Attending a class reunion should be fun, not for Poppy when she becomes a prime suspect in her classmate’s murder. What the author did was present an enjoyable whodunit that immediately pulled me in with the internal dialogue of our heroine who just tickled me to death with her witty repartee. I love the tone and the writing style that set the pace of how well this story was being told from the first meeting of Poppy to Aunt Ginny to Sawyer and to the other residents of Cape May, and not to leave out Figaro. I liked how the author used the backdrop of a class reunion to stage a murder mystery were everyone was a suspect, and it was fun watching Poppy narrow the field down until there was only one person standing. . .the killer. The mystery was nicely done keeping me intrigued in all aspects of the fast-paced drama. From the beginning to the end, this book kept me immersed in all that was happening and entertained with comedic antics as the women set about gathering clues from a variety of outings that resulted in humorous play-by-play action. Boasting an eclectic cast of characters that includes a feisty and spirited aunt, with engaging banter, this was a fun read and I can’t wait for the next adventures with Poppy and Aunt Ginny (who I love) in this delightfully charming debut series which is a welcome addition to the cozy genre.

When I saw that Class Reunions are Murder is set in Cape May, New Jersey, I jumped at the chance to read and review. I've visited Cape May a couple of times while spending time in the Garden State visiting friends (shout out to Craig and Charlene!) and it's a charming, delightful spot. I always have high hopes for books set in familiar and well-liked locales - I was not disappointed. 

Class Reunions are Murder is a perfect mix of chick lit and cozy mystery. Lured back to Cape May for her class reunion, Poppy McAllister finds her childhood home in disrepair and her eccentric aunt in danger of being forced into a senior living community. Before she can fully figure out what's going on with her aunt, Poppy is at her class reunion, pulling her best friend out of a fight with the class mean girl, and wondering if she has time to drag the mean girl's body away from in front of her old locker before calling for help. Who would have thought that a jailhouse pep talk would be the catalyst for so much change in Poppy's life?

I so enjoyed this story. Libby Klein writes the character of Poppy with wonderfully warm, funny, and charming characteristics. I can't decide if I wish I were best friends with the author or the character! (Let's just be greedy and say both Libby and Poppy are my new BFFs.) The mystery is straightforward, yet complex; there are a plethora of suspicious characters who may have reached a breaking point with the meanest girl in school. And, even better, alongside the potential killers are Poppy's friends, a handsome barista, a still-enamored high school sweetheart, a kooky cat, and the best series debut I've read in quite some time.

This was a super fun start to a new series. Poppy is great as a main character. She has her flaws, but she also knows what is important to her. The mystery was well written with a great ending.

This was a very nice start to a series! Poppy has spent the past few months since her husband died eating her days away while watching infomercials. When she gets an invitation to her 25th class reunion she has no intentions of going, but is eventually talked into going with her best friend. Of course, how many of us want to relive the high school days?! Sure, some of it was fun, but if you weren't in one group, you were in another. Well, that is how it was with Poppy and her friends. They weren't the "cool, popular" kids, but when the queen of mean "Miss Popularity" herself turns up dead in front of Poppy's old locker the finger gets pointed at her for the deed.

On top of all of that, her old Aunt Ginny is about to lose her house and be committed to a nursing home, but things aren't adding up. Seems like Poppy will have to get her rear end up off the couch and figure things out before she ends up behind bars.

I was given an eARC by the publisher through NetGalley.

Poppy spends her days and nights on the couch, eating junk food and watching junk TV, mourning her late husband. She doesn't want to go to her class reunion. But, her friend finally talks her into it, so she jumps in her car with her cat Figaro and heads to the Jersey shore. She finds her Aunt Ginny in trouble with Social Services--they're trying to put her in a nursing home, claiming she's lost her mind and is not caring for her house. And, to top it off, there's a murder at the reunion. This sets up a great story that is one of those you won't want to put down. Aunt Ginny is a hoot (my role model for getting old!) and her neighbors are even funnier. Poppy's struggles with her eating and her grief are so realistic--I am in a similar spot. Poppy actually provided inspiration for me to do something to get healthy! And the recurrence of all the high school angst is also very real! I remember it well. If you like mysteries with a little romance and some good laughs, this is a great book to pick up! I'm anxiously awaiting the next one!

