I enjoyed this book very much.
I am a PTO mom and related to the characters.
I discovered this author in a compilation of other mystery writers and I am glad I decided to read this series on its own!
Fans of cozy mysteries will enjoy!

Murder on the Class Trip by Lee Hollis is the third book in the cozy Maya and Sandra Mystery series. As with most cozy mysteries the Maya and Sandra Mystery series is one that has a fully solved murder within each book so they can be read as a standalone or in any order if choosing to do so. There will be of course be character development that carries over from book to book for those reading from the beginning.

The Maya and Sandra Mystery series is a little different than your average cozy in the fact it has two lead characters and changes the point of view between them to give both sides to the story. Sandra Wallage is a housewife and the PTA president that is married to a scandalous politician. Maya Kendrick is a an ex cop whose husband went to prison and now had become a private investigator that has a huge workload with her partner being pregnant and close to giving birth.

When Sandra’s husband became a victim of a gossipy website called Dirty Laundry outing him as a cheater and then the woman running the Dirty Laundry website was murdered it brought Sandra and Maya together to work the case. After that was solved Sandra found she enjoyed helping Maya and proposed being her new partner. Now the ladies are taking on another new case when Sandra and Maya are drafted as chaperones to the school trip to Washington, D.C.. Sandra’s soon to be ex-husband, Stephen, is in need of help yet again when one of his female interns is found murdered and he along with those around him are suspects in her death.

I have been enjoying the Maya and Sandra Mystery series from the beginning and was totally onboard with this one even with it being a bit different than your normal cozy. I really like that there is a real investigator as one of the major characters solving the crimes right along with the other protagonist who is the fish out of water in this case. This third book however was my least favorite of the series so far with the setting being completely political which is something I would normally try to avoid in books. I’m sure others will enjoy it more than me and I will still continue on with the series but this one is only a three star for me.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

I really like the books in the Maya and Sandra series. The characters are well developed and I am enjoying seeing how Maya and Sandra are discovering who they really are and developing. While very different personalities, they mesh well together and do a great job as co-investigators in Maya’s PI business. Lots of twists and turns has you flipping through the pages and trying to figure out who is guilty of murder. You will be left guessing until the very end. This is a great series if you are interested in cozy mysteries and strong female characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

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I love Hollis mysteries. This one is no different. It’s a great story with great characters with lots of twist and turns iand a very satisfying in the I would highly recommend it.

I enjoyed catching up with all the characters, but this book was not really realistic. I was disappointed because the clas trip component is why they were in Washington Dc, but then the class goes back early and not all the chaperones go back. As a teacher, I found that hard to believe. The mystery was good, but the back story was lacking.

I really loved this first book in a new to my series and author. I can't wait to read the next one. The characters and location really add to the plot. This book keeps you guessing until the end.

Another great installment in the Maya and Sandra Mystery series. This is a fun cozy mystery. I really like the main characters Maya and Sandra. I like seeing their how their character grow in each book. The mystery was fun. These books are also funny. You can read this book as a standalone but I highly recommend to read them in order. The mysteries are solved in each book but things happen in the characters life that continue into each book.


Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Books for thr digital arc.

Initially, I did not know that this was a series when I first selected this book, but Lee Hollis, the author does a great job of providing the context for this book and information on what has transpired in the other books, so I didn't feel as if I was missing anything. I enjoyed reading this book so much that I finished it within a day and could not put it down from start to finish. This was a great quick read and the mystery pulled me in! I enjoyed all of the real-world detail that Hollis included in this book – from the political context at the time that the book was published in 2022 from the names of the politicians. I enjoyed the great attention to detail in this book, and I loved the partnership between Sandra and Maya, and how they felt like real people with real struggles. The mystery of who killed Sandra’s senator ex-husband’s intern kept me guessing until the very end, with pivots and new information with each chapter. I highly recommend this book and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this series and more from Lee Hollis.

Thank you to the published Kensington Books and NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

This is the third book in the series and my first. It can be read as a standalone the author does a good job of explaining who the characters are. I enjoyed this book and the mystery set in Washington DC with politics. A senator and allegations of misconduct. I had no idea who the killer was and was surprised by the ending. I felt it may have needed more of a motive and the explanation and ending seemed rushed.

Maya didn't want to join friend and coworker Sandra chaperoning a school trip to America's capital, but lucky she did because they were the only ones who could solve the murder of Sandra's ex-husband's intern. This one had many twists and turns and kept me guessing all the way to the end. I haven't read any of the other books in the series, but it didn't stop me from enjoying this book.

This was a NetGalley read.

This book was cute and fun and I loved seeing what the characters got into this time! I truly didn't know who the bad guy was and the journey to finding out was a great one!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book.
I was looking for a mindless cozy and this pretty much filled the bill.
Entertaining with likeable characters.

