10 out of 10 everyone should read this book. I don't even want to spoil it. I love the way it's written. It's so stupid fun. I loved it. Everything about it. It cured my depression. It took my cat to the vet. I kid, but I really enjoyed this book and I don't want to leave a synopsis or review about the writing. It's just good. Try it. Look at the blurb, if it sounds fun, try it.

The cozy mystery aspect of this book is fun, but I found the multigenerational dynamics between Lana, Beth, and Jack far more interesting. As the formidable matriarch recently diagnosed with metastatic cancer, Lana is a force of nature in her ability to track down clues--but her newfound vulnerability makes her more human and relatable. I also loved the teenage Jack; she reminds me a bit of myself when I was that age. I wish Nina Simon had spent more time on Beth, but it was great to see how she raised not only Jack but herself starting at age eighteen.

Also, the author's note at the end about Simon's own mother's lung cancer made me cry (and made me appreciate the book more).

This mystery and the generational dysfunction was just great to read about. I thought I would be a bit more comedic/funny with the cover but still thoroughly enjoyed the ride. Not quite a cozy mystery and not a full on thrill ride but somewhere in the middle that was a nice enjoyable read.

The relationships were very much realistic and the battle between the mother and daughter was almost too real. I loved the mystery and how they each tried to solve it and deal with it in their own ways. Never having lived in a swampy/water area it was nice to get a different perspective on living in an area like that. I liked getting the point of views from all of the different characters as well.

Loverly debut novel and can’t wait to read what else this author writes in the future.

Mother Daughter Murder Night is an impressive debut novel. I enjoyed the setting the author chose for the story, it resonates with our family such as, nature, wildlife, conservation and kayaking. I loved the strong women characters portrayed in the book, especially the relationship between mother, daughter and granddaughter. The author acknowledges that the story came about because of her own mother and her cancer diagnosis…what a beautiful tribute to her. Read this is you like murder mysteries, family secrets, strong female relationships and a bit of humor, sass and amateur sleuths.

"Gilmore Girls" meets "Only Murders in the Building" in this whodunnit about a grandmother, mother, and daughter who become amateur sleuths.

After Lana Rubicon is diagnosed with cancer, she leaves behind her real estate empire in Los Angeles to live with her daughter, Beth, and teenage granddaughter, Jacqueline ("Jack"), 300 miles away in Monterey County, California. When Jack happens upon a dead body while on a kayaking tour, she quickly becomes a murder suspect. Beth thinks Lana should focus on her recovery, but Lana decides to find the true murderer and protect her family. With Beth and Jack's help, Lana uncovers lies, family vendettas, and land disputes in their sleepy coastal town. As the three women become amateur sleuths, they must do the one thing they have always resisted and depend on each other.

Reading this book reminded me a lot of two of my favorite shows, "Gilmore Girls" and "Only Murders in the Building." Based on the book's description, I was expecting a cozy mystery, but this book was definitely more of a family drama. I was disappointed by this at first, but I ended up really enjoying the family dynamics of the three headstrong Rubicon women, with Lana being my unexpected favorite. I didn't find the mystery that compelling, and I couldn't get past the fact that law enforcement initially considered a 15-year-old as their prime suspect, which was just too far-fetched for me. Overall, an entertaining debut from author Nina Simon, and I look forward to reading her future novels.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Great debut - fun, fully-fleshed characters, an interesting mystery with some twists, and a great ending. Not to mention the fantastic title! Lana is such a fiercely determined character that leaps off the page, and Beth and Jack are great as well. Do yourself a favor, and make sure you read the author's note at the end of the book. Lovely.

"High-powered businesswoman Lana Rubicon has a lot to be proud of: her keen intelligence, impeccable taste, and the L.A. real estate empire she’s built. But when she finds herself trapped 300 miles north of the city, convalescing in a sleepy coastal town with her adult daughter Beth and teenage granddaughter Jack, Lana is stuck counting otters instead of square footage—and hoping that boredom won’t kill her before the cancer does.

