3.5 stars

Mikki Lincoln could be a stereotype, but she isn't. She is a widowed teacher in her 70s, and clearly smart, independent, capable and with a bit of a chip on her shoulder. Don't even think about patronizing her because she won't stand for it.

Mikki freelances as a copy editor and is working on a local celebrity's memoir. When a local developer confronts her in public one day about what the memoir will reveal, Mikki is mystified. When the angry man is found murdered, Mikki finds herself on the suspect list even though she had no quarrel with the victim.

Naturally Mikki feels motivated to investigate on her own, particularly when a young relative also falls under suspicion. When her nephew shows up out of concern to check up on her and watch out, she is mostly offended and is sometimes a bit tiresome in her prickliness. The plot is just complex enough even though the ending feels a bit sudden and abrupt. An enjoyable series with a nicely drawn Catskills setting.

Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is the 3rd installment of the Deadly Edits mystery series. Mikki Lincoln is a freelance book editor and an old resort on the edge of town in about to be demolished. She has been hired to edit a book, a memoir, by a relative of the original owners the resort comes into focus again. The land developer Greg Onslow on the project confronts Mikki and asks her to stop the project and things get heated and someone of course tapes the whole thing. When he later ends up dead, Mikki becomes a prime suspect as the video goes viral. Mikki of course is going to work to clear her name as she has no plan to spend her retirement in jail! Mikki is an atypical heroine as she is much older and really takes no prisoners. This is a good mystery and enjoyable read.

For some people age is just a number and that fits the main character in this read. Well writing cast of characters and setting with plenty of fun and enough to keep you guessing on the mystery.

What a fun mystery! I will definitely go back and read the first two in this series.

I love that the amateur detective is an active senior citizen. She's not Miss Marple. She's also not a clueless ingenue who falls into a mystery or investigation by accident.

I liked that Mikki has returned to her hometown after decades of living in Maine. So she knows people in this little village but is still enough of an outsider to be under the radar so she picks up info without being super snoopy or annoying. I really enjoyed the cast of recurring characters in Langape Hollow too.

*I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher and I am required to disclose that in my review in compliance with federal law.*

Mikki Lincoln is a retired school teacher who moved back to her hometown of Lenape Hollow after the death of her husband. Mikki supplements her social security by editing various types of manuscripts from her home. Apparently, she has also found herself involved in several murder investigations. In A Fatal Fiction, Mikki has a very vocal argument with a local developer at the gas station. When he is found dead the next day, Mikki is one of a long list of suspects. While trying to prove her innocence (and the innocence of her cousin) Mikki finds herself twisted in the investigation in several ways.
I did enjoy this book. It was a quick easy read. I had trouble following the characters and trouble caring about some of them. It has a predictable format but because of that it is a quick, light read.

I didn't know I was starting at book 3 in the Deadly Edits series but it was easy to read it as a stand alone - though I've just ordered book one for my next read. I learned a lot of a variety of things and the main character, Mikki Lincoln is one I look forward to following. She may be 70 but she's not elderly, One antic was a bit unbelievable but anything is possible when age is a just a number with some of us.

At 70, Mikki is now a retired school teacher and recent widow who has returned to her home town of Lenape Hollow NY after living her adult life in Maine. To supplement her income Mikki's English spelling and grammar skills are put to work as an editor. When she finds herself a murder suspect after a confrontation with a bully the day before - who ends up dead, Mikki begins to investigate.

There are a lot of characters. The plot moves along quickly and twists keep the 'guess who done' it' active. This was a pleasure to read both the characters and the whit..

A Random Selection from "the Write Right Wright's Language and Grammar Tips by Mikki Lincoln at the end of the book were wonderful. I love English grammar and this is just the kind of thing I always love to find. Learning that March 4 is National Grammar Day gives me a new note for my calendar.

I volunteered to read an ARC from Kensington Press through Net Galley and am so glad I did.

