Synopsis:

Forty-two-year-old Mia Thorne is not living her best life. After a disastrous career-and-relationship-ending event, she escapes New York City and moves to a sleepy river town in Pennsylvania, courtesy of a dead aunt she never knew. Aunt Hazel was the reclusive family nut, a self-proclaimed psychic. Of course, Mia’s dad always told her that she, too, had the gift, but after his death, her mother made sure to squelch the notion. No square pegs allowed!

Aunt Hazel’s old cottage is only slightly better than the decrepit gardens surrounding it. Mia doesn’t know the first thing about gardening and expects this will be one more failure on her seemingly endless list. Even Aunt Hazel’s ancient cat seems to have pegged her as a loser.

When Mia stumbles over a body in the overgrown garden, the newcomer catches the eye of the police chief and his hotshot detective, Derek Fairfax, and she becomes the number one suspect in the case. Much to her shock and awe, she also catches the eye of Derek’s brother, Dane, a lawyer with a head for what’s legal and a bod for what isn’t—but getting arrested for murder would certainly put a damper on her dating life.

Will Mia tap into her long-buried psychic skills in order to save herself or will she end up digging her own grave?

Petal to the Metal is the first book in The Bloomin’ Psychic series.

---

---

I’m going to jump into this review somewhere in the middle to preach the message of how much I loved Mia as a main character.

It’s a rare treat to have a female 40-something as a main character, especially one who isn’t a wife and mother. Mia is genuinely hilarious and wields the combination of confidence and insecurity women grow into. She’s still being treated like a teenager by her mother and doesn’t have her life together in the way society expects an adult her age to have, but she’s good at her job and incredibly likable.

After a bum clenchingly awkward opening scene to the book, we really get a feel for Mia as a person and honestly, I think I want to be her when I grow up.
She finds herself in need of a new place to live and conveniently, great Aunt Hazel has snuffed it and left her house and cantankerous old cat to her.
It’s a big step from NYC  to a small town but it’s gorgeous to read, she’s starting to find her people in the local community and find out where she belongs – hammering home the message that it’s never too late to find your place.
I adored the new friends she makes in the community, they accept her as she is and love her for it.

The plot itself is a cosy mystery – Mia and her new friends are investigating the murder of great Aunt Hazel’s best friend, while large hints about the supernatural nature of the town are dropped.

This is by far my favourite audiobook narrated by Meghan Kelly so far, she’s the perfect match for Mia and gave this brilliant character the extra sparkle she deserves.

I am so excited to read more in this series, I just know it’s going to be one of my favourites and a re-read.