Fiction Can Be Murder by Becky Clark is the first book in the new Mystery Writer’s Mystery series. As the series titles suggests this new series centers around Charlemagne “Charlee” Russo who is an author who writes murder mysteries.

While Charlee is at her book group meeting her phone begins ringing like crazy and when she finally answers she gets the news that her agent has been found murdered and the police are on the way to talk with her. It seems that Charlee’s agent was killed in the exact same way as her latest manuscript that she had just sent over the week before.

Now Charlee knows that she isn’t the killer but isn’t sure the police believe she’s innocent. She also thinks that the killer is either after her and her friends or trying to set her up for murder so Charlee decides to look into the murder herself starting with those that had access to her book.

First I would say I loved that this one jumps right into the murder in the opening pages after having done a few very slow movers lately it was nice to get going quickly. And I would also note that there are quite a few funny moments in here that I caught myself laughing out loud. There were also plenty of suspects to not make the murderer obvious.

However, as much as I liked following an author on her quest to find out who could have used her work to kill there were times in this one I just didn’t find events going on to be believable, mostly with her questioning really. When finished with Fiction Can Be Murder there were some things that I liked and some that I didn’t leaving me to rate this one at 3.5 stars for a solid beginning but room to improve in the future.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Charlee Russo is a mystery writer, and unfortunately for her, someone murders her agent in the exact way from Charlee's new book. Of course she is the main suspect, so she sets out to prove her innocence--and find the killer.
This is the first book in the series, and the first time I have read the author. I was pleasantly surprised by how funny this book was. It was clever and witty, and I will be looking for the next one!

Fast paced murder mystery that puts an author in the middle of one of her own plots. Great characters, great cozy mystery, look forward to more from this author!

When Charlee agent is murdered the finger points to Charlee and she must clear her name and it could be one of her writer friends who has read her new unpublished manuscript .
How can Charlee accuse her friends of murder and get away with it.
Towards the middle of the book it did feel a bit flat, I enjoyed the story line and did finish the book because I needed to fine out who done it and as to why..
I didn't enjoy this book as much as other cozy mysteries but I would look out for her next book .

Fiction can be Murder by Becky Clark is the 1st book in a Mystery Writer's Mystery series, and I loved it. Charlee Russo is a mystery writer, who's agent is murdered in the same way Charlee wrote in her unpublished manuscript. The agent is a very unlikable women, but it has to be someone who read her manuscript. Not only is this book laugh out loud funny, it has a great mystery also. There are twists and turns around every corner. I found this book to be a quick read, with a well developed plot and characters. If you love funny cozy mysteries, I strongly recommend this book. I am anxiously waiting for the next book in the series.

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book sounded so interesting in the description and the cover just drew me in. The prologue was gripping. I couldn’t wait to get on with the story. Then it fell apart for me. The author quickly lost my interest. I had a hard time slogging through the next few chapters until I had to stop.
I just wasn't in the right frame of mind to read this story. As much as I like reading about different author's processes, this book just didn't draw me in.

Mid-list mystery author Charlemagne "Charlee" Russo is shocked when her nasty agent Melinda Walter is found dead in her car exactly as described in Charlee's new, unpublished manuscript. The police are skeptical about Charlee's feeble alibi and claims of innocence. Since only members of Charlee's critique group and friends have read the manuscript, she must figure out which of her friends is a murderer. This was a fun read and shows us a peak of the world of literary agents, publishers, royalties and critique groups.

I received an eARC via Netgalley and Midnight Ink with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.

Melinda the literary agent was really a rat but Charlee didn't kill her, despite how it looks. This new series (presumably) starts off well with Charlee, a mystery writer who must exonerate herself because her new manuscript seems to be a blueprint for the murder. It's fairly classic in terms of an amateur detective story but not quite a cozy so keep an eye out for red herrings and know that Charlee's gut will play a role on who goes up and down on the suspect scale. I liked that this focused on writers- it made me wonder how some "mid-list" authors feel about their own agents! Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Fun, quirky characters and an interesting story line made this a good read. Look forward to the next in the series!

Fiction Can be Murder is a well written humorous mystery. I loved the plot and the quirky characters. I enjoyed the author's style and look forward to reading more of their work. I recommend this book to fans of mysteries.

This book is every bit as much fun as a cozy mystery but without the recipes! Is it or is it not a cozy mystery? Well, maybe so, though it's sub-titled a mystery writer's mystery, and that's not really a cozy mystery cover, I don't think.

So where do I start? Charlemagne (Charlee) Russo is a mid-level mystery author who has an agent, (Melinda) so you know she must have had some measure of success. She is not, however, doing so well she bought a condo with a view. Living in an apartment, several of her characters are the apartment dwellers in and around her. She is also deep in a writer's critique group.

The problem? Her agent was murdered as described in the manuscript she is currently developing. And can Charlee be described as a person of interest? Yes, if you consider she is unhappy that her royalty payments have been decreasing lately.

