This was fun mystery. I enjoyed the dynamics between Lyla and her family and friends. I'm looking forward to the next in the series.

This is the first book in Kate Young's New Jane Doe Book Club series, and it's a winner.

Lyla Moody is a member of the Jane Doe book club. The ladies in the club enjoy reading and talking about mysteries. Their most recent selection is And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie.

In this book one of the members is murdered and the others try to find out who murdered her and why. They soon find out that solving fictional crime is nothing like reality.

There were a lot of twists and turns in this story, and an interesting end. I look forward to reading more in the series

This is a really unique start to a cozy series. The crime itself is grittier than normal & the book has some darker subject matter overall. But that’s a positive for me, not a negative at all. Young marries the cozy southern charm with a crime that is quite disturbing expertly.
The protagonist Lyla is strong & clever but also the book hints at harder times, emotionally, she’s had to overcome which I found refreshing. She’s a multifaceted heroine & I found her very relatable. The mystery is intriguing & a lot more dark than cozy readers are used to. For me it’s one of things that makes the authors writing stand out. I really enjoyed it. I’m definitely going to read the second book & I have the first two of her other series. Her writing is both complex & rich but still flows beautifully that I just flew through the book. I definitely recommend this, it’s one of the more unique cozies I’ve read in recent memory.

This was my first Jane Doe Book Club mystery and it certainly won't be my last!

I absolutely love cozy mysteries and found this particular story to be very inspiring as I am currently outlining my own cozy series!

Lyla Moody lives in a sleepy town called Sweet Mountain, Georgia, and this brings a lovely Southern charm to the series. A twisty tale of murder and intrigue with great writing and characterisation.

Just my kind of cozy and I will look forward to reading more by the author.

Lyla works at her uncle's PI office and is also a member of the Jane Doe book club. The book club focuses on true crime. The group soon finds itself in the middle of a mystery when a member of the club is dropped off in a suitcase on Lyla's porch. The mystery was strong. I liked some of the characters but found others a bit annoying. As this was the first book there is opportunity for character development. I would definitely read the next book in the series.

What a fascinating book. I was impressed by the storyline and the characters were all well written and complex. Where there are complex storylines combined with intriguing characters the reader experience is magnified tremendously. To have a book that is well written as well as entertaining is a delight. Reading is about escaping your world and entering another one. Here I forgot about my own life and was immersed in the world created by the author. I would recommend this book.

This first in the series book was fantastic! It's been a very long time since I've read a book that I couldn't put down - I read a few cozy mystery books every month. The main character Lyla is a good combination of smart and curious. She doesn't fall into many traps along the way, but a few that I guess were necessary to move the story along to conclusion. The supporting characters are very interesting and likeable. Half way through the book it felt like this was several books into the series, the characters felt so established. The plot felt well thought out and had me guessing for a long time. I was very impressed by this book and look forward to the next in the series. This is the first time reading anything by this author and now I'm going to have to check out her other series.

The Jane Doe Book Club read mysteries and look at cold murders that haven’t been solved. Lyla finds a dead body who has been looking into a local Jane Doe murder.Lyla, Melanie and the group try to find out who murdered their friend while Lyla continues trying to figure out who Jane Doe is. First in a new series.
Goodreads

This is a great start to a new series. The writing was wonderful and well paced. The setting and characters were delightful, and I cannot wait for the next book!

A cute little cozy mystery with series potential. I appreciate that the protagonist, Lyla had both ties to a p.i. and yet wasn't one as it kept the cozy mystery feel and kept it from straying into a hard boiled mystery. I would like to see more development of the individual characters and their personalities but a series gives you plenty of opportunity to do that.

I loved Kate Young's Southern Sass Series so I was ecstatic when I saw this book/series was announced. It did not disappoint... fantastic way to start a series!

A murder solving book club??? yes please!! Add in some cold case mysteries, you have a winner in my book.

I really enjoyed the characters and the plot twists, I was guessing until the very end.

I am looking forward to continuing on with this series going forward.

I was awarded a digital copy of this book from NetGalley and had the audio version as well. I highly recommend both series by Kate Young.

Lyla Moody lives in small town Sweet Mountain, Georgia and works for her Uncle Calvin, who's a retired cop and now a private investigator. She's always been interested in true crime, but since nothing ever happens where she lives, she belongs to the Jane Doe Book Club, where the members read mysteries and discuss them.

