3.25 stars
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TW; Death
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Odessa Dean is from a small Louisiana town who is learning to adapt to a new Brooklyn life as she watches over her Aunt's cat for the next few months. During her few months she gets a job at Untapped Books & Café - but when one of her coworkers ends up dead, Odessa will stop at nothing to prove that her death isn't a freak accident. I'll start off by saying I loved Odessa's character, she was so witty and stood her ground for someone who comes from a small town. Blacke does such a good job at painting a picture of Brooklyn - I can't wait to revisit these characters in the sequel.

This was a cozy mystery - the café adds as a great workplace and due to this we get some pretty solid secondary characters that act as the fellow coworkers. As much as I loved reading about the café, it felt like some parts could have been edited out to focus more on the crime aspect. At times I felt frustrated since it felt like no one believed Odessa, not even the police. It finally took for her to crack the case before someone finally believed her.

The book reads fast, but I mainly was interested in reading what happened in the end. As mentioned above, I found myself skipping over some of the work scenes and scenes that weren't relevant to the mystery.
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I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you want something light and humorous with a thread of mystery, then you will want to read Killer Content by Olivia Blacke. I read this quickly and thought it was the perfect story to read over the course of an afternoon. Its nothing too heavy or graphic, just a cute story that is set in Brooklyn with a Louisiana native named Odessa.

Check it out:

Bayou transplant Odessa Dean has a lot to learn about life in Brooklyn. So far she’s scored a rent-free apartment in one of the nicest neighborhoods around by cat-sitting, and has a new job working at Untapped Books & Café. Hand-selling books and craft beers is easy for Odessa, but making new friends and learning how to ride the subway? Well, that might take her a little extra time.

But things turn more sour than an IPA when the death of a fellow waitress goes viral, caught on camera in the background of a couple’s flash-mob proposal video. Nothing about Bethany’s death feels right to Odessa–neither her sudden departure mid-shift nor the clues that only Odessa seems to catch. As an up-and-coming YouTube star, Bethany had more than one viewer waiting for her to fall from grace.

Determined to prove there’s a killer on the loose, Odessa takes matters into her own hands. But can she pin down Bethany’s killer before they take Odessa offline for good?

This comes out soon, on Feb. 2!

For a new series I felt like this had a good start. Most of the characters were engaging, especially Odessa. The writing flowed well enough to keep me interested. It is a lighter read than some and it went fast. There were some parts that seemed repetitive and tedious. I found it interesting to view it from the perspective of a millennial but as a GenX I found some of the over-generalizations(criticisms) of older people and their use of social media/technology to be irritating. Talk about stereotyping--many of us grew up watching all of this unfold and are first adopters since the beginning. But rant aside, I would be interested to see how the next book develops further.

Nice intro to a cozy mystery series.
Odessa is apartment sitting for her aunt - she has a super cute cat, Rufus, who requires livein care.
After a few weeks, Odessa lands a waitress job at a local cafe specializing in craft bear, a lazy senior dog, hypster menu and eclectic staff. Bethany leaves mid shift to visit a local park - emergency situation.
While watching the YouTube video of a flash mob proposal, Odessa catches a glimpse of the cafe's neon green uniform shirt. Running to the park, she discovers it is Bethany- on a gurney, in a body bag.
No one else but Osessa thinks murder.
Odessa delves into Bethany's life to prove foul play. She also gains a roommate- Izzy, who helps Odessa become more outgoing.
A steamy detective, clumsy Odessa searching through a dumpster, Izzy and her vegan recipes - book with humor and heart.

This book follows Odessa Dean who comes to Brooklyn from Piney Island, Louisiana and it is nothing like what she was used to at home. Odessa came to Brooklyn to apartment sit and watch over her Aunt Melanie’s cat, Rufus. Odessa had a job at Untapped Books and cafe where she had lots to do. One day her coworker, Bethany, runs out in the middle of the shift and then a viral flash mob video shows a woman in the same work uniform fall from a walkway and die and, sure enough, it was Bethany. Odessa knows Bethany’s death is suspicious and she is determined to find out what really happened.

This was a fun story that was such a quick read. I loved Odessa and thought she was such a unique character. She was a Bayou girl living life in New York City which wasn’t exactly easy. She was also just always willing to help other people even when it inconvenienced her. I also loved all the side characters and the fellow employees at the cafe. I liked hearing about them and what they were up to. I also thought the idea of the cafe was so cool and I seriously wish I had one near me because I would go all the time. The descriptions of the foods in this book also made me so hungry.