Snappy patter, realistic dialogue. The prologue is a hook and you can't back out. Besides the clever protagonist Charlee, who is fairly well developed (I'd guess some back story will be forthcoming in the second of the series explaining a tremor) and peripheral characters developed well enough to get a grasp on where they stand on murder, you'll have a number of laugh out loud moments as the author turns up the humor meter, along with some notable quotables:
"...manuscripts were never finished, only abandoned..."
"I'd tell you to go to hell, but I never want to see you again."
(Tell me that isn't classic.) Even non-authors can identify with those sentiments!
The story wraps on a satisfying conclusion, pulling most loose ends together, although reached just a tad bit into unpresented discovery.

Fast and evenly paced, well-crafted plot, lively characters real enough to imagine without heavy descriptive devices (human nuances keeping them in the mind's eye), and a clever peek into a writer's life. Engaging and entertaining. I was given a download of an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley and greatly appreciated the opportunity to read and review. As the first in a new series, definitely a (cozy?) mystery writer I'll be following and I can't wait to see how Becky Clark will follow this one up!

I love this book. It’s a crime fiction reality coming to an author within a book that captured my attention. When here agent is murdered just like the crime featured in her book, author Charlee becomes the prime suspect and the only viable person responsible is one of her fellow critique members and how do you puzzle this one out without hurting any feelings.

And that is what you find in this well-executed whodunit with engaging dialogue and a woman determined to find the murderer and why isn’t her cop brother helping her out. A lot of things is in play and I liked how the author set things up to keep me busy reading between the lines. I enjoyed watching how it all came to fruition with each step the protagonist made that narrowed down the list of suspects until she got the shock of her life when it became apparent who the killer was. Almost a little too late, but our girl prevails with a few surprising twists along the way that added to how well this story was being told. Bonus for me was seeing a few authors I know name in the book. This is a great debut to a series that I hope is here to stay.

Fiction Can Be Murder
A Mystery Writer’s Mystery Series #1
Reviewed by Richard Mann of BookPleasures.com

AUTHOR: Becky Clark
PUBLISHER: Midnight Ink
ISBN: 978- 0-7387-5332-4 Trade Paperback

There is a lot to like in Becky Clark’s new book, Fiction Can Be Murder, the first in a new series called “A Mystery Writer’s Mystery.” Foremost in my mind is that it is funny. I adore funny mysteries. This book’s humor lies in the author’s voice as it comes through the main character’s narration. I love the brief throw-away lines that come out of the blue with wry wit enough to make me sputter with delight. We know we’re in for a treat from the first line, which compares the literary agent’s annual beauty budget to that of the North Korean military. (Her words are funnier than that, be we aren’t allowed to actually quote from pre-publication review copies.)

Charlemagne “Charlee” Russo is a mildly successful mid-list author of cozy mysteries (like the one we’re reading). She has a highly effective literary agent with a difficult, demanding personality and a group of friends who meet regularly to critique each other’s writing. Charlee is the most successful writer of the group.

The trouble begins when her much-feared agent is found murdered. The murder has been committed using the highly imaginative detailed blueprint of the murder in Charlee’s latest mystery’s manuscript, down to every tiny, painstaking detail. Only her writing group, a handful of other friends, and the agent’s assistant have seen the manuscript. One of them must be the murderer. Of course, the police think it’s Charlee.

From there, Charlee believes she has to solve the crime, because the police won’t do it—they already think she’s guilty. Charlee blunders around in the Denver winter checking alibis and backgrounds of her friends to clear them one by one until only the murderer remains. Of course, that’s not easy. Her series of adventures range from slapstick funny to mortally perilous.

After reading hundreds of cozy mysteries over the last few decades, I have become overly sensitive to the formula insisted upon by the publishers, which shows itself most obviously in the cast of characters. Ms. Clark has done a remarkable job of keeping the publishers happy without making us feel that each new friend exists to earn another checkmark on the list of required characters. This book did not feel formulaic, which is so refreshing.

With that problem handled, we are free to enjoy the amusing, off-beat methods of investigating her friends without alienating them to narrow the field of suspects to the right one. The solution is surprising and satisfying.

The book is fresh, funny, satisfying, and an altogether pleasant reading experience.

Fiction Can Be Murder by Becky Clark grabbed my attention right away and held it through to the end. 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. Charlee is the perfect amateur sleuth, as she already does a lot of research for her mystery novels and has family members who are police officers. This novel is quick paced, introduces a large cast of characters very well, and provides a well crafted murder mystery. Fresh, fun and highly entertaining, this is the perfect weekend read. The only downfall is that I now have to wait for the second in the series. Thank you to Netgalley and Midnight Ink for an ARC of this novel.

Mystery writer Charlee Russo is at her author's critique group meeting when she receives a call that her agent has been killed in suspicious circumstances. The police are on their way to interview her because the suspicious circumstances match the plot in an unpublished manuscript that she is working on. The police want to talk to everyone who has read the manuscript, which is a fairly lengthy list of people. When press coverage starts to report that Charlee was accusing her agent of embezzlement of funds, she feels the pressure of becoming the main suspect. This causes her to investigate to find the murderer.