Then Jack—tiny in stature but fiercely independent—happens upon a dead body while kayaking. She quickly becomes a suspect in the homicide investigation, and the Rubicon women are thrown into chaos. Beth thinks Lana should focus on recovery, but Lana has a better idea. She’ll pull on her wig, find the true murderer, protect her family, and prove she still has power.

With Jack and Beth’s help, Lana uncovers a web of lies, family vendettas, and land disputes lurking beneath the surface of a community populated by folksy conservationists and wealthy ranchers. But as their amateur snooping advances into ever-more dangerous territory, the headstrong Rubicon women must learn to do the one thing they’ve always resisted: depend on each other."

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon is a warm cozy mystery with deep heart and soul. The story absolutely illuminates the fierce bond and love among three women in a multi-generational family. Lana, the grandmother and lifelong fighter for her own success in LA real estate, is now fighting for her life with a cancer diagnosis. Beth, her daughter and polar opposite as the creative, calm artist, has forged her own path in Northern California after leaving home, pregnant and unhappy, years before. Jack (Jacqueline) is Beth’s enthusiastic, teenage, nature-loving daughter with a happy heart and enquiring mind. When Jack discovers a murdered man’s body in a local slough, she forges ahead investigating it with her very enthusiastic grandmother Lana. Their shenanigans frustrate Beth, but ultimately bring them all closer. The plot is a fun whodunit set in a stunning locale—Monterey, California, which immediately engaged me with its allusions to the rich topography, marine life, artichoke fields, and art community. The author captures this scenic area beautifully, with a warm, personal touch.
It was lovely experiencing these three generations of feisty women, confirming their complicated, magical love of each other. The writing is warm, with wry humor and pithy commentary on social mores (mostly in Lana’s voice.) This is a well-written, very enjoyable debut novel!

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

This book was an entertaining read and featured multi-generations of strong women supporting each other.

The cunning of Lana, to the caring Beth and the scrappy Jill - all three women held their own and still supported each other.

Nina really brought the coastal town to the forefront and it felt like its own character.

Themes of family drama and female relationships run strong as well as dealing with an unexpected illness.

I enjoyed hearing from Nina about her process and how the book came together. Make sure to read the acknowledgements to learn more. I am looking forward to more books from Nina.

I read this book as part of @thoughtsfromapage’s Early Reads program for patreons. Thanks to @netgalley and @williammorrowbooks for the ARC.

A marvelous story of family and perseverance. I loved the characters. They were well developed and had great interpersonal conflict and resolution. The plot was intriguing and kept me guessing throughout without being stressed. Overall, I loved this story! I plan to force my mom to read it next.

If you were a fan of Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, then you need to read Mother Daughter Murder Night.

A little bit of a darker, cozy mystery, with some comedic moments. But, lots of depth as well, as the book deals with the complicated relationships between parents and their children.

Mother Daughter Murder Night involves three generations of Rubicon women. Lana, our matriarch, is staying with her daughter and granddaughter while she undergoes treatment for cancer. A powerful woman who is used to being listened to and respected is feeling the complete opposite now that she's ill. When her granddaughter, Jack, finds a dead body and the detectives suggests that 15 year old Jack had something to do with his death, Lana now has a project, she has to figure out who killed this man. But Lana and her daughter Beth have a bit of a strained relationship, and Beth resists Lana's attempts to solve this crime.

I really went into this not knowing what it was about, and it wasn't actually what I was expecting. I thought it was going to be more of a darker thriller. But I love a good cozy whodunit, so I really enjoyed this book. I read this book in a couple of days. It definitely kept me hooked.

The story was interesting and definitely kept me guessing. The Rubicon women were great characters. Beth wasn't my favorite at first, but she really grew on me. Especially when you get a better understanding of why her relationship was so strained with her mom. I loved the secondary characters as well, especially Miss Gigi from Bayshore Oaks' long-term care home.

I'd definitely recommend adding this delightfully cozy murder mystery to your fall reading list.

I received an advanced digital copy of this book for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

"Mother-Daughter Murder Night" by Nina Simon is a Cozy Mystery Whodunit!

Who doesn't love a fun and entertaining debut novel, I ask you?

