I have loved every book in this series so far, with each being better than the last. Mikki is one of my favorite cozy mystery protagonists. I hope to be as feisty as she is once I'm her age. And I am a sucker for a calico/tortie cat, so I adore her kitty companion, Calpurnia. The back story of the old resort was fascinating, and I very much hope this series continues for quite a while!

Freelance book editor Mikki Lincoln is a murder suspect in this one! I like feisty Mikki and am happy to see that the mature ladies nearing 70 can still play their sleuthing cards (so I have chances to do so when I am that age!). I liked this installment of the series the best.

I enjoyed this third book in the Deadly Edits series. Sixty something Mikki Lincoln is doing her job editing a memoir of local resident, Sunny Feldman. Sunny's family owned and operated a Catskills Resort for years and Sunny is planning to tell all. When the resort business in the Catskills fell off, she sold the resort to local developer, Greg Onslow. Greg is not a very nice person. He is known to get investors to invest in his projects then sell his shares before the projects fall apart. He is also a known womanizer, so not very well liked. When he is found dead on his resort property, there is now shortage of suspects. He and Mikki had a very public argument the day he is shot, so of course she is a suspect. Because the body was found outside of town, it is a different detective on the case, and he doesn't know Mikki or her family and friends. They are on the case, who killed Greg Onslow?

Once again, the mystery is quite interesting. As Mikki investigates, she realized that someone is framing her, which gets her even more determined to solve the case. There are a lot of leads to follow, dead ends and another direction to go. With help from her research buddy, Darlene, she finds information others might not have. I liked meeting her nephew Nick who shows up in town to protect her. Her cousin Luke is also involved, but not is a good way, he is a possible suspect. Mikki is feisty, stubborn, independent and smart. She had no intention of sitting back and letting her nephew look after her. I had my suspicions of who the culprit was, and when the showdown occurs and the suspect was on on my radar, I was cheering that Mikki was right. Unfortunately, she was in a bad spot for a bit, Mikki proved that she can take care of herself. This was another interesting mystery with great characters. I will be reading more to see what crime Mikki stumbles onto next.

Often authors of serial novels cease giving more background and nuance to established characters. However this one series that keeps giving more to love. Although the overuse of some troupes exist, I believe the readers will still enjoy trying to figure out the mystery. Fans of cozy mysteries will really enjoy themselves.

I really enjoyed A Fatal Fiction by Kaitlyn Dunnett. Mikki Lincoln is an interesting character and the reader gets to know more about her with each book in this series. Sometimes it feels like the author stops giving readers more to discover about their protagonists, but that's not the case with this series. If I have one criticism it's that the shady developer plot line has been done to death in cozy mysteries. Other than that, it was a great mystery that truly stumped me until the very end.

A Fatal Fiction

by Kaitlyn Dunnett


Mikki Lincoln is a retired middle school English teacher in Kaitlyn Dunnett’s A Fatal Fiction. In order to remodel her childhood home that has been neglected for many years, she supplements her retirement income using her skills as a copy editor. She lived in Maine for about fifty years, but has returned to her hometown, Lenape Hollow, NY. While stopped at a gas station, seventy year old Mikki is verbally attacked by a very angry businessman who has cheated a lot of people over the years by luring them into failing investments. Video of the encounter goes viral, even though Mikki never understood the cause of his anger. Mikki is the prime suspect when her attacker, CEO Greg Onslow, is found dead on one of the properties his company is developing.

Mikki is determined to discover who killed Onslow, but he was not a very nice man, so there are multiple suspects. Friends and family discourage her investigations as they seem dangerous at times.

The editing aspect of the story revolves around Sunny Feldman, last of the owners of a famous resort in the Catskills. She has hired Mikki to edit her semi tell-all memoirs of the celebrities who frequented the resort when she was a teenager. Onslow has bought the property for a development venture. Could their interests be colliding to cause these problems? Could Onslow’s ex-wife or even his second wife have killed him? There are some interesting locals who may have been involved as well. Most importantly, will the murderer set his or her sights on Mikki to cover up the crime and stop the investigation?

