A bit overdramatic for me. The cougar rescue mission at the end felt like a few steps too far. The mystery was OK but there was too much added for drama that made this feel too farfetched.

This book was such a fun and wild ride! I loved both the mystery and romance aspects equally! For the romance-Kate and Jake ar great together, they have excellent chemistry and banter, and the steamy scenes are great too! I love how supportive Jake is, even when he is frustrated or angry at Kate. They truly make an excellent team. I also loved the mystery at the center of the story. It truly had so many twists and turns, I was kept guessing until the killer reveal. I also loved that Kate was NOT a great amateur detective at all. She was a bit of a mess, but that is what made her so endearing. The narration for the book was excellent as well! Sarah Mollo-Christensen did an excellent job, each character had a distinct voice that made it easy to follow along and know who was who. All in all, a perfect read for both romance and mystery readers.

I absolutely adored this! I usually have a hard time getting into cozy mysteries, but this was amazing! The characters were a blast, the setting was spectacular and the romance was done great!

Loved this book! Just the perfect mix of mystery and romance. Loved the audiobook narrator—she did an amazing Aussie accent.

Thank you Macmillan Audio, Netgalley and Jenny Elder Moke for the opportunity to read and review this audio ARC. I found myself listening intently and constantly wanting to go back to my audiobook instead of adulting. I was so drawn into the mystery AND the romantic tension. I definitely didn't see some of the twists and turns coming but I DID have an accurate hunch about who the killer was!

"She Doesn't Have a Clue" written by Jenny Elder Moke and read by Sarah Mollo-Christensen was a fun read. While it is labeled as a mystery/thriller, it was pretty light-hearted.

Kate travels to an isolated island off the coast of Seattle to attend her ex-fiancés wedding. Upon arriving, she is met by Jake, the hot Australian who got away. Kate, a mystery writer, and Jake are thrown together immediately, and when life begins to imitate art (Kate's books), the two work together to solve the case.

The book was a bit goofy, but enjoyable. The narrator did a good job.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillian Audio for the advance audio copy in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was a super fun little murder mystery with cute characters I couldn’t help but like, but unfortunately it was a little more graphic with the intimacy than I prefer. I totally get that not everyone has the same views when it comes to spice in a book, but even tho I prefer closed door or fade to black, I felt like the sex was over done and almost forced instead of coming natural. But besides that I think the plot was cute, and I loved the connection to the books Kate writes!

Because of the explicit content I will not be sharing this book on my personal Bookstagram profile.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced audiobook copy. All views are my own.

ARC review - pub date 01.21.25

Kate Valentine is an author of a cozy mystery featuring a female sleuth, Loretta, and when she finds herself in a real life whodunnit on an isolated island, she refers to her own internal Loretta to try and solve the crime.

This one will be perfect for fans of cozy mysteries, romantic suspense, whodunnits and Mary Kay Andrews books.

3.5⭐️ I enjoyed it! The only thing I struggled with was there were SO many characters to keep up with i kept getting confused 😵‍💫 still a great story though.

Narrated by Sarah Mollo-Christensen who did an INCREDIBLE job , navigating through all the characters flawlessly. I’ll be seeking out more books she has narrated!

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Minotaur Books & MacMillan Audio for my ARC/ALC!

#MacAudio2024

This book was such a fun ride! Kate Valentine, a bestselling mystery author, finds herself in a real-life whodunnit during her ex-fiance’s wedding on a private island.

What really stood out to me was how Kate’s fictional detective, Loretta Starling, feels like a distinct character within the book. I loved the moments when Kate would channel her inner Loretta to piece together clues. It added a playful layer to the story, blending the mystery Kate writes with the one she’s now living.

he relationships with her ex, the rich family, and her lifetime crush lead to a lot of interesting situations, so the book never lacked in keeping my interest. There was plenty of tension and dynamics to keep things lively. There was never a dull moment, whether it was puzzling over the mystery or watching Kate navigate awkward or emotional interactions with the wedding guests who think she just wants to get back with her ex-fiance.

If you’re a fan of mysteries with a dash of romance and a colorful cast of characters, this book is definitely worth picking up.

