Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book.

Successful author Kate is invited to her ex-fiance's fancy wedding on a private island. Before Kate even arrives at the island she almost misses the ferry, is stuck with an ex-friend/almost romantic partner and adventure-writer (? not sure what to refer to Jake at the beginning of the story), has to walk to the mansion because a shredded taxidermy animal has blocked the tracks of the train, and she hears a very angry altercation between two wedding guests. Throw-in the fact that Kate has a case of writer's block, and the fact that the groom and ex-fiance is also her editor, and there is probably cause for mayhem to ensue--and it does.

The bride-to-be is poisoned, the bride's aunt, who is hosting the wedding, disappears, and a huge storm cuts-out the power. Kate puts on her "sleuthing sweater," (seriously, yes) and gets to work.

Overall, this is a fun ride. Kate gets herself into some ridiculous situations, and is always thinking about what her best-selling character, Loretta Starling, would do to get-out of said ridiculous situations. There's quite a bit of back story between Kate and Jake, and it is explained, but many times I felt like I was almost missing a prequel. I'm not quite certain why Kate felt obligated to attend this wedding in the first place. Yes, her editor is the groom, but he is also her ex, and is a jerk (although some of his behavior is explained close to the end.). Also: I found it tricky to keep some of the wedding guests straight. I almost needed to keep a post-it with who's who. In the end, everything works out. The murderer is revealed, Kate's writer's block is gone, Kate and her ex have mended faces, and of course, Kate and Jake are headed to the HEA.

I liked the premise of this book... a mystery author attending an elite wedding on a private island in the Pacific Northwest finds herself embroiled in a real-life murder mystery. The house was the star of the show. I mean, who does love early 1900's mansions with a treasure trove of hidden passageways and a menagerie of taxidermy? But for some reason, this book fell flat for me. I am a voracious reader, so taking an entire week to get through a book is "off" for me. Maybe it was the book. Maybe it was my headspace. Two major tragic air disasters and a rogue government destroying the health of a nation this week did not lend me to enjoying a cozy mystery. I needed more violence and angst. The spice was OK but didn't feel authentic, nor did it add to the story in my opinion. Maybe on another day or in another time, I would have enjoyed this book more.

2.5 stars rounded up because I was a distracted reader experiencing moral distress.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read and review this ARC,

She Doesn’t Have a Clue by Jenny Elder Moke is everything I love about a cozy mystery but add a little spice. Kate, a mystery writer, goes to a destination wedding on a private island off the coast of Seattle. While there, Kate encounters a former friend, her ex-fiancé and his new fiancé. She has to deal with an attempted murder, an actual murder and the people pointing fingers at her. This story was a fun read. I enjoyed the romantic elements added to the mystery. It was a quick read for me so that means I really enjoyed it. Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the digital arc.

She Doesn’t Have a Clue is a romance meets mystery read, and I had a great time with it. Kate agrees to attend the wedding of her ex fiancé on a private island and predictably chaos ensues, which just so happens to follow the plot of her mystery books. I really enjoyed the dynamic between Kate and Jake as they explored their relationship and stumbling blocks to their romantic history. They had great chemistry and banter even when Kate made frustrating decisions relating to Jake. I do think Kate grew as a character during the story. However, as much as I was here for the romance, I was all about the mystery plot line. I enjoyed the parallel to Kate’s mystery books as well as Kate trying to place herself in her FMC’s shoes to solve the mystery. I also thought the author did well with sprinkling the clues in that point to the suspect especially looking back at the story. I was shocked in a good way by the reveal. I read this via audiobook and Sarah Mollo-Christensen did wonderful in her narration. It was easy to keep the different characters separate. Mollo-Christensen also nailed Kate’s awkwardness and the comedic moments. I would highly recommend the audiobook if you’re planning to read this.

Spicy, male female, 3rd person point of view, contemporary romance. I love a forced proximity trope! I thought this was a really fun mystery rom com. There was great banter and I felt this was a perfect length read.

What happens when you attend your ex high end wedding and stumble across a dead body? For Kate out becomes a nightmare of sorts as she tries to plaster a smile through the event she really did not want to attend. She is clueless to what is going on as she stumbles through as she solves the case. A quirky fun read that combines mystery and some romance interactions.

Kate Valentine is a best selling author of the Loretta mysteries, staying in a very old mansion on an isolated island to witness her ex-fiancée get married to another woman. And she has writer’s block. Plus a very hot Australian has just wandered back into her life. Oh, and there’s been an attempted murder. And a murder.

Needless to say, her life is pretty complicated right now.

I loved this book. It’s funny, spicy, romantic, and suspenseful, with a great mystery. The characters are all really unique, and Kate is so compelling and endearing as a realistic main character. I would recommend this book for sure.

I enjoy a good cozy mystery with a dash of romance, but I was disappointed in this novel. I felt like every possible red herring and complication was thrown out there, to the point that I felt I needed a spreadsheet to keep track of who was who and why they might want the bride dead. Also the segues to the main character's imaginary detective were not always well defined, making me go back and reread to see where current events and imagined events split off. Perhaps it becomes more defined in the final editing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

As someone who only dabbles in mystery, this was the perfect blend with romance. It gave me everything I needed and I really enjoyed it.

