This story was so much fun! If Knives Out threw a wedding at The Onion, this is probably what it would look like. I enjoyed all the characters and didn't figure out the mystery before the lead did, so that's always good. The narrator is excellent.

I LOVED this book. It was so fun and get me engaged the whole time. Mystery romance for the win!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publsiher for this early review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

She Doesn't Have a Clue by Jenny Elder Moke is a delightful rom-com mystery! This charming story cleverly uses mystery author Kate Valentine's own fictional plots as a backdrop for real-life murders at her ex-fiancé's lavish wedding. The private island setting and the reappearance of Kate's sexy old flame, Jake, only add to the intrigue. I especially enjoyed that the story is told entirely from Kate's point of view, making her both relatable and engaging. The combination of romance, suspense, and humor is well-balanced, making this a thoroughly enjoyable read!

Thanks for opportunity to listen to this book.

This was a cozy mystery and a spicy romance, all rolled into one!
Secluded island, and a storm.
Second chance at love, handsome Australian surfer.
A death at a wedding.
A mystery author who's mission is to figure out what happened.....

I really enjoyed listening to this one, and I especially loved the Pacific Northwest setting. I've read quite a few books recently with an author main character- and with a wedding as a central theme. But I still got right into the mystery, was trying to unravel clues and figure out "who done it", and definitely was committed to the romance storyline!!!

This Rom-Com Mystery was an absolute delight to read!

Kate has a mind for confident sleuthing, commanding a room, and delivering cutting one-liners. Unfortunately, these things are ONLY in her mind. As an author, she knows what her heroine detective would do, but as a person, she’s finding a real life murder mystery to be much harder to navigate. And I loved her for it! She was observant and clever, but also humanly biased and flawed.

There’s an entire cast of characters with distinct quirks, ambitions, and motives. There were enough personalities to keep me on my toes and keep me thinking, without being overwhelming and difficult to follow. It hits that sweet spot. I was rooting for the romance, gasping at turning points, and laughing out loud at both the banter and comedic timing.

I loved the journey, and would like to share what is quite possibly my favorite quote from Jake. “So what are the itchy dragon penises telling you about who poisoned Kennedy?”

Kate Valentine is a bestselling mystery author headed to a private island off the coast of Seattle for her ex-fiancé's wedding. She did not to expect to run into her old crush, Jake Hawkins, along the way and having to pretend like he's her plus one. Loretta Starling is the main character in all of Kate's mystery books and Kate likes to image Loretta as her alter ego and often zones out and imagines what Loretta would do in certain situations. All is fun with family drama until Kate stumbles into a dead body and the whole situation is framed like one of her Loretta stories. Can Kate convince everyone that she's not the killer and find out who is?

Kate's story and the family drama kept me entertained throughout the book. I was not expecting spice in this book but was pleasantly surprised. There were several greedy family members, but the author did a good job giving most people redeeming qualities. Overall, it was a light and entertaining murder mystery, and I wasn't able to guess who the killer was.

Sarah Mollo-Christensen did an amazing job with the audio narration!

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the advanced copy!

🕯️ She Doesn’t Have a Clue❓by Jenny Elder Moke
Thank you for this ARC @netgalley , this is my honest review.
⭐️⭐️⭐️🌶️
💭My thoughts: A wedding in a mansion on a remote island? This caught my attention immediately. I liked the comedy, the romance, the murder mystery. I just got confused with the many characters. I got lost quite often but it wasn’t a bad read. I wish there was more backstory on the characters. I don’t think I could ever go to an ex’s wedding, no thank you! 😅 This book had a little bit of many genres so I definitely recommend if you enjoy cozy murder mysteries/ romcom.

This was a fun little spicy romance. The mystery is interesting, and I enjoyed watching the characters relationships grow and change throughout the book. It's definitely a book that you are picking up at the end of a slow burn romance, and has fun hijinx in an old house with lots of secrets.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes a good writer insert character, love triangles, and complicated relationship plots.

**Review of *She Doesn’t Have a Clue* by Jenny Elder Moke**

**Audiobook Narration: 5⭐️**
The narration is outstanding, with a voice actor who brings the characters to life and builds tension perfectly. It’s an engaging listen from start to finish.

**Mystery: 3.5⭐️**
This romantic suspense novel follows best-selling author Kate, whose storylines are being used by a killer on a private island during a wedding. When a body is found and another person poisoned, Kate and the guests are thrown into a web of mystery. The plot keeps you guessing with its unique twist, as the killer mimics the author’s books.

The combination of a private island setting, high stakes, and multiple suspects creates an intriguing atmosphere. The killer’s reveal offers a satisfying conclusion to the suspense.

**Final Thoughts**:
*She Doesn’t Have a Clue* is a fun, suspenseful mystery with a fresh literary twist. The narration is a standout, and the plot delivers a compelling read for fans of romantic suspense.

Thank you Jenny Elder Moke and Macmillan Audio for the ARC audio copy. 

This was a cute murder mystery thriller with some romance in between. Kate, a mystery author, decides to attend her ex-fiancé's wedding. She runs into an unexpected guest, Jake, who she has unresolved feelings for. As the murder mystery begins unraveling with some unfortunate accidents along the way, everyone is pointing fingers at each other as the killer. Kate and Jake try to piece together the puzzle of who did what. The suspense to figure out who the bad guy was kept me intrigued. I would say this is a run of the mill murder mystery story, very easily read/listened to. There was some plot twists that I didn't see coming, and other that I guessed rather quickly. Overall, i enjoyed the book and would recommend to others. 
The narrator did a fabulous job playing the part of everyone.