This wasn't my favorite story. I tried reading it a few times but never seemed up to the characters or the plot.

A wonderful start for a new cozy series! I started the book and was hooked til the end.
The focus is the heroine so human and so down to the earth. Her problems are the same a lot of women face everyday and it is not hard to recognize in her some of our traits.
The cast of character is really good and all are lovable, the cat is fantastic and the aunt is really interesting and funny.
Cannot wait to read the next instalment.
Many thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley

Class Reunions Are Murder by Libby Klein is the first book in the new cozy Poppy McAllister Mystery series. From the opening pages of this book I knew I was going to be in for a really good read when I was already laughing before the story had really even begun.

Poppy is single again after the death of her husband and just learning how to be on her own again while dealing with a meddlesome mother in law when she gets an invite to her class reunion. Now Poppy does not have the fondest memories of high school with her own version of the mean cheerleaders at the forefront of her mind she is determined not to go but breaks down when her best friend begs her to come along.

As torturous as the reunion sounds Poppy knows she really should return to Cape May to see her aunt who she hasn’t done the best of keeping in touch with over the years. After arriving Poppy finds Aunt Ginny has been having a bit of trouble with social services due to her eccentric ways and then to top it all off Poppy finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation after the dreaded reunion.

I don’t even know if I can truly express just how great this little cozy gem was, I just loved the entire book. All of those little elements that get me totally engaged in a cozy were in this one, a funny and engaging main character, a spunky elderly aunt, a crazy kitty for a companion and wrap all that up with a compelling mystery to solve between the laughs.

Poppy did not take but a few page turns to completely gain my attention and interest as a lead character. Here we have an “older” main character telling this story who is also on the plus size with a junk food addiction to ease her troubles and one heck of a character for a pet cat, I could totally relate to her almost instantly. The only thing I think might be a turn off for some is Poppy fat-shaming herself but I hate to say it but I’ve been there so her sarcastic nature hooked me right in.

This was also a book that I felt I got to know a lot of the other characters in the story rather easily and give the author two thumbs up for her character development. Often only a main character and possibly one or two others become as distinct but she did a wonderful job pulling me into this world and getting to know everyone. When all was said and done I was a huge fan and really look forward to many more books in this series.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Fun! This was a great first book in what will hopefully be a series for Poppy. Poppy has had a very bad time and why on earth she agrees to go to a class reunion is beyond me but it makes for great reading. Barbie is the mean girl many of us had to deal with - and somehow they never change. Unfortunately, she ends up dead and, of course, Poppy is one of the suspects. You know how cozies work so you know she's going to investigate. The mystery isn't too complicated. What makes this special is Poppy. She's a mature woman with a mature woman's issues. She's got a weight issue, she's a widow, she's got a cat but thank heavens she also has her aunt Ginny. We should all be so lucky. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I really liked this one.

Class Reunions are Murder is the debut in the A Poppy McAllister Mystery series. Poppy McAllister is a recent widow who has put on a few pounds, holed up in her home with her Persian cat Figaro and is doing her best to avoid her mother in law Georgina.

When the invitation to her 25th high school reunion arrives in the mail the last thing Poppy wants to do is return home to Cape May, NJ and face off with her arch nemesis and high school bully Barbie Pomeroy Clark not to mention ex-fiance Tim. Best friend Sawyer Montgomery isn't going to let her off the hook though, and Poppy figures that taking a road trip with Fig would be better than helping Georgina with her endless charity work.

Arriving back in her hometown, Poppy is greeted at the door of her family home by her Aunt Ginny Frankowski. A little taken aback that the house has fallen into disrepair and her aunt seems a little frazzled, she's even more surprised when a woman from the Department of Youth and Family Services shows up to say that they want to take her aunt's house away because she's been exhibiting signs of instability.