I loved how witty the story was and how it was putting a modern spin on a mystery, but I definitely wanted a little more mystery. There were a lot of characters that were potential suspects, but they weren’t really mentioned as suspects, so it was hard to guess who the killer could be. This was still an extremely quick read that I truly couldn’t put down and I really cannot wait for the next boom in this series!

I received an eARC courtesy of NetGalley

This is solidly 3.75 rounded up to a 4.

Odessa Dean of a small Louisiana town is spending her summer minding her favorite aunt's cat and upscale Brooklyn loft.
She makes ends meet like many millennials, waitressing. One afternoon a co-worker falls to her death. The "accident" is caught on video and is suddenly trending.

Everyone is convinced it's an accident but Odessa is sure that it's murder.

Despite this book taking place in Brooklyn, it has a small town feel to it which is a characteristic of a cozy murder mystery. I enjoyed the "family" of background characters that were her co-workers. I also really liked the social media twist. I've read a few stories where the inclusion of twitter/IG/YouTube felt really forced and awkward but the author worked them in seamlessly. I was pleasantly surprised by the friendship of Odessa and Izzy. I really loved the depth she managed to give a secondary character and the sisterhood they developed.

As a Gen Xer, I was slightly annoyed by the portrayal of Odessay boss, an alleged member of GenX, who had a much more "Ok Boomer" attitude. Maybe I just don't like to think of myself as that old and grumpy. LOL!

This is a solid start to a charming cozy series!

Brooklyn, law-enforcement, family, friendship, cozy-mystery, situational-humor, verbal-humor, amateur-sleuth*****

I've just found my new favorite character, Odessa Dean! It doesn't hurt that she's from the Bayou and the story takes place in Brooklyn, either. In this story she hasn't been in NYC very long, is cat sitting for her aunt in a posh apartment, works in a bookshop/cafe (with the manager from Hades), and firmly believes that one of her new work friends was murdered (in spite of what the police and the coroner say). Now the sleuthing begins complete with plot twists and red herrings! The imagery is terrific, the characters are marvelous, and the humor is just my style.
I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley. Thank you!

Killer Content held my interest day and night, I finished in 3 days. A Louisiana girl house sitting for her aunt in an out-of-her-price-range apartment in NYC. I recognized the culture shock as I had experienced the opposite. I was a Michigan girl transplanted to Dallas. We both recognized that people are the same, just the cover story is different. The way I saw it, people in the south sugar-coated everything. Her perspective is that NY people like it raw.

This could have been a travel journal, the descriptions of the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of NYC are vivid. Yes, I wanted to visit again, as I read the tale of Odessa and the search for her co-worker’s killer, but it also reaffirmed the reasons I don’t want to live there.

This author is witty, clever, quick, all the good attributes. She doesn’t always make the choices I would have. When she let Izzy stay with her and shared keys, everything in me was crying out no, no, don’t do it. In the end, it was a good choice. Izzy will be a great roommate.

If Odessa decides to stay on the east coast, I’ll be watching for more of her cozy mysteries. I enjoy hearing about New York City and I honestly felt like I had visited there this week. Oh, and I just couldn’t resist having some avocado toast, she made my mouth water!

This is exactly the kind of mystery/thriller that takes the load off after reading something really dark. It's such an interesting concept and I just really enjoyed the execution of the plot.

Odessa Dean is used to her small bayou town where the pace is slow and everyone knows one another's business, so when she moves up to her aunt's Brooklyn apartment to cat-sit for a few months, she's like a fish out of water. It's loud, it's crowded, and dear god does it smell, but Odessa is determined to make the best of her time in NYC. She gets a job at a local bookshop/diner and during one of her shifts, another waitress, Bethany, rushes out and never comes back. The next thing Odessa knows is a massive flash mob proposal goes viral when it catches the death of Bethany in the background. The police rule her death as accidental, but Odessa can't shake the feeling that Bethany was murdered. Channeling her inner detective, Odessa will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of the case, but will her digging put her right in the path of a killer?

