Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read "An Amateur Sleuth's Guide to Murder" in exchange for my honest opinion.

If it's a series my Lynn Cahoon, you know it's going to be a winner. She creates interesting characters that readers can relate to. Her descriptions always make you feel as if you are there watching the events unfold.

In this new series we meet Meg Gates whose wedding was cancelled 2 days before she was to walk down the aisle when her fiancé took off on their honeymoon with the bridesmaid and Meg's former sorority sister. She feels herself a three time loser as she has failed at college, work and love. She is now moving "home" to Bainbridge Island, a short ferry ride from Seattle. She'll be living in the garage apartment at her Aunt Melody and Uncle Troy's house. Uncle Troy also happens to be the police chief. The best character is her rescue dog Watson.

She has a job working at her mother's book store and for author Lilly Aster as an assistant. She also has dreams of writing an book about how to solve mysteries. When a body is found on the cliffs near Lilly's home she puts her mystery solving skills to good use much to Uncle Troy's disappointment. How is she going to figure out who the murderer is, when all the suspects are her friends and family?

A great start to a wonderful new series. Looking forward to reading more about Meg and her new life on the island.

Lynn Cahoon's newest series is off to a great start! An Amateur Sleuth's Guide to murder is the first in the Bainbridge Island Mystery series centered around Meg Gates, a 26 year old who has moved home to start over after a series of unfortunate events. She is feeling that treading water has given over to a riptide that is pulling her backwards.

Meg's Aunt and Uncle are giving her time to collect herself and stay in their garage apartment---plus, her Aunt and Mom got her a job with a famous author who also lives on the island. Maybe life is looking up. Meg gets the idea of writing a "how to" on investigating a murder. Her tips make up the chapter headings. I love that.

When the author's manager is found dead near her home and she is implicated in the murder Meg jumps into investigation mode to clear her name. There is mystery, suspense and humor, a quick moving plot, and great characters. I am excited for book two already.
COMING JUNE 24th 2025
Thank you for the e-copy ARC that I requested, I review books I love for friends and followers. #AnAmateurSleuth'sGuidetoMurder #NetGalley
#KensingtonCozies

There's nothing like a lousy ex-boyfriend (or fiancé) to get you on a character's side, and this story has an excellent villain. It also has a team of amateur sleuths that first worked together in middle school (and are good friends always eating delicious meals/pastries), and a main character who works in a bookstore and as an assistant to a mystery writer (and is writing a book of her own!). So lots of relatable/enjoyable elements. The family interactions also made me laugh and the mystery solving worked well with the main character's general storyline.

4 stars for a fun read!

What a fun read! The book has an extremely likable protagonist who is aided and abetted by a great group of additional characters. There is some humor and interesting tidbits about the publishing world in general sprinkled throughout. I hope this is the first book in a continuing series as I would love to spend more time with this cast of characters.

I wanted to attempt my shot again at a cozy mystery, but yet again it just progressed too slowly for me and didn't hold my attention. I don't think it's anything wrong with the book, but more a preference for me. I just need more action and fast paced. I had to DNF I couldn't get into it.

Meg feels as though she is moving backwards in life. She lost her job, her fiance let her for her bridesmaid and now she is moving back home. Things start to look up as she gets back together with old friends and has a job as a research assistant to her favorite author. But things change again when there is a murder and it looks her new boss is the number one suspect.

I was a little leary about this book, while I have enjoyed books by Lynn Cahoon in the past the last few have left me disappointed. I am glad I took the chance. This is a good start to a new series. I like the storyline of Meg writing a how to be an amaueur slueth book and the start of getting to know the characters. However I do think if the series continues that the character need to be fleshed out a little more.

I'm a huge fan of Lynn Cahoon's books and An Amateur Sleuth's Guide to Murder was delightful. The story drew me in from the start. After the initial shock of her finance running off with her bridesmaid, Meg, quickly pulls herself together and returns to Bainbridge Island. A wonderful opportunity presents itself when she learns that best-selling author Lilly Aster needs an assistant. Meg assumes she will have low level duties, filing, perhaps answering fan mail, etc. but she decides to make the most of the connection. She will write own guide to solving murders as an amateur. She devises her own rules, jots them down, and quickly finds herself in the midst of a real life murder investigation. A delightful book, highly recommend.