Charlee is a really interesting protagonist, She's enthusiastic and intelligent, but impulsive and short-sighted. This brings her grief as she goes about her investigation of the alibis of her manuscript readers. Of course her exploits also make it an exciting book to read. On top of that, there's an uneasy atmosphere over Charlee's investigation: she thinks she's being watched and followed and there's a wild car chase which she barely manages to escape. There's several quirky characters introduced in the story, even the two cops are weird.

The ending and solution of the mystery seems like there was a random selection made amongst all the suspects and a backstory created to fill the gaps. The killer's motive seems contrived. Having said that, it's a good readable mystery story: light and entertaining with a likeable and interesting protagonist.

I liked the book. It's a good start for a new series. There's several quirky characters who can be easily carried over to future books with good results.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance reading copy of the book. The opinions expressed above are mine alone.

I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In "Fiction Can Be Murder" is a quick moving, hilarious, cozy about a mystery writer Charlee. The book starts off when Charlee finds out that she has been framed for murder. Her publisher has been killed by someone using the exact same method from the plot of her newest book. Considering her book hasn't even been released yet, Charlee decides to do some detective work of her own, and check on the alibis of the handful of friends and family members who have read her novels rough draft.

Follow her on a wild goose chase, and laugh your way through every page. This has a very "Stephanie Plum" feel to is, and because of that, I am hoping that this becomes a series. I would love to see more of these characters, and feel like there are a ton of scenarios where they could get into more amusing trouble.

Told in first person, the reader follows along with Charlemagne (Charlee) Russo as she is trying to get to a review meeting with her book group. We learn that she is very klutzy. We also learn that she is one of the few published authors in her group. But that doesn't make her life all sunshine and roses. She's in an ironclad contract with her agent and her latest royalty checks have been going downhill rapidly. So it's just too bad that her agent turns up dead, killed by the very specific manner outlined in Charlee's book. Guess who ends up being the number one suspect? Charlee doesn't hesitate, she decides to investigate the murder herself.

This might be a good book for some other readers. I just have a klutzy, female, decides-to-look-into-murder-and-almost-dies main character burnout. Not to mention that I've read two other books recently with the "author's book coming to life" theme recently. And the ending came out of left field.



Three stars
This book comes out April 8
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

I love the cover and that title... But I guess if I'd looked more closely it does give upfront a cozy mystery vibe.

Well, cozy isn't my thing at all. There were a bunch of reviews that mentioned that it didn't read as such so I gave it a shot.

In my opinion, cozies are silly books. It's like we all have our stupid moments, or crazy ideas, or funny rationalizations. And then the moment passes and we come to our senses and life returns to normal. Well, in cozy mysteries - at least the ones I've opened - the murder, the so-called PI, the victim, and even the guilty are all written mainly from those tiny stupid, crazy and funny moments of their lives. Like there's nothing deeper about a person or event. Nothing is scary and no one is serious.

This isn't as "cozy" as a cupcake murder exactly, but the main heroine reads much like in women's literature. I think for many readers that can be a good thing. Many people complain about depressed, haunted, alcoholic (and not in a Friday night cocktails with friends kind of way), traumatized etc. protagonists. Well, this book was uplifting in that way.

The mystery was OK, the pace fast enough. I think many women readers will like the protagonist as well. Just wasn't my cup of tea in the end.

Mid-list mystery author, Charlee Russo has finally reached a level of success where she can write full time...if only her agent could figure out why her royalties have been shrinking and get the payments back on track. But before Melinda Waters is able to respond to the request, she ends up murdered using the same method used by the killer in Charlee’s most recent manuscript...and ties up all royalty payments in probate for awhile.

Only a select group of people have had access to the manuscript, all known by Charlie, yet Charlee feels she’s being set up to take the fall. Charlee sets out clear her name and cross her friends off her own suspect list in the process. The final reveal was a surprise.

Being a major mystery fan, I usually find them all enjoyable on some level, but while I was engaged in this book, I really found the writing and characters lacking. Charlee comes off as unstable and quite paranoid. The killer is out to get her, everyone around her is a potential murderer with her the target, and she goes around accusing everyone she speaks to with the way she engages with them. I’m hoping the next book is stronger and the characters are better developed.

Fiction Can Be Murder by Becky Clark is the first in a new series.
Charlee Russo is a mystery writer and part of the Monday Morning Critique Group.
When someone gets a hold of her newest manuscript, the tables are turned and Charlee becomes the number one suspect in a murder investigation.

Why is Charlee a suspect?
It's her agent that gets killed and Charlee has means and motive. She is questioning her royalty payments and that puts a huge target on her back.
Charlee knows she's innocent, but it has to be someone close enough to her to get their hands on her manuscript.
Before long, Charlee is questioning everyone close to her, including her boyfriend Ozzie and the members of her critique group.
It seems everyone has an alibi, or do they?
Secrets are revealed as Charlee refuses to back down, especially when the cops close in on a suspect that Charlee believes is innocent.

I really enjoyed this book. Charlee is a fun character and her friends and neighbors are just as colorful as I hoped.
The story flowed smoothly and my attention was grabbed from the beginning.

The author has created a great fictional world and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher and NetGalley.