If you're looking for an edge-of-your-seat murder mystery, look elsewhere. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of suspects here and a couple of good twists, but this story is primarily about main character, Lana Rubicon, her adult daughter Beth, and teenage granddaughter Jack, short for Jacqueline Avital Santos Rubicon aka 'Tiny'. She's small.

This was an estranged family until four months ago when Lana called Beth to let her know about her cancer diagnosis. That's when she moved from her fancy condo in Los Angeles to Beth's and Jack's little bungalow above Elkhorn Slough on Monterey Bay.

Surgery first, then three months of chemo, now she's two weeks away from her first scans to check improvement.

With Beth at work, Jack at school, boredom sets in for Lana and watching life outside her window through a set of binoculars is her main pastime. While watching one night, she sees a man with a flashlight pushing a wheelbarrow down the hill to the slough. That can't be good.

The next day, Jack discovers a dead body in the slough while leading a kayaking tour. Questioned by police, Jack becomes the first suspect. Enraged, Lana decides to start her own investigation and Beth and Jack soon jump-in to assist. The female super-sleuthing begins...

"Mother Daughter Murder Night" is a cozy-mystery with spots of humor and interesting family dynamics. It seems nothing brings a family together like a little neighborhood murder...or two. Loads of well-drawn characters, especially Grandmother Lana with her wigs, spiked heels, and no-fear determination. What a great character!

"Mother Daughter Murder Night" is a debut that was written with a purpose by the California author whose own mother was diagnosed with cancer. This book became their shared project creating much needed joy and focus. Be sure to read the author's Acknowledgments at the end of the book for more details.

"Mother Daughter Murder Night" was a welcomed respite after reading a dense and exhausting read. Was this story realistic and believable? Absolutely not. What it was, was easy to read, fun and entertaining. I'll take that over a complicated reading experience, every single time, and I wholeheartedly recommend this book to readers who look for and desire the same!

4⭐

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow, and Nina Simon for an ALC of this book. It has been an honor to give my honest and voluntary review.

I’m so sorry, I just did not like this book. I really wanted to love it but it was hard to get through. I thought it was boring and predictable. I guessed the killer the second they were introduced. I liked the grandma, mom, and granddaughter but beyond that… not for me.

If Emily, Lorelai, and Rory Gilmore teamed up to solve a murder it might read something like this! I was invested not only in solving the crime, but in unraveling the complicated issues and relationships of these women. Our youngest heroine, Jack, starts our adventure with the discovery of a dead body while on the job leading a kayak tour of her home away from home, the slough near her house. When one of the detectives on the case comes at Jack too aggressively for her grandmother Lana’s liking, Lana can’t help but appoint herself detective, determined to find the real murderer. With both her mother, who is currently fighting cancer, and her teenaged daughter involved, Beth can’t help but lend her assistance as well. The result is a fun, female-empowered caper through the slough, around several distractions and red herrings, into a satisfying conclusion.

Thank you to William Morrow and Netgalley for the advanced copy. I really enjoyed reading this book. There is an enjoyable mystery to follow, but more importantly there is the story of strong women trying to navigate their complicated relationships (while at the same time trying to solve said mystery). The character of Lana, in particular, is a force that I hope will turn up in more stories in the future.

After a man shows up dead; the Rubicon family is thrust into a murder mystery to clear their name, ensure their waters are safe, and ultimately to solve a good mystery.

This was enjoyable, but I did find it slow at times. The beginning had some good pace, but by the middle I was wanting to skim to the end. It was more of a slow burn and although there was focus on plot, there was also a lot of time/focus spent on the characters and their dialogue. For me, it just ended up having too much time of not much movement or forward progression; but it was well written and I think many will love this.

I loved this debut novel by @ninaksimon & the story behind her writing of this book! As an oncology nurse, I so often hear about how patients don’t want to be defined by cancer. I love that Nina & her mom wrote this book as a way to make memories together! On top of that, this is a great murder mystery that is full of twists and great comedic one liners that are timed perfectly. The story follows an estranged family, full of strong women. A cancer diagnosis brings the three women under one roof, but it is a local murder that really pulls them together. Can this trio discover who the murderer is before someone else is killed?!

