Cute cover right? Makes you want to just curl up in this chair and read the day away right? Well, my suggestion, pick another book to do so. "Fiction Can Be Murder" has the honor of having one of the most annoying characters I have met in a long time. Charlee Russo is a mystery writer, although how I have NO idea because she's pretty darn clueless. One morning, her agent ends up dead and is killed in the exact same manner as written in Charlee's upcoming, unpublished novel. This puts Charlee, as well as her mystery writer's club, as targets for the police investigation and in order to save herself, and those she cares about, Charlee starts looking into the death herself.

This book kind of flowed oddly for me. I'm not even sure why but the title itself doesn't even work in my brain. I was able to keep reading because in the end, I really did want to know who killed the bitchy agent. Which I might add no one really seemed to care that she was dead - not even her husband. As I mentioned, Charlee is annoying. In fact, during most of the chats with Stormi, we ended up calling her "paranoid girl." This girl could find reasons why a blade of grass was out to get her. This book also lacked what I love about mose cozies. There's no quaint small town setting and no extremely likable characters (although I did like the elderly upstairs neighbors and the two guys who owned the local book store). I will say there were a couple of cute dogs in the mix. One Charlee rescues from a local alley and one is owned by the elderly couple I mentioned - Peter O'Drool (so the author does get points for the adorable Pug name).

I really can't recommend this book to cozy lovers. It was a pretty annoying read. And spoiler alert, Stormi didn't think much of it either. We joked that Charlee probably killed her agent herself and forgot about it because not only is she "paranoid girl" she's "scattered girl." I'm sure plenty of people have enjoyed this book, it just wasn't what I was looking for. Oh well, better luck next time. And I mean it! Stormi and I better have better luck with May's read!!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for allowing me to read and review this book. I thought that it was very entertaining, and a good mystery.

Charlee's agent is killed in the same manner as a character in her new, unpublished novel. So, clearly, Charlee is suspect #1. Also on the list of suspects are her beta readers and critique group. The suspect field is small, but Charlee must look at her friends as suspects to find the killer.

Entertaining and fun. Charlee knows she is innocent, but everyone, even her friends, think she's guilty. A quick read with some humor. I especially enjoyed the interactions Charlee had with her critique group.

The 1st book in the Mystery Writer's series. I enjoy mysteries and books about books, so this one was right up my alley. I look forward to reading more of this series.

Fiction Can Be Murder: A Myster Writer’s Mystery, Becky Clark’s cozy mystery was released April 8, 2018 by Midnight Ink. Charlee (Charlemagne) Russo is a mid-stable mystery writer who has noticed that her royalty payments are shrinking. Her literary agent seems reluctant to push the publisher for the appropriate documentation. Charlee is funny, intelligent, and a bit ditzy, so she shares that information with her writing critique group. When her agent is murdered with the method Charlee described in her most recent, as-yet-unpublished manuscript, the critique group immediately thinks she killed the agent. Charlee, because each of them read this manuscript, is equally certain one of them killed the agent. The critique group is a group of oddballs, each with something to hide. The cops feel Charlee is the most likely suspect, but she feels they’re not doing an adequate job of investigating, so she tackles the job herself while suffering random fits of paranoia that she is next on the killer’s hit list. Readers get an insight into the writer’s life as well as some truly funny moments. This mystery is fast-paced and humorous, and should be enjoyed by any cozy mystery fan.

An entertaining mystery, introducing Charlee as a mystery writer who becomes embroiled in the murder of her literary agent. Melinda was killed by the method outlined in Charlene’s manuscript for her next book, so everyone in her book group becomes a suspect. I would have liked a little more depth to the characters, but it was a fun quick read.

I love finding a new cozy mystery series and this one was a fun one. Charlee is an author who has an agent who has lots of enemies and one of them decides to get rid of her and use Charlee's latest work in progress as the source of the method. Now Charlee really wanted to cut all ties with the woman but, unfortunately, there is no way out, certainly not murder. Big problem, the only people who have read her work in progress are those writers in her writer's group. As it's her method but she didn't do the nasty deed, who did and can she figure it out before she ends up behind bars?
This was a nice, relaxing read and I have put it on my list of series to follow.

