Love this series and how it's a great gateway into the genre for younger (millennial and gen z) readers. It's like watching a contemporary mystery TV series, with characters that are fun to revisit.

A fun cozy mystery read with a murder set in an escape room and plenty of suspects. A lighthearted read.

Read the first one and thought it was okay. I wanted to try this one to see if it was any bett but DNF at 15% This series just isn’t for me.

NO MEMES OF ESCAPE by Olivia Blacke is a mystery you won't want to escape from! Odessa Dean is back in NYC in this follow up novel to Blacke's debut, KILLER CONTENT, and this mystery is just as twisty, thrilling, and charming as the first. When Odessa's first experience with an escape room party goes wrong, leaving one of the participant's dead, Odessa feels compelled to investigate after the finger of blame seems to be pointed right at her bestie, Izzy. I want Izzy to be my best friend. I'd do anything to try and protect her too. The writing is fresh and fun. NO MEMES OF ESCAPE is a delightfully youthful addition to the cozy mystery genre. 3.5 rounded up.

No Memes of Escape is the second book in A Brooklyn Murder Mystery series. This cozy mystery follows Odessa, a small-town girl, as she navigates Brooklyn while apartment sitting for her aunt. This is a super light and breezy read and It was very well written. The read was 3.5 stars, which means that it was an average enjoyable read, nothing breathtaking.

I received a ebook copy from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley. Thank you!

For as much as I wanted to like this book, it just wasn't for me. The premise really hit me, but I couldn't connect with the characters and I struggled with their relationships. The mystery was okay, but it didn't hold my interest. This was hard for me because I really love cozy mysteries and amateur sleuths.

Amateur sleuth Odessa Dean is back in the second installment of the Brooklyn Murder Mystery series. In this book, Odessa, Izzy and Izzy’s friends visit an escape room, and one of them winds up dead. Odessa has to solve the mystery, so Izzy doesn’t take the fall.

This is a cute cozy mystery, and this series is a fresh, modern, and younger take on the genre. I enjoyed it! (I prefer to read a whole series rather than one at a time when reading cozy mysteries.)

Thanks to @NetGalley and Berkley for my ARC!

Title: No Memes of Escape
Author: Olivia Blacke

Ch:25

Pg: 320

Series: A Brooklyn Murder Mystery series book 2

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Rating: 5 stars

Publisher: Berkeley



No Memes of Escape by Olivia Blacke is the second book in the A Brooklyn Murder mystery which I enjoyed more than the first one. Odessa though was a favorite in the first one as well. You just can't but love her quirkiness. The murder mystery involving the escape room was what kept my attention as it was something different in a mystery. And of course, the whole microbrewery and bookstore Odessa works at also helps. I look forward to the next book in the series as well as other books by this author.








I received a copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

I was so excited that @oliviablackauthor wrote a second book in her Brooklyn cozy mystery series. No Memes of Escape was such a fun read!

Our favorite city sleuth, Odessa is back at working at Untapped Books and Cafe when her friend Izzy gets invited to a night at an escape room and Odessa tags along. It’s a fun time until the end when they discover they are down one person and she’s… dead! The only people that could have done it are in the room together. Odessa knows it’s not her or Izzy so they need to solve the mystery!

I just love this series so much. I truly hope there’s a 3rd book in the series. Odessa is such a spunky character and she doesn’t really let anyone or anything bother her (except she won’t rent an apartment where a huge murder took place!) We get to meet her eccentric aunt Melanie in this book. I loved Odessa’s struggle with finances which felt very true to the story. I also enjoy her love of the city and her fish out of water experiences!

Thank you so much to @berkleypub, @netgalley and the author for my ARC. No Memes of Escape is on sale now!

Loved getting back into Odessa's world and watching her solve another mystery. Characters are so important with cozy mysteries and Blacke really shines with hers, supporting characters as well as Odessa.

