Charlotte Illes is Not a Detective is perfect for a millennial audience. Charlotte, once a child detective, is now a twenty-something trying to navigate adulthood without a clear plan, which is something that many of us can relate to. When her brother ropes her into solving a mystery involving his girlfriend’s missing coworker, she’s thrown back into sleuthing, with her best friends, Lucy and Gabe, as her trusty sidekicks..Though the main mystery feels a bit underwhelming due to its focus on characters we don’t know well, the charm of Charlotte and her friends keeps things entertaining.

Meet Charlotte Illes. She's a former child detective who put away her investigative notebook and pen quite a few years ago. Now she's a twenty-five year old and trying to survive in the adult world. But being all grown up isn't what it's cracked up to be. She's been avoiding the phone calls and text of her best friends and brother, but when her brother comes to her with a mystery that he needs help solving, how can she say no?

This book is very fun because it feels like a cozy mystery for the millenial set. A lot of cozy mysteries feature middle aged characters with typical jobs in small towns. They may have a cat or two. But Charlotte Illes is a different kind of character. She's smart and sensible and I found her sense of humor to be very charming. I also related to her a lot because when I was twenty five I also had no idea what I wanted to do! And I also lived with my parents.

I loved the characters in this story. There's Charlotte of course. And then there's her brother Landon and his girlfriend Olivia. I mean, we didn't get to know them very well but they seemed nice. And Charlottes best friends Lucy and Gabe were awesome. They were funny and so caring and I thought the three of them made a great investigative team.

For me, the downfall of this book was the mystery. I just wasn't that interested in the mystery because it was about a group of people we didn't really know. The main mystery takes place at Olivia's job and we are introduced to so many characters that work with her, but who weren't very memorable.

The best part of this book was the scenes where Charlotte, Lucy, and Gabe got to be together and joke around with each other. Their conversations were so funny and I really enjoyed their friendship.

I hope there are more books to this series because these are characters that I absolutely want to get to know better. Charlotte has a bright future and I can't wait to see what mystery she investigates next. And hopefully her besties will be there too!

Charlotte Illes is Not a Detective is a fun, lighthearted New Adult mystery. I hope the the series keeps the vibe of the first!

A vastly different take on a mystery that I’ve ever read, this book was overall a funny story. The situations the child-prodigy-turned-adult Charlotte put herself in, when she begrudgingly investigated her brother’s girlfriend’s missing co-worker had me giggling and I especially loved Charlotte’s sidekick friends the most. They are the ones that made me continue listening to the book because who doesn’t love sass??? I will have to say that this is NOT a cozy mystery. Cozy mysteries do not include cursing, which this book certainly has so I’m not sure it’s being marketed as one. Also, I feel like the story could have been edited down a lot as it seemed to drag in several areas.

I enjoyed reading this book! I found it a refreshing, modern, and unique take/inspiration of the books I used to read as a kid. Nancy Drew, Encyclopedia Brown, The Boxcar Children, and others were several series I enjoyed. Charlotte is a fun character, and I'm looking forward to reading more of her and her mysteries!

My thanks to Kensington Publishing and NetGallery for a digital copy of this book for my review!

The premise is excellent: Former Girl Detective (think Nancy Drew) is all grown up and wants nothing to do with mysteries anymore, but, of course, just when she thinks she's out they suck her back in. With a great voice and a talent to watch, Katie Siegel delivers a wonderfully fresh detective story.

A fun read about what it's like to have the whole world only know you as your former self and the difficulties that come with trying to reinvent yourself when it's counter to your nature.

This book was fairly interesting, had good interesting characters and a great plot. I found Charlotte to be a very funny and engaging character.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with and ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Charlotte Illes Is Not a Detective is a wonderful novel with such an unusual origin that I could not help but request it, the first iteration of this story was in the form of a TikTok series. This was a quick an easy read with a quirky premise: what happens when child detectives grow up? Filled with charming characters and a page-turning (if not a teensy bit simple) mystery. Even though I enjoyed the reading experience greatly, I do think that this particular novel would have benefitted from being marketed as a middle grade story.

This could have been a good mystery but there were so many moving parts to the story line with the unionizing stuff going on. I had a really hard time keeping up with all the characters involved. They mystery portion pulled me in and then they would start talking about the union and I had a really hard time following everything that was happening when that was brought into the story line and found myself losing focus every time that was brought up.

This could have been a really cute, cozy mystery but it missed the mark.

