Rating: 4.0★
I loved this cozy mystery. It had a cast of a cast of snarky characters centered around a movie star theme. I laughed out loud more than once, and the mystery subplot gave it a fun edge.
I don't normally gravitate toward movie star/Hollywood themes, but this one was great. It didn't get too carried away with the movie star theme. I really like the use of overcoming addiction and showing you can be successful and still have a good time without alcohol.

Abbi Waxman, who has long characterized LA as an entity in her novels, finally pulls off the best Hollywood thriller ever, with each character standing in relation to their connection to LA and all that it inspires. On the surface, recovering addict Natasha Mason and ex-actress turned lawyer Julia Mann team up to find the killer of the director who made Julia a household name. Their adventure is a bildungsroman of sorts for those who live on the edges of polite society while dealing with the boiling mass of humanity. Excellent adventure, a fast pace with very snappy dialogue, and an ending that is as flummoxing and expectation-defying as the people who live in and around LA

As a huge Abbi Waxman fan, I was intrigued to see her releasing a mystery and cautiously hopeful that it would be as good as her earlier works. She absolutely delivered and had me wishing this was just the first in a series of books with this fantastic cast of characters. The story is a murder mystery with Hollywood as the backdrop. As the cops are trying to pin the murder on a famous actress turned lawyer, Julia Mann, she sets out to clear her name with her ragtag crew of staff, lawyers, agent, and her new AA sponsor, Mason. Waxman's trademark whit & humor are still very much in place as Julia and Mason verbally spar and Mason is introduced to life in Hollywood. This is laugh out loud funny and is a testament to why Abbi Waxman will always be an auto-buy author for me!

A little slow to start. If I hadn't read Abbi Waxman before, she'd have lost me there. But once we got past the first 50 pages, it was good. Possible the first in a series?

I’m normally a romance/women’s fiction reader, but I’ve been giving mysteries a shot this month. Knowing there was little to no chance at there being romance involved, I still read it… I loved it! 😉 Kept me guessing the entire time, right up to the reveal.

Having read Abbi Waxman books before, I knew she would introduce great characters. Funny, sarcastic, clever… and a great found family feel, which is always my favorite.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Watch for One Death at a Time to come out April 15, 2025!

I loved this book! The Los Angeles movie-business backdrop was fun, the mystery kept me guessing, but it was Abbi Waxman's voice that kept me coming back and turning the page. I definitely want to spend more time with these characters. There better be a book two!

I received an ARC of this book; opinions are my own.

This is my first Abby Waxman book and it didn’t disappoint! I was hooked from the beginning and loved all the characters in this one. I didn’t realize it was a cozy mystery, tbh they aren’t my favorite but I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Mason was such a fun quirky character and I loved her relationship with Julia! Highly recommended this one

Julia is an ex-actress and always getting into trouble. At an AA meeting she meets Natasha. Julia has just found a dead body in her pool and swears she did not do it. Natasha is eager to clear Julia's name and to keep her sober. So the investigation and fun begins.. Will they solve the murder before they kill each other? A fast-paced read.

This was another fun book from Abbi Waxman. It was an entertaining mystery that had a great cast of quirky characters. It was funny and fast paced. I hope this is the first in a series of Julia Mann and Natasha Mason mysteries. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

From the publisher: A cranky former actress teams up with her Gen Z sobriety sponsor to solve the murder that threatens to send her back to prison.

One Death at a Time is a feel good, found family murder mystery set in California. Interestingly, the found family part is less sentimental than other books I’ve read, which was refreshing. I think the author did an excellent job differentiating her many characters and I had no trouble telling them apart.

Julia Mann is now in her sixties. She had an iconic role in an iconic film and won an Oscar. She was also found guilty of murdering her husband, a husband she loved and did NOT murder, and spent 15 years in jail. She earned a law degree and now works to help others who are unjustly accused. She’s a character, and not always easy to get along with.

