I really loved this 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

THE GREAT JEWEL ROBBERY (A Front Page Mystery Book #1) by Elizabeth McKenna is the start of a new cozy mystery series featuring two best friends who are reporters on the Chicago Tribune. This story has an easy to read writing style, amusing new main characters, and some surprises along the way.

Emma and Grace have very different life experiences but have been best friends since college and both now write for the Chicago times. Emma writes for the sports page and Grace writes for the society page. When Grace is assigned to cover a charity auction and ball and her date drops out, Emma becomes her plus one for the weekend. When the disappearance of the main jewelry collection for the auction is discovered, Grace sees this as her chance to get off the society page and become an investigative reporter, while Emma agrees to help, she keeps having run ins with handsome local detective.

This is a fast paced cozy mystery with plenty of suspects and red herrings. Emma and Grace are very likable protagonists, and I enjoyed the differences in their backgrounds did not matter to their friendship. The pace was consistent throughout and the conclusion tied up all the loose threads.

I had the first book in the series on my virtual shelf for a while. It was only when I saw the second book in the series also available that I went back and decided to read both back to back.
I am actually quite fond of reading back-to-back books in a series because it feels like one long saga, which works even better when it is filled with people who are interesting and/or entertaining.
Our leading lady is Emma, and her best friend Grace features heavily in both books as well. The central investigator is definitely Emma. Grace has been invited to a party held in a fancy home of friends of her family. Due to these very connections, Grace is only allowed to write for the society pages. This is something she hopes to change.
Grace gets a chance when they stumble onto a robbery and assault. The family that owns and lives in the home seem to have undercurrents of issues. The two women start to pick apart the pieces while the local law enforcement catches Emma's eye for more reasons than just his annoyance at their interference.
The plot of the mystery, even before an actual murder occurs, was interesting. It was simple without losing any of the requirements of making a good cozy mystery. I did guess the actual culprit but did not expect the final events.
The author provides a smooth and consistent narrative, making it an easy read with investigations that had me interested until the final discussion. I would recommend this series to readers of this genre and would definitely read another by the author.
I received this book as an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading.

I really enjoyed this book and the characters. I love that the friends have different life experiences. Chicago Tribune reporters Emma and Grace have been best friends since college despite coming from different worlds. When Grace is assigned to cover an annual charity ball and auction being held at a lakeside mansion and her boyfriend bails on her, she brings Emma as her plus one. The night is going smoothly until Emma finds the host’s brother unconscious in the study. Though at first it is thought he was tipsy and stumbled, it soon becomes clear more is afoot, as the wall safe is empty and a three-million-dollar diamond necklace is missing. With visions of becoming ace investigative journalists, Emma and Grace set out to solve the mystery, much to the chagrin of the handsome local detective. I will be looking forward to the next adventures.
#TheGreatJewelRobbery #NetGalley

This is the first book in a series and suffers a little bit from trying to set up everyone and everything. I, unfortunately, didn't connect with the first-person narrator. She was just a little to fluffy for my tastes but I think other readers will enjoy the chance to see the inner workings of a sports reporter/budding detective.
Emma is traveling with her friend Grace to a fancy-pants auction in Wisconsin. Grace would like to be a hard-hitting reporter but she has been stuck in Life and Style because she has connections that get her into things like this fundraising auction.
The auction is at the mansion of Grace's family friends. Emma goes with because Grace was allowed a guest and her latest boyfriend has proven feckless. While there, Emma discovers the brother of the owner nearly dead in their library. In addition, the beautiful diamond necklace that was the star of the auction has disappeared.

