Is there only mystery or is there also romance involved?
Award-winning author Jennifer Brown presents "The Game Changer. A Parkwood Mystery from Hallmark Publishing". Hollis Bisbee, formerly a big-city crime reporter in Chicago, and Daisy Miller, a talented baker and owner of the Hibiscus Café, start the "Knock 'Em Dead" podcast because Hollis is bored as a small-town journalist in Parkwood. Interestingly listeners tune more in to the podcast for Daisy's baking tips then for Hollis' murder stories.
When murder comes to town Hollis cannot help herself and starts to investigate because she is intrigued. This causes all kinds of problems, one of it is a dispute with Daisy that leads to Daisy stopping with her part in the podcast. Another is Hollis' issues with Brooks her police "bodyguard". But when Hollis and Daisy reconcile and set out to seriously solve the murder there is more than one surprising result and the reader will be, hopefully, surprised by them.
This was the first book by Jennifer Brown which I read. I highly recommend it with its believable characters. It is funny, emotional, and offers some unexpected surprises. The mystery is clean and wholesome, easy and fast to read. The author underlines the importance of home, family, and friends. Lastly, Hallmark Publishing included the recipe for "Daisy's Cherry Chocolate Chunk Muffins".
The complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley free of charge. I was under no obligation to offer a positive review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
#TheGameChanger #NetGalley

Hollis never realized just how Bored (with a capital B) she would be in the small town, and that even journalism isn’t keeping her interested. From a big-city crime reporter to digging up the ‘next big thing’ in a town where nothing seems to happen; she’s at loose ends. Fortunately for her (and us) her best friend and neighbor Daisy is also bored, in between creating lovely bakes – and is a fan of ‘true crime’ stories. So they develop an idea for a podcast that will talk about baking AND the stuff close to their hearts. True Crime Cases.

Aside from being a laugh out loud sort of story, when there really is ‘foul play’ and Hollis decides that the police department is ‘hiding’ evidence and stalling as it is the chief’s son who is the prime suspect in the hit and run death of a neighboring town’s football coach – the story is full of missteps, assumptions, real clues and a bit of romance and sparks between Hollis and a certain police officer.

This was adorable and everything I hoped to get in a ‘Hallmark” title – friendship, fun, a twisty mystery, and a dash of slow-burn romance that is sure to step up as the story develops. From distinct characters that range from basic friendly to outright eccentrics as one would expect in a small town, this clean and clever story keeps readers intrigued and giggling, while interested in the bakes and pairings with the “true crimes” that Hollis and Daisy create in their podcast. A fun read that is sure to delight readers who like mysteries, or even those unsure of the genre – there’s something for everyone here.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-aB4 /” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

This was so fun! I adored Hollis and Daisy as a team. The banter between them, the descriptions of Daisy and her family, and the debates among the townspeople about the nature of their podcast (Baking/recipes or true crime?) were fantastic. Great mystery, excellent characters, sharp and funny writing. I can't wait to read more in this series.

A new Hallmark cozy mystery that's fun and keeps you guessing! Hollis, a former big city journalist and her best friend Daisy, a baker, get more than they bargained for when they start their " Knock Em' Dead" mystery podcast. When a rival high school coach is the victim of a hit and run accident that's later declared a murder, the women must use their talents to bring the guilty to justice.

The characters are likable and relatable and I enjoyed the mystery's pace. Hollis and Daisy are fun to read about as are the supporting characters. I enjoyed the attention the author paid to the relationships between the main characters and their families. It made Hollis & Daisy "come to life".They are interesting and full of life and determination. The podcast was a neat way to present the mystery.

I'm looking forward to the next book!

I received an ARC from Netgalley for a fair and honest review of the book.

Hollis and Daisy are an amazing pair as friends as well as partners. Even though the book is focused more on Hollis, Daisy and her family steal the scene whenever they appear, yielding more than funny moments. Podcasts are great too and very creative mixing crimes and cakes.

I'm used to Jennifer Brown's strong theme books, and it was a pleasant surprise to discover her comic streak in the midst of a police thriller. And with the Hallmark label that I love (I want the movie, ok?).

It was very good how the writer conducted the approach of Hollis and Brooks and the way she solved the whole mystery. I know Jennifer Brown likes endings for us to guess, but as this one ended, I wonder if it's going to be a bookseries. If it is I already want to read them all!

Anyone expecting romance will be a little disappointed, as it is not the focus of the plot.

4/5 stars

Cute Hallmark murder mystery. Hollis a crime reporter from Chicago moves to small town where she takes a job as a journalist. She starts a podcast with her friend Daisy and they are set to find out who murdered the football coach.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

The Game Changer by Jennifer Brown is a book about a young woman named Hollis who after a job as a crime reporter in a big city, ends up as a journalist for a small town. She is bored with writing about new hot dog machine, gravy recipes and other small town news.
Together with her best friend, young mom Daisy, they start a podcast Knock 'Em Dead where they talk about true crime and delectable sweets.
After one homecoming game, a coach of a rival team is found dead. It appears that it is a hit and run accident until one eye witness claims that it might not be an accident. Since the son of a police chief had a huge fight with the dead man just minutes before the accident, police is eager to hush it up. One police officer is assigned to keep Hollis from any investigating.