One evening after work she's stunned to see her ex-boyfriend Kevin, along with her horrible cousin moving in across the complex from her. As if that weren't enough, her friend Melanie is still on vacation with half her own clothes. But when she finds what she thinks is Melanie's suitcase outside her door, she hauls it inside. The next morning Melanie shows up at her door, and they both realize there's a terrible smell coming from the suitcase. What they find inside is the body of their friend Carol Timms -- and then everything happens: why would someone do this? Why would they leave her in front of Lyla's apartment? Why is Lyla receiving cryptic messages similar to the last book they read?

Not to mention, her father becomes semi-involved, her mother is having a breakdown, and Carol's husband, Judge Timms, wants Lyla to investigate, thinking she's becoming a private investigator herself. When Lyla agrees, everything goes haywire. Now Lyla is in the middle of a murder, and she just might be the next victim...

This is the first book in a new series by Kate Young, and I have to say that I absolutely loved it. There was plenty of action all the time, and the only thing that bothered me is the fact that Lyla is too busy trying to tell herself that she's better than men -- she doesn't need one, she's independent, she can take care of herself, etc. -- that she misses the big picture. Maybe if she just stopped and sat back the right man would come along that understands her desire to solve cold cases. I guess we'll see in the next book.

Anyway, that notwithstanding, Lyla is a fairly smart woman who is able to think quickly which helps in keeping her out of danger. She manages to find the clues she needs to put everything together, and while this book isn't what I would call a true cozy, it still keeps one interested right through the ending.

Although I figured out who the murderer was before Lyla did, it was still intriguing to watch her as she figured it all out. Ms. Young writes with a flair that pulls the reader in while making the characters almost leap off the page. They are animated and believable, and that is what a book is supposed to do.

When we come to the ending, it gives us a sense of satisfaction as there are no cliffhangers, which I absolutely abhor; and leaves us waiting eagerly for the next in the series. Highly recommended.

My rating: 2 of 5 stars, it was an okay start to a new series.

First in the series.

A decent start to a new series. I love that the main character 1. Works for a PI and 2. runs a True Crime book club, it gives the run of the mill cozy a bit of a different twist.

What I don't like:
1. The main character's mean girl cousin. Can we just do away with the mean girl trope? It's starting to rank right up there with love triangles as my least favorite thing in cozies.
2. The overbearing parent/immature adult child. Lyla needs to grow the freak up, and Mom needs to back off.

I enjoyed the mysteries, and look forward to seeing how the characters and series develop.

On Borrowed Crime (Jane Doe Book Club Mystery 1) by Kate Young. Awesome!

Lyla Moody wants to be a detective like her uncle, until then she works in his office. One night upon arriving home she finds a suitcase on her doorstep and brings it inside, only to find it contains a dead body! This is the start of a story that had me alternately cheering, laughing and screaming as book club members and her family try to “help” her solve the murder (her grandma is a hoot!).

I was so dang disappointed when I reached the end! I immediately tried to find out when book two would be released. I recommend this book to readers who love a good mystery. Agatha Christie and cozy readers alike will enjoy the murder and mayhem found in this wonderful new Georgia mystery!

A fine cozy mystery. This isn’t a genre I frequent but in 2020 I needed something simple and consistent and not too intense and this was perfect for that.

Omg this book was everything and more! Definitely a cozy with a twist I didn't expect ! Lyla is a fantastic character with flaws like many of us do. She finds herself looking for a murderer amongst her book club and possibly those affliated with it. As this story unfolds you won't see what is coming with this twisted and surprise ending! I absolutely loved this book and look forward to reading more books by This author! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC copy in exchange for my honest opinion

Always love the start to a new series and this did not disappoint! Looking forward to future entries. Especially loved the small town setting!

I usually don't read mysteries or similar books. But the play on words of the title and the cover drew me in, then I stayed for the amazing plot. This book was the perfect read during long autumnal/wintery nights and I enjoyed every single page. I definitely want to read more from this author and this genre.

What an amazing start to a very promising series! I loved the main character and fell in love with her life and the town itself. I can’t wait to read more in this series.

This was ok enough to finish, but I wouldn't recommend it. The world building and character development is minimal. Lyla is front and center the entire time. Her book club members are paper thin, just there for Lyla to expound to. I expected them to help with the case in some way, even Melanie her BFF neighbor disappears for a good part of the story. There's a lot of relationship drama that is alluded to (parents, parent with sibling, cousin vs. cousin, etc.), but not explored.

I also knew who did it right from the start.

Lyla also wasn't terribly likeable nor very good at what she's trying to do, but doesn't seem to realize it. There's one thing having self confidence and another to being blind to ones' limitations.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.