Those who enjoyed the first in Olivia Blacke’s Brooklyn Murder Mysteries series will be happy to read the second! No Memes of Escape is another solidly constructed mystery told by ever-cheerful narrator Odessa Dean and filled with the warmth and humor and Brooklyn details that truly put the ‘cozy’ in ‘cozy mystery.’ The mystery aspect is good enough to keep the plot moving, but the real fun is in the NYC setting and ensemble of quirky characters who surround Odessa. I read No Memes of Escape in a quick couple of days, and look forward to more of Odessa’s adventures in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the advance review copy!

No Memes of Escape is the second book in a series featuring a woman named Odessa Dean, a Louisiana transplant living in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I haven't read the first book, but the author does a good job of catching you up on who's who and what's what.

This book has a mystery: a woman is called during an afternoon in an escape room. But the mystery plays second fiddle to Odessa's quest to stay in Brooklyn. I think I was three-quarters into the book before the characters start seriously investigating the mystery. The mystery itself is pretty standard and the solution a little forced, so I marked it down for that.

I did, however, really enjoy the main character. Her enthusiasm and energy were fun and I enjoyed the cast of characters that were introduced. There was one plot too many for me (the whole Tinder thing) but overall I enjoyed seeing Odessa explore. I kinda wish the author had ditched the mystery and had focused instead on Odessa and her supporting cast living in the city.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle by Berkley Publishing Group and #NetGalley for my honest opinion.

Odessa does it again. Such a delightful cozy mystery series.

This was such a delight! I loved the first Odessa book, so it was so great to revisit her as she has to solve another mystery in Brooklyn. We get to know her and Izzy better, as they are thrown into an escape room challenge, where someone ends up dead. I love Odessa's world in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Untapped Books and Cafe and could see hanging out with her and Izzy. I have been anticipating this since I read Killer Content and it did not disappoint!

Another adorable cover! And the story is fun with smooth writing that flows and makes No Memes of Escape a real treat to read! Plus it takes place in NYC, one of my favorite locations for a book.

Odessa Dean has made a home of Brooklyn. She has a fun job waiting tables at Untapped Books & Café and a new friend, Izzy, to explore the city with. When she’s invited on a girls’ day out escape room adventure, she jumps at the chance. It’s all fun and games until the lights come on and they discover one of the girls bludgeoned to death…

The only possible suspects are Odessa and the four other players that were locked in the escape room with the victim. She refuses to believe that one of them is responsible for the murder, despite what the clues indicate. In between shifts at the café, Odessa splits her time interviewing the murder suspects, updating the bookstore’s social media accounts, and searching for the impossible–an affordable apartment in Brooklyn.

But crime–and criminally high rent–waits for no woman. Can Odessa clear her and Izzy’s names before the police decide they’re guilty?

Coming out on October 5.

I was so excited to return to the world of Odessa Dean! Our intrepid heroine finds herself once more embroiled in a murder mystery, and as in Killer Content, Blacke deftly throws out red herrings and curveballs to keep the reader wondering who the killer could possibly be. I loved the fresh take on the cozy genre, I loved the humour, and I adored the wonderful, engaging cast of characters. Odessa is an absolute delight. This book sparkles, and I'm looking forward to more from Olivia Blacke!

murder, murder-investigation, Brooklyn, family-business, family-dynamics, friendship*****

Odessa Dean is from the Bayou in Louisiana and the story takes place in Brooklyn, NY. She has been in NYC only about a month, is cat sitting for her aunt in a posh apartment, works in a bookshop/cafe (with the manager from Hades), has some doormat tendencies (because she is just too nice), and has some really interesting friends (especially Izzy the chameleon!). The Meme in the title is because the manager has coerced her into taking care of their media presence (with no monetary compensation) and wants her to get into the meme game, and the Escape part is because she winds up finding the body while on an Escape Room thing with Izzy and others. Add in a Homicide Detective who has the hots for Izzy, some really exotic new characters, an unexpected deadline, and you have a terrific new cozy that easily could stand alone (but I had read the first one and loved it, too!).
The imagery is terrific, the characters are marvelous, and the humor is just my style.
I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley. Thank you!

Odessa Dean is new in town, still house sitting for her Aunt in a Brooklyn apartment, waiting tables at a bookstore/cafe, and cultivating a social media presence. When she and her new friend go to an escape room and one participant in bludgeoned to death, they have to clear their names.
Book two of the Brooklyn Murder Mystery series featuring Odessa (number one was the very enjoyable "Killer Content") No Memes of Escape is as fun as its punny name. Odessa has a unique and likable voice, and the Brooklyn setting and references to social media culture make the series feel fresh and unique among other series.
Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for a digital review copy.

After reading the first in Blacke's series, KILLER CONTENT https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... I was absolutely hooked! The characters and setting just spoke to my heart, a waitress in a pub + bookstore? in NY? How could I not fall for it?! So when I was gifted an advance reader's copy of the upcoming book 2 I was beyond thrilled!

NO MEMES OF ESCAPE did NOT disappoint, this past year I have just adored cozies and how they leave me feeling a bit warm and fuzzy! This book instantly felt like I was wrapped up in a story about some old friends, immediately making me remember how much I adored Odessa, Izzy and their friends and co-workers!

