On Borrowed Crime
Lyla Moody loves her sleepy little town of Sweet Mountain, Georgia. She likes her job as a receptionist for her uncle’s private investigator firm. Her fellow true crime-obsessed Jane Doe members are the friends she’s always wanted. 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 book 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 not to allow Carol to become one of the book 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.
Series: A Jane Doe Book Club Mystery – Book #1
Author: Kate Young
Genre: Cozy Mystery/Book Club
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Page Count: 311
Rating: 
On Borrowed Crime is an excellent start to a new book club-based cozy mystery series. As a want-to-be private investigator, Lyla has a lot to learn and plenty of room for growth. As with any new series, characters are not fully developed; they all have budding talents and traits that will make for entertaining reading. Lyla’s best friend, Melanie, is a wonderful sidekick and keeps Lyla hopping. Both characters are easy to like. However, I feel that Lyla should have a bit more spine where her parents are concerned. She is far too easygoing and doesn’t speak her mind as often as she should. Being from the south is no reason to allow your family or friends to determine your future or define you as a person. I felt Lyla allowed her parents, namely her mother and former love interest, to make her sound as if she is incompetent and unable to make her own decisions.
The setting of this story, Sweet Mountain, Georgia, may be fictional, but the town’s descriptions and its residents sound alive. Readers will be able to imagine themselves visiting this old southern town and sipping tea while watching the locals go about their lives. Lyla’s book club is intriguing and having her work for her uncle, a private detective, while wanting to be deeply involved in solving crimes, namely murder, will be interesting to watch unfold.
The murder and mystery are original. The suspects, although far and few between, are feasible enough to warrant the reader’s attention. The twists and turns are creative and add a bit more interest to the overall plot. Even though I knew who the killer was fairly quickly in the book, it was enthralling to read through to the end to find out the motive and the outcome. I hope that Lyla’s book club will play an integral part in the next book and that her dream of being a real private investigator will come true. I think readers will enjoy On Borrowed Crime; they will see the potential in the character’s relationships with one another, any new additions, and the mischief they can get into in future installments.
Great book club or private investigator cozy series readers will enjoy include Amy Lillard’s amazing “Main Street Book Club Mysteries” or Carolyn Haines’ long-running “A Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery.”
About the Author:
Kate Young writes southern mystery novels. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and the Guppy Chapter. Kate lives in a small town in Georgia with her husband, three kids, and Shih Tzu. When she is not writing her own books, she’s reading or cooking.
Represented by Blue Ridge Literary Agency.
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