Seriously, just go ahead and pre-order this one! I’ve put my order in for a physical copy!

As always, thank you @williammorrowbooks and @netgalley for allowing me to read this book ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.

This was a good mystery story by Nina Simon. It is about three generations of women a mom her daughter and granddaughter who try to solve a murder mystery. Thanks William Morrow and Netgalley for my arc.

Thank you Netgalley and William Morrow for this arc.

I don’t read too many contemporary murder mysteries but this one sounded interesting. The dynamics of the Rubicon women caught my attention and made me want to read about them. In a way, solving the murder was kind of a side interest to watching the way Lana Rubicon power walked into a scene and grabbed it with both hands. Lana is the kind of woman who can make grown men fear and obey her and now she’s passing on some of her skills to her granddaughter – while solving a murder.

I was correct to pay more attention to the women of the book and how they go about solving the murder rather than be focused on the “who-dunnit.” The Rubicon women are tough each in their own way. Lana, as mentioned, has built her own career and makes men sweat merely at the sound of her heels coming down the hall. She’s a steamroller and lets little stand in her way. Cancer? She might be staggering a bit in exhaustion a few days after her chemo sessions but can still shove the weakness aside and pull off a power suit and designer shoes while intimidating Jack’s loser boss with a direct stare. Though I would love to believe that Lana could pull off all she does, it seems a little bit of a stretch for a woman at the end of five months of chemo.

Beth seems like the quiet, gentler one but she stuck to her guns, kept her baby, renovated her house, went to nursing school, and has raised Jack alone with no help from the father and little from her mother. She might not be able to completely rein her mother in but she can curb her a little. Beth has also dealt with the stares and comments about her biracial daughter and unlike Lana, Beth knows things can be stacked against Jack just because of the color of her skin. She is fiercely protective of her daughter but also doesn’t let Jack get away with breaking rules they’ve made.

Jack loves the slough, loves being on the water, loves seeing the natural world around her and is horrified at what her tourists found. Even after her grandmother’s spirited defense and the investigation turns away from her as “person of interest,” Jack is keen to help figure out what really happened and why. The more time she spends with Lana – or Prima as Jack calls her – the more life lessons and negotiating skills Lana imparts to her about getting men to do what you want.

These women are tough and fierce when they need to be. Do they eventually crack the case? Well, eventually. There are a plethora of possible culprits with motives, secrets, and means to have done the crime. There’s also a police detective who is determined to shoo Lana and her interference off the case. I enjoyed watching them put their skills and knowledge to work as well as following along via the clues lightly scattered along the way. The final paragraphs hint at possible future books which I would be happy to read. B

Woah! Ok, so this is on my highly anticipated read list.
And I have the opportunity to read and review it!
They had at me at….. The Maid meets The Last Thing He Told Me. Sign me up!

Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon brilliantly infuses comedy and mystery into the unpredictable murder mystery.
A tightly-plotted, story, Mother-Daughter Murder Night keeps you guessing till the very last twist.
I enjoyed the laugh out loud moments, the characters and the family dynamic was so relatable.
Something about Simon’s writing made their personalities so vivid.
This was a page turner; I found it hard to put down.
The web of lies, family vendettas and mystery that is so tangled I was immediately sucked into.
This book is very well written, the pace is excellent and made for an all around phenomenal read.
A remarkable debut whodunnit about a grandmother-mother-daughter trio who come together as amateur sleuths to solve a murder in their coastal California town.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and William Morrow for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Book Club Hotel by Sarah Morgan
This is a fun book about college friends who remain close by getting together yearly for a “book vacation.” Friends Erica, Claudia and Anna are all turning 40, and a trip to the Maple Sugar Inn in Vermont seems like the perfect place to catch up and talk books.
Little do they know that Erica has chosen the Maple Sugar Inn for a very different reason. Each character faces a challenge and is able to overcome it with the help of good friends and family.
This book delves into what makes a family, why these relationships are so important to us and what we do when our ideas of our past are different than what we thought.
#netgalley