Now a man has been found murdered in her pool. She was drunk – she is often drunk – and needs to both prove she didn’t kill the dead man and stop drinking. Enter Natasha Mason, another alcoholic, sober and in her 20s, who is assigned to be Julia’s Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor. I like the way AA was threaded into this story. It’s just a thing, a fact of life. Two of the main characters drink too much, and are doing their best to stay sober. It’s not preachy, just an element of their characters. (An aside, I had a cousin who married well and moved to LA and also couldn’t stay sober. I thought about her as I was reading One Death at a Time.)

Next thing you know, Mason is Julia’s personal assistant. Julia has a little family of people surrounding her – a research assistant, a cook/housekeeper, a lawyer, the lawyer’s replacement when the lawyer is hospitalized. Julia has a massive collection of fancy cars and a fancy house. I enjoyed the Hollywood setting but also found it thought-provoking. One Death at a Time also features a cat, a dog, and a positive view of sex workers. There is kind of a high body count, but no book is perfect.

I found One Death at a Time a delightful read. It’s full of fun and meaningful character interactions. The climax was a bit insane, but that’s okay. Can’t wait for the movie. I read an advance reader copy of One Death at a Time from Netgalley. It is scheduled to be published on April 16.

When I saw Abbi Waxman had a new release coming soon I was all in. I am an O.G. fan who loved not only Nina Hill, but also The Garden of Small Beginnings, Other People’s Houses and I Was Told This Would Get Easier so it was a no-brainer when it came to taking Berkley’s offer of an advanced freebie and I jumped right in without bothering to look at anything about this one. Waxman is one of the greats when it comes to the umbrella of “chick lit” that contains very different characters and storylines. I had no idea this was REALLY going to be a murder mystery . . .

I get that cozies have somehow become all the rage, but ooof – this was simply not good. I knew I was in for a rough road right off the bat with Mason, a real obnoxious loudmouth who won’t STFU during a damn AA meeting. Hated her instantly. Hated that she appointed herself as a sponsor to the other leading lady Julia in order to create a connection between the two that felt very inauthentic. Hated the convoluted plot of Julia being blackout drunk and accused of murder – FOR THE SECOND TIME – and also she’s an Oscar winning actress who went to prison for killing her husband, got her law degree and somehow she’s now taken seriously as a formidable barrister? Uh yeah, no. Hated that there were then MULTIPLE dead bodies. Hated that there were eleventy thousand characters that I was supposed to keep straight (lord help me if I had listened to this instead of read it). Hated that at least 100 pages could have been cut. Authors: Keep. It. Simple. ESPECIALLY if you are writing a “simple” cozy. Good grief.

ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Absolutely hilarious, fun raucous mystery set in Hollywood, complete with burlesque dancers, AA meetings, studio politics and unexplained deaths. Abbi Waxman is my new favorite writer!

Mason is at her typical recovery meeting, complete with recovering alcoholics from all walks of life who complain that each other is guilty of “cross talk.” Just then, an older woman - Julian Mann- comes in with a court card, 3 days sober and with a crazy story. A dead body in a pool followed by a high speed Lamborghini car chase and assault to the police officers. Oh and she blew a 0.35. So naturally Mason volunteers to be Julia’s temporary sponsor.

Soon Julia is arrested for the murder of the aforementioned, dead body, her sworn enemy and past lover, Tony. Back in the day, Julia was an Oscar winning actress, then she went to prison for murdering her husband, a crime of which she has always maintained her innocence. While imprisoned, Julia became a lawyer. Julia hires Mason to be her assistant, they set out to find the real killer.

Murder mysteries either can be a police procedural, which handicaps the author into following the actual process, or some sort of vigilante type investigation. This one is the latter. Figuring out the how and why of someone is investigating a murder without being a cop is always a challenge. Often you have a former cop, a true crime podcaster, a mystery writer. It’s really hard to come up with a plot device to create this storyline in a creative way. An AA sponsor has to be my all time favorite. The banter between Mason and Julia is truly outstanding, some of the most clever dialogue I have read. They have incredible chemistry together, despite being different generations and backgrounds, both being alcoholics.

This book is a MUST READ for those who love a feel good mystery

Abbi Waxman, you had me from the dedication. Thanks to @netgalley and @berkleypub for the ARC. I can’t wait until the pub day, this will be the first thing in my shopping cart on April 15, 2025.

