end. Kennedy teams with another player, all identified with a number on their yellow outfits, ten of them in all. I never quite grasped how to win the challenge. But, someone was trying to sabotage the game.

the narration…
I liked Jordan Cobb who seemed to be perfect in the role of Kennedy, clearly capturing the cynicism of the character. She was a great storyteller.

the bottom line…
I’m not the audience for this one. I don’t follow anybody on YouTube and don’t understand that world or the common vernacular. If you do, I think you’d find this interesting because there is a message here. 2 stars

A collection of “mystery” short stories that ranged from 1 - 3 stars. Mostly 2 Star reads though, it’s not a great effort. Still, the highlights were Sutanto and Thompson’s stories, which felt the most cohesive and engaging. If I’d recommend any of the stories, individually, it would be those two.

Crime of Fashion was bottom of the list. It manages to stereotype every horrible character into a mess of women hating women and reducing #metoo into lies against men for revenge. Just an awful road to take all around.

The other stories are a mash of oversimplified, boring, and forgettable. Overall, as a whole collection, it’s not worth the listen.

Six cozy mysteries by six renowned and iconic authors!

Staged by Elle Cosimano
3 stars - When a well known figure in their town was found dead under very unusual circumstances, it’s up to a real estate agent to figure out whodunit. I really liked the pacing of this story and the tone that Elle Cosimano used while writing. The ending wrapped up pretty quickly, which is to be expected with a short story, but the reasoning still was a stretch to me. However, it was fun!

The Reunion Dinner by Jesse Q. Sutanto
4.5 stars - One thing about me is that I love asian authors. I always eat asian family stories up because they reflect my childhood and the characters make me feel so nostalgic. When Josephine’s family dinner goes awry, she must scope out who killed her daughter-in-law to be. I loved being in the mind of Josephine, she was razor sharp, quick witted, and relentless. This one was FULL of twists and an ending I did not see coming.

Crime of Fashion by Emma Rosenblum
4 stars - When a valuable piece of jewelry goes missing, it is up to Nellie to find out what happened to the $3,000,000 necklace before she loses her job… and her freedom. This was a fun Devils Wears Prada-isque mystery! Nellie and all of their coworkers were so fun to follow and honestly I think this short story could be flushed out into a whole book series!

The Nosy Neighbor by Nita Prose
3.5 stars - After decades of being the unappointed neighborhood watch, Marge’s spying takes a turn when she notices something out of the ordinary. Her POV was so funny and erratic. This is honest to God the exact musings/train of thought of an old woman busy body. I come across a lot of them at my job. The story itself was so silly and fun! The ending made me literally LOL, it felt like one of those paradox scary movies.

One Lucky Subscriber by Kellye Garrett
3 stars - After a Mr. Beast-like character, launches a contest to win $50,000, Kennedy has to hide through the night in the biggest mall in order to beat the other opponents. This short story was so well laid out. It had really fast pacing and was a fun, twisty mystery. It never really felt like anyone was in major danger so it was a bit different than the other short stories so far.

A Classic Case by Alicia Thompson
4 stars - With Mr. Hoffman nowhere to be found and his house is left in a suspicious state, Audrey has to dig a bit deeper to find out where her weekly video store friend disappeared to. This story has a really fun romance subplot and honestly I found it to be super appealing. I liked the pacing of the story and it tied up really nicely.

Overall really enjoyed this cozy mystery short story collection. I would totally recommend. Thank you Netgalley and Brillance Publishing for this audiobook arc!

Thank you Netgalley and Brilliance Publishing for the ALC.

I love a cozy mystery, so when I saw that a few of my favorite authors wrote short cozies for a collection, I was pumped. This was a fun collection of stories that really got me out of an audiobook slump.

All of the narrators for the stories were excellent. A few standouts were Brittany Pressley (Crime of Fashion), Eunice Wong (The Reunion Dinner), and Sherri Slater (The Nosy Neighbor). I cannot pick my favorite story, but all were fun, twisty, and extra cozy.

ALC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What a fun collection of cozy mysteries! They're perfect for the spooky season, especially if you prefer lighthearted thrills over scary ones.

Each story revolves around a fun "busybody" theme and is the ideal length—about an hour—making it perfect for dog walks, laundry folding, commutes, or running errands.

As with most short story collections, I had a few favorites: The Noisy Neighbor and A Classic Case. But honestly, each one kept me guessing with the whodunit!

absolutely fun collection of stories by some of my favorite go to authors. Really enjoyed each one! and it was an easy listen

These were such fun little novellas! Each writing style is unique and different, but they're all whodunnits! The ones by Elle and Nita were my favorites!

This was a fun short story collection from some powerhouses of crime fiction. All of these were the perfect little mysteries that you can listen to in one sitting which I really appreciated. While each had a “busybody” they were all unique and had strong characters. My favorites were A Classic Case and The Nosy Neighbor!