This book was fantastic! 5 stars for me. Love the cover. Loved the main characters - Jake and Kate. The “stuck on an island in a storm” mystery was great. Kate is a mystery writer and incorporating the fictional storylines from her books was fun. The book was fast paced and I wanted to keep reading but also didn’t want it to end. She Doesn’t Have a Clue was an adult debut for author Jenny Elder Moke and I already can’t wait to read whatever she writes next! I really enjoy the cozy mystery/romance genre.

This one was really cute. I liked the combination of cozy mystery and romance a lot!
I went in expecting a grown up Scooby Doo vibe but was pleasantly surprised that it held its own.
Kate and Jake are definitely goals. I’d love to see more of them.

Kate is an author of murder mystery novels who ends up in an actual murder mystery/rom com of her own at her ex fiancé's wedding. I thought this story was okay. It was a bit slow at times & there didn't seem to be much suspense or fear from the guests. The Loretta Starling excerpts throughout were fun but I didn't like how they were in the middle of chapters.

She Doesn’t Have a Clue by Jenny Elder Moke is a cozy romantic mystery. Kate Valentine is a mystery author who is struggling to complete her book. She agrees to attend her ex-fiancé’s wedding (who is also her editor). However, the bride is poisoned before the wedding, there is a murder, and Kate finds the murders mirror her novels. She must solve the mysteries with the help of her attractive, former friend/crush Jake while trying not to fall for him again.

This was a cute story. I felt I enjoyed the mystery more than the romance as it felt more developed. However, the mystery aspect for a romance was a fun twist that kept me guessing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for access to an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

She Doesn’t Have a Clue by Jenny Elder Moke is about mystery author Kate Valentine who unexpectedly gets invited to the wedding of her ex-fiancé on a secluded island. While there, Kate has to channel her detective character Loretta to help solve the mysteries that begin to happen at the mansion. She also happens to run into an old flame at the wedding as well!

This story had mystery, romance and fun. At times, the extensive cast of characters was a lot, but was needed to execute the plot. I think fans of Finlay Donovan would enjoy Kate and all she goes through in solving a real life mystery. Fun, fast paced read!

4.5 stars most definitely! I have found a new interest in my reading style: I LOVE spicy (but not overly spicy) murder mysteries!!

The love/romantic elements did not take away from the plot, but definitely added more interest to the story. Not at all a bad story.

A rather cozy murder mystery — I enjoyed this much more than I was anticipating. I absolutely adored the two characters and I think I would definitely look to read more of Jenny Elder Moke's books in the near future.

She Doesn’t Have A Clue- Jenny Elder Moke
Narrated by Sarah Mollo-Christensen

Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice 🌶️🌶️
Narration 🎧🎧🎧🎧

This was such a cute book. It was so captivating and kept my attention from page one and I couldn’t put it down. I just HAD to know what the next clue was. So many twists and turns. I love mysteries like this because I speculate from the very beginning who did what and honestly 9/10 I’m wrong but it’s fun to guess. I am happy to report that one of my theories is what the outcome ended up being, but the journey and the reveal so fun yet shocking. Having the side romance at the same time made this story that much sweeter.

Sarah did a great job with this narration. I think she did a great job capturing the emotion and the suspense.

She Doesn’t Have a Clue by Jenny Elder Moke combines mystery with romance with murder and a bit of rich people drama for a really fun time overall. I don’t read many mysteries but I found myself super invested in where this was going. I thought it was a delight from start to finish. I loved Kate, our lead character. She is a mess but she’s my favorite kind of mess. Moke’s writing is very easy to digest and I was kept guessing at all the twists and turns. I loved all the supporting characters. They were fleshed out enough to keep me engaged in this world. I liked the romance angle with Jake and Kate. My only really issue there is while I do enjoy spice, I felt the spicy scenes here slowed down the plot. Spice should feel organic and while I believed their relationship and chemistry, I would have entirely cut the spice or placed it in better. I also feel like our victim here wasn’t given enough time before they became a victim. I didn’t feel like I knew them enough to feel any way about the murder. I couldn’t guess the culprit until the end which made this a ton of fun. I liked this a lot and would love to read more mystery/romances like this.

Added link to video review:

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8YJqwPy/

If you loved playing CLUE growing up and watching Rom-coms this book is for you.

We have a wedding at a private island, when a storm hits. The FMC is a murder mystery writer that was engaged to the groom. Being the ex brings all sorts of drama. Also when the person you’ve been unconsciously in love with shows up.

The writing is fast paced, funny and great story building. The characters are fun, their personalities really shine through. I loved the bride and her character. Great growth on the FMC.

Mid-low spice and slow burn. 🔥

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC

Well, this book was just simply delightful! A little bit romance and a little bit cozy mystery and a whole lot of fun. The romantic aspects were fantastic, and the mystery was truly engaging. I liked Kate and her fictional character Loretta , who she sometimes channels to help in sticky situations.

She Doesn't Have a Clue is filled with humor, witty dialog, and quirky characters. The private island setting was vivid and interesting, especially the manor house teaming with taxidermied animals and secret passages. All of these things combined to make for a very entertaining read.

I absolutely recommend this cozy murder mystery with a steamy second chance romance.

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