I would like to extend my thanks to Netgalley and to Kensington Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.


Rating: 5/5

Category: Mystery

Notes: 1. #3 in the Deadly Edits Mystery Series, but will work as a standalone.

2. At the end of the book, there is a section that will especially appeal to those who love language. It is composed of several pages of language and grammar tips including warnings on split infinitives, dangling modifiers, and usage of the terms swearing and foul language. The tips are interesting and often humorous.

Publication: June 30, 2020—Kensington Books

Memorable Lines:

Warmth crept up my neck and into my face. I was torn between feeling a sense of pride for standing up for myself and enduring acute embarrassment because I’d lost control.

Since I used the “teacher” voice I’d perfected over decades of dealing with junior high students, he caved, but he wasn’t happy about it. I’d have said he was sulking, except that there was a definite look of panic in his eyes.

Unfortunately, to properly put on the airs of a grand dame one really needs to be sipping tea from a delicate china cup. I was drinking my coffee out of a Star Wars mug, a Christmas present from my great-niece.

I do love a bookish cozy and this one featuring 70 year old Mikki Lincoln, former middle school teacher and current freelance book editor, was just too tempting to miss. This is the 3ed book in the series but I had no absolutely issue jumping in with this book. The murder victim has more then a few people who were gunning for him shortly before his death, including Mikki who happened to get in a shouting match with him in public. And to add insult to injury that argument was filmed and quickly went viral which put Mikki front and center of the murder investigation. Mikki is a bit different from the usual cozy main character. Not only because she's a bit older but she's also got a sharp tongue and firm opinions that she doesn't shrink from voicing. She took some getting used to but I did come to enjoy her. Though I must admit, if I were her nephew Nick I'd be taking a LONG break from my dear aunt. The mystery was pretty good. I don't feel that Mikki is the best investigator which is fairly realistic but left a little to be desired in terms of wrap up. I'm still not exactly sure on all the whys of the murder. This isn't a series that I'll be hunting down the previous two books but if I came across them on my library's shelf I'd definitely pick them up.

I found this to be an ok read. A bit plodding but interesting to power through. Will probably try it again soon. Thanks for the ARC!

A great read, I thoroughly enjoyed it, finishing it in one day, and I believe you will enjoy it to. Though I do wish it had been a little bit longer.

Another great cozy mystery by a seasoned cozy author. This series is a bit different from her other books since it features an older sleuth but the setting was spot on and the mystery contained enough twists and turns that kept me guessing until the very end!

This book was very fun to read. I loved the characters. They seemed so real. It caught my interest in the first chapter and then I did not want to put it down until I finished it. I really enjoyed this story. It was full of clever little clues and twists and turns. It really kept me wondering who did it. I loved it. I definitely recommend this book.

This is the first book in the “Deadly Edits” series. But I don’t think that took away from my enjoyment of the book. I believe this could be read as a standalone.

I really liked getting to know the main character, Mikki. She is a feisty 70-year-old hoot! I loved this cozy mystery that the author wrote with NO ROMANCE! Thank you, Kaitlyn Dunnett!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishers for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Books, mystery, atmosphere, and plot twists all combine for an engaging and entertaining read. This is an easy recommendation to friends and family.

Miki Lincoln is no shrinking violet, and this book proves it. Miki is a retired English teacher who returned to her hometown after her husband died. After purchasing the home she grew up in, she refurbished it to suit her tastes. Now she works from home as a copy editor. Currently she is working on Sunny Feldman’s novel covering the history of her family’s Feldman’s Catskill Resort Hotel. The hotel has passed its prime, and is no longer in business, but is being torn down. In addition, Sunny Feldman is a, 86-year old use to getting own way all the time and has lofty ideas about her family hotel/resort. In town, Miki encounters Greg, a real estate agent and developer, who is trying to develop the hotel property, who asks her not to publish the book as it will ruin his prospects. Sunny hopes the book will help get the site listed as a historical location. Pushed to her limits during the exchange with Greg, Miki loses her temper, and is filmed by people in the town who witness the incident. The next day, Greg is found dead at the site. Miki has helped out in other murders, and thus now plunges right in to help police on this one.