Three stars
This book originally came out May 28, 2019 and is being rereleased
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Emma and Grace are friends who are journalists for the Chicago Tribune who are covering a charity ball for the paper. Emma is tagging along with her friend Grace who is actually covering the story and didn’t want to attend by herself. They are transported to the world of wealth and riches in a mansion outside of Chicago where it seems that they can escape the world for a little bit. When they arrive, their hostess shows them an extremely expensive necklace that will be auctioned off that night for charity and the evening begins without a hitch. When Emma goes to the study looking for her friend, she stumbles across the hostess’ brother-in-law who is unconscious on the floor. He seems to have been hit on the head and they attribute it to his drinking and brush it off. That is until they find the safe open and the rare necklace has vanished.

Emma is automatically suspect number one. She was the one who found the man unconscious and the safe wide open under mysterious circumstances. Emma knows that she is not the one who has committed the crime, but she is struggling to get the handsome police detective to believe her. He sets out on investigating everyone at the party and while there are plenty of other suspects, the detective seems to be honed in on her for the theft. Deciding that no one can clear her name except herself, she is determined to listen behind doors and find a better suspect for the robbery other than herself.

This book was a quick little read. I enjoyed reading it and found that I read it in one day. I will say that at times it was hard to keep up with all of the characters as there seemed to be so many and I got a little confused on who was who. Also, there was many references to a statue that was spelled as “statute” throughout the book. I am hoping that got cleaned up on the final edit, because that was a little distracting for me. All in all, this book was a cute little read and I wouldn’t be opposed to reading more installments in the future.

Overall Rating: 3 stars
Author: Elizabeth McKenna

Series: A Front Page Mystery #1

Publisher: Self Published

Publication Date: May 29, 2019

Pages: 206

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Get It: Amazon

Disclaimer: This book was given to me by the publisher, through NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review. I reviewed this book without compensation of any kind. All thoughts and opinions are solely mine.

I found this to be better than I expected. I liked the two main characters. It is a typical cozy mystery, but it is easy to read. The writing is comfortable, inviting you to connect with the setting and people. The pacing is is good and consistent. Although I did feel that during the conclusion scene some of the motivation was a bit off.

Very well written cozy. Characters are relate able and I enjoyed getting to know them. Would love more from this author! Short but good read. I'll gladly partake of a second helping!! Thanks#netgalley for the eARC in for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

I was quite drawn to this book, as I thought the cover design was eye-catching and attractive, with nice colours and fonts, so I was pleased to be approved to read and review it.

What impressed me about this book was the way that it surprised me. It wasn't what I initially expected, but I did enjoy it.

I was initially expecting an old-fashioned cosy mystery, maybe resembling Agatha Christie's style of writing, and set in a similar time period. This wasn't anything like that, and it was in a modern setting, but it had all the warmth and cosiness that I was hoping for.

I liked the protagonist and identified with her, and I found the story itself entertaining and amusing. It was light enough to read in one sitting, and satisfying as a cosy mystery read.

I would probably be interested in reading some more books featuring these characters, if there are going to be others in the future. I may recommend this book to some of my book club readers and friends who are interested in cosy mysteries. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for my opportunity to read and review this.

The Great Jewel Robbery is a series starter cozy mystery by Elizabeth McKenna. Released in May 2019, it's 204 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a well written small town cozy with significant romance subplot. Big town reporters Emma & Grace are on site to cover a charity event in a small lake town when skullduggery and the theft of an extremely valuable necklace gives them more of a story to investigate than they had bargained for.

It's tropey in a lot of ways (buddy amateur sleuths, contrary but oh-so-handsome local lawman, over the top capers and hijinks), but honestly it's such a fluffy enjoyable readable book that it's pure comfort food for the eyes. There are now two books extant in the series making it a decent candidate for a short weekend binge read.

Readers who enjoy a dose of HFN romance in their mysteries will find a lot to like here. The writing is above average, protagonists who are funny and don't make readers want to bang their heads together, lots of eyelash fluttering and heart palpitations when Detective Ryan shows up. The language is squeaky clean and the violence isn't graphic. The author has also included a couple of recipes (planked salmon & potato pancakes) in the back of the book as well as precis of some of her other books.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.