Welcome friend! I chatted with Jenny Elder Moke some months back about her part romcom, part mystery novel, She Doesn’t Have a Clue. It saw it’s official release yesterday and is now available in stores! Here is what the book is about, followed by my thoughts:
Jenny Elder Moke | Goodreads
A high-end wedding on a private island off the coast of Seattle sounds like something out of a magazine. But for bestselling mystery author Kate Valentine, it’s more like a nightmare.
Why Kate agreed to attend her ex-fiancé’s wedding is its own enigma, but she’ll plaster on a fake smile for two nights, with the aid of free champagne, naturally. And because the groom happens to be her editor, she’ll try to finish a draft of her latest Loretta Starling mystery as a wedding gift. But when the bride is poisoned and Kate stumbles across a dead body, she finds herself in a real-life mystery that eerily echoes the plot of her latest novel. And the only person who seems willing to help Kate catch the killer is Jake Hawkins, aka: the Hostralian; aka: Kate’s biggest romantic regret.
As the wine flows and the weather threatens to hold every guest hostage, bitter resentments and long-held grudges surface amongst the colorful crowd. Anyone could be capable of murder, it seems. What would Loretta do? Unfortunately, Kate doesn’t have a clue.
She Doesn’t Have a Clue – Book Review
Set over the course of a wedding weekend on a private island, She Doesn’t Have a Clue was an immersive read that made me laugh. The main character, Kate, is a writer whose third book in a mystery series is overdue to be submitted to the publisher. Her ex-fiance is the one getting married on this auspicious weekend and though she is surprised that she even got an invite, Kate is not looking forward to questions about her book as he is also her publisher. Definitely some tension there due to a mix of work and personal relationships.
Though the wedding is the setting of the book, She Doesn’t Have a Clue has a lot happening. There are family inheritance feuds, authors protesting about their contracts, incidents of poisoning and theft, and I should not forget to mention – murder. Add to this mix, Kate’s ex-friend, Jake, who she still has the hots for, is one of the guests (and her roommate!) and she needs to balance their rekindling romance while putting on her investigator sweater.
This book was a fun ride. Kate is the point of view of the story through a third person narration and being privy to her thoughts and feelings added depth to her character. I liked how she would slip into the character of Loretta and write short drafts of the next book if something in reality piqued her interest. Kate’s past has a lot to do with her escapism into her fiction and the book goes into her insecurities and incidents that have made her so. She often feels guilty for neglecting fellow authors and not having a more solid friend circle and some people take advantage of that.
I enjoyed reading about Jake through Kate. He is handsome and caring. He sees through her. The incident that led to their fallout isn’t something that they have discussed before but since circumstances have them together, unresolved issues can no longer be avoided. I liked how they started to function so quickly as a team. Their banter and chemistry felt genuine.
She Doesn’t Have a Clue is part romcom and part mystery. The setting of a private island with an ancient house that has been in the family for decades creates opportunities for hidden passageways and old mechanics like pulley systems. A family that is old is bound to have some enemies and it is interesting that people who openly hold grudges against family members attending the wedding. There are a lot of rumours circulating around and Kate finds herself, first accused of attempted murder, and then investigating a few too many suspects and their motives who could have done it instead. Since it is Kate’s ex-fiance’s wedding and she is a mystery writer, people seem to believe she can pull this off. I enjoyed the humor and situations in this story!
Would you like to give it a read? Add it to your Goodreads shelf and be sure to check out the interview with Jenny.
Many thanks to the publisher for a review copy of this book for an honest review and for connecting me with the author.
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