This story was so fun! Equal parts contemporary fiction and murder mystery, with a dual pov, paranormal/psychic main character, and a romantic opposites attract subplot…this book has everything. The pacing was great, the story was funny, the side characters were a blast. I can’t wait to read the next installments.

This is a fun mystery! The story is so funny, and the characters are super fun and quirky! This book was very entertaining, and I stayed up too late to finish it! I am glad that it's just the beginning of a series and I have so many more books to look forward to.

The story is about Riley Thorn, a woman who has ignored her psychic gift for nearly her whole life. The women of her family all have some type of psychic gift; however, Riley feels like her abilities are not reliable and somewhat defective. Riley is in a rut in her life, surviving day to day by going to an unsatisfying job, coming home to a crowded house full of elderly folks she is not related to, and with no love life to speak of. Then, one day a man named Nick Santiago comes knocking on her door looking for her neighbor Dickey.

Thanks to her gift and perceptiveness, she sees through Nick's excuse right away. Shortly after, she has a vision that Dickey is going to be shot inside his apartment. Riley does everything she can to prevent the murder, to no avail. Then, Riley is drawn into the investigation, and chaos ensues. I really loved the hijinks that Riley and her housemates are involved in, and I love the variety of characters in the story.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good mystery with a lot of humor.

Book Review
Riley Thorne Series by Lucy Score includes:
1.The Dead Guy Next Door - features Dickie the neighbour found dead next door
2.Corpse in the Closet- features glitter bombs
3.Blast from the Past - features the mystery surrounding Kellen’s sisters disappearance
4.Body in the Backyard - features Griffin aka asshat ex

What Its Got
✅Meddling, shining star seniors
✅Banter, humour, wit, apt descriptors, visuals that embed themselves on your psyche
✅Psychics
✅Dogs
✅Mansion/flophouse
✅Police chases, breaking rules and procedures
✅Guys flexing their testosterone
✅Girls flexing their badass selves
✅Sneaking and stalking
✅Asshat ex husband
✅Enemies to lover
✅Forced proximity
✅Found family
✅Disability rep
✅ Free spirits and stick in the muds

Cast of crazy characters
MMC- Nick
FMC- Riley
Burt the dog
PIs - Josie, Brian
Mansion - Fred, Mrs Penny, Mr Willicott, Lily
Psychics- Blossom, Wander, Gabe
BFF- Jasmine and Kellen
Channel 50- Griffin, Bella, Chris

Thoughts
📕 I loved way each book starts off the same way- with a current event depicting a crime/victim - Then - the book shifts to the past building up to the present timeline
📕Score’s characters are epic! I want to be Mrs Penny when I grow up- this book is bursting with cocktails and shit disturbers and profound chaos in the BEST way
📕 Nick Santiago can be my protector anyday
📕 this series feels like a TV show Cocktail - think a shot of Superstore, a shot of Murder She Wrote with a bit of a Reality tv chaser mixed in
📕the reader is so swept up in the characters shenanigans and solving the mystery that the romance takes a back seat- until a carefully crafted burst of sexual energy and activity reminds us that our MCs have needs

Overall
Binged all 4 books in 2 days!!! I would easily
Keep reading more books about these characters

Thanks to @netgalley and @sourcebooks for my digital ARCs in return for an honest review. Opinions expressed are
My own!

The Dead Guy Next Door by Lucy Score is a delightful and humorous tale that captivates readers with its charming characters and well-crafted writing. The story unfolds like a cinematic experience, drawing readers in with its fast-paced plot that keep me hooked from beginning to end. The characters are both endearing sweet and relatable, making it easy for me to become emotionally invested in their journey.

This was fun and gave me vibes of early Janet Evanovich! I don't know if I would continue with the series but I did enjoy this.

Lucy Score strikes again! Her novels are always so much fun! I loved the story. It was goofy, fun but still griping in a way that made it impossible to put down! Can’t wait to read the rest of the series!