Meg and her rescue dog, Watson, are back home with her family after her planned life goes poof when her fiancé decides to go on vacation with one of the bridesmaids instead of their honeymoon. The family gets her a part-time job with a famous author and a part time job at the family bookstore. Then the author's unpleasant agent is found dead in the water near the author's home. Let the investigations begin! Good fun mystery.
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected E-galley file from Kensington Publishing | Kensington Cozies via NetGalley. Pub Date Jun 24, 2025
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An Amateur Sleuth’s Guide To Murder, is the first book in the Bainbridge cozy mystery series by Lynn, cahoon, Meg was about to get married when her fiancé Romaine left her and went on their honeymoon with one of the bridesmaids. Meg is heartbroken and is returning home to Bainbridge Island to be closer to her family plus her mom is giving her a job at her bookstore, she’ll also be working for a very popular author named Lily. Meg always wanted to be an author. and loved solving mysteries. She even had a Nancy Drew club while growing up on the island. Little does Meg know that in moving home, she will get to do just that. because on her first day at work, Lilly‘s agent or ex agent rather is found dead in the sound behind her home. Unfortunately, he is a man with a plethora of great suspects that would’ve wanted him dead, but who did it? soon the Nancy Drew club is back together, and this will be the first case to Meg’s uncle, the Bainbridge sheriffs irritation. I absolutely was gaga for this cozy mystery. It was so good. I thought the storyline was intelligently done, a great mystery, lovable characters and a page turning narrative. except for the victim, I cannot think of any negative about this book. Having said that I will still be reading the next book I can’t wait to see what happens with Meg her relationship with Dalton and what the next mystery will be. I also want to say, I think it was brilliant that she made the titles of each chapter. The tips on how to solve a murder. This was an all-around perfect absolutely fabulous read! #NetGalley, #KensingtonBooks, #BlindReviewer, #LynnCalhoun, #AnAmateurLuteGuideToMurder,

An Amateur Sleuth's Guide to Murder by Lynn Cahoon is the first book in a brand-new cozy mystery series!

This was such a fun new book! I really enjoyed Meg's character. She has had to overcome some obstacles, dropping out of college to take a great job, that failed. Her fiancé dumped her and went on their honeymoon with one of HER bridesmaids.

Meg is heads back home to Bainbridge Island in Seattle to go back to her family.
She has her faithful cocker spaniel, Watson, who I absolutely ADORE, and she scored a part time job working for a mystery writer. So maybe things are looking up?

Meg wants to write a manual on investigating crimes. She is hoping that her boss will like it.
Before that can happen, the author's manager is murdered, and her boss is the prime suspect.

This was such a fantastic cozy mystery! I am a huge fan of Lynn Cahoon, and this book is written in her unique style which I absolutely love.

The characters are well written with a perfectly paced plot.

There were some twists I didn't see coming, and the final reveal left me shocked.

Such a great first book in a brand-new cozy mystery series!

An interesting start to a new mystery series that I didn't really like but I'm quickly realizing that I only like the Farm to Fork and the Cat Laitmer mysteries series by Cahoon everything else at least for me falls flat.

Meg feels like she is moving backwards - home after a failed career and engagement. But things look up with a new job she loves, old friends, and a murder to solve. The perfect book for all of us who loved Nancy Drew as a kid.

The newest book by Lynn Cahoon, "An Amateur Sleuth's Guide to Murder" is a quick, great read. Fast-paced, great mystery, and a wonderful main character!

#AnAmateurSleuthsGuidetoMurder #NetGalley is a fantastic start to a new series by one of my favorite authors.
Meg returns home after being jilted by her fiance and one of her friends.
Luckily, Meg has a place to go, a job at her mother's book store, and another working as a research assistant for a mystery author.
While Meg and her canine sidekick Watson are getting settled, Meg has ideas about writing a how to book about solving a murder, from an amateurs prospective.
When a real life murder takes place, Meg finds herself ready to investigate, especially when people close to her are suspects.
I really liked this story, the characters are very likable and easy to connect with, and the story itself flowed smooth from beginning to end.
I hope there will be more in this fabulous series.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy this book.