I really liked the beginning of the book, Hollis's narrative and her and Daisy's banter pulled me right in. I was so sure this is going to be one of the most favorite books.
Then some things, such as police officer Hopkins following her around and making sure she is not able to talk to people about the accident became too absurd for me. Also her editor insisting on writing only about good things happening in the town and forbidding her to meddle or ask any questions. What kind of journalism is that? At moments it felt so unreal and for my taste the truth was stretched too far.
I absolutely loved the humor in the book. Friendship between Hollis and Daisy is amazing. Daisy's family is utterly charming and lovely. I also loved their podcast and how intelligent and amusing they are.
The only thing I didn't like about this book is that the murder is almost like a parody, It is not taken seriously and it is like an afterthought most of the time. Maybe if the book was not labeled as a mystery I would have had different expectations and my feelings toward the book would be completely different and the mark would be much higher.

Game Changer was a mystery full of twists and turns. The suspect's list kept growing which made the story even more interesting as I tried to solve the death of the Coach.

Hollis Bisbee is and interesting character. She was used to writing about homicides until she moved from Chicago to Parkwood, Missouri where her stories revolved around food at the Hibiscus restaurant or hot dog roller machines at a football game. Not too exciting for Hollis until she stumbles on a possible hit and run and a dead coach who had been threatened a short time earlier.

It turns out her life is more interesting than she realized as she tries to solve the mystery and do her Knock'em Dead podcast with Daisy. There's also a few possible sparks with Officer Brooks Hopkins too as they keep bumping into each other.

The delicious food in the story may make you hungry or you can try to make the muffins from the recipe at the end of the book. I received an advance copy of this book and I willingly chose to write an honest review.

This is the first book in a new series featuring an investigative reporter who has had to relocate to a small town due to cutbacks. She is not really resenting her seemingly trivial stories, but an unsettled feeling is starting to creep up on her when we first get introduced to her. Life, in general, has been good for her other, all except for her job. This last thing might just be picking up as she wants to start a podcast with her new best friend. Things do not turn out the way she expects at that end either. I, for one, sympathise with her over that last bit because I have had plans morph into something unrecognisable when I least expect them to. Then a local murder occurs and Hollis jumps right in and thinks she has found out an underhanded ploy to protect her prime suspect. This leads to multiple stakeouts, a new cop in town and a lot of misunderstandings.
I liked the narrative style of the story and could feel the warmth that Hollis felt for her new community, and even the group calls with her aunt and mother on the line were fun. I felt the last bit was a little rushed but considering it involved multiple chases, it might have been just right.

Not all mysteries in this genre appeal to me but this one did almost solely based on the writing style and the conversations that everyone has. The murder plot was an afterthought to me despite having been unable to land on the actual culprit without Hollis figuring it out first. I would recommend this to readers of this genre!

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

Nothing in this story played like a typical cozy and I loved it. I mean, you have to read most cozies with a grain of salt as the lead character is usually very conveniently where they need to be to find clues and almost always gets out of tricky situations without being caught. Not in this story. The main character Hollis and her best friend Daisy were constantly getting caught and called out and I found it amusing. Every time I thought this story was going to venture into cliche cozy territory, it veered left and surprised me, much to my delight.

The friendship between Hollis and Daisy was by far my favorite aspect of this story. Their back and forth banter, especially in the podcast scenes was hilarious. They seemed like true friends who truly cared about one another but also trusted their relationship enough to make jokes about each other. Their rivalry for podcast attention from the town had me laughing.

Overall, I thought this was a solid start to what I hope is going to be an ongoing series. I would love to see how Hollis and Daisy grow both the podcast and their relationship as sleuthing partners.

What do you get when a big-city crime reporter moves to a small town with absolutely little to none in the crime area to report about? You get bored. Then you join up with your new bestie and start a podcast about crime. You relax, enjoy the slower pace of life and maybe flirt, banter a bit with one police officer in particular. Then one night, after a high school football game, it seems that murder has come to town when the rival team’s coach is the victim of a hit and run in the school parking lot – that’s when the crime reporter, Hollis, and her muffin-baking sidekick, Daisy step it up to find the real murder because we all know the star quarterback didn’t do it.

The Game Changer is a fun Cozy Mystery with suspects, sleuths, and a few twists and turns along the way to the ending. I enjoyed the banter between Hollis and Brooks, I definitely think if this should be the start of a series that something’s going to happen between them. They got a good start, I’d like to see where it goes from here. Although I love Cozy Mysteries I rarely try to solve it – the journey getting to the reveal is more fun for me. And I had a good time with this story. I don’t know if more stories are planned, but I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

The Games Changer is an fun, Intersting, murder mystery. Its wonderful written. Has a really good storyline. I truly enjoyed reading about the characters. Its a page turner and kept my interest throughout the story. I look forward to reading more stories by this author.
I read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book All thoughts and opinions are of my own. Thank you NetGalley and Hallmark Publishing for letting me read this story.

