An entertaining mystery/thriller with a main character who'd be right at home with Stephanie Plum or Kinsey Millhone. The books...this is #4 in the series.....are fast reads because they are so good you can't stop reading. Mira James and Battle Lake, Minnesota have earned a place of honor on my TO BE RECOMMENDED list.

After three murders and a couple of failed romances, Mira James has had enough of Battle Lake, Minnesota. She starts looking for someone to replace her at the library, delivers the bad news to her editor at the Battle Lake Recall, and starts planning her move back to Minneapolis. Those plans come to a screeching halt when her teenaged library assistant Lucy Lebowski is murdered. Mira, who now has her own spy ensemble complete with a menacing spider knife, sets out to discover who killed Lucy, certain the crime has something to do with a new religious cult that has set up camp in nearby Clitherall. This installment in the Murder by Month series adds a few new faces to the Battle Lake cast of characters and brings back mayor Kennie Rogers, with yet another whacky business idea, and my personal favorite, Mrs. Berns, who makes aging seem like a wild and raucous adventure. This was a quick and hilarious read for me, filled with plenty of page-turning suspense and very satisfying twists at the end. On to September!

Thank you to NetGalley, Jess Lourey, and Thomas & Mercer for this e-book in exchange for an honest review.
I gave this book a 4.75/5.

Mira James is back at it again despite her best efforts to stay out of all trouble and try to get things set up in order for her to move after he failed romantic attempt. Battle Creek, however, has different plans for Mira. This book takes place at the end of July into the beginning of August so now is the perfect time to read and it is being re-released today!

This book thoroughly kept me entertained from beginning to end and was read in one sitting. There is still a good amount of humor mixed in with a cozy mystery aspect of the story. Only this time Mira's Library assistant Lucy, a high school cheerleader, has been murdered, a neighboring store has somebody stealing money, and a new Bible Camp has come to town and with it trouble.
Now it's up to Mira to figure out if they really are doing the Lord's work or are they up to something else? Who murdered the cheerleader? And who is stealing from the neighboring store?
Will Mira be able to solve all three mysteries, or will they catch up to her and Mira be next? Read now to find out!

#netgalley #netgalleyreview #julyreads #jesslourey
#augustmoonmurderbymonthmysteryband4

August Moon is book four in the Murder by Month Romcom Mystery series by Jess Lourey.
It's witty. funny and mysterious!
This book is hilarious, filled with an exciting cast of characters.
It was full of mystery and intrigue.
An exciting cozy mystery that was so much fun to read.

Thank You NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Enjoying reading this little series. Some installments are more enjoyable than others. This one was as bit clunky at parts, but overall it was a fun little lighthearted read.

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this one in exchange for an honest review!

This book is part of a cozy mystery series that is part mystery, part humor, and part romance. We follow a librarian in a small town as she seemingly always gets involved in murder investigations.

These books are a lot of fun! I always find myself laughing as I read through these. Some of the situations are a bit dramatic and over the top but that adds to the fun.

I love the small town feel and all of the quirky characters.

I also enjoy how short and fast paced these are. I am always able to read them in a short period because of the pacing and the length. I think the mystery was interesting and engaging as well.

This book kept me entertained throughout the whole thing and I would recommend this series!

In August Moon, the fourth installment of Jess Lourey's Mira James Mystery series, the irrepressible amateur sleuth Mira James returns to Battle Lake, Minnesota, for another uproarious adventure. After a romantic disappointment with the town's local heartthrob, Mira's plans to escape the peculiarities of Battle Lake are derailed when she is drawn back to investigate the suspicious death of a cheerleader. Tasked with unraveling the secrets of the New Millennium Bible Camp, a bizarre establishment that combines Stepford Wives eeriness with a Hee-Haw charm, Mira finds herself entangled in a web of mystery and self-reflection. Lourey's sharp wit and engaging storytelling continue to shine, making August Moon a delightful read for fans of humorous mysteries and the indomitable Mira James.

This book is the fourth in the series but can be read in any order. It’s an easy to follow story with some funny moments but focuses on the Mc, Mira (a librarian) who returns to her small town, described as stepford wives meets hee-haw with a higher than average body count, because her assistant has been murdered. Shes determined to get justice for Lucy.

This series is becoming one of my favorites.

Jess Lourey took a risk with this book - adding more serious subject matter than the preceding three books. I think those risks do shift this story more into the real world, but I can also see them being divisive for some readers. Personally, I think the author kept any serious sentiment carefully within the realms of the character's development. I think that's fine. There's a difference between including possibly divisive elements in a character (and it make sense to that character) and the author expressing such elements in the general story.

Putting all that aside, I want to focus on the mystery in the book, which I think is the best mystery of the four books so far in the series. It's darker than the other mysteries, another risk taken by the author. But it worked for me. The twists and surprises were very well done.

Unfortunately, the overuse of quirks still pulls me out of the story too much. Maybe it would be better if the quirks were more suited to the setting of the story more. At least they would seem more natural and not there just for shock value.

Link to video review will be added later.

This had no business being so fun and charming as it was! Cozy, witty and wildly entertaining. I loved this!

