Fall and Halloween themed cozy mysteries are my favorite books to relax with at the end of a long day or while reclining on the soft sand by the ocean as my son frolics in the waves. So, when I saw Crime for the Books was centered around an Agatha Christie themed Halloween party and a staged murder mystery gone wrong, I just knew I’d enjoy it. This is the first Jane Doe Book Club Mystery I have read, but it won’t be my last. It’s an easy book to read, but it draws the reader in, nonetheless. If you like mysteries, Halloween, and fictional cozy small towns, and a bit of humor thrown in, I recommend this book to you.

This is a gripping cozy mystery with lots of twists and turns.

Young does a fantastic job of demonstrating how impactful a murder and the investigations that follow it can be on a small community, from the witnesses to those accused of the crime. The book also explores the possibility of police misconduct and how it can negatively impact investigations and community trust. These are both serious and dramatic topics that can happen in real life too, which makes the cozy more serious than others I've read. However, the book was still cozy at its core. I felt the drama really added to the suspense and realism of the novel.

The suspense builds right away because the book immediately places you into the mystery. However, it's not a fast-paced book throughout, as some parts of the book can seem slow in contrast, especially if you're not interested in the other plot line involving Lyla's love life.

At times, I felt quite frustrated with Lyla and her unwillingness to consider certain possibilities, even if it seems quite clear to us as observers or to other characters. Lyla's not perfect and I liked that not all of the characters agreed with her. Some actually pushed back against her at several points. I think my frustration points to how talented Young is, because of how strong my frustration was, but I can see others becoming so frustrated with her that they put down the book or begin actively rooting for her to be wrong.

I haven't read the previous books in the series and I still enjoyed this one, so I think it'd work as a standalone. I'd recommend it for anyone who likes some drama and suspense in their cozies.

Crime for the Books was a fun easy read. This was the first Kate Young novel that I have read. The female protagonist was nicely developed, as were the other characters. The plot was interesting, if sometimes obvious, but cozy mysteries aren’t suppose to be overly complex. I enjoyed this novel, which is the third in a series.

I want to thank the author and publisher for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Crime for the Books. And I want to thank NetGalley for introducing me to so many interesting new authors.

Pretty good cozy mystery. I’ve not read the others but had no issue keeping up. I liked the mystery, but I did discern who the killer was. Still, it was a good read.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane for the digital review copy.

Another fun cozy mystery in the Jane Doe series.
Lyla and the Jane Doe's host an Agatha Christie Murder Mystery party. The only catch is, someone actually gets murdered. This one happened a little too close to Lyla for comfort. Was we come to expect, there will of course be some sleuthing going on.
This book had some nice surprises, some good twists and turns, certainly kept me guessing. As always the characters are great, and who wouldn't love a Gran like Lyla's. But this was a little slower paced than the previous book. Took a little longer for me to become engaged.
Looking forward to the next book.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Another mystery for Lyla to solve and this one is closer to home. Many things are not what they seemed and when you think you know someone, you find out more than you bargained for.
This book started out a bit slow for me and I found myself getting more aggravated with Lyla as I found there was just something about her this time that I just could not stomach. The mystery was ok and there were times when I thought I knew who the killer was. I am honest, I didn't like this one as much as I did the previous one.

Thank you @crookedlanebks, @NetGalley, and @KAYoungBooks
#CrimefortheBooks #NetGalley

Filled with twists and turns that will keep you changing your mind on whodunit! Love the southern charm! The characters are quite intriguing. Good story plot! Thanks #netgalley and #Crookedlanebooks for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

This was an enjoyable mystery. It had surprise after surprise in the story. It had me questioning who was the real villain or villains. I've read both Lyla Moody mysteries, and I look forward to reading the next one. I highly recommend this book to other cozy mystery readers.

The Jane Does are giving a Agatha Christie themed party where a murder mystery is the main attraction. Little do they know a real murder is about to be committed to bring down one of the main Does. Now it's up to Lyla to help clear her friends name.
The book is full of southern charm and wonderful characters. As always Lyla's grans comes in to bring a comedic relief with some of her crazy antics. I always enjoy seeing her turn up. I also enjoyed seeing Lyla and Pipers relationship grow from them hating each other in the previous book to learning to work together in a professional compacity and with out knowing it become good friends. It was wounderful seeing this relationship bloom.
The book is a bit slower then the previous one (thats why i gave it 3 stars) but I always enjoy Kate Youngs writing. She has a way of weaving a story and bring in elements of the southern living and Agatha Christie's Miss Marple to her work. I can't wait for the next installment of the Jane Does Mysteries.

This is the third book in the Jane Doe Book Club and does not disappoint.
Lyla Moody and her book club, the Jane Does, are hosting a Halloween party at Magnolia Manor, tailored after Agatha Christie’s A Murder is Announced, but when the lights come on after the staged murder, a real victim lies dead with a gunshot wound in her chest. The victim was an estranged relative of Elaine Morgan, operator of the B&B, who’d earlier been seen arguing with her about the fate of the property. Suspicion immediately falls on Elaine, and she’s arrested.
I finished this in one sitting the story completely pulled me in. Lyla and her friends are amazing they work hard together to solve the murder. Its like hanging with a good group of friends.
#CrimefortheBooks #NetGalley

I highly recommend this cozy mystery. I requested the ARC because the blurb sounded good, but the author blew me away. Ms. Young pens a tale that grabs you at the start and keeps your interest. A varied assortment of characters set in a small southern town with a mystery book club at the center. Police officer Rosa and P.I. Lyla Moody round out the curious book clubbers. I’m afraid I’ll get carried away and divulge too much of the plot. Murder and nefarious plotting are on order here. Believe me, you want to discover this one for yourself. I only put it down when I had to...and not for long.
I am delighted to have been chosen to peruse this book and offer my opinion freely.