Clark’s novel is an entertaining whodunit that hits all the marks to make this a fun and interesting read. With it’s cast of quirky characters and its own plot devises give this a rewarding payoff.

Starting out as a writer writing a murder mystery, the narrator soon finds herself in her own mystery which uses the same techniques and situations as her novel that she is currently working on. This was an ingenious plot device which helps elevate this from the standard fair.

The characters are overall likeable but there are some that don’t quite make the mark but this doesn’t take away from the overall structure. The plot points are interesting and at times keeps the reader involved to its exciting climax. Clark has included an interesting plot twist that fits well with the solution to the mystery with its rich texture adept writing style. Unfortunately, the book does fall a little flat in the middle but does lifts itself out for the final quarter of the novel which makes it almost forgivable.

Overall, this is a fun murder mystery and for the audience of this genre, this should definitely please the armchair sleuths.

I love a good mystery and I love humor. Becky Clark's Fiction Can Be Murder nails it on both counts. When novelist, Charlee Russo's agent is murdered in the same manner as the victim in Charlee's unpublished manuscript, she becomes the top suspect. She sets about clearing her name by checking up on anyone who has read the manuscript. Unfortunately, that group is largely made up of friends from her critique group, who don't take kindly to her suspicions.
The mystery is intriguing, fast paced, and laugh-out-loud funny, with quirky cast of characters and a protagonist who is so relatable she feels like a long lost friend! I'm eager for the next book in this series!

FICTION CAN BE MURDER is the first in the Mystery Writer’s Mystery series and my first book by author Becky Clark. Overall the story is quick paced and entertaining and I really enjoyed it. In fact I laughed out loud quite a few times. Charlee turns into an amateur sleuth when her publishing agent Melinda is murdered. Being an amateur sleuth comes natural for Charlee as she is a mystery writer who knows how to research facts to create her fictional crimes. On top of this her brother is a policeman, as was her father. The trouble with the murder of her agent is that the way she was murdered was exactly the same way Charlee had her victim murdered in her latest book – which hasn’t been published yet. This means that only those who have read her manuscript would know the method – or Charlee herself. Charlee knows she didn’t do it, but is not sure she can convince the police investigators, so takes matters into her own hands and starts to check the alibies.

There turns out to be quite a few suspects to check – the members of her writing critique group; her beta readers who are any friends, family or boyfriend willing to read the manuscript. Also, of course, Melinda’s husband is on the list. Most are easy to cross off the list, some are upset they are even ON the list, and others out and out lie about their alibies for one reason or another. There are lots of twists and turns – as you would expect in a mystery and I didn’t pick who it was until the big reveal – my suspect was completely innocent so I would have been hopeless as a sleuth!

The only niggle I had was with a back story about Charlee – She has a tremor – which is only mentioned a few times but what it is triggered by is not very clear. So I wondered about what purpose it served to have it. It is highly probable that I missed the explanation though – and did not affect my enjoyment of the story. I really enjoyed a peek into the writing/publishing world, and early on in the book there is a scene where the writer’s group discuss reader reviews as one member has just returned from consulting with his therapist over a review he read:

“…He held up one hand. “In my defense, it was one-star and began, ‘I don’t know anything about astrophysics, but … ’”

Ouch. Those hurt. Even I get those. Not about astrophysics, of course, but equally ridiculous. I’m giving Ms. Russo’s book one star because I ordered the wrong book. Or, this is a mystery and I hate reading mysteries, even though the description clearly states it’s a mystery. Or my favorite, I thought this was by Richard Russo, NOT Charlemagne Russo, whoever she is. I LOVE his books. Won’t bother to read hers. It took volumes of emotional maturity to ignore those kinds of bogus reviews…”

I will certainly look for more books by Becky Clark as she seems like a very out there person – and her web page is a hoot!