This was a charming cozy mystery about a young woman who comes out of retirement from being a detective. I think a great part of this book was to set up her backstory and I look forward to the next installment to see if she really sinks her teeth into a mystery.
Many thanks to Kensington and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I liked the premise of this story. It is a low-key presentation of a woman who used her precocious detecting skills to make a name for herself when she was a child. Now, she tries to hide from the fame that comes when people google her name, especially before dates. Charlotte has sunken into a form of lethargy that she is unable to shake off. Her brother and mother are trying to work on her, convincing her to do something that might bring a spark back into her life.
Her brother's partner is the key to getting her on the move. They reach out to her and ask her for help with issues she is having, and Charlotte is emotionally compelled to make an attempt. There are also friends that she has been ignoring who come to her side as soon as they figure she has finally made some sort of change.
All of this was interesting and made for a very different read. There is something very matter-of-fact about the concept of a child detective and the concept of social media changing how things like that would stay in the public eye even years after the fact(s). It will be interesting to think of the more popular streamers a couple of decades or so from now!
The mystery itself has multiple pieces: one is personal, and the other is the death of a union member in a delivery company. The clues were a little obvious, and slight familiarity with the genre will ensure that the culprit is obvious from the moment the introductions are made. There is an overlap between the two parts of the story, but I significantly enjoyed one more than the other.
I liked the characters, who were all entertaining and different from each other. The interpersonal reactions were a highlight. I will read the next in the series if I get a chance, not for the mystery but to know where everyone ends up next.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me with a digital ARC of this title via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

This isn't quite what I expected. I saw in the summary it was about a child detective and expected another Flavia de Luce, which I really enjoy. This is about the grown up Charlotte who became famous as a child detective, but no longer wants that life. I was pleasantly surprised by this title. I found it to be funny, enjoyable, and a good little mystery with likable characters. I would happily read another about this character.

My favorite book of 2023! The dialogue was so fun and the friendships between characters was palatable! Such a fun cozy mystery with wonderful queer representation! Can't wait for more from this author!

My notes on this story include "felt like an adult DCOM", and that feels pretty accurate to my experience. This was a wonderfully warm and cozy story, full of family and friendship, with an interesting exploration of what it means to grow up gifted and turn out... ordinary. I loved the themes of balancing dreams with the pragmatic and mundane realities of adulthood. While Charlotte was (understandably) a bit morose, her brother and her friends really made the story shine, and reading this felt like a warm hug - in the same was as a Disney Channel Original movie can.
And yet, the same lack of reality shines through in the story. The novel's understanding of corporate workplace dynamics or even what it takes to afford adult life feel... challenged at best. And the mystery itself seemed a bit divorced from the major themes - something I found myself wishing were more closely tied to the actual novel.
Still, I enjoyed this read - a great one for a day off or a poolside relaxation day!

This book is an absolutely amazing read and I am very much looking forward to reading other books in the series.
What happens when a girl detective grows up? Can they ever actually live up to the potential that they showed when they were younger? That is what Charlotte is wrestling with right now. Everyone else who was in her detecting group has grown up and moved on but she is stuck. What is she supposed to do with her life? It's not like there's much call for a has-been child prodigy.
This story looks at mental illness, it looks at perception, and it deals with a bit of the grittier things in life. Charlotte has been closing in on herself for the past year and it's affecting her family and friends. She's given another case but is she going to be brave enough to move past her own insecurities?
Four and a half stars
This book came out June 27, 2023
ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

a reluctant famous former kid detective is roped back into the world of mystery solving when she gets a strange call from her brother about a potential stalker…but things end up getting much more complicated than anyone (especially Charlotte) expected.

This was a fun, queer murder mystery that was both lighthearted and insightful about the road to finding where you’re meant to be in life, and how sometimes you might feel stuck along the way. I loved the friendships/sibling relationships and even though this was single POV, the supporting characters were very well developed. I hear there’s a sequel in the works, and I’m very excited to see what else Charlotte gets up to!

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington for this arc 🔦🕵🏽‍♀️

I love love loved this start to a series. For me, it felt like a cozy murder mystery but with amped up humor. It felt super queer without hitting the reader over the head with it (as a queer myself, I appreciate that). There were genuine friendships represented, what felt like authentic dialogue to me, and just a ton of fun. For fans of Harriet the Spy, Sherlock Holmes, Finlay Donovan. Can't wait to read more about Charlotte.

Charlotte is one of my new favorite detectives and I cannot wait to read more in what I hope will be a long lasting series. Her quirky ways and the banter in the book was amazing.

Charlotte Illes is Not a Detective... but it sure is fun poking around mysterious situations with her!! Charlotte was a popular child detective when she was young but now she's in her twenties, unemployed, living with her mom, and avoiding her best friends and brother. Let me just tell you, Charlotte's character growth is wonderful! Loved the support she received from her family and friends and the real conversations they have that show faithfulness to Charlotte even when she feels a bit down and out. The mysteries within the story were great too! I had some guesses about how things were going to turn out and I never guessed correctly. I had a blast reading this and can't wait for the series to continue!

Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Books for my e-arc!! Charlotte Illes is Not a Detective is out now so you can join in the fun!