The reunion is going about how she expected, Barbie and her flock of mean girls immediately seek out Poppy and her friends to pick a fight. A scuffle ensues, drinks are flowing and the gossip is all too reminiscent of high school. Stepping out for some fresh air Poppy is shocked to find a dead body stuffed up against her old locker.

With the police putting Poppy at the top of the their suspect list she decides it's time to get a grip and start sticking up for herself and for her Aunt Ginny.

A fun debut with a cast of characters that will have you smiling and laughing out loud, a delightful and mischievous cat and a heroine that will have you rooting for her from page one. I'll be looking forward to more adventures with Poppy, Ginny and Fig.

I received an advanced copy of Class Reunions are Murder from NetGalley via Kensington Publishing. While not required to write a review I am more than happy to offer my honest opinion.

Class Reunions are Murder: A Poppy McAllister Mystery
By Libby Klein
Kensington
January 30, 2018

Review by Cynthia Chow

Six months after the death of her husband, Poppy McAllister Browne is still consoling herself with late night infomercial shopping, Pop-Tarts, and cookie dough. Feeling like she was fat, frumpy, and a failure, attending her twenty-fifth high school is about the last thing Poppy would ever want to do. She escaped her South Jersey hometown with the goal of never returning, and only her best friend Sawyer Montgomery’s plea for support could lure Poppy back. The Mean Girls of the 80s are still just as vicious, and while a confrontation at the reunion leaves Poppy momentarily victorious, it also has the result in her getting arrested when Barbie Pomeroy Clark is found dead.

Although nearly everyone seemed to still hate Barbie, her Legally Blond friend Amber Fenton is now a police officer intent on seeing Poppy convicted. With her own group of loyal friends by her side – and spurred on by an unlikely group of incarcerated hookers - Poppy will have to face down her fears and defeat the insecurities that have plagued her most of her life. Leading the charge as inspiration is her great-aunt Ginny Grankowski, who lived through five husbands but is being challenged by a Social Worker threatening to take away Aunt Ginny’s home.

Anyone who has ever had a high school reunion, or simply returned to their childhood home, will relate to suddenly regressing back to that horrific state of being insecure and immature. Instead of being a rather dour novel of a depressed woman struggling to find happiness, even at her lowest Poppy never loses the acerbic quick wit that makes her so entertaining. Sure, she might prefer the Rapture to an evening with her mother-in-law, but Poppy also has the memories of the husband whom she grew to truly love. Much of the novel is an absolutely delightful exploration of Poppy’s growth, from the woman who sacrificed so much after one drunken mistake, to one who finally decided to stand up for herself. Part of that is also learning to take care of herself, leading to the adoption of a healthy, Paleo diet. Health - not thinness - is the priority, and as Poppy grows stronger she also becomes more confident. It perhaps explains why two unexpectedly attractive opportunities arrive in Poppy’s life, as before she may not have been ready to allow this into her life. This debut novel is inspiring, outstandingly funny, and moves along at such a fast pace that the charming ending arrives far too soon. It will be a delight to see how the author and Poppy manage to outdo themselves now that the bar is set so high.

This was a fun start to a series about a character who has real life situations and reactions in her life. Poppy is a young widow who has issues with relatives, leftover low self esteem from high school, an old boyfriend and a new man in her life, and most significantly finding a murder victim and being a suspect. The dialog is snappy, the characters are all well drawn and the mystery is expertly executed. I look forward to more!

This book is just pure fun.

Poppy McAllister is dreading the high school reunion her best friend talked her into attending. Since the death of her husband, Poppy's life has been unraveling one cookie at a time. Her clothes no longer fit, her mother in law is breathing down her neck, and her only companion is Figaro the cat. Her dreams of becoming a pastry chef and a mother seem long gone. She doesn't need to sit in a gymnasium full of old bullies to realize her life isn't going as planned.