What can I say? I'm a sucker for an author with a sense of humor.

I have really enjoyed both of the Murder-by-Month Mysteries I've read - July and now, August - courtesy of NetGalley.

Jess Lourey has a great sense of what will make people laugh, just as much as she has a great sense for what will make people both want to visit Minnesota and solve a small-town mystery.

In "August Moon," Lourey's protagonist Mira James is pulled into a religious controversy in Battle Lake. Just as Mira tries to leave town and head back to the cities, a mysterious new church shows up, and its leaders and members raise major red flags. Mira, who has her fair share of religious trauma, decides to investigate - just as the teen who helped her at the library is murdered.

Everything comes to a head after the town's annual harvest festival, and once again, Mira is in the thick of the action.

This is a really fun, quick read, and perfect for those who want something that doesn't take itself too seriously.

This is the 4th book in this series. And it definitely showed no signs of struggling to keep the story going.
Mira James, town librarian and reporter for the local newspaper, once again finds herself in the midst of murder and mystery. This book took on a different spin that might leave some readers not so happy. A new evangelistic-type group set up a new church just outside of town. At almost the same time, a local teen goes missing and is found dead, and a few days later, another teen goes missing. Time is running out, and Mira is left to get to the bottom of it and find the missing girl. The town's chief of police is acting more strangely than usual and has proven to not take anything Mira says with a grain of salt. Will the girl be found in time? Will Mira ever understand why everyone in town seems to be drawn to this new church? And has Mira finally decided it's time to leave this town? Read and find out for yourself. You won't want to miss this one. There's a lot more mystery in this one than the previous three.

Mira is determined to move out of Battle Lake, Minnesota, where she barely feels at home. But when a local cheerleader is found dead, she has to figure out who did it... While she tries to investigate, the New Millennium Bible Camp is also trying to close down the library for offering and displaying banned books.
This cozy mystery is book 4 in the Murder by Month series. It is a standalone, meaning that each book contains an individual investigation, but it's fun to follow the character evolution from one book to the next. While this book, in the spirit of cozy mysteries, is a lighter read with lol moments, it does touch on heavier subject, so maybe check your triggers before going into it. One thing that bugs me a little is I wish the characters were a little bit more developed. They are pretty much all one-note and stereotypical, but I know it's usually expected from a cozy mystery, which is not the kind of genre to go in depth into anything. I liked that the book picked up exactly where the previous one left off, it makes for a great reminder of where we were in Mira's overall story.
I received an advanced copy of this book for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Mira James, the main character in this book loses a little of her mojo in August. She is ready to move on because of a man and being rejected. I mean who hasn't been there in their life where a major decision is a direct result of what a man has or has not done for you. Even though unconventional, I like the friendship blossoming between Mira and Kennie Rogers. They are total opposites but can learn from each other. These murder by month books make me fall more in love with the town of Battle Lake to the point I feel I live there. This is the fourth book in the series and cannot wait to read the rest of the months coming out. Thank you to Jess Lourey and Thomas and Mercer Publishers for the Advanced Read Copy.

Such a great series & enjoyed this book very much. Laugh out loud funny!
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I love that this book series is month by month. The cast of characters in this book are very quirky and all have their own personalities. I really enjoyed how the author embraced that. This is a quick fun read that I would definitely recommend.

Everything Jess Lourey touches is brilliant, and this series is no different! The re-released cover art is brilliant; and as I am just down the road from the real Battle Lake, Minnesota; I love shoutouts to the area I call home — even if they are a bit sinister in nature!

August Moon was yet another fun addition to the Murder-by-Month series! With the exception of June Bug, which was just ok for me, I feel like these stories continue to get better and better. Mira James reminds me of a mixture of a few popular FMCs in the world of fiction. She has an unfortunate knack for finding trouble like Evanovich's notorious bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum, and a love for eating weird pickle sandwich combinations like Grafton's famous P.I., Kinsey Millhone. She's a librarian and part-time reporter who has a talent for sniffing out dead bodies and solving odd mysteries in the small town of Battle Lake. Like a one-woman Scooby Doo team with a host of eccentric octogenarians and townsfolk that always seem to have the answers that she needs. Mrs. Berns is a feisty firecracker and makes me laugh out loud. She's definitely my favorite of the bunch. I really enjoyed this one and look forward to the rest in the series! I would definitely recommend!

Thank you to the author, Thomas & Mercer, and NetGalley for granting me digital access in exchange for my honest review!

Fourth in the series, Murder By Month. A fun quick read. Great for summer reading. This time librarian Life's assistant is brutally murdered. The characters are wacky fun and entertaining. I enjoyed this book. Thanks #Netgalley and #ThomasandMercer for the eARC in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are mine.

Down In The Dumps..
The fourth outing in the Murder By Month mysteries finds our feisty librarian firmly down in the proverbial dumps. The town has finally got to Mira, in every single way. Then her library assistant is cruelly killed.
However, before she leaves (if indeed she does) she vows to get justice for the murdered Lucy. Enjoyable and entertaining mystery laced with wry humour and with a cast of eccentric and eclectic characters and a well imagined setting.