A steamy rom-com/murder mystery about a bestselling author who’s stuck at a wedding weekend gone horribly awry, perfect for fans of Tessa Bailey’s My Killer Vacation, and Jesse Q. Sutanto’s Dial A for Aunties.
SHE DOESN’T HAVE A CLUE
by Jenny Elder Moke
Minotaur/St. Martin’s Press, January 2025
(via Sterling Lord Literistic)
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.
Jenny Elder Moke is the author of award-winning children’s and adult literature. She enjoys fast-paced adventures with plenty of mysteries, surprising turns, and laughs along the way. When she’s not writing, you can find her knitting, puzzling, or fighting imaginary crime as a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. SHE DOESN’T HAVE A CLUE is her adult debut.

The story has reached it’s happily ever after, the peasant girl has married her prince and become queen, all is well in the kingdom. . . But for Aralyn, the princesses stepsister, the story is only just beginning.
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