This was so much fun. A new favorite cozy mystery. I love Odessa and I love that this cozy takes place in New York City. I love my small town cozy but it's nice to see cozy mystery set in a big city. The mystery had me guessing and turning the pages so fast. I read this one in one sitting because it was so good. I can not wait for the next one. Definitely a must read.

Another fun adventure with Odessa Dean! I like this series because it does a good job capturing a sense of place where the reader really does get a feel for Brooklyn. Untapped Books & Cafe sounds like a fun shop but I would like to hear more about the book side of things. The mystery element was ok so hopefully it's a bit more compelling in the next instalment.

This is such a fun and witty read! I love the idea of having a millennial sleuth as our protagonist. There were a lot of comments and mentions of things that I have grown up with which was a lot of fun. This is the second in the series. The first one I also own and it is A Killer Content. I love the idea of the murder being almost a locked door mystery, or is it?! Mwahaha!

Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Jeanie

No Memes of Escape is a solid second offering in this series that appeals to a new generation of cozy mystery lovers. We get to know Odessa, her new friend Izzy, and their co-workers better. We follow them through Brooklyn and other boroughs of New York City as they attempt to solve a new murder despite Odessa’s protests that the first solve was a fluke. The characters are defined well as fitting their roles, and friendships forged with co-workers are sturdy and caring. The mystery itself is quite the challenge to solve.

Odessa came to the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn to watch Aunt Melanie’s apartment and cat Rufus while she is on a 3-month tour of Europe. It is six weeks into Odessa’s Brooklyn stay, and she realizes that she does not want to return to Piney Island, Louisiana. She wants to find an apartment she and Izzy can share and stay in the most fascinating city she could imagine. Odessa has been working at Untapped Books and Café, within walking distance of where she is staying, and Izzy ended up staying at her aunt’s place with her.

The girls get invited to an escape room adventure when they run into a couple of Izzy’s high school acquaintances. Reservations have been made and paid for by six women, and at the last minute, two were unable to attend. Odessa has never been to an escape room, was excited by the idea of it, and accepted. These were not Izzy’s first choice of people to spend the afternoon with, but since the tickets were already paid for, she agreed to go.

The original group was celebrating Vickie being named the top condo and apartment broker of the year. Marlie, an older broker from the same office, was with them. Marlie had been deemed second best. The six ladies had one hour to get through the clues and find their way out of the escape room suite. Vickie stayed behind in the library while the other five forged ahead through a tunnel to the next room. Their hour was up before they found their way out, and the young man overseeing their departure noticed that one person was missing. Vickie was dead in the library where she had chosen to remain, having been bludgeoned by something that Izzy and Odessa had with them from earlier that day.

When statements were taken and evidence collected, Detective Vince Castillo is unhappy with the results. Izzy, who the detective has been dating for a few weeks, is the only suspect. Only her fingerprints and Odessa’s are identified on the object used to kill Vickie. Izzy and Vickie were enemies from years past. Amid the high-stress day, Aunt Melanie returned early from Europe with a fractured foot. Izzy has nowhere to go, and Odessa’s aunt will purchase her bus ticket back to Piney Island. They have three days to find an apartment and get Izzy off the suspect list.

I like the intelligence and resourcefulness of Odessa and Izzy. They are kind, caring and get along well with co-workers and customers. This is not a slight against food service workers as their work is valuable! The lack of ambition beyond being a waitress or cashier in a cafe was surprising for new adults desiring a lifestyle requiring a more substantial income to pay rent, even if it means working in higher-end restaurants.

This mystery had me stumped! There was little possibility of other suspects who met evidence, motive, and opportunity. The author’s writing flows well and describes the place that I used to love to visit. I am looking forward to their next adventure and seeing more of today’s Brooklyn! The resolution was excellent, and all loose ends tied up. Overall I enjoyed this cozy, and highly recommend it!

