She Doesn't Have a Clue by Jenny Elder Moke ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

With a colorful cast of characters and a cellar full of wine, anything can happen―from murder to a second chance at love―in Jenny Elder Moke's half-mystery, half-romance adult debut set at a lavish destination wedding.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

January 2025; Minotaur Books; 978-1250354983
audio, ebook, print (336 pages); women's fiction

This book is a debut novel that has bits and pieces of several genres in it and amazingly they all fit together to make this an interesting and fun read.  It takes place on a secluded island so it's kind of a locked room mystery, the heroine is thrown together with a past love which makes it a second chance romance plus the main character is trying to solve a crime even though her only knowledge comes from the mystery books that she writes.  Along with all of that, there is plenty of humor plus lots of quirky people on the island.  The crime was difficult for this reader to solve but the ride to the end was fun and full of red herrings.

Kate Valentine is a bestselling mystery writer.  When she is invited to her ex-fiancé's wedding on a secluded island, she's very surprised but decides to go to prove that she is over him.  Once she gets there, she's surprised to see Jake - a man from her past.  The action starts almost as soon as Kate arrives on the island when someone tries to kill the bride-to-be.  Since the methods used mirror Kate's mystery novels, she is a prime suspect.  So Kate and Jake work together to prove that she is not the murderer.  One interesting thing about Kate is that as soon as she gets into any situation, her mind goes to the heroine in her murder mystery books and she rewrites the scene in her mind to fit her books.  Kate isn't a fantastic investigator because every clue points her to a different person and in her mind she finds them guilty.

I found this book very interesting and well-written.  In my opinion, there were too many sub-plots that all pointed to different people as the murderer.  I had trouble keeping up with all of the guests plus the staff at the mansion and had some trouble keeping people connected to their backgrounds.  Overall it was a fun story to read - both as a romance and a mystery.  Kate was a great main character and had a very active imagination that put her in some difficult situations and some funny situations in her life as she tried to solve the crime.  It was an interesting blend of romance and suspense with a large dose of humor. 

Buy She Doesn't Have a Clue at Amazon

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is three hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west.  She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.   

Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us. Get even more book news in your inbox, sign up for our newsletter today! Or Follow Girl Who Reads with Bloglovin. Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.