***top read of 2025***

I want to join Julia Mann's team! They are fun, they are smart, they are snarky, and the fight the good fight.

Starting from the first chapter this book had me wheezing with laughter as Mason's decision to be the sponsor for the aloof newest member of her recovery group drags her into both a mystery and the unusual group retired actress Julie Mann is using to prove that she didn't kill the dead man floating in her pool. Julie has already served time after being wrongly convicted of her husband's death, and started a new life as a lawyer defending others, she's not going back for the murder of the man who could have helped keep her out of prison the first time. They problem is she was so drunk she doesn't remember much, except that she made the very poor decision of running when the police arrived. When Mason arrives at Julie's house to fulfill her role as sobriety sponsor, she is quickly designated as Julie's assistant, as well, a position that includes the driving of a stunning collection of classic cars, visiting burlesque clubs, and generally assisting with various investigations.

I received a free DRC of this book through Netgalley. The multitude of characters in this book are varied, but the author does a great great of differentiating them so it isn't confusing about who is who. They did a great job of making each of the main characters feel complete. Mason and Julia are fun as a "odd couple" bouncing off each other as two lost souls who each need each other. I hope there will be more books with them in the near future.

What a ride! A young woman stumbles into a job as an "assistant"/girl Friday to an aging movie star. And by the way, they met at an AA meeting. A definite departure from Waxman's previous work. A bit chaotic but fun.

Julia is a former actress who has had some struggles with substance abuse, and she's already had some trouble with the law. So when someone turns up dead at her house, it looks pretty suspicious. She meets Natasha at an AA meeting, and Natasha is eager to help clear her name. Julia is not totally on board with this, but together the two set out on a very funny, very fast-paced adventure with a truly fun cast of zany secondary characters. A great read!

I really enjoyed this smart mystery based in LA's Hollywood scene! Abbi Waxman has the gift of creating quirky, relatable characters and this was true for main character Mason. I loved her dynamic with actress Julia, and how they bonded as recovering alcoholics. They team up to solve the murder of a director who was found dead in the pool of Julia's mansion. Although she's 90% certain she didn't kill him, Julia has no idea how he ended up dead. They were former friends turned enemies, yet she had no strong motive to kill him. Julia enlists her team of assistants to solve the crime, and Mason gets pulled into some shenanigans that are somewhat dangerous, but highly entertaining.

This novel was a wild, enjoyable ride! I had a bit of trouble keeping track of all of the characters, but still had fun with the story. I am not a big movie buff so some of the movie details were lost on me, but could see how this aspect would appeal to many readers. I adored the house chef Claudia and the many pets that appeared throughout the story! I recommend this novel and hope Abbi Waxman writes more in the mystery genre!

Waxman has a knack for bringing these settings to life in a way that feels vibrant and full of personality. The characters, from showgirls to cat burglars, each add a layer of delightful absurdity that keeps the book from ever taking itself too seriously. What really stands out in One Death at a Time is Waxman’s ability to balance humor with substance. While the mystery keeps readers guessing, it’s the emotional depth of the characters that really resonate. Julia’s struggle with her past, her fight for sobriety, and her unlikely friendship with Natasha bring a level of sincerity to the story that elevates it beyond a mere whodunit. A must-read for fans of quirky mysteries, snarky protagonists, and a little bit of Hollywood glam. If you’re looking for a book that will make you laugh out loud while keeping you hooked until the very end, this one’s for you.

This was a fun, quick read. The two main characters couldn't be more different, but somehow they bond with hilarious results. The Hollywood insider material was interesting, and the interactions between the characters rang true. The combination of mystery and comedy was a winner for me.

Mason and Julia are my new Justice League!

One Death at a Time is a bit of a departure for Waxman and it is well done. There is signature Waxman pacing and strong female characters written with smart, funny dialog, but this time in the service of a buddy comedy/mystery. I enjoyed Mason, Julia and the whole cast, and look forward to (hopefully) a sequel. Highly enjoyable.

For fans of books like: Mother Daughter Murder Night; Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers; Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone; Killers of a Certain Age