The Busybodies series was a fun, quick set of mysteries perfect for spooky season! These featured a great mixture of debut and seasoned authors and the stories were short but no-less complex or enthralling. Would definitely recommend to mystery lovers!

The Busybodies - Amazon Original Stories

By Elle Cosimano - Jesse Q. Sutanto - Emma Rosenblum - Nita Prose - Kellye Garrett - Alicia Thompson

✔️ The Staged by Elle Cosimano
Oh my! She just needed to sell the house, but a dead body? I don’t know if that’s going to make it! Maybe the staging will work!
✔️ The Reunion Dinner Jesse Q. Sutanto
After all, it was going to be the perfect reunion! She was going to prove herself as the perfect host! But, surprise! My fiancée, mom… And that’s when the reunion dinner really started!
✔️ Crime of Fashion by Emma Rosenblum
How I enjoyed this story! Not everting is what it seems and sometimes you need to look the other way to get what you really want from life! So well played!
✔️ The Nosy Neighbor by Nita Prose
Hilarious! This one was bittersweet but all too real. We’ve had that neighbor, the one who “wears purple” and we don’t quite understand. But the thing is, we need to be careful as you really never know what people are capable of…
✔️ One Lucky Subscriber by Kellye Garrett
Social media, followers and subscribers; a whole new world! Oh I’d definitely want to win so much money just by simply hiding! But this time, the game was different. What if it’s not about the money? What if something else happens? Stay tuned and hit the bell!
✔️ A Classic Case by Alicia Thompson
What’s not to love about old movies? Rent, watch and return. This used to be the Mr Hoffman’s routine up until Audrey noticed he didn’t come back to return his movie. Where is he? Did something bad happen? Audrey will set herself in a journey to discover the truth. However, this may be simply, a classic case!

I loved each one of the stories and it got me thinking of how many little details we keep in our minds about everything that surrounds us! We know so much about the others and the other way round! It’s impressive to realize how nosy we really are! Such a great collection of short stories!

I loved the narrators who gave life to each of the characters! It was a great experience and enjoyed it deeply. I sure love audiobooks!

I love a good short story collection.

Particularly, when there’s a good theme throughout.

While I don’t think that’s how anaphylaxis works, The Nosy Neighbour by Nita Prose was tight, funny, and DARK.

I generally have a No Murders rule, when it comes to friends, I’d definitely have got along better with Doris, over Marge.

A Crime of Fashion had some good points. I liked the whodunnit vibe, the quirky main character, and the twisty bit at the end. I didn’t love the casual use of OCD, or the False Accusation plotline.

Family Reunion Dinner does well with the whole, Everybody’s A Suspect! Thing. Is it the jilted business partner? Or the jilted lover? Or the OTHER jilted lover? I also loved the Chinese New Year dinner setting. It’s amazing what a good writer can do with only 50 pages.

A Classic Case – Love a good grumpy-sunshine trope. There was just enough mystery and just enough romance to make this a satisfying read.

One Lucky Subscriber was the most ‘modern’ of the short stories. Influencers, YouTubers, and Views. I was expecting more of a twist at the end, but I still enjoyed it.

Staged was my least favourite of the bunch, which is weird, as I love Elle Cosimano’s stuff. I didn’t find the romance interesting, and the two main characters were strangely ambivalent over their friend’s death.

Thanks to NetGalley, Amazon Original Stories, and Brilliance Publishing for this collection.

#BusyBodies: 👀🔎🕶️⁣
⁣
Thank you @brilliancepublishing for my gifted copy.⁣
⁣
“If you act dead, the reaper will find you faster” ⁣
⁣
I mean honestly, did you see the lineup on this little short story? Then you want to throw in narrators like Eunice Wong and Brittany Pressley? I smashed that request button so fast y’all. It was a good read for short stories. The audio was brilliant on all of them, so definitely grab this October 15th!⁣
⁣
Staged - Elle Cosimano:⁣
Very Finlay coded. A gal with not the best luck, a trusty sidekick, a love interest you think sucks but there are worse choices to be made. A very fun and nosy cozy. I giggled and cackled. ⁣
⁣
The Reunion Dinner - Jesse Q. Sutanto: ⁣
Fun, twisty, and a bit dark! So many family drama dynamics and the ending was so satisfying. Definitely top tier JQS. ⁣
⁣
Crime of Fashion - Emma Rosenblum:⁣
This was I think my favorite. Obviously our girl Brittany Pressley was the reader. The ending was so satisfying and I love a rich person mystery/drama. ⁣
⁣
The Nosy Neighbor - Nita Prose:⁣
Don’t come for me. I was bored. I skipped about halfway through.⁣
⁣
One Lucky Subscriber - Kellye Garrett⁣
Mr. Beast/Squid Games mashup but like Tiffany is playing in the mall like it’s 1987 and not 2024. I really liked the aspects of social media and its influence these days. Really cool concept and such a good one. ⁣
⁣
A Classic Case - Alicia Thompson:⁣
Wait, this was actually adorable. A cute little dilly, classic movie/Blockbuster vibes, and checking in on the older person you see weekly. So cute.⁣
⁣
This was so fun to go through as I do love a nosy neighbor/busybody story. They are typically cozy and full of snark and these short stories did not disappoint!⁣
⁣
QOTD: What are you doing this weekend?