A Fatal Fiction
Kaitlyn Dunnett
June 30, 2020

Lenape Falls, New York, the town where Mikki Lincoln grew up is the place she decided to move after retiring. She taught English to eight graders in Maine and lived there with her husband, Steve. She retired two years ago when James passed. While house hunting in Lenape Falls she discovered that her childhood home was up for sale. Of course she could not refuse this offer. Once remodelling was completed Mikki was back in Lenape at the age of 70 renewing old friendships. She took a job as a book editor, something she could do from her office at home.
It was mid-April, a chilly, breezy morning and Mikki was at a local gas station making an attempt to fill up the tank of her Ford Taurus. Now this is something she is not used to doing. In Maine they pumped for you. Step by step she accomplished the small task and was getting ready to pull away when Greg Onslow, a local CEO and land developer sauntered over to her car. He was angry about something. The locals in attendance began to slow down to peruse the situation. Nosey they might be but it could help if Mr. Onslow became too aggressive with whatever situation he found problematic. The discussion regarding Lincoln’s latest editorial project was brought up. Onslow did not appreciate her accepting the job when she turned him down to finish the book his deceased wife had not finished. She could not make him understand that she is not a ghost writer, only someone who corrects and suggests revisions. Things pursued and she was the one who ended the conversation in an angry confrontation. It wasn’t until the following morning when the news broke of Greg Onslow’s murder that she saw her rant on social media. Shortly thereafter she was paid a visit by the local police detective in charge of the case.
A Fatal Fiction is a fun, cozy mystery that many will find amusing. Yes, it is a mystery but an easy, pleasant read that flows without the aid of excessive violence or explicite sex. It is #3 in Dunnett’s Deadly Edits series. It is the first I have read of her publications and I enjoyed it. It also suggests that A Fatal Fiction can be read without having to complete 1 and 2 of the series. Kaitlyn Dunnett’s cozy style is carried through most of her novels. A Fatal Fiction will be published by Kensington Books on June 30, 2020. I would like to thank Kensington for allowing me to read and review Kaitlyn Dunnett’s latest selection. Her mysteries are interesting and casual as well as pleasure to read.

This is the first book in this series that I’ve read but the author provides enough back story that I never felt lost. It works very well as a stand-alone book. The story is well written and I particularly like that the main character and many of the secondary characters are seniors.

Freelance editor Mikki Lincoln loses her temper with Greg Onslow. When the video of their encounter goes viral, Mikki becomes the primary suspect in Greg’s murder. Greg is not a popular fellow, so other suspects emerge.

While this adventure is a little slow, Kaitlyn Dunnett writes a good mystery. And her protagonist, Mikki, is a self-reliant character with just so much patience. Altogether, A Fatal Fiction is an engaging read.

This is the third book in the series, I hadn't read the previous books but this wasn't a problem.

A local businessman with a shady reputation is murdered and as Mikki is caught on camera arguing with him she finds herself a prime suspect. Mikki is a retiree who works as an editor to supplement her pension. Unfortunately, I found Mikki hard to like, she has people who care about her but seems permanently angry. I wont be reading any further books in the series.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing me with an ARC of this in exchange for an honest review. A Fatal Fiction was the first book I read in this series. The premise was interesting, and I thought it would get me hooked on the series. I really wanted to like this book but it just didn't work for me. As much as I tried to like the main character, Mikki, it never happened, and the same goes for the other characters in the book. I am sorry to say that the book featured mainly elderly women who were mean and gossipy. The mystery was decent but overshadowed by the unpleasantness of the characters. I am sorry to say that I will not continue this series. It had potential, but I was expecting something else.

Miki is a senior who edits books to supplement her retirement. When the work she is doing causes a local developer and entrepreneur of questionable ethics to confront her in front of an audience she isn’t sure why, but finally pushes back when he insults her one too many times. Unfortunately she didn’t realize it was recorded until it was posted online.
One murder later she, along with a cousin, are suspects. I found Miki likable and relatable. As she works to prove her innocence she is sometimes stereotyped by friends and family as an old lady, and she not having it. The characters are well drawn, and the details enable you to picture the scene.
This is book three in a series and I was able to follow and enjoy it without having read the first two, although now I plan to. A nice cozy mystery as a change of pace from other genres read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy to read in exchange for my honest review.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley for an honest review. This is the third book in the Deadly Edit series by Kaitlyn Dunnett. This is the first book in the series that I have read. The series revolves around seventy year old amateur sleuth Mikki Lincoln. The story stated off a little slow and took awhile to build. It did take me some time to become invested in the main character Mikki Lincoln. In the end I did enjoy this cozy little mystery.

# NetGalley #AFatalFiction #KensingtonBooks #CozyMystery

Retiree Mikki Lincoln supplements her pension by editing. One of her projects has created tension with another resident in her town. He confronts her, quite nastily at a gas statio. She doesn't know what his problem is but in his rant he pushes one of her buttons and she loses the control she usually kept well leashed, and lets him have it with both barrels.
When he storms off, she immediately regrets it, telling people off is not her usual style. She regrets it even more when she finds out someone videoed it and posted it online.
Then when he turns up dead the next day, she finds herself under investigation. The department doesn't seriously believe she did it, but they must investigate all the information they have.
Mikki gets very involved in the investigation when a gun is planted at her home and the police believe her cousin Luke is a viable suspect. She knows he didn't do it....but for a few minutes she had questions.
She methodically selects, rules out, adds back in and rules out a list of suspects. She is focused on one person and almost misses one, an important one.
Ms. Dunnett's charcaters are a delight and multi-faceted. The interaction with her family is quite believable, you can love someone and want to smack them at the same time, realistically going both ways. She lays out the scenes so you can see them in your mind's eye. No sex, foul language or gratitous violence.
I requested and received a NetGalley ARC to peruse gratis and ofer my opinion the same way.