Poppy returns to her hometown of Cape May, New Jersey and the change in scenery isn't much of an improvement. Her Aunt Ginny is being harassed by an adult services worker who is determined to force her into a nursing home. Her ex-fiance and first love is catering the reunion. Oh, and her old arch nemesis turns up dead... right in front of Poppy's old locker. She becomes the main suspect in the murder as has to prove her innocence, all while embarking on a new gluten-free diet.

What sold me on this book was author Libby Klein's bio, and I knew I had a winner based on the dedication page alone: "And to all those who bullied me in high school, I win." This book brought me back to the good old days from the Stephanie Plum series. Smart, sarcastic heroine with a junk food addiction who lives with a crazy grandma figure, has two men inexplicably in love with her and gets life inspiration from street-wise prostitutes? Yep, all fits. But, Poppy McAllister is wiser, older, and more real. She's the character you'd want as a friend. This is still a cozy mystery, so there's the usual elements of ridiculousness, plot holes, and cartoonish police forces, but it's nice that the investigating officer is her adversary instead of her love interest (because, frankly, the two the author gave her is bad enough). It's not a perfect book, but it's close to perfect for its genre. I highly recommend.

All said, this was a fun read. At first, the author brought up all the dread each of us feels when we get that Class Reunion notification. All the insecurities and fears of being judged and compared and feeling "less than" rising up. We learn about Poppy's "mistake" that sent her life down a totally different path. When her close high school friends convince her to attend, despite being older and heavier and less acomplished than Poppy would prefer, she thinks she is only going for a weekend, and admits it will be good to see her Aunt Ginny, a woman who helped raise her. When someone does not leave the reunion alive and Poppy is ordered not to leave town, it is time for everyone's secrets to be uncovered.
A zany mixture of past meets present, a look at how age and eccentricity can appear to outsiders, and how difficult it can be to go home again, yet how it can also be rewarding .
A fun group of crazy 80s ladies who are not ready to settle down to a staid and boring future.
I look forward to seeing where this series takes us.

Class Reunions Are Murder by Libby Klein was an entertaining introduction into this new cozy series.

Poppy McAllister is an older heroine with several issues going on in her life. She has been depressed due to her husband's death and her treatment by her bully mother-in-law. Aunt Ginny is a fabulous supporting character and I loved getting to know her. Poppy's best friend, Sawyer, is also a likable character that I enjoyed getting to know. I found the retrospective of high school episodes of bullying by the "mean girls" was turned on it's head at the end of the book. The mystery itself was complex as there were so many suspects who had motives. I cheered for Poppy as she began to take her life back and find the real killer. The plot was smoothly paced, there were plenty of twists, interesting information about making healthy choices for a better life and the reveal was intense.

This is the first book by Libby Klein, and I hope it's the first of many. I absolutely loved everything about it. The main character Poppy was very relatable. The story was witty, funny, and well thought out, with a cast of supporting characters that felt like were my friends too. I would definitly recommend this book!

Ok - I will admit that I didn't particularly like the beginning of this book. It's often hard starting a new series as you find your way amongst the new characters. In this case, Poppy's situation was a little depressing, and that's not why I read cozy mysteries. Toward the middle, however, I found myself chuckling so often I MIGHT have snorted, and at the end I was wondering how much longer till the next book comes out!

Poppy McAllister is moping at home six months after the death of her first husband when she gets an invitation to her high school reunion. Nope. Nuh-uh. Not gonna do it. Until her friends make her come. She loads up her cat, Figaro, and heads home to stay with her...let's say "eclectic" aunt. She figures if she can just get through the next few hours she will go back home to her tub of Ben and Jerry's. Except suddenly there is a murder, the cops have their eye set on Poppy, and Poppy's aunt is in danger of losing her freedom and house because of a different set of circumstances. No amount of cookie dough is going to solve this. Poppy must use what little time she before being arrested to find the murderer, save her family home...and keep Figaro from eating all of the bacon in the county.