The Lucy Score books are so fun to read! I love this series and flew through all of them so fast! These are perfect for summer. Really enjoyed them!

Riley Thorn is a psychic but learning to hone her skills. She is divorced, broke and living in a house with elderly room mates when she has vision of her neighbor being murdered.

Her neighbor actually does get killed. In a bizarre chase to try and catch the killer she stumbles on Nick Santiago a private investigator. The sparks fly between these two instantly. He wants to be her fake boyfriend/fiance so he can learn more about the residents and try and solve the case. The relationship banter is funny and all the residents trying to help leads too many shenanigans. The rescuing of the dogs was my favorite part.

This book was hilarious and light hearted and a fun read. It is first in series and I can't wait to see what happens next with Riley and Nick.

Five stars

This book was so fun, entertaining and just all-around good time. It was completely different from other books by Lucy Score that I have read. It had the great aspects of a cozy mystery, with close a meddling family that added some many laugh out loud moments, the supernatural elements of being a psychic added to the fun of solving this murder mystery, and finally adding in some romance with spice just pulled this book together. This book was just an enjoyable time that took my mind to a funny captivating time as soon as I opened it. The only thing I will say is the romance and relationship development was a little fast in development but did not take away from this book for me. There is forced proximity, fake dating, and one bed trope which Riley and Nike could not get enough of them together. I would highly recommend this book if you're looking for a murder mystery, hilarious moments and romance, this is a story to definitely check out.
I received an ebook, via Netgalley. This review is my own honest opinion.

I loved this book so much. It is fun and witty while having a very well thought out plot. Its a bit lighter on the romance angle than LS's other books, but it still hits your in the feels with the Nick and Riley chemistry.

Really loved the characters but the story was a little meh. It was mostly silly and the love story annoyed me because really nothing was holding them back besides their own dumb hang ups. I did love the characters and the dialog was amusing as well. Overall, it was pretty good but not the best. I will read the next in the series. I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've had this series in my TBR for some time now. When I received an ARC for book 4, I figured I better get started on books 1-3! And boy oh boy what and adventure! This book has everything! Hot muscular tattooed MMC? ✅ Hilarious boundary-less octogenarian roommates/found family? ✅ Cozy murder mystery? ✅ Slow burn romance? ✅ Car chases and fight scenes? ✅ And best of all,; smart, strong, sassy heroine? Did I mention she's psychic? Yeah, got it all.
You know how some books are hauled as "laugh out loud funny?" Yeah, I don't get that. I've never found a single book that actually delivered that, until today.

Such a fun and light read! I will that it probably could have been about 50-100 pages shorter and still had a great effect on me.

This book also had no business being this funny! The romance was also very subtle and I just wanted MORE.

Can't wait to read the rest of the series!!

This book was my first full length novel by Lucy Score, I had read her Hope story and loved it.

I was ecstatic when I got this! So many of my bookclub friends love her but I unfortunately did not finish it.

This book was a whirlwind of events, making it feel perhaps a bit too extensive, resulting in some parts feeling like filler. A concise could’ve made it a smoother read. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the reverse grumpy sunshine dynamic and appreciated the diverse, unique characters. Riley Thorn, our FMC, being a psychic who rejects her powers, paired with Nick, the MMC, an investigator, made for an intriguing premise. Overall, it was a fun read!

Thank you to the publishing company and the author for providing an ebook in exchange for an honest review 🫶

I was hooked on this one at "elderly roommates" because OMG that is my sweet spot. I enjoyed all the characters and am excited to see this series grow over the next few books!

Entertaining!!!

Thank you NetGallary for an early review copy of The Dead Guy Next Door!

Another must read by Lucy Score!

This book is laugh out load funny! Perfect characters! I was highly entertained throughout the entire book!

Riley and Nick’s story is hilarious with just the perfect amount of mystery, humor and romance! I could not put this book down!

I am rapidly making my way through Lucy Score’s entire book catalog and enjoying every single second of it!

Lucy Score is an amazing author! I’m really enjoying her writing!

