“Fiction Can Be Murder” is a cozy mystery that makes for perfect rainy day reading. The story follows Charlee, an author whose manuscript is used as the inspiration for the murder of Melinda, Charlee’s book agent. After police determine the cause of death, they quickly suspect Charlee of committing the murder. Because only a select people have read Charlee’s manuscript, she determines that the killer must be someone she knows. She sets out to do her own investigation, and she quickly grows concerned that the killer may be even closer than she realized.

I enjoyed my time with this novel because it was light and easy to read, but also because the author managed to keep me guessing about the identity of the killer. I liked that Charlee was able to use the skills she developed from writing crime and mystery novels in order to cultivate a dependable investigation into her suspects. Her character was fun—occasionally funny—and smart. She didn’t make rookie mistakes, and she was thorough in her research.

I thought that the choice for the killer was unexpected but believable. The way that the killer used [his/her] brain in order to deflect suspicion while also shining the spotlight on other suspects was impressive. Though I did have a problem with the outlandish reasoning/backstory behind the killer, I did like the way that the reveal unfolded.

For the most part, I thought everything in the novel made sense in how it related to the overall plot. I did wonder about why the author chose to include a couple of points, though. I thought it was strange to give Charlee a tremor, because it didn’t seem to truly serve any purpose for the story. The reason for the tremor’s existence is vague, and I think the story could have done without. The only explanation I could think of for its part in the story was that Clark wanted Charlee’s character to have a strange hook or memorable trait, or perhaps to make her character more sympathetic.

A second part of the book that I didn’t like was the overuse of the Kia reference. Charlee always referred to her car as “the Kia,” which felt unnatural to me. It felt like Kia was almost sponsoring the book—or at least paying the author for using its name. While I know that books have arrangements with brands these days, this felt too forced.

Ultimately, I think Becky Clark delivered an entertaining novel that fans of the “cozy mystery” genre will read with relish. The characters are stimulating, the plot is unique, and the conclusion is satisfying. I would be happy to read more from Clark in the future.

I really enjoyed this book. It did start out a little slow, but the main character, Charlee, grew on me and I wanted to know who did it. I also really liked the storyline (with someone using a mystery writer's plot to frame her). I did not figure out who did it and was a little surprised at the ending. I hope the next book is out soon and is as good as this one.

#FictionCanBeMurder #Netgalley
Thank you to Netgalley for the E-ARC copy of this novel.
What a refreshing mystery! The main character, Charlee, is a writer who becomes accused of her agents murder. The twist is that it follows the plot from her own book. Now Charlee is trying to prove her innocence. I love the main character, but the supporting cast in this novel is wonderful too! It is a fun, smart read that you won't put down. I defiantly be back for a sequel.

Initially, I was surprised by the informal language of the book but it eventually grew on me. I love that the dog was saved- would've liked just a bit more on her!

This book could be a good mystery and has interesting characters. The person that was killed was universally hated by pretty much anyone that had to deal with her so no one truly felt super sad that she died. That being said, the murder still needed to be solved and the police did a pretty poor job of making even a limited attempt to do so. The murder was copied from an unpublished novel one of the characters wrote and so to make sure her name was cleared and to make sure none of her friends were murderers, she took it upon herself to solve it. She didn't really solve it, she stumbled into the solution and nearly died doing it. There are areas of the book that need to flow better and connections need to click. After a good editing session I think this book will be well worth reading. My review is on an unpublished version of this book, so I will assume that the polished final version will fix the rough patches that need attention and readers can just sit back and enjoy.