I loved how different Murder on the Class Trip was compared to other cozies. The dynamic duo and best friends, Maya and Sandra who play the “amateur sleuths” aren’t really amateurs as they own their own private detective agency. Also, both are moms and instead of being hired by their children’s principal for some investigation as they initially thought when they were called into the school, they were reluctantly enlisted to be chaperones for their kids’ class trip to Washington DC. What ensues is an adventure of “who dun its” and the great character development that was both entertaining and fulfilling in a cozy mystery. I especially enjoyed the relationships within the book as it helps connect you to the characters and their decision making and understanding them better.

Overall, this was such a fun read and definitely a series I’ll look forward to reading more of.

Another great Lee Hollis book! I’m a long time fan of the Hayley Powell series and now will be reading the Maya and Sandra books.
Roped into a chaperoning a class trip to D.C., Maya and Sandra, who are PIs in Maine, get involved in a murder of a Senator’s assistant. Why? The senator just happens to be Sandra’s soon to be ex. I loved the pace of the book, getting enough background on the characters without finding out about previous books in the series, and the fact that politics was involved without being political. Can’t wait to read the other books!

Sandra and Maya are two different and complex characters who, like ying and yang, they complement each other’s differences. Maya, a former cop turned PI has a hard outer shell but a soft heart, and Sandra Wallage is as elegant as silk having spent the last two decades as a senator’s wife but is also made of tougher stuff as a result of those DC years. Both are excellent moms who would do just about anything for their high schoolers (who happen to be dating each other, awkward for the kids). Speaking of high school, the annual trip is coming up and they need chaperones. No one wants to have their parent chaperoning the trip, and news flash, not all parents want to go either. Such is the case in this story, but without Maya Kendrick there won’t be a trip, and Maya isn’t going alone, her partner in crime solving, Sandra, will going along for the ride. Next stop, Washington D.C., the place where politics can be cutthroat and perception is everything. It looks bad for Senator Wallage, who swears he is innocent, of both an affair with his intern and her death. Sandra knows that her soon to be ex-husband has his flaws, but he isn’t a killer. This is fast paced cozy with several interesting characters creating multiple avenues of inquiry and the culprit was a complete surprise. There is plenty of backstory included so this can be read as a stand-alone. Looking forward to what life brings to Sandra as she navigates being single.

Another good and entertaining cozy mystery featuring Maya Kendrick and Sandra Wallage who went to the same high school. I had fun and the solid mystery kept me guessing. Sandra is a PTA president and the wife of a Maine Senator, and Maya is an ex-police officer turned private investigator and she runs a PI business with Sandra on board, too. I love the relationship between Maya and Sandra who are total opposites. Would I read more in this series from Lee Hollis? An emphatic... yes! 😊

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Kensington Books via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Murder on the Class Trip by Lee Hollis (Maya & Sandra Mystery #3) 3 stars

This is my first Maya and Sandra Mystery, but not my first Lee Hollis mystery. I read a few of the Hayley Powell mysteries and enjoyed them. This mystery series features Maya Kendrick, a private investigator and Sandra Wallage, president of the local PTA acting as chaperons on a class trip to Washington D.C. After finding a female intern working for Sandra’s soon to be ex-husband dead, the duo must work to find the real killer and tamp down the potential scandal. This was an interesting mystery, well written but not my preference. I like the Hayley Powell mysteries better (maybe because of the culinary references).

Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Books for this ARC.

"Murder on the Class Trip" the 3rd instalment in the "A Maya and Sandra Mystery" by Lee Hollis.

Friends, moms, and P.I. partners Maya and Sandra have left their hometown of Portland, Maine, on a school trip to Washington, D.C.—where a killer has just added murder to the itinerary. . .

I really enjoyed this instalment, I really liked seeing Sandra in her element of Washington DC.

The mystery is interesting and well plotted, I kept guessing and second-guessing myself on whodunnit right to the very end. I recommend this book to all my cozy lover friends.

I requested and received an advance reader copy of this book from Kensington Books and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I'm not always a fan of book in a series that goes 'on-the-road' but this one works well as the destination is one that Sandra is very familiar with both the location and the characters involved in the mystery. The book was well-written and kept my attention from the first chapter. One reason is that I really like the characters. The mystery was interesting and had just enough twists and turns. I'm looking forward to the next one in the series.

cozy-mystery, private-investigators, series, chaperones, snarky, situational-humor, murder, murder-investigation, fbi, law-enforcement, excop, reporter, paparazzi, us-senator, divorcing, political-corruption, politicians, politics, verbal-humor, infidelities*****

The publisher's blurb is pretty good, but the story is much better. I really enjoyed it except that I thought that the ending fell apart instead of coaxing into the next in series. But I did read it straight through and will watch for the next one, anyway.
I requested and received a free temporary e-book copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!