The Game Changer is an entertaining and well written murder mystery. A vert good plot that kept me glued to the story. Mystery fans will love this book. I received an arc from the publisher and Netgalley and this is my unbiased review.

Hollis moved to Parkwood, Missouri after a breakup. She thought small town life would be a panacea, especially after crime reporting in Chicago, but it's really quiet. Quiet except for her neighbor Daisy's kids! Daisy and Hollis start a true crime podcast and all is going nicely (except that Hollis is eating too many of Daisy's muffins) when the coach of the town's rival football team is run over! Cozy readers know that the person who is the main suspect is not the murderer. Daisy and Hollis set out to find the real culprit and along the way, Hollis develops a nice relationship with Brooks, a police officer working the crime. This is a pleasant cozy, with good characters, a nice view of small town life, and a mystery that's just mysterious enough. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Perfect for a lazy afternoon. AND, there's a recipe!

Such a fun, interesting mystery from Hallmark. I really loved this one. Couldn't put it down.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book is super cute!! Hollis and Daisy are hilarious together. It's an easy read with twists, turns, and humor throughout.

This is the first in a new series as a pair of podcasters switch from reporting on murders to actually solving one? Hollis is a former big city reporter turned small town reporter after moving to Parkwood from Chicago and she is adjusting to small town living. Daisy Mueller great baker and mom is her next door neighbor who together they start a podcast called Knock Em Dead to look into cold cases. When a rival football coach is killed in the parking lot after the football game Hollis and Daisy decide to investigate. Cute police officer to keep tabs on them doesn't hurt either. Like a lot of first in a series it can be a little slow to get all the characters and settings established but I found this to be an enjoyable cozy read and could totally see this on Hallmark Movie and Mysteries. Looking forward to the next in the series.

What a fun read!! This was a wonderful cozy mystery with a delicious sounding muffin recipe at the end. This book was so good and I can't wait to read the next book in the series. Grab a cup of hot cocoa and come visit the small town of Parkwood, Missouri. This book was a joy to read.

Oh. My. Gosh. Everyone who loves Hallmark movies and cozy mysteries needs to add this to their TBR. It was SO good!

Jennifer Brown’s The Game Changer is about Hollis Bieber, a reporter form Chicago who finds herself in Parkwood, Missouri- a speck on the map. Adjusting to life as a small town reporter is hard for Hollis, so she teams up with her BFF Daisy to begin a true crime podcast. When the podcast becomes more about baking and a real murder happens in her town, Hollis adjusts and fights to bring the killer to justice. She also happens to fight with super cute Officer Brooks Hopkins.

I really loved this, for more reasons than I can count. Daisy is mom-life personified. Brown absolutely NAILED what it feels like to be a reporter in a small town. And who doesn’t love murder and muffins?

I really wish Goodreads would change their rating system, because this is a solid 4.5 for me. I can’t wait to read more, and I’m thankful that Brown, an award-winning author, has begun her foray into cozies.

*I was graciously given an ARC of this book via the publisher on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

While I love a good action packed, high stakes suspense... sometimes I just need a little cozy mystery. They have everything I love about the mystery and suspense genre (a good ol' whodunnit, usually a little romance, etc)... but they also have a lightheartedness about them as well... somehow they manage to keep such a heavy topic as murder from becoming too dark. Oftentimes, you will find that my TV is set to Hallmark mysteries for just that reason. So, anytime I see a mystery book published by Hallmark, I know it is going to be right up my alley. Needless to say, I was excited and had quite high expectations for The Game Changer. It did not disappoint.

Oftentimes when I've read cozy mystery type books in the past (or watched the movies), it seemed to me that the non-cop characters always seemed almost TOO good at solving the crime. There's nothing wrong with that of course--- it's all part of the fun, but what struck me with this book is that while Hollis and Daisy were pretty good at figuring things out--- they clearly were NOT the pros. That lead to some rather humorous moments that made me chuckle. Now admittedly, I don't believe I've read the first in any series in the past before either, so perhaps that might change once the story goes on if we stick with these characters, but I really enjoyed this aspect of the story. The characters in this story really were just rather easy to fall in love with... again, they had some shortcomings, but the just seemed like rather genuine characters and I enjoyed getting to know them. I truly don't know if they will take the lead role in the remainder of the series but I do so hope to at least catch up with them again in future books.

While I had my (correct) suspicions on the culprit fairly early on, there were several twists and turns that had me guessing for a bit... there were several possible theories introduced, so I really enjoyed trying to figure it all out.

If you love a good cozy mystery, this is definitely a series to check out! It's a quick and fun read that I really enjoyed. I look forward to more from this series in the future.

**I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All thoughts are 100% my own.