Jane is a less than successful author, but is attending a mystery themed literary event in an attempt to bolster her books. Jane is insecure and shy and the event doesn’t start well when she isn’t on the author list and has to pay for her entry for a guest pass. Of course, Jane finds a body and is about to go home, defeated. She meets a fellow author and an agent’s intern and makes friends and they determine to investigate together. Throughout the book, we see Jane gain confidence as she realizes she doesn’t have to be alone and can be someone other than Plain Jane.
This was a good mystery and also a good story about friendship and the difference that can make. Thanks to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor and NetGalley for the ARC.

3.5/5

This is definitely what I would consider a cozy mystery. This follows some bookish characters and some bookish murder.

I did really enjoy the setting of this book, I crave a cute little village in the English countryside. The girlies yearn for the English countryside. And to make it even more cozy, this specifically takes place at a book festival in the English countryside!

This had some pretty funny conversation and dialogue too, I did quite enjoy that.

I did want some more oomph from these characters though. They felt a little too flat at times, they were fun, don't get me wrong. But I love when characters feel so real and these didn't quite do that for me. We meet some authors, book critiques and all sorts of bookish people, which was very fun and relatable, but they were a tad flat.

Overall, this was a fun cozy mystery for the book lovers.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.
The book started off well, I liked the protagonist and the concept. Unfortunately it didn't have staying power: too many possible killers with motives, it went on way too long, plus I was getting bored and rushed through to the end.

I received an ebook of this ARC from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This started off strong but really went off the rails quickly. There were a couple of times where a line made me laugh but I could not get past all of plot holes, constant use of cheesy adages, and the messy storyline.

What a fun book. A Novel Murder is a traditional cozy mystery with a twist…it's funny. We have a small English village, a book festival, a barely known , low self esteem writer and of course, a murder. Can the sad sack writer rise up and save the day? Turns out that with the help of her new friends, a fellow writer and a book reviewer, she can. The dialogue is funny and I feel I learned some things about the publishing world.

This is a fun, fast read that will have you laughing and shaking your head while you try to figure out who the killer is.

A very solid start - really liked the ensemble cast, who all felt like they had distinct personalities and worked well together. The culprit was unexpected, but the highlight of the book was the friendships.

How many rejection letters can a would-be author take before taking matters into their own hands? Add in the publishing roadblocks of editors, publicists, rival authors and large advance checks (which never seem to come their way) and you have a recipe for murder. Follow struggling crime novelist Jane around a prestigious crime author's awards event as she tries on the persona of her female sleuth in order to solve a murder. Totally unlike her heroine, Jane is a shy homebody who finds herself leading a group of authors on a quest to find out who murdered the famous publicist. Will solving the crime lead to more success for her novels or will she gain something else from the experience? Jane has been warned.. stay away or she might end up in the same condition as the dead publicist.

As more characters are introduced, it does get a bit confusing trying to keep each of them straight. Good if you are planning on reading straight through, but if you have to read as time allows, it is easy to confuse the characters. Jane is well drawn and her character grows as she nears the solution to the crime. It would be fun to revisit her in another outing to see how she's fared post-murder solving.

I love behind the scenes in the literary world, throw in a little bit of murder and you've got me hooked! I enjoyed this book so much!

3.75 stars

This was a different sort of cozy. Mystery author Jane Hepburn is attending a literary conference and has vowed to make it a good experience. Easier said than done if you are Jane, a sort of shy, extremely tall and socially awkward loner. She has no self-confidence and is easily discouraged. But we get to watch as she makes a couple friends who help her feel like she is part of things.

There is a humorous but poignant scene in the women's bathroom where Jane and new author Natasha bond, soon joined by the other new friend Daniel.

In the way of cozies, Jane discovers the dead body of her agent- while she is creeping around the book tent trying to advantageously place her books. She, Daniel and Natasha decide they can figure out the crime. Their efforts are interesting, sometimes fruitful and occasionally logical. They have a couple false results but persevere until the end.

But the best part of the plot is watching Jane come into her own with the simple addition of friendship to her life. I would read another Jane adventure. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Really loved this book, I found it to be a cozy mystery. The only reason I didn’t rate it 5-star is because the first quarter of the book was a bit slow and the main character was a bit whiny. Once the story picked up though, I was hooked!

What a wonderful debut by E.C. Nevin. How clever to have a mystery author solve a real life murder at a book festival especially one that is focusing on mystery. It is a quick and cozy read. Perfect for those rainy and peaceful days when sitting down with a cuppa and a murder!

I dunno, it’s weird for me to read a book and totally flatline on my opinion of it. It was…fine. Having worked in publishing a lot of stuff rang true, but a lot of the time it also felt like how Emily in Paris is to the reality of living in Paris, like a Sex and the City version of the publishing world. It’s also the second book I’ve read this month that has an author depicted as a socially and physically awkward individual, and in my reality authors were much more normal with it individuals than their publishing world people. It’s weird that the author as a weirdo has become a thing, stop doing that to yourselves people who write.

The mystery was…again…fine. Maybe my opinion is skewed because this is coming from Knopf in the states and it doesn’t feel like a Knopf book. I usually know what I’m getting from a specific publisher or imprint. Flatiron, Mulholland, never lead me wrong. Knopf is usually a little more big literary names, serious literature, where this is super commercial mainstream.

A Novel Murder
by E. C. Nevin

I was invested from the very first chapter. I enjoyed the

Jane Hepburn is a struggling author trying to make it big in the publishing world. Her books aren’t selling and her editor is avoiding her calls. She makes it to the Killer Lines Crime Fiction Festival in hopes of tracking her editor down and instead stumbles upon a very much dead body of literary agent Carrie Marks.

Jane decides to put her sleuth detective skills to use to try and solve the murder along with her new unlikely friends.

I found Jane and all other MC so charming and relatable

5⭐️

A lot of good things about this one. i don't want to ruin anything for you. Just know there is some fun involved.
I enjoyed the presentation overall.
Enjoyable setting.
And the plot was over the top, but in the good way.
Give it a shot.

This somewhat tongue in cheek novel about the publishing industry set within a mystery was one of those books that I skimmed and then wondered why I wasted the time. The character development was poor, the device of the protagonist calling upon her deceased mother was overdone and the novel was poorly written.