Hear me know- stick with this one in the beginning. It's worth the ride.

What a hoot! I hated high school and would never go to my class reunions. This book is a good example of why I feel this way. No, I wasn't bullied. No, I was not a bully. I guessed early on as to whom the murder victim would be. I definitely did not guess the culprit. I am eager to read the next one in this new delightful series.

I  recieved a free digital copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

This has to be the best book from a new author that I've picked up in ages! There's heart and humor in equal dose.
I love Figaro and his personality. I couldn't get enough of him! 😂

Aunt Ginny is a hoot and I hope I'm like her when I grow up! I enjoyed the friendships Poppy shared with her highschool group. I would LOVE to visit Sawyers bookstore "Through The Looking Glass." (Completely Alice in Wonderland themed!) I can't wait to see more of Gia in the next book, and I really hope things work out for them.

Ugh. High school bullies. We all had them. Now we get to watch as Poppy's #1 bully gets what's coming to her!
I highlighted so much in this book! I had to choose just two of my faves:
"But mostly I'm trying to accept myself the way I am. We all look different and won't fit in a cookie-cutter ideal of beauty and i need to stop trying and make peace with my thighs."

"My alarm clock let out a loud meow, letting me know I overslept and his belly was a quart low."

I am eagerly anticipating book two!!!

Class Reunions Are Murder
A Poppy McAllister Mystery, Book #1
Libby Klein
5+ Stars

Synopsis:

For fortysomething Poppy McAllister, taking a stroll down memory lane in Cape May, New Jersey, isn’t just awkward—it’s deadly.

Newly widowed and stuck in a middle-aged funk, Poppy has been running on cookies, infomercials, and one-sided chats with her cat for months. There’s no way on earth she’s attending her twenty-five-year class reunion—especially after receiving a very bizarre letter from Barbie, the popular cheerleader who taunted her all through high school. At least, not until Poppy’s best friend practically drags her to the event . . .

Using the dreaded homecoming as an excuse to visit her eccentric Aunt Ginny, Poppy vows to leave Cape May with pride and Spanx intact. Too bad Barbie is still the queen of mean at the reunion. And worse, that her dead body is lying right in front of Poppy’s old locker. Singled out as the killer, it’s up to Poppy to confront her past and clear her name. But between protecting her aunt from disaster and tackling a gluten-free diet, can Poppy crack the case before she’s voted “Most Likely to Die” by the murderer?

Includes Seven Recipes from Poppy’s Kitchen! (Goodreads)

Review:

To me this was the perfect cozy mystery. I liked the characters, I liked the humor , I liked the setting and I liked the mystery. There was nothing about this book that I did not like and nothing I would change.

The characters are well rounded and well developed. I really enjoyed the fact that Poppy is an middle-aged woman and not thirty-something like most of the cozies that I read. I also really enjoyed the fact that Poppy was not a physically fit thin woman. She is overweight and struggles with many of the same issues that a lot of us have. To me that made her seem much more real. I enjoyed getting to know Poppy’s friends and I liked the fact that they stuck together and had each other backs. And who would not love Aunt Ginny, with her quirkiness and eccentricities. And Figaro, the cat, is one of my favorite felines ever.

I thought this book was so funny and I enjoyed Poppy’s sarcastic self monologues. One of these was when Poppy thought to herself, “I would love to have two children. Instead I have two chins and a cat”. There was so much of this type of humor throughout the book and I was laughing out loud through much of the book.

The writing style flows smoothly and the book is an easy read. I think the author addressed some more serious issues in this book. High school and the need to fit in, the popular people being mean to the less popular and self image issues were some of the things that she write about. I thought that made this book even more special.

The mystery was well plotted and there were enough suspects to consider and clues to sift through. I eventually figured out the killer before it was revealed but I did make some wrong guesses first.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well written cozy that was a little different than the normal cozy. It was different in a very good way. I cannot wait to read the next book in this series. I think this author was a real winner on her hands.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. I would like to thank NetGalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read and review this fantastic book.