Mikki Lincoln is a fee lance editor. She uses the income to supplement her retirement. It is generally a good thing for her. As a woman in her seventies, she is in need of all the supplementing she can get.

After the death of her husband, she moved back to the town where her family lived when she was a child. It is a small town and nearly everyone knows everyone else.

Mikki had a melt down in a public place and now she has become an internet sensation. A man who is a “big wheel” in the small town was being rude to her at a filling station. He was accusing her and one of her editing clients of interfering in his life. Mikki had no idea what had him upset. When he began to call Mikki names, she lost it. The video has now made the rounds of the population of her small town.

When the abusive man is shot to death, Mikki is put on the list of possible suspects.

Actually, the man was not well liked by anyone and the list of possible suspects is a long one. It includes people who worked for him, people who had been swindled by him as well as most people who met him.

This is a good small town mystery.

I was not particularly fond of Mikki. She had family who worried about her, she was rude. She had friends who who were concerned that she not put herself in danger, she was rude. Even when she had internal thoughts about most of the people in town, they were rude.

Mikki did not have a great deal of warmth in her heart.

The people in town who made up the list of suspects was extensive.

Ms Dunnett is a master at creating characters who are entertaining as well as interesting. There are many motives for wanting a less than nice man to be dead. Someone followed through on their desire. But, who was it?

Mikki appoints herself to do some investigating on her own. She feels that she knows many of the people involved, so she has an inside track on finding the murderer.

The plot is well done. At times I felt there were too many descriptions of things that were not particularly relevant. But, that was probably just me.

This is a mystery which easily moves the reader forward. I have not read the earlier books in this series, but it works as an entertaining stand alone read.

If you are a reader of small town cozies, you will enjoy this book.

I received the book from the publisher through NetGalley. I am voluntarily writing this review and all opinions are completely my own.

I enjoyed this book. I like smart main characters and this one didn't do anything that had me rolling my eyes, I'm happy to say. I liked the added family in this story and the mystery was really good. The stubbornness of the characters was very relatable!

Mikki Lincoln is a retired school teacher who is supplementing her income by working as a self employed proof-reader and copy editor. While that seems rather innocuous as a job, it places Mikki into the focus and anger of a local entrepreneur. A heated verbal confrontation gets posted on social media, to Mikki's dismay. When the man turns up dead, of course the police come calling.

This fun and intriguing murder mystery drew me in quickly. As it was difficult to put down, I finished it in one day. The pacing of action and the revelations about various characters kept the story moving along nicely. It was quite interesting to find myself changing suspects as new facts were uncovered. It was easy to keep the characters separated clearly. But it was difficult to be sure just who the murderer was right up until the last part of the book.

I recommend this book as a fun read for all lovers of the murder mystery genre.

I would say that while I enjoyed this read, I probably wouldn't go out of my way to keep updated with the series. I applaud the senior heroine, but there were times that I was annoyed with her. Yes, you're an adult, but your family care about you! Also, saying things like "you're not my dad' don't help your case. The mystery itself was fun; you could pretty much guess who the victim was going to be, but there was always a question as to whether the detective would believe in her innocence and who they would throw in to the mix as suspects. I will say that while I had suspected the murderer, they did a pretty good job of leading me around with red herrings. I would also assume though, that if I was a constant reader of the series, I would have known who the murder was.

Kindle Copy for Review from NetGalley and Kensington Books.

I received a free, advance copy of this book and this is my unbiased and voluntary review.

Freelance editor Mikki Lincoln finds herself editing a rather revealing memoir in the outskirts of a small town. The memoir is from the last living descendant of the town which is about to be demolished.

Soon a body will be found on the demolition site as Miki will have to prove her innocence or be branded a murderer; especially, as they were last seen arguing about his less than kosher deals.

It will be up to her to figure fact from fiction in this cozy read.

small-business, small-town, amateur-sleuth, retirees, murder-investigation, cozy-mystery

It really didn't take long to figure out who the murder victim would be and the list of suspects seemed endless, especially if you believed the police consideration of the protagonist. The victim was known for swindling investors in his alleged construction projects, so it was probably fitting that his body was found on the latest job site. Mikki is a retired teacher and currently a freelance proofreader/editor to augment her pension. Although she is an unlikely suspect, the police do have reasons to continue questioning her even as she begins her own sleuthing. I liked it a lot, and the characters are very well done, as is the sleuthing.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!