This was a cute read, but I was hoping for just a little bit more. I like my mysteries to make me work for it, and I was able to tell who the murderer was within the first few chapters. Another issue I had was the need to go in-depth over minute things. Nothing about what Odessa ate for breakfast or about how hot NYC summers are is crucial to the storyline, so these random details did nothing to move the plot along and instead made it drag. Character-wise, I liked Odessa and found her sarcastic and driven, but as for the others, I could really take or leave them. While I had a few issues with this, I do still think it would be a good book to pick up if you're looking for a filler read or just one you don't have to think too hard on.

A fun start to a new series featuring a young (she's 20!) woman with a lot of spunk. Odessa is in Brooklyn to cat sit for her aunt and it's terrific but it's a lot different from Louisiana. She's coping well enough with the city (well, not all of it) and in need of extra cash, takes a job at a cafe bookstore. Customers can be a pain (you like me might recognize these people) but what's worse is when her co-worker Bethany walks out mid shift. Even worse- Bethany falls to her death. Odessa is certain that Bethany was murdered but she's got to sort through a lot of stuff to find answers. This mystery is rooted in social media - Bethany was a YouTube success. It takes a wry look at how influencers are made and the competition between them, as well as at the denizens of Brooklyn. Odessa is a dynamic character who might best be described as spunky (but, to be clear, not annoying). Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. It's a unconventional cozy and it made me smile.

This was a pleasant quick read. I didn't stay as engaged in this at all times like I hoped I would, sometimes the descriptions and the repetitiveness of the main character seemed to drag on. Despite that I really did like Odessa, she was sarcastic and funny and her descriptions (yes even the long ones) did make me feel like I was in New York at the bookstore cafe with her. I also liked that the author brought in phrases calling out problematic phrases/words people are still using.

I think if you like cozy mysteries with a variety of fun characters you would find this very enjoyable.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for the digital review copy. I will post this review to GR and Netgalley now and on my IG on pub date (02/02/2021)

This was super enjoyable! I loved the (bigger sized, curvy!!) small town girl meets big city trope, enjoyed the thoughts on the city and New Yorkers, drooled over the food descriptions (vegan stuff too!), and was wistful at the descriptions of the city. The only thing that annoyed me was the fact that she was too nice; who gives up the bed to sleep on a sofa for months‽‽ As for the mystery, I really liked that she was suspicious because she was a murderino/true crime podcast fan; very plausible cause it fit so many of my friends!

Wowza! I adore the way the author awakened the inner New Yorker of me! Even though I live in West Coast / shiny angels and Mr. Morningstar’s city, I spent more of my years in NYC and these were the best years of my life!

Ms. Blacke is amazingly talented author because the realistic, snarky, vivid depictions of Brooklyn and her reflections of artistic, complex, intense, entertaining mosaic of its hipster universe was so strict to the point definitions. Her perspective is so genuine, true and smart just like her MC Odessa’s characterization.

The girl comes from smallest city/ island with no experience tries to blend chaotic, adventurous, complicated, crowded, multicultural Brooklyn world and interestingly she is resilient to blend in perfectly. She has so many different interests, talents including being seamstress, knowing lots about designs, colors, styles and she also addicted to true crime podcasts which will help her to conduct her own investigation to solve her friend’s murder.

Let’s take a look at the story line: Odessa Dean, our smart, natural, sarcastic heroine perfectly adjusts to be Brooklynaire by having a rent free apartment at the one of nicest neighborhoods, working at a bookstore/ cafe named Untapped Books& Cafe, selling organic, tasty sandwiches, appetizers and local brands of brewery.

I have to admit the mouth watery depictions of brewery and sandwiches just made me drool. (Sprinkling Feta cheese pieces on avocado toast was brilliant idea! I tried and it’s delicious! Californian cafes should add the ingredient to their recipes ASAP!)

But at the same day one of the waitresses and her acquaintances Bethany wants her to take care her customers at the busiest hour of the cafe, leaving the place without any explanation and as Odessa watches a viral video on YouTube, she realizes a girl falls off the elevated way of Domino Park. The girl wears same cafe uniform she wears. Could she be Bethany? Could she leave the restaurant to Domino Park in hurry?

Odessa dashes out from her work place quickly to find out and as the paramedics carry the body on a stretcher at the park she sees the turquoise owl tattoo on the underside of her wrist! Bethany has the same tattoo at the same part of her body.

Later Odessa learns Bethany is rising star of the YouTube and she has so many rivals want her fall down! As a big fan of true crime podcasts, Odessa already finds herself dig more to find out what happened to her friend which means she may be the next target of the perpetrator!