Olivia was a must read author for me after her debut, and I cannot wait for more readers to enjoy this series with book 2's release! I'll be sharing my thoughts in my full review on my blog for the book tour with Berkley Publishing on 10/5, I gave this one 4.5 stars, just a fantastic second book!

I'm a HUGE escape room fan so when I realized that this book would center around a puzzling murder in one, I was invested. Add in Olivia Blacke's quick prose and the book just flew by. Here we get to watch Odessa navigate the New York real estate market, which can be deadly enough itself, and fight to stay in the city. I wished that this book focused a little more on Untapped but, if you loved Killer Content, you'll definitely love this one too.

*Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review*

A clever cozy that provided a fun escape with its puzzling mystery, urban setting, and charming main character. The social media epitaphs at the beginning of each chapter were a nice touch, and loved the resolution of Odessa's search for an apartment!

You know when you’re reading a mystery so good you don’t know whether to speed through it or try to savor it? So you stay up super late and read on your lunch break, but truly savor those last few pages! That’s how No Memes of Escape was for me! I loved this book and was thrilled with the way Olivia Blacke tied up the ending! In this one best friends and coworkers Odessa and Izzy are implicated in a murder in an escape room. With Odessa due to move home to Louisiana they’re up against the clock to solve this case and clear their names.

I truly love a modern mystery heroine and Odessa Dean is all that with cowboy boots, a southern accent and spunkiness out the wazoo! I’d love having a coworker/best friend like Izzy and a shop dog like Huckleberry! Untapped Books and Cafe seems like the perfect place for more books in this series to play out and I’ll be first in line to read them!

I loved Killer Content and was so excited to head back to Untapped for more Odessa Dean (and Izzy, Parker, and Castillo). My expectations were high and No Memes of Escape exceeded them. Once again, the cast of the Brooklyn Murder Mystery Series delights. I wish I could hang out with everyone over coffee and vegan scramble! Olivia Black invites the reader into the story with her warm and witty prose. She creates a vivid sense of character and place, which streamlines beautifully with the unfolding plot and enriches the mystery. I laughed aloud while reading and was rooting for Odessa all the way. No Memes of Escape is smart, utterly charming, and so much fun--as inventive, and satisfying, as Parker's breakfast chili!

She’s back! The intrepid heroine, Odessa Dean, who we meet in Olivia Blacke’s first novel, Killer Content, is back in Williamsburg and totally done with murder. No murder solving for that transplant from Piney Ridge, Louisiana. No siree.
Until, of course, someone is murdered.
Odessa is a fabulous and engaging amateur sleuth who can wait tables, solve crime, and sew skirts with the best of them. Blacke has created a “spunky” main character who is both believable and enjoyable. Smart writing keeps Odessa from falling over the line into annoying or gratingly cheerful. While Odessa discovers the joys – and drawbacks – to living in New York City, the reader gets to see the city in a new way alongside her, turning the place into a character of its own in a way.
The plot had me scratching my head and I was surprised by who done it, but thoroughly entertained by all the red herrings sprinkled along the way. The side characters are quirky but not over the top and Odessa’s best friend, Izzy, is truly endearing. Readers will love this second installment and no doubt demand more – I certainly do!

No Memes of Escape brings us back to Untapped with Odessa, Izzy, and the whole gang, and I think I loved this book even more than the first. Is it because I love Odessa and was thrilled to spend more time with her? Maybe. Is it because there's only a limited number of possible suspects, which means it's personal? Also maybe. Is it because Olivia Blacke just keeps getting better? No doubt. This was even more charming and funny than the first book, and the mystery kept me guessing as Odessa and Izzy dashed from suspect to suspect. Plus the added drama of Odessa needing to leave Brooklyn at last.... total page-turner!

Head back to Brooklyn's Untapped with Odessa Dean for another of Olivia Blacke's crafty concoctions. Smoky suspicion, bright notes of humor and a satisfying finish that will leave you craving another round...

(Review to be posted on Goodreads closer to publication date)

I enjoyed this second book in the Brooklyn Murder Mystery series. This one works on solving the issue of Odessa's intended limited time in Brooklyn as she initially was only supposed to be in town for a few months, which was something I'd wondered how it would be resolved. With a murder that fits well into the cozy genre with its improbability and limited suspect list, this is still a good example of the new generation of cozies. I liked the emphasis on the housing market and its prices in Brooklyn as well.

Odessa Dean is back in this second installment of the Brooklyn Murder series.

After solving the murder of her coworker, Odessa Dean is ready to go back to enjoying life in Brooklyn. A Louisiana native, she is in NYC for the summer to dog sit for her aunt. When her and her roommate Izzy decide to do a last minute escape room, things get dangerous when one of the other participants is murdered. It doesn't help that this woman bullied Izzy as a kid and Izzy and Odessa's cornhole trophy was used a murder weapon. With Izzy's policeman boyfriend on the case, the two must rush to solve the murder since they are at the top of the suspect list.

This was a very fun, funny, and delightful cozy mystery. I loved seeing the city through Odessa's eyes. It really made me miss going to NYC. Like the first installment, is a little light on the mystery, but I did love seeing this characters again and getting to know them even more. Blacke does a really good job of bringing Odessa's world to life. I liked this book even more than the first and look forward to following Odessa on more adventures.

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. Preorder and read this one.