This was a light, entertaining read that felt like a cross between a romantic comedy and a whodunnit style murder mystery. The FMC, Kate, finds herself on a private island for the small lavish wedding of her boss, who also happens to be her ex-fiancé. Also in attendance is her old crush that never happened, and a few other key guests who all turn into suspects when someone is poisoned. It’s a comedy of errors as Kate tries to key into her sleuthing alter ego that she has built into a best selling detective series. It’s a fun premise and decently executed, although some of the characters and plot felt forced or out of place. The actual mystery part I do think was well-done and not completely expected. As an audiobook it was an easy listen, and the narrator can switch between accents with great ease. Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

She Doesn't Have a Clue by Jenny Elder Moke is funny and a joy to listen to. The novel combines a mansion-style murder mystery with the charm and wit of a romantic comedy.
Kate has agreed to go to her ex fiances/boss's wedding at an old estate off the coast of Washington. She gets immediately paired up with Jake her former best friend/crush she hasn't seen in two years. and it's awkward. Kate spends a lot of her time in her head solving her problems as her book heroine Loretta Starling whenever she's faced with something difficult. Things take a turn when the bride survives a poisoning that is set up to be just like Kate's book and it seems like she's being set up.
The cast of characters is very colorful and it was hard to figure out who was causing all the problems in the mansion. All the guests have motives for doing terrible things while at the wedding. Kate starts trying to unravel everything happening while everyone is trapped by the wedding. Jake is the only one willing to help her solve things.
I enjoyed Sarah Mollo-Christensen's voice. She did a good job differentiating the characters' accents.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audion for this audio arc all opinions expressed are my own.

This book was provided as an ARC audiobook.

3.5 stars for the story, 4 stars for the audiobook.

This book was a great mystery book. I’m either not a good mystery solver, or this book was really good about keeping the “whodunnit” behind closed doors. I was sure several people were the one, because the writing was really good leading you down that path without being too obvious and forceful. But then when the big reveal happened, it was a moment of “them, really??” but also “yea ok, that makes sense.” I loved that it was a mystery book about an author that writes mysteries, with a splash of romance and a dash of spice all in one. That layered effect really added dimension to the story and kept it interesting.

The audiobook itself was so well done! It was duet narration, and I absolutely loved the narrators. The “hotstralian” was total ear candy to listen to. It may have just been the writing, but the way the dialogue for him was narrated fell a bit flat at times, and felt like the mfc was playing tennis with the drapes at times during their conversations.

Overall, this book was really good and made me realize I have a new appreciation for romantic mystery books.

She Doesn't Have a Clue
A Novel
by Jenny Elder Moke
Narrated by Sarah Mollo-Christensen

I received an ARC of this audiobook from Netgalley.

I loved everything about this book - the author, the narrator, the setting, the characters - all of it.

The writing was impeccable. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

This book is a romance-mystery or a romystery or a mysterymance or whatever and it works so well.

This book could have been a suspense/thriller if a few elements were changed. What I mean by that, is that the core of this book was so well done that the author could have made it into any genre, but I am so glad they chose romance!

Definitely recommend this one!

A murder mystery and a rom-com had a baby and this book was born. I loved every second of this book and was the perfect read for those who love a good rom-com but also want a bit more. Fantastic read and going to see what else this author has published after leaving this review.

If you're on the fence, just read it, it'll be worth it.

Audiobook/Book Review 📖🎧🕯️

thank you so much partner @minotaur_books @macmillan.audio for the gifted ARC and audiobook. #macaudio2024

She Doesn't Have a Clue
by Jenny Elder Moke
Narrated by Sarah Mollo-Christensen

About the book 👇🏽

A high-end wedding on a private island off the coast of Seattle sounds like something out of a magazine. But for bestselling mystery author Kate Valentine, it’s more like a nightmare.

Why Kate agreed to attend her ex-fiancé’s wedding is its own enigma, but she’ll plaster on a fake smile for two nights, with the aid of free champagne, naturally. And because the groom happens to be her editor, she’ll try to finish a draft of her latest Loretta Starling mystery as a wedding gift.

When the bride is poisoned and Kate stumbles across a dead body, she finds herself in a real-life mystery that eerily echoes the plot of her latest novel. And the only person who seems willing to help Kate catch the killer is Jake Hawkins, aka: the Hostralian; aka: Kate’s biggest romantic regret.

As the wine flows and the weather threatens to hold every guest hostage, bitter resentments and long-held grudges surface amongst the colorful crowd. Anyone could be capable of murder, it seems. What would Loretta do? Unfortunately, Kate doesn’t have a clue.