The novel is well-done. I enjoyed watching Miki work through clues and possible suspects, figuring out which ones were relevant, and which were not. I found the ending interesting, though I am not sure I would totally agree with it. I also found some of Miki’s antics beyond belief, as I would never expect someone of her age to be able to do some of the things the author has her doing. However, all in all, the book was a pretty good read. I have not read anything else by the author, but will go back to look for others she has written. I received this from NetGalley to read and review.

Kind of nice to have a protagonist of a certain age, with a blend of both Jessica Fletcher and Miss Julia's wisdom at the ready. Mikki Lincoln is retired, but does freelance book editing after moving back to her childhood home in Lenape Hollow. Mikki can count on one hand the amount of times she has truly lost her temper. Unfortunately for Mikki, her blow up at the self serve gas station pump with developer Greg Onslow makes the rounds virtually before the dust settles. Her rant makes her an easy early suspect by the next morning, when Greg is found dead. The history of a local Catskills hotel and the memoir Mikki is working on brings some interesting flavor to the story. It was a good book.

I loved that Mikki is such a feisty heroine and that she isn't your typical cozy mystery protagonist. The novel is paced well and well-written with fun characters and a great mystery!

This is an old-fashioned mystery, of the best kind! I thought of the old Mrs. Pollifax mysteries as I read this book, thoroughly enjoying the feisty main character Mikki. Mikki is seventy years old and is not just sitting in her rocking chair waiting for the inevitable. She is making ends meet during her retirement by editing books. One of her clients is Sunny Feldman, a lady who used to own the inn that is now about to be demolished. The demolition is headed by the town bad boy, Grant Onslow, and of course before he can go ahead with the work, he ends up dead. The cast of characters is numerous, but they all add to the story and mean that the list of culprits that Mikki has to wade through is interesting and kept me guessing. Mikki is a suspect herself, so she needs to solve the mystery herself before she is charged with Onslow’s murder. I loved the fast pace, the humor and the whole character of Mikki and how independent she was. Although this is a series and I have not read the other books, this one can definitely be read as a standalone. The author did a fantastic job of weaving an entertaining tale that kept me engaged from beginning to end. Fans of mystery told with humor will enjoy this book.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

This book is very enjoyable. I loved Mikki, there's something about a spunky retiree as a protagonist that hits all the right notes. The storyline moved along at a nice pace and the secondary characters are also well written. I definitely recommend this book.

Freelance editor Mikki Lincoln is working a new job, that of editing the memoir of Sunny Feldman, the last living relative of the owners of the Catskill Resort Hotel, which in its heyday was a popular place tourist destination. Now the hotel is being demolished.

While Mikki is working, though, a body is at the demolition site and Mikki had a very public argument with the dead man the night before, and the video was posted online. That makes her the main suspect, and although she's determined not to get involved, she feels like she has little choice but to to try and get to the bottom of things to keep herself from being arrested.

I've really enjoyed this series. Mikki is a fun character, a retired widow who is making it on her own in her childhood home. She is strong, smart, and carries the book perfectly. The supporting characters are also well written, and are perfect additions to the book.

I was happy to see Mikki's nephew make an appearance in this book. It showed she had family that cared about her, although he tried to take over too much for my liking. But Mikki handled it well.

There is a plethora of suspects in this book, but I have to admit I figured out whodunit before the end. Still, getting there was entertaining. I look forward to more books in this series.

I read a digital copy of this book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

I am a sucker for cozy mysteries, but cozies featuring spunky retirees are among my favorites. I hope to be as active and sharp as Mikki in my old age, but maybe a little less sneaky. This book kept me guessing until the end, with suspects running thr gamut of ages, connections and motives. I look forward to reading Dunnetts backlist.