This is a collection of stories from some top authors in the mystery world. The tagline is “there’s mystery around every corner”! The first three in this collection really held my intention and were super interesting and full of mystery!! The last three though? They weren’t really it for me. As a whole collection, I enjoyed it and would rate this whole collection four stars. I liked them all together and it was a nice switch of pace for me as a big romcom reader!

This was a fun short story collection! I loved Alicia Thompson and Nita Prose’s stories. They were super fun and I would have read longer versions of them. Aside from those two being the standouts of the collection, the other stories still kept my attention. I wouldn’t necessarily buy them individually but they worked as part of the collection. I had no issue with the audio narration of any of them though!

These fun short mysteries are written by some of my favorite authors and they did not disappoint. I enjoyed each one and I loved listening to the audiobook compilation. Entertaining and quirky they're an interesting way to spend a little time escaping into the classic whodunnit.

The “Busybodies Collection” is a series of short stories written by Elle Cosimano, Jesse Q. Sutanto, Emma Rosenblum, Nita Prose, Kellye Garrett, and Alicia Thompson. These six hilarious Amazon Original short stories about amateur sleuths are coming to Prime, Kindle Unlimited, and Audible on October 15, 2024.

There’s just nothing better than a cozy mystery—unless there are six of them! Of the six featured authors in this collection, I have read and loved four of them, so I was excited to get to sample the writings of two new-to-me authors. Ranging in length from 24 to 45 pages, these stories are still able to pack a punch. Each author delivered a clever mystery with enjoyable plots and surprising twists. I loved that each story was completely different from the next, but they still felt like a cohesive collection. These cozy mysteries were so fun and the perfect fall reads. The audiobooks were fantastic, and each one was read by a powerhouse narrator. The narrators’ tones and pacing built suspense and captured the humor of the authors.

Thank you to NetGalley, Amazon Original Stories, and Brilliance Publishing for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
𝐑𝐞𝐜𝗼𝗺𝗺𝐞𝐧𝐝: Yes, all of the audio narration was well done. The stories were quick to get through.

𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐃 (#1)
𝐛𝐲 𝐄𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝗼𝐬𝐢𝗺𝐚𝐧𝗼
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Short little real estate mystery. It’s giving milder Finlay and Vero lol.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐑 (#2)
𝐛𝐲 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞 𝐐. 𝐒𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝗼
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Just ok, wasn’t really all that invested. I prefer her full length novels.

𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐅𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐎𝐍 (#3)
𝐛𝐲 𝐄𝗺𝗺𝐚 𝐑𝗼𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐛𝐥𝐮𝗺
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fashion mystery with a hint of nepotism.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐘 𝐍𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐁𝐎𝐑 (#4)
𝐛𝐲 𝐍𝐢𝐭𝐚 𝐏𝐫𝗼𝐬𝐞
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
This is classic busy body behavior. Always watching out the window, always speculating. Fits perfectly in this series. It was narrated by Sherri Slater but I swear I thought it was Sally Field at times.

𝐎𝐍 𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐊𝐘 𝐒𝐔𝐁𝐒𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐁𝐄𝐑 (#5)
𝐛𝐲 𝐊𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐲𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
An influencer mystery with some creepy vibes mixed in.

𝐀 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐂 𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐄 (#6)
𝐛𝐲 𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚 𝐓𝐡𝗼𝗺𝐩𝐬𝗼𝐧
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Love the “play” on words in the title (see what I did there!?🤣😂). This one is a good mystery that I liked right away and rings true to the busy body vibe in this series with a splash of romance.

This is a cute little collection of short mysteries from some of my favorite mystery/thriller authors, including Elle Cosimano, Jesse Q. Sutanto, and Nita Prose, among others. Some favorite narrators voice the audiobooks, such as Eunice Wong, Brittany Presley, and Helen Laser. These light, funny, and quick little mysteries clock in around an hour, give or take, on audio, making each one an easy listen on your commute or in a single sitting.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Amazon Original Stories, and Brilliance Publishing for providing me advance copies of these short story audiobooks.

This was such a fun group of short mysteries! I am not usually a big short story person but when I saw the authors listed here, I knew I had to read it. All the stories were well written and kept me invested throughout. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the audiobook as it brought the stories to life. Definitely a good one if you need a short story between novels.

Busybodies is a collection six short mysteries. Each story is fun and quirky, with a dash of humor. I'm normally not big on short stories but these were quite entertaining. Staged by Elle Cosimano and Crime of Fashion by Emma Rosenblum were my faves. I found One Lucky Subscriber by Kellye Garrett and A Classic Case by Alicia Thompson a little harder to get through. Overall, this is a cute collection of cozy mysteries you can breeze through 1-2 days.

3.5 rounded up to 4.