🕯️My thoughts:

Such a fun read! It’s a mystery but also a romance, and a second chance romance at that (my favorite)! It’s pretty fast paced so whether you are physically reading the book or listening to the audiobook, you’ll be able to get through it pretty fast. I hybrid read it and can say that I enjoyed both versions of the book. I’d definitely consider this a cozy mystery and would recommend this to cozy readers. The characters all have their own personalities making it easy to keep track of each of them and I didn’t even guess the culprit! If you’re looking for a cozy and swoony read that you’ll have fun with, give this book a shot. She Doesn’t Have a Clue is out 1/21/25!

Happy reading 📖🎧🕯️

I was super excited for this book because I love mysteries and I love romance books. But sadly this book faced the problem of being too much of everything it was not much of anything. This book was not one for me honestly. It seemed like the tone was all over the place, the characters kept just being comically stupid in a bad way, and the author seemed to struggle with knowing what was a serious moment vs a funny moment. The narration was confusing from the beginning as we didn’t start out knowing the first section was the authors character’s story. Over all the plot was meh, predictable, and just not my cup of tea.

Moving out of the YA genre, author Jenny Elder Moke has written an adult mystery rom-com that does make one laugh and attempt to figure out the solution to the murder. Narrator Sarah Mollo-Christensen makes the characters easily identifiable. ach has a unique voice.

Kate Valentine, mystery writer, has been invited to the wedding of her former fiancé, who also happens to be part of her publishing team. Just six months after their break up, he is marrying into the wealthy family that owns the publishing house. Also in attendance is Jake, the Australian on whom Kate has had a small crush since she helped write his travel/adventure books. Jake and Kate are assigned to the same room in the attic of the huge house. As the wedding preparations and festivities go on, Kate is repeatedly snubbed by the bridesmaids who seem to think she wants ruin the wedding and get Spencer, her former fiancé back. Kate does not. But circumstance seems to put her in the picture for attempting just that. Along the way, Kate and her Australian become partners in proving Kate is not and they stumble into one mishap after another. Literally stumble on several occasions as the creepy old house is full of secret passageways. The head of the family, Rebecca Hempstead, takes the gathering of family and friends as an opportunity to announce the restructuring of the family's redistribution of wealth after her demise. Not all family members seem to be overly happy with the announcement. In addition to dissatisfied relatives, the gathering includes disgruntled authors.

When the power blinks out, the water stops working, and the island and all communications are cut off by the storm, Kate imagines herself as Lorna, her fictional detective and tries to solve some of the mysterious happenings of the weekend.

Readers of Sophie Kinsella will enjoy this one, though it's a bit spicier. Recommended as a good escape.

She Doesn’t Have a Clue is a romance intertwined with a whodunnit mystery. As a lover of both of these genres, I was very eager to get my hands on this one. However, after finishing, I ended up at a 3 star rating so admittedly it wasn’t my favorite. I think for me, it was just the romance portion, I wasn’t a fan of the miscommunications and lack of backstories at the start. By the end, I didn’t hate where our romances ended by any means I just felt like it took awhile to for me to “fall in love with their love”. The rest of the story is what carried it for me, I enjoyed the mystery and our insight into the book industry. I’d consider reading more from Jenny cause I do feel like this one had enough to make me come back. Side note: I love the cover!

A nicely done audiobook, read well with great character differentiation, tone and intonation. Kate is such a mess, and Jake totally puts her in her place. Their dynamic was great and they really had to duke out past circumstances and emotions to get to their hea.

Overall a fairly lighthearted read and a fadt paced and complicated whodunit.

#netgalley #SheDoesntHaveAClue

This book was such a treat! Half Murder Mystery / Half Second Chance Romance. I truly didn’t know it could be done, but it really was the perfect combination of genres; comedy, romance, & mystery.

The female main character starts out a bit whiny & weird, but in all fairness who wouldn't be when they have to attend their ex-fiancé’s wedding to someone else? It all comes together when you start to see her adorable quirks & self-confidence return along with a slow burn, enemies to lovers, second chance romance that is it’s own tangled web to unravel. I think you’ll grow to love her, just as I did.

There are a lot of characters in this story, & at times I did get a little confused with who was who, which led me to getting lost in the storyline a little bit. I personally wish they would have included more backstory on the characters throughout the book. Many of them l have history together & it’s brought up often, but no real details.

If you’re looking for a contemporary romance with a little comedic murder mystery feel, then She Doesn't Have A Clue is a book for you! Mark your calendars, this one is released on January 21st, 2025.