No spoilers with my review. You will not be disappointed! Overall I give this book 5 golden stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️

This is the first book of the Riley Thorn series. I have to admit I jumped on the chance to review this book as I've read some of this author's books and have loved them and so I didn't think twice about picking this up. In hindsight, I probably should have read the summary first. The writing is great, don't get me wrong, it's just that this particular genre is not really my cup of tea, so I couldn't fully get into it. It's well-written with good character development and centers around a mystery and I did enjoy the banter and interactions between Nick and Riley. It has a lot of fun and humorous moments as well, and is a great book to pick up in between those more heavier, emotion-filled books. Though this book wasn't for me, I will definitely still read other books by this author because she generally has such a great writing style.
My thanks to NetGalley for providing a complimentary copy. This is my honest review.

I’m have always loved Lucy Score and this book was not different. I had fun with the characters and their stories and finished this one quick, although I didn’t want it to end. Thank you for the opportunity to read. Will for sure be suggesting to all my book reading buddies out there.

“Riley Thorn and the Dead Guy Next Door," the first installment in the self-titled series by Lucy Score, is not a stand-alone piece and should be read first.

The novel begins on July 4th and then shifts to the past, recounting events from eighteen days prior. Recently divorced thirty-four-year-old Riley “middle name unknown” Thorn wants nothing more than to put her use of psychic abilities behind her. Since the age of four, when her visions temporarily shattered her parents' marriage, she has dismissed her premonitions and clairvoyant skills as mere fantasies lacking credibility. However, when she dreams about her next-door neighbor's impending death, Riley can no longer ignore the voices in her head. Her attempt to alert the authorities about Dickie Frick's potential demise backfires when she finds herself implicated as a prime suspect in his murder.
Private investigator and ex-detective Nick Santiago accidentally bumps into Riley as they both stumble down the stairs. When Dickie is murdered, Nick joins forces with Riley, posing as her boyfriend and sometimes fiancé, to gain closer access to the crime scene for their investigation. Meanwhile, Riley seeks guidance from Gabe, her spiritual advisor. To assist her "boyfriend" Nick and Detective Weber with their caseloads, she summons spiritual guides—the pink and blue cotton candy clouds—to help crack the case.
The entire novel is filled with farcical caricatures. Gabe (no last name) arrives in the town of Harrisburg, presenting himself as neither human nor alien, just a presence. His unwavering devotion to Riley from the outset of their relationship is peculiar. Riley's thoughts sometimes seem immature for a woman of thirty-three. When an oversized dog named Burt jumps on her, her initial reaction is to humorously speculate that the dog might be a werewolf. Burt, whom Riley adopts and the townspeople describe as lion-like, has a penchant for human food and is frequently depicted as flatulent. Surprisingly, more emphasis is placed on the dog's digestive issues than on the details of the crime scenes or the investigative work of Riley, Weber, and Nick. Riley’s ex-husband, Griffin Gentry, is portrayed as a tan, Ken doll wannabe and is self-obsessed and dimwitted.

This novel felt disorganized and scattered. It lacked the promised suspense, and the romantic comedy elements advertised on the cover are misleading. While the novel includes moments of angst and one or two intimate scenes, most of the novel contains over-the-top mannerisms and comments from the characters, which gives the impression of reading about a circus funhouse and its eccentric inhabitants. Minor character names such as Elizabeth Quakenbush and Aunt Phinola are scattered throughout the novel, contributing to its immature writing style and detracting from its believability.

The main villain's transformation from controlled, calculated, and emotionless to sporadic, impulsive, and rageful seems more suited to a movie plot than realistic human behavior. Typically, such a villain would act methodically when faced with threats, especially as someone of high political status, using resources and funds to silence opposition rather than chasing Riley through town, brandishing a gun, and shooting at her. Given the scenario with numerous bystanders present, it's implausible that the villain would escape capture.
Rating 2.5/5

Thank you to Lucy Score, NetGalley and Sourcebooks-Bloom Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.