I have a bone to pick with cozy mysteries. They always promise "lighthearted murder" like that's a thing that exists. Someone dies, but don't worry, there's a cute cat and some quirky townspeople! It's a whole genre built on cognitive dissonance and I am HERE for it, apparently, because I keep listening to them on my drive home from night shift when my brain is too fried for anything heavier.
So here's Mack Dalton, running a bar in Milwaukee and solving murders with her "extra perceptive senses." As someone who's actually worked codes and seen what real trauma looks like, the medical/sensory stuff in these books usually makes me want to throw my phone out the car window. But Abbott—who's actually an ER nurse writing under a pseudonym, which I discovered and immediately felt a kinship with—keeps it vague enough that I couldn't find anything to yell at my dashboard about. Smart move.
The Barstool Detective Thing Actually Works
Here's what I didn't expect: I genuinely enjoyed the bar setting. Maybe because after 15 years of night shifts, I understand the weird community that forms when people gather in the same place at odd hours. The "barstool detectives" helping Mack investigate Tiny's sister's cold case murder? That tracks. I've seen stranger support systems form in hospital waiting rooms at 3 AM.
The mystery itself is... fine. Cozy mystery fine, which means you'll probably figure out the killer before Mack does, but that's not really the point, is it? The point is the journey, the character interactions, the whole "Moriarty testing her skills" subplot that adds some actual tension. (Though calling any villain "a real-life Moriarty" is a choice. A bold one.)
What dragged for me were the descriptions. Abbott has a tendency to over-explain things, and at nearly 9 hours, there were definitely moments where I zoned out during my commute and had to rewind. Not because I missed something crucial—just because my brain decided the detailed description of bar inventory wasn't essential information. Carlos asked why I kept rewinding the same section. I blamed traffic.
Nicole Poole Makes This Thing Sing
Okay, so here's where I get enthusiastic. Nicole Poole's narration is the reason this audiobook works as well as it does. I've listened to a lot of female narrators attempt male voices and it ranges from "pretty good" to "why does every man sound like he's gargling gravel?" Poole lands solidly in the "I forgot she was doing a voice" category. Highest compliment I can give.
Her pacing is excellent—she knows when to speed up during tense moments and when to let the quieter scenes breathe. The Wisconsin accents are handled well enough that I wasn't cringing (and I have opinions about bad Midwest accents, trust me). She's Audie Award-nominated for a reason.
The warmth in her delivery really suits the cozy mystery vibe. When Mack is bantering with her bar regulars, it feels natural. When things get darker with the murder investigation, Poole adjusts without making it feel like a completely different audiobook. That's harder than it sounds.
Who's Going to Love This (And Who Should Skip)
This is not the audiobook for you if you want a tightly-plotted thriller that keeps you guessing until the last chapter. The connections between clues are sometimes predictable, and like I said, it runs a bit long. Skip it if you need constant tension.
But if you're looking for something engaging enough to keep you awake on your commute home but not so intense that you're still thinking about it when you're trying to sleep? This hits that sweet spot. Comfort food mystery. The audiobook equivalent of a warm blanket and a glass of wine after a rough shift. From Dead to Worse gave me that same cozy-but-still-engaging vibe when I needed something light.
I listened to this over about a week of commutes, and honestly? It was exactly what I needed. Light enough to decompress with, interesting enough that I looked forward to getting in my car. The bar setting felt lived-in, the characters were likeable without being saccharine, and Nicole Poole made the whole thing feel like a friend telling you a story.
My mom would probably love this, actually. She's always asking me for book recommendations that aren't "too dark" (her words after I suggested a medical thriller that I thought was tame). This one I could actually recommend without her calling me later to say she had nightmares.
Clocking Out
Night shift approved. Just maybe bump it up to 1.25x speed during the slower descriptive passages.
