This was cosy and mysterious read. Loved the warm characters and some were deceptive. Author has created such a beautiful family dynamics and everything is so mysterious in this book. You can expect family dynamics, female empowerment, unexpected romance, secrets and mystery. If you love the description of a small town Desserts business, baking fragrance and the small town vibe with mystery, secrets and romance, read it.

Kasey Nottingham returns to her hometown to land a deal. But there is something suspicious going on in the small town business owned by her grandmother. She tries to get to the bottom of the mystery. While she comes across her childhood friend and not only secrets and mystery unveils with grudges also comes in light and unexpected romance blooms. I loved the investigation part. The secrets her grandmother was harbouring were unpredictable. I didn’t see some twists coming. Kasey’s backstory is so touching. This was such a good read.

Thanks to the Author and Publisher

In HelenKay Dimon’s latest novel, we follow Kasey Nottingham, a driven professional who returns to her small hometown in North Carolina in a bid to secure a deal for her company. Her grandma Mags and Mags’ partner, Celia run Mags’ Desserts, a local bakery that seems to have more than just pies in the oven. With quirky humor and a dash of mystery, Kasey and her long-time crush, Jackson Quaid, team up to uncover what’s really going on behind the locked cabinets and cryptic conversations in her grandmother’s kitchen.

Dimon expertly weaves together elements of family dynamics, female empowerment, and a light-hearted investigation into the secrets that could change Kasey’s life—and the lives of those around her—forever. Fans of cozy mysteries and strong female leads will appreciate the characters and the small-town charm. As Kasey navigates her career, budding romance, and a potential scandal involving the elderly bakers, readers are treated to moments of suspense, humor, and heartfelt emotion.

With a mix of mystery, romance, and intrigue, this novel will certainly appeal to those who love their stories with equal parts sweetness and sass. Perfect for a weekend read!

A huge thank you to Avon Books, HelenKay Dimon, The Buzz, and Netgalley for the ARC in return for a honest review.

Kasey has to come up with a huge idea at work to impress her boss and the investors of her company. The only thing she can think to pitch is the small company Mags' Desserts, which is owned by her grandma Mags and her "best friend" Celia. Kasey is now headed home to North Carolina to try to get her Gram and Celia to agree to a deal, but they aren't interested. While home, Kasey finds more than desserts being baked in the kitchen. There's locked cabinets, whispered conversations, weird messages in the business records, and clients being found dead after receiving deliveries from Mags Desserts. Wanting to get to the bottom of things, Kasey enlists her long-time crush Jackson to help her. As they work together to get to find answers, while also dodging Kasey's persistent bosses, Kasey and Jackson also find exploring their past crush on each other.

What happens when you take 2 baking women, a meddling granddaughter, a well-meaning nephew, an overbearing brother-in-law, and two pushy bosses? The Usual Family Mayhem, of course. This book was such a fun read! Kasey gets herself stuck in quite the mess and has to find a way out of it. Not only is she having to convince Gram and Celia to sell their company, which she doesn't want to do, even if it means saving her job, but she's convinced herself that Gram and Celia are using their pies to kill men. So she enlists the help of Jackson, her teenage crush, to help her prove/disprove this theory while also trying to distract her bosses from wanting to buy the business. At the same time, there's a blooming romance between her and Jackson. There's so much going on in this book that there's never a dull moment. I couldn't put this one down until I turned the last page.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing this book, with my honest review below.

The Usual Family Mayhem seems like it would have a quirky cast of characters who I’d enjoy in a fun story, and I’m so glad my instincts were right. I loved reading about Kasey’s attempt to both hoodwink her way into staying in her current job (because free bagels) and her unique family who have a home bakery that may just be poisoning bad me. The home bakery part of the story was even more enjoyable due to her very southern Grandmother and her partner. Both are funny and caring while also teaching Kasey to have some mettle. Unique to this story Kasey’s Grandmother’s partner is a woman (I found this unique given Grandma is part of a generation that hid their feelings, and this a southern town). I loved the relationship between the two and that we find that their possible path as murders, and their relationship, came from getting through abusive relationships with men.


The mystery was a fun one due to Kasey’s partnering up with a since childhood love interest who is charming and funny in his own right. Overall this story didn’t hit a misstep, I enjoyed both friends and foes and loved how easy it was to read with its balance of some tough subject matter that was lightened with humor.

I have no notes to add to this hilarious and amazing novel. It was definitely new for me to read something like this but I very much enjoyed it