On Borrowed Crime
(A Jane Doe Book Club Mystery #1)
by Kate Young
Kindle Edition
Expected publication: October 6th 2020 by Crooked Lane Books
Goodreads synopsis:
A shoe-in read for fans of Ellery Adams and Kate Carlisle, On Borrowed Crime is the first in Kate Young's new Georgia-set, sweet tea filled, Jane Doe Book Club mysteries.
The Jane Doe book club enjoys guessing whodunit, but when murder happens in their midst, they discover solving crimes isn't fun and games...
Lyla Moody loves her sleepy little town of Sweet Mountain, Georgia. She likes her job as receptionist for her uncle's private investigative firm, her fellow true crime obsessed Jane Doe members are the friends she's always wanted, and her parents just celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary. But recently, with her best friend Melanie on vacation, and her ex-boyfriend and horrible cousin becoming an item and moving in next door to her, her idyllic life is on the fritz. The cherry on top of it all is finding Carol, a member of the club, dead and shoved into a suitcase, left at Lyla's front door.
Unusual circumstances notwithstanding, with Carol's heart condition, the coroner rules Carol's death undetermined. But when they discover the suitcase belongs to Melanie, who had returned from her vacation the following morning, Sweet Mountain police begin to suspect Lyla's best friend. Determined that police are following the wrong trail, to clear her friend's name, and to not allow Carol to become one of the club's studied cold cases, Lyla begins to seek out the real killer. That is, until she becomes the one sought after. Now, finding the truth could turn her into the killer's next plot twist, unless she wins the game of cat and mouse.
***
4.5 stars
This is the first book in the A Jane Doe Book Club mystery series by Kate Young.
Boy, this gal sure gets no respect in this book. Her mother is all about her own selfish need too look good and her father is a therapist who pays very little attention to his daughter’s needs. I got the whole dysfunctional vibe before the book even started.
Lyla is coming back from a trip with her boss, her uncle. They work in a PI type business. She is more of a receptionist than anything but most of the people all over storyland think she is the PI of the firm even though that is her uncle’s job. In her free time she is part of a book club where they rotate between popular new mystery books and some mystery classics. And Then There Were Noneby Agatha Christie is of particular importance in this story. It is their current book pick as well as the murders way to send his victims warnings through sing-song messages.
I thought this was a well crafted mystery that succeeded on so many levels. I loved the character of Lyla and even her weird parents. But the best part of this was how all the different levels of the story worked together. The character base was excellent, the mystery spot on and the villain hard to figure out. I guess in the end I should have seen it coming considering all the clues offered but I was more focused on how it was effecting Lyla and her life. I would waffle between the though of “he dun it!” and “no, it was this other person” from moment to moment.
I am definitely looking forward to seeing more in this series. I did enjoy another work by this author called Southern Sass and a Crispy Corpse. That also was a great read.
If you like cozy mysteries, definitely check this one out. You won’t be disappointed.
I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.
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