I was utterly surprised at how good this book was. The first ones in the series were ok/fine and certainly good enough to keep my attention but they were more "speed reads". This one had my full attention and had me guessing the entire time. The storyline was perfectly woven to give me enough clues to TRY to guess while also not being obvious at all.

I love the interactions and friendships that Lyla, Mel, Rosa and Amelia have and can definitely relate! My only concern is losing Brad!
Big thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. #NETGALLEY

Jumping into a story mid-series is always a bit risky if you haven't read the earlier installments. Yet I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to navigate the relationships previously established earlier in the series.

What I really appreciated about the book was the strong bonds between women and the resolution to help one another, even when they weren't quite certain why their group was splintering. Sticking it out and remaining true to each other enabled the Jane Does to eventually unravel the plot and solve the mystery.

Overall, I felt this was a well-written book that drew me in, and I'm looking forward to reading future installments in the series.

Thanks to Kate Young, Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Crooked Lane Books and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.


The ‘Crime for the Books’ cozy mystery series is well written and well established. This one is also well done.

Thank you NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books, and Kate Young for an e-ARC of this book.

Admittedly, I did not read the first two books of this series (because I am 🌟unhinged🌟 but was able to decipher the cast and setting fairly quickly as the book opened with what felt like a gradual introduction. The writing style itself is smooth and easy to digest and the pace is steady. This story fits the bill of "cozy mystery" with a good lead-up to a murder that I've read a dozen times before. No surprises, and the plot twists that eventually appeared didn't give me whiplash as I find many thriller novels do. I knew what I was getting when I read the first chapter and the "cozy" vibes continued throughout.

I look forward to going back to read the first two installments of this series simply for the relationship dynamics. There is such a strong friendship between such flawed characters, including our main protagonist. It's great to see the layers that are sewn into the Jane Does - I assume these were thread before the series and strengthened as the series progressed.

Oh! And there was a dash of relationship drama, which seemed to escalate fairly quickly. While Lyla appears to have her head on straight for the majority of the time, it felt like her emotions went awry when presented with personal drama in comparison to the events that she deals with at work.

However, I was pleasantly pleased with the full resolution!

I received an e-arc from NetGalley.

It took a while for me to get into this one, it was very slow in the beginning but once it got going it ended well. The characters were relatable and I liked the murder mystery party aspect.

Thank you to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books, and Kate Young for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I was a huge fan of "Crime for the Books" and I'd definitely recommend it to all Cozy Mystery lovers. It plot kept me on my toes until the very end because just when I thought the suspect was identified, another twist was thrown. I can't wait to see what Kate Young cooks up for Lyla Moody next!

The Jane Does are hosting a murder mystery night based on an Agatha Christie book. When the lights go out and a “murder” occurs, everyone is in the groove…until the lights come back on and another “victim” grabs onto Lyla before she dies. Who killed the woman?

The real murder wasn’t part of the planned evening, but someone had it in for the woman, but who? Then with Rosa leading the investigation as acting chief, there are a lot of questions and it seems there are two sides to Rosa, depending on who you speak to. Who murdered the woman? Was it really Rosa as some suspect? There’s only one way to find out and Lyla and the Jane Does on the case.

This is the best book to date in the series and it left me changing my guess up until the end. A solid cozy series that delivery each and every time, this is one to add to your must read list!

I like this series enough to keep reading but it really hasn't grabbed me. The plots are really interesting and the 'working with family' dynamics are funny.
Thank you to NetGalley for the advance read.

I guess it's good to give a series another try, even if a previous book in it didn't ring your bell. I tried Book 1 of this series, and I didn't get very far in it. Looking back at my notes, I had legit gripes (to me)...it wasn't just a case of "not my cup of tea." However, I really enjoyed this Book 3. It's full of good friends, fraught relationships, and, of course, murder. I like that the characters don't feel like stereotypes. Here's one tiny example. Lyla's running, and her best friend Melanie is struggling to keep up. The narrator notes, "Melanie wasn't the athletic type though petite and lean genetically." Okay, that's such a small little thing, but it's an example of the various characters having some layering to them--not everyone is exactly as you'd expect by looking at them. I've read (or abandoned) a lot of cozies recently with cardboard characters, so I was really taking notice of this. I also love Lyla's relationship with her Gran. It's not saccharine, but her grandmom also isn't a ridiculously over-the-top caricature.

The mystery plot itself is suitably complex. I felt Lyla's confusion and frustration with Rosa's behavior, and Lyla and the other Jane Does felt relatable, though imperfect. Yay! Of course, the whole thing is far-fetched--it is a cozy, after all. But the world, the emotions, and the plot felt more satisfying and layered than in several I've read recently.

Hmm...maybe I need to go back and read Book 2.

Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.