Charlee Russo is a midlist author who participates in a critique group. When her agent is murdered, the circle of suspicion falls on the group and Charlee must solve the mystery and why her own manuscript played a part. I enjoyed the humor and characters in this mystery and looked forward to more by this author.

When her unpleasant agent is murdered in exactly the same way as Charlee describes in her new book, she’s instantly chief suspect. Given the book hasn’t been published yet, the list of possible murderers is rather worrying restricted to people she knows: her writing group and critique partners, her boyfriend, her agent’s lovely assistant. Driven to clear her own name and reassure herself that her nearest and dearests aren’t cold-blooded killers, Charlee sets out to investigate the case herself.

Of all the ‘cosy mystery’ series I’ve been reading of late, this new one is pretty straight-forward in terms of the main character working her way through a fixed list of suspects. I was a little irritated by the large number of weird names, from Charlemagne to Einstein to Queue (what?!), wishing we could have just had one weird moniker and a bunch of Pauls and Susans, quite frankly – but hey, small irritations!

Everyone seems to have their own quirks and secrets, too, making it quite a motley cast – but, no problems remembering who everyone is, I suppose.

Overall, it was a nice easy read and I did appreciate that. The mystery was a bit ‘hmm’, especially as a few background things were thrown in as the story progressed, tying things together but feeling just a bit forced.

I’d give the series another go, yes, but so far it’s not my favourite of the recent crop.

I am always on the lookout for new mystery authors or new mystery series. This book almost has a Murder She Wrote vibe to me. This one was so good! Charlee Russo is a new author/sleuth to me. Her latest manuscript hits a little to close to home for her. . She has to figure out what is going on before the police come knocking at her door.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

Fiction Can Be Murder

by Becky Clark

What does a pickle jar have in common with an unpublished manuscript used as the blueprint for murder? Take a trip to beautiful, sunny, snowy Denver to meet mystery author Charlee Russo and her writing support group who suddenly find themselves under suspicion of murder along with about ten other people in Becky Clark’s Fiction Can Be Murder.

This book follows the fairly standard expectations for a cozy mystery. The main character tries to solve the crime to clear herself and her friends. She has romantic entanglements to work through. Her brother, who plays a very small role, is a cop, but Carlee mainly deals with two detectives in an antagonistic role. The characters range from interesting to quirky.

While Fiction Can Be Murder will not go down as one of the greats in mysteries, it provides an enjoyable read that will keep you guessing at “whodunnit.” I particularly enjoyed Clark’s humorous turn of phrase in descriptions and dialogue, and I will be looking for the next book in the series.

I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Midnight Ink for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4/5

Category: Mystery

Notes: #1 in the Mystery Writer’s Mystery Series

Publication: April 8, 2018—Midnight Ink

Memorable Lines:

The closest I came to having servants was watching Downton Abbey.

This was one of the few times I longed for a sturdy landline I could slam down. Hanging up with attitude was simply not satisfactory on cellphones.

I will admit to getting sucked into the Grocery Store Apocalyptic Group-Think Drama once, the day before a blizzard. I saw there were only two pounds of butter on the shelf and I grabbed them both. I didn’t need butter, and certainly not eight sticks of it, but I felt the pull of that panic. What if I did need it? What if I ran out? How would I survive for two whole days with only the single stick of butter I’ve had in my refrigerator for the last three months?

Charlee (Charlemagne) Russo is a mystery writer who finds out that her agent was just murdered. If that is not shocking enough she was killed in the same fashion as the murder in Charlee’s new manuscript. This makes Charlee suspect number one along with anyone who has read her manuscript. This includes her entire critique group along with family and friends. I was engaged the entire read and I had suspicions about who the culprit was but then the clues would go in another direction. I found out when the author wanted me to. It was realistic as Charlee was forced to question those around her that she loves and works with to see who could have done this. Loved the link to her Father at the end and wonder if we will find out more background about her family and the “tremor” that causes her to spill coffee on herself all the time. I stayed up to finish this book. I cannot remember the last time I had to stay up and finish a book. I really look forward to the next in this series.