This was my another quick reading! Normally I’m not into cozy mysteries but this book truly exceeded my expectations. I had so much fun! I adored the heroine! It is impossible not to enjoy a book takes place in one of my favorite locations in the earth! It was pleasure for me to trip down on a memory lane!

I’m giving four I love Brooklyn, snarky and clever heroines, intellectual hipsters stars!

Special thanks to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy in exchange my honest opinions.

Eh, I’ve read a few “cozy mysteries” and perhaps this genre just does not work for me. I found Odessa to be very irritating; her kitschy quips about everything were unnecessary as was the incessant overexplaining. NYC is hot in the summer, I get it, I live here.

I’d consider reading another book in this series as some of the supporting characters were interesting, but only if I didn’t have much else on my to-read list.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

Series debut -- Odessa Dean, native of a small Louisiana town, is house and cat sitting for her aunt in New York City for three months. The culture shock from the bayou to Brooklyn is extreme for Odessa, but she is loving the eclectic energy of the city and working in a small bookstore/cafe. Odessa is an interesting character -- she stands out because of her background and accent, but she is comfortable in her own skin. When one of her co-workers falls to her death after leaving the cafe with a cryptic message, Odessa is convinced it's murder. The police, however, can find no evidence to support that so she continues to investigate on her own.

Odessa is a well-fleshed out character and their small corner of the city and her funky workplace is well-described. This is a quick and fun read and I would pick up another. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

"Killer Content" is a cozy mystery. There were some clues about whodunit and why, but it's not a puzzle mystery. You can't solve the mystery from the clues until the main one at the end, when Odessa also made the connection. Since there was no proof that the death wasn't an accident, she managed to get a recorded confession from the killer...which is better than many cozy mystery heroines.

However, Odessa didn't come across as "real" to me. The cozy aspect was partly her waitressing job but mainly the difference between her rural, southern upbringing and life in the big city. Even though she had only lived in Brooklyn for a relatively short time, she was never thrown by the differences. When a truck (gently) hits her and the driver yells at her, she's not confused, angry, and in need of someone to tell her why he yelled at her. Instead, she immediately told us why she was actually in the wrong and didn't seem bothered by the incident at all. As in, she's never the "fish out of water" but always the confident, knowledgeable guide to Brooklyn culture. And while I love nice heroines, she seemed almost inhumanly, effortlessly nice and understanding (except when it came to her boss).

There was no sex or bad language. Despite the problems I mentioned, I'd still recommend this enjoyable mystery.

This book definitely took me back to my waitressing days (though I never witnessed any murders on my break). Odessa Dean has temporarily moved from Louisiana to Williamsburg, Brooklyn to cat-sit for her aunt, and becomes an amateur detective after a coworker at the bookstore/pub where she works is killed in what police are convinced is an accident. Along the way, she’s forced to deal with vegans, bad drivers, unrequited crushes, creepy customers, and literal garbage.

KILLER CONTENT is grounded in online life—Odessa, along with thousands of other people, witnesses the story’s central death in a flash mob video—but what makes it come alive are the face-to-face relationships between its characters. Odessa’s new coworkers, friends, and antagonists are quirky but real and always entertaining, and Odessa herself is a delight: snarky yet good-hearted. My favorite parts about this read are the humorous tidbits such as Odessa’s asides about her annoying Gen X manager, Todd, who thinks he’s still “with it” because he listens to Nine Inch Nails (I feel personally attacked, btw). I’m super excited to read about Odessa’s future adventures in Blacke’s next book, NO MEMES OF ESCAPE! (I love a puntastic title.)

This was a fun book with a solid mystery that had me immersed in all that was happening from the introduction of Odessa Dean to the description of the activities at the bookstore/café to the events leading to her co-worker’s demise and to the eclectic cast of characters who all had pivotal roles that aided and abetted the various ways Odessa was able to seek out clues that would lead to the motive and the killer’s identity. With visually descriptive narrative and engaging dialogue, I loved seeing the neighborhood through the eyes of Odessa and it was those sights that gave way to bits and pieces that kept me glued to the pages and enraptured in what was going on. Odessa is a great protagonist and I enjoyed how she stayed true to herself (it’s the boots) while surviving in a new landscape.

I don't usually read mysteries but this book was just what the doctor ordered at the beginning of a new year. It was a quick read, the plot and characters engaging and held my interest from beginning to end.