This is a fun, hipsterish cozy mystery featuring Odessa Dean, a small town Louisianna transplant living in Brooklyn and working at a Craft beer slash book store (seriously, she's living the dream!). But when a girl turns up dead during an Escape room adventure gone wrong, it's up to Odessa to help prove her friend's innocence. As in the first book, the use of technology and social media apps are key to helping solve this murder mystery. These books are a fun, modern take on the traditional cozy mystery genre and I really enjoy them. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my review copy!

|| 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖

No Memes of Escape
Olivia Blacke
★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

|| 𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒:
Odessa dean is a waitress, apartment sitter, friend, escape room participant, and an amateur detective. Odessa finds herself in an escape room with her friend/roommate Izzy and some friends from Izzy’s past. But not everyone makes it out of the escape room alive.

|| 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄:
•Cozy mysteries
•NYC setting
•Solving escape room puzzles

|| 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒:
Another case of starting a book then realizing it’s book 2 in a series. Luckily Odessa mentions several things from book 1, so I felt caught up and that I didn’t miss anything from starting on this book. I think Odessa is a great quirky character and all the side characters were fun to get to know. As far as the cozy mystery goes though I don’t really feel like any detective work truly started till like 75-80% through. I enjoyed the story in the book, just wish there was more amateur detective work that I’d expect from a cozy mystery. And then there was on communication issue that would have been solved with a sentence or two, so that part was the only thing that truly annoyed me. Just tell your aunt what you want Odessa 😂 but it all worked out in the end. I would be interested enough to go back and read book 1!

Thank you Berkley Pub and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

No Memes of Escape is bok two in A Brooklyn Murder Mystery series. This cozy mystery follows Odessa, a small-town girl, as she navigates Brooklyn while apartment sitting for her aunt. She works at what sounds like the coolest bookstore and cafe as a waitress. This time around we see Odessa and her co-worker and friend turned roommate Izzy go on an escape room adventure with some of Izzy's childhood friends. When someone winds up dead in the escape room, Odessa decides to investigate to help clear Izzy's name.

This was a fairly quaint and cozy mystery. I enjoyed seeing what it was like for Odessa to transition to big city living and the financial struggle felt very real and relatable. I did find this mystery a little easier to figure out and the ending seemed a little too coincidental to me. I felt as though the focus of this book was less on the mystery and more on Odessa trying to stay in New York when her aunt came back. As such, I wanted a little more investigating.

I was incredibly frustrated with Izzy during this book. She is not always a good friend to Odessa. In fact, when Izzy created a tinder profile for Odessa without Odessa's consent and what she did after that when it came to giving out Odessa's information was just plain scary. I loved Parker's food creations as always and am excited to see more of him in the next book.

Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I read this book mostly to confirm that Blacke is not an author for me, and it did. Clearly she works for a lot of people but I find her writing style very patronizing, and the plot is lost in exchange for Odessa's every waking thought. They're not problematic, so I would recommend them to someone looking for a modern cozy mystery, but I just cannot stand them.

AHH I LOVED THIS ONE! I really liked Killer Content so I was pretty excited when I saw No Memes of Escape. I love how opposite Odessa and Izzy and that Izzy is slowly but sure bringing Odessa out of her shell. You can tell Odessa is more sure of herself and is gaining confidence compared to Killer Content. On top of that there’s an escape room murder! This was a fun read and had everything I love in a cozy mystery.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Olivia Blacke and Berkley for allowing me to read and review and arc of No Memes of Escape!

I will be posting a review this week on Instagram.com/_nighttimereads

A cozy mystery series that’s a little different. No small town bakeries and love triangles for this city-dwelling sleuth! Odessa is a a small-town transplant, living in Brooklyn while she apartment-sits for her aunt while she travels, and making money waitressing and the hipsteriest of hipstery bookstore and cafes that also serves beer. When Odessa and her roommate/friend/coworker participate in an escape room and one of them ends up dead, Odessa begins to investigate!

I think this series is a fun change of pace from typical cozies, and a young single waitress trying to make it in the big city is always nice to hear about. At times, the book drags, and this mystery seemed much easier to predict than the first in the series, but it was overall a fun read.

Thanks to Berkley for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4 stars - 8/10