Clever and amusing cozy mystery. Particularly enjoyed how the ending wrapped up some of the back story details. Interesting characters.

*I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

DNF @ 55% BUT I did read skim one more section and read the last 5ish%

1.5 stars

For not liking the main character I got pretty far into this book. Yeah, I disliked the main character, that is my biggest problem with this book. Charlee, the main character, is blunt to the point of almost not caring and not the smartest tool in the shed. Pretty much the whole book is her checking on the alibi's of all of the people who read, or could have read, her unpublished manuscript. Those people? Most are friends. So, Charlee will be like, "Hey, where were you on...." and the friend obviously knows what happened then and why Charlee is asking. She doesn't sugarcoat it at all.
She isn't sneaky about her asking about either. A lot of the time she is like a bull in a china shop. Also, she is the most judgmental character I have read in a long time, actually saying yes we need to judge people by what they look like.

In this way, all the characters seemed one dimensional. Charlee had tunnel vision, the cops seemed uptight, and all the book group members had their one or two things that made them different.

I did read the last 5% of the book as well, so I know how it ended and .... it was only solved in that last 5%. Wow, that is rushed. Also, seriously, she was just checking alibis most that time?? Anyhow, the ending seemed rushed and I don't feel there was a way to predict it, which doesn't follow being a mystery book -- that is what thrillers do. Mysteries usually lay out clues which the reader can choose from. I don't know, I feel like at this point I'm being nitpicky.

The mystery and how it was done was interesting, the rest of the book? Not so much.

Fiction Can Be Murder is the first book in Mystery Writer's series and it is a fabulous read.
Charlee is a mystery writer, who wrote a book in which victim gets killed by mercury poisoning.
The book is set for success but the only problem is that her notorious literary agent is murdered it exactly the same way as it was s described in the unpublished manuscript. Members of her writing group and few of her friends are the only ones who had access to it.
Needles to say Charlee is in a very bad situation as detectives Ming like the dynasty and Campbell like the soup, aren't trying too hard to find the culprit but are more than happy to prove that Charlee did it.
Wickedly funny, with many laugh out loud moments, clever dialogue and interesting plot it is a book I have thoroughly enjoyed. I particularly liked that writers are possible suspects and the comic way Charlee goes about investigating the murder.
I am eagerly awaiting the sequel.

I really enjoyed this laugh-out-loud mystery.

Charlemagne “Charlee” Russo is a likeable a heroine. A mystery writer with a penchant for spilling beverages and food on herself and things around her, she becomes the focal point when her literary agent is murdered—in the exact manner Charlee wrote about in her as-yet-to-be-published novel.

The suspects are the members of her critique group and her beta readers—friends and family willing to read the unpublished work as a nonprofessional. Also, of course, Melinda’s spouse.

A few places were a little slow—I didn’t need quite that much detail about what it’s like to drive through traffic on a snowy day, even if Charlee is worried that SUV is trying to run her down.

All in all, though, this is a fun read. Thanks so much to NetGalley and Midnight Ink for the opportunity to review this book.

I cannot say if liked this book or not.
It was really exciting at the beginning, fast paced and funny. Then it seemed to be slower, a bit obsessive at part. In the end it failed to keep me interested.
It's well written, the characters are quite likeable but it's not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Midnight Ink

I love this debut cozy mystery. This mystery captured me from the beginning.
Fiction Can Be Murder by Becky Clark is the first in a new series, Clark introduces us to Charlemagne Russo, or Charlee, who is a mystery writer and finds herself solving the murder of her agent. She is suspect number one and must clear her name before the police stop looking for the real murderer.
Charlee is a great sleuth, as she already does a lot of research for her mystery novels. She has a great support group of fellow writers that are friends who stand up for her and help her investigate. They share clues and work together to clear her name.
This novel is fast paced, well plotted and introduces a large cast of quirky characters that all add to the story. All in all it is a well crafted murder mystery that gives great promise for a long successful series. This is the perfect mystery read.!!!! I loved it.
Thank you for the ARC which does not influence my review.