You should read if you enjoy ❤️:
Mystery/thrillers
Murder mystery vibes
A little side romance plot

Warning ⚠️
There is detailed sex scenes, I think only 2 if I remember correctly. It's easily skipped over. But there are some details to the storyline that are talked about before and immediately after.

Happy reading!

This review is also posted to Good Reads

A lavish wedding weekend on a private island sounds amazing right? Not so much when it’s your ex’s wedding, you’re stuck sharing a room with “the one that got away”, and someone ends up dead!

This was a fun and fast paced murder mystery with a side of second chance romance. There’s plenty of banter, humor, and a slew of likely suspects to keep you guessing! The romance is more of a slow mild burn with light spice- it’s sweet and believable.

Overall an enjoyable experience and I would recommend! The audio was fantastic!! Sarah Mollo-Christensen did such an excellent job voicing all the difference characters. I couldn’t believe there was only one narrator!

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, & Jenny Elder Moke for the chance to listen to this gem in advance 🤍

This book just wasn't for me. First, the sudden flashes to Loretta's POV (Loretta is a character in Kate's books) were super annoying. Second of all, it all was too campy and ridiculous.

There were also issues with the plot. For example, Kate's room was in the attic (4th floor) and accessible through pull down stairs. Yet she heard the door knob turn when Spencer entered. Um, there is no door knob! And she asked him why he was on the fourth floor and he didn't realize that he was. Also, based on the event that happened previously and the fact that Jake had to go get clothes for Kate means that Kate shouldn't have been in her room anyway. She was rescued from the elevator shaft, but magically transported into her room and her belongings weren't in there. THE WHOLE THING DOESN'T MAKE SENSE.

This is just a perfect example of not all books are for you. This one wasn't for me. I am sure some people will love it.

The audiobook narration by Sarah Mollo-Christensen was fine.

I received an advance audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

The audio voices were phenomenal . Like that a lot and enjoy it . Now the story is good , and entertaining. Definitely a good fun book.

I love a book that takes place in the Pacific Northwest. When I read the description of this book that is what hooked me. The Descriptions of the PNW, the ferry and the surroundings were spot on.
This book was a funny book, slow & unbelievable at a few spots but a good mystery. The narrator was great and really moved the story along There was so much happening during this wedding on a PNW island that at some times you had to suspend disbelief. The main character is an author of mysteries. Unfortunately she is a terrible investigator and isn't good at reading people. Throughout the book the character from her book talks to her to try and help her figure out what and why all this weird stuff is happening. She has a great helper but even he doesn't believe some of the stuff that is going on and what she is saying until he sees it with his own eyes.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

Kate, famed author of a best selling mystery series is mysteriously invited to her ex-finace's luxary wedding, hosted in an old remote house, by his very rich very famous very scary and successful Aunt Rebecca. Despite knowing it's probably a bad idea she heads to the island with her ex-best friend / dream man Jake whom she had a falling out with two years ago and hasn't spoken to since.
This was almost wonderful? It's weird because I didn't hate it as a whole, I enjoyed reading it and wanted to know what came next. However each element was so infuriating? Kate was one of the most infuriating main characters I have ever had to read about. Constantly making just downright stupid mistakes, getting in everyone's way and miscommunicating to an absolutely INSANE point.

This was absolutely a riot! I loved every minute of the twists and turns and will be recommending! The narration was spot on!

The audio was slightly confusing at first when the POV (?) would switch. Once I figured it out it was fine. The story was okay, the ending was meh. I didn’t feel much of a connection with the love interest.

She Doesn't Have a Clue is a mature romantic mystery from a debut adult fiction author (Moke has written YA novels). The story is set on a privately-owned island off the coast of Washington state, where guests have assembled to witness the wedding of a prominent young member of the wealthy family that owns the island and the editor of a small but prominent publishing house. Kate Valentine, author of a short series of mysteries featuring Loretta, an amateur detective that is published by same publishing house, has been invited by Rebecca, titular head of the wealthy family. Clues point to plots of Kate's novels. The romance is predictable but the solution to the mystery is not, at least not until near the end. Moke does a good job of keeping the twists and turns coming, even though some of them seemed barely plausible and even though her main character is not entirely likeable. Sarah Mollo-Christensen is a reliably good narrator and she enhances the audiobook with her expert narration. Fans of the genre will devour this book quickly.

3.5⭐
Genre ~ romantic comedy
Setting ~ private island off the coast of Seattle
Publication date ~ January 21, 2025
Publisher ~ Macmillan Audio
Est Page Count ~ 336 (p+ 42 chapters +e)
Audio length ~ 10 hours 24 minutes
Narrator ~ Sarah Mollo-Christensen
POV ~ single 3rd
Featuring ~ locked room (island), forced proximity, murder mystery, slow burn, minimal steamage

Kate is off to her ex-fiance's wedding when she runs into her crush Jake, literally slams right into him as she makes a running leap onto the boat before it leaves the dock. Bet that would have been a hoot to see ~ I know, I’m awful.

Kate is a bestselling author of murder mysteries with the main character named Loretta. When certain things starting happening that resonate with her books the fingers are pointed at her. Loretta's name pops up quite often and it took a hot minute to realize Kate was pretending to be in Loretta's head in order to solve the mystery. She and Jake work to clear her name, and that's not the only thing they work on, wink wink.

There are quite a few unlikable suspects and a lot going on, but I enjoyed the sleuthing and secret passages found along the way.

Overall, this was a fun time with some pretty good banter, too.

Narration notes:
Top notch job! She really did all of the different character voices flawlessly. She even did a nice Australian accent for a man.

I LOVED this audiobook. It kept me guessing from start to finish. I enjoyed the narration a lot. It had great thrill and comedy points. The plot of the whole book was very interesting and it really kept my eye. I would recommend this book to anybody who likes to keep on guessing!