Though at times the writing was a touch overwrought, I thoroughly enjoyed this romp into MC Jude's brief life change from bar owner to amateur detective masquerading as a Food Co-op "intern" in the Bronx in order to help out actual Co-op employee Sully, her friend and landlord. This mystery will likely appeal to cozy fans and while I'm not, I felt a thrill as Jude perhaps stupidly put her neck on the line for Sully, a commandeering former Marine, while she continues to run her own business day to day and ward off the stalking efforts of her ex-boyfriend.

A good mystery with a solid plot. It's well written and keep you guessing till the end.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC

Jude Dillane is the owner of The Corner Lounge, a restaurant/bar in New York City. Her landlord and former Marine Thomas “Sully” Sullivan asks Jude to let Ed Molina into his apartment. Ed was anxious to meet Sully about wrongdoings at the Big City Food Bank where they both worked. Jude finds Ed shot dead before he can meet Sully. Sully convinces Jude to go undercover at Big City as an accounting intern to try and follow-up on Ed's notes. But their attempts to find evidence of the corruption leads to several incidents that endanger their lives. Meanwhile, Jude also has to deal with banker boyfriend Roger who has started to harass and stalk her when she breaks off their relationship. This was a quick fun read and a good start to the new Murder on the Rocks mystery series.

I received an eARC via Netgalley and Clay Stafford Books with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.

In Bar None, Cathi Stoler gives us a lively mystery featuring bar owner Jude and her tough-guy buddy Sully, who team up to investigate the murder of one of Sully’s friends. There is just enough New York atmosphere and real-seeming bar ambience to make for a good setting and characters. The story flows well, and the amateur sleuths keep you rooting for them. It’s an absorbing mystery, and the writing largely stays understated and lets you enjoy the action. (Occasional clichés “a prickle of fear ran down my spine” and word choice errors are a little distracting, but nothing a quick edit won’t fix) The recipes at the end, usually the type of thing I find gimmicky, actually looked compelling enough for me to want to try.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for making this digital ARC available for my review.

(I suspect this digital ARC would have had many more reviews if it had functioned properly; it kept spontaneously going back to the beginning, and I had to restart the app many times before it would get beyond the table of contents.)

An ARC was furnished to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.


The was a wonderful, fun read. The Corner Bar owner, Jude, becomes involved in a murder investigation with her landlord. Through pretending to be an office worker, Jude takes us on an enjoyable ride. The writing is superb. While there are amusing antics, I actually jumped at a sound while reading a particularly intense portion of sleuthing.

Two separate themes are interwoven to give the reader twice the amount of building suspense until the end. A difficult thing to do but Ms. Stoler managed to do it seamlessly.

Readers of Janet Evanovich should ge

This story is an enjoyable read. Cathi Stoler is going on my list of favorite authors.

An interesting book with a good solid mystery. The characters were strong and I'm hoping that their will be more in this series. A better than average cost mystery. I received an e-book from NetGalley in return for an unbiased review.