psychological, thriller, private-investigators, law-enforcement, murder-investigation, southern, small-town

Lyla works for her uncle in his PI office, lives alone because she doesn't care to live with her wealthy dysfunctional parents (and her fun Grandmother), belongs to a book club devoted to solving fictional crimes, when crime comes to her house in the form of a fellow clubber's body stuffed into a suitcase resembling the one another friend took with her on a cruise. The characters are varied and well presented, the twists and red herrings entertaining, the plot a mite slow at times. All in all, it was a very good read.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Crooked Lane Books/Penguin Random House Publishers via NetGalley. Thank you!

Lyla is an assistant and is hoping to become a partner of her uncle’s private investigation firm. She is also a member of a small book club, The Jane Does. The club focuses solely on mystery novels or true mystery stories. However, things get real when a member of the club is delivered to Lyla’s doorstep dead and crumpled into a suitcase.
Lyla and her club are now divided because some want to investigate the crime, while others are too scared to participate. Lyla is frustrated with the police chief, who happens to be her ex-boyfriend, because she feels he is not taking the case seriously enough. Therefore, she privately investigates the case despite the possible danger she could be risking.
Overall the plot of the book was interesting and kept me wanting to discover the culprit. However, there did seem to be some elements that did not add to the overall plot and were unnecessary. Also, there were several grammatical errors that made me stop to decipher what the author was trying to say. This issue could just have been with the advanced reader copy ebook. After a little more editing, it would be a good read for someone who enjoys literary mysteries with a little southern flair.

First in a new series and I enjoyed it. It reminds me of the Aurora Teagarden series in the sense that we have a group dedicated to discussing and solving crimes. It was a little grittier than most of the cozies out there but it has enough levity to pull it off. As in most cozies, you will have to suspend some disbelief but that's part of what makes them fun. Looking forward to the next book in this series.

#OnBorrowedCrime #NetGalley
Thanks NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books and Kate Young for a free copy to review.
A fun quick cozy mystery. entertaining though it's not really my type of book.

Lyla Moody and her friends, members of the Jane Does (a mystery book club) find themselves in a position to solve a mystery of their own when one of their own members is found dead in their small, quiet, southern town. There was more going on in Carol's life than any of the Jane Doe's knew, and it's up to Lyla, a budding private investigator, to seek out clues and find answers.

Lyla encounters a few helpers along the way, namely her best friend Melanie, her uncle Calvin (the PI she works for) and Brad Jones, an officer for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, but unfortunately she has plenty more people standing in her way. Her prim and proper parents are worried that her tumultuous past is rearing it's ugly head and she's putting herself in unnecessary danger, and old boyfriends are popping up left and right, causing all sorts of trouble. When Lyla starts getting threatening messages akin to the ones Carol got before her death, things get real and the race is on to find the killler. Unfortunately for Lyla there are plenty of suspects, and without much cooperation from local law enforcement, it's up to her to find the culprit before it's too late... for her.

This was, overall, a delightful start to a new cozy mystery series. The story was well developed and I didn't see the ending coming - something that's important to me when I read a mystery book. I loved Lyla as a protagonist and can't wait to read more of her story. The one issue I did have with the book is that there were quite a few characters and many of them seemed to have some sort of backstory or "history" and I thought some more details could've been given to fill out the plot. Perhaps that will come later in the series, however!

Thank you to Kate Young and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read this book in advance of it's publication date!

This first in a new series is an enjoyable cozy mystery. The main character, Lyla, is relatable and the southern setting is quaint. There are many comments about the character's past that made me think this wasn't a first in the series. Now I think we have much to discover about Lyla. The mystery was intriguing and difficult to solve. I had many suspects and the ending satisfactorily explained why one of them was the culprit.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

What a fun, quick, fast-paced read! It had an easy flow and kept me guessing almost to the end. Will for sure read more starring Lyla and more from this author.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked how it was on a more serious side of cozy mysteries. It was great as a summer read, but I think it will be also great as an autumn read, perfect for a long evening with a book. I enjoyed character's voice and the play on a classic Agatha Christie rhyme was a nice touch.

The only thing that disapponted me was the killer. It was well done and clues were there, but using the only outsider (and making her a psychopath) didn't sit well with me. The "adopted children are dangerous and evil" felt really stereotypical.

This is a great murder mystery centred around a group of women who belong to a book club called the Jane Doe Book Club. When a murder occurs in their quite and serene town the book club are thrown into solving this murder. The main character is a feisty woman with over controlling parents who is trying to live on her own while proving that a past compulsive episode is not a trend. Lyla is dragged into the centre of the murder and it actually helps her try and prove herself to her Uncle who employs her as a receptionist in his Private Investigation agency where she wants to one day become a partner. Gran brings a little humour to a serious and heavy storyline. There are lots of potential suspects and it will take the entire book to decide “whodunnit”. With two old boyfriends as possible murderers Lyla doesn’t know who to trust. I thought this would be a cozy murder mystery but it is actually quite serious with a lot of suspense and moments that make you jump. Lyla finds out just how well she can handle personal danger. Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC of this book.

Book clubs don't usually feature dead bodies stuffed in suitcase, but if you belong to the Jane Doe Book Club, this might not be unusual. The club is interested in true crime books and when one of the members becomes interested in a cold case, Lyla Moody can't wait to hear what her friend Carol has to say. Unfortunately, Carol winds up dead without telling Lyla what she knows. The police cannot make a determination about cause of death and seem to suggest one of the club members was involved. This sets Lyla on a terrifying quest to find the connection between her friend's death and a 30-year-old cold case. Sometimes reading true crime isn't always the best option for a book club. Frightening and nightmare inducing.

Kindle Copy for Review from NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books.

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

Who knew book clubs can be deadly?

A receptionist at her uncle’s detective agency, she did not expect to be solving cases. When she finds a suitcase stuffed with a dead member of her book club at her front door help but get involved in the investigation.
It is a nice new cozy series that has promise. An enjoyable cozy read.

This book is about Lyla Moody, a P.I that becomes involved in a case close to home, when one of her best friends is found dead near her home. She investigates and as she gets closer to the truth, twists, and dangerous events occur.

What worked for this book was definitely the main character Lyla and her intent to solve the crime - tenacious, caring, and empowering. Additionally, the storyline was interesting, creating different twists and turns that have us guess one character to the next.

Overall, it was a fantastic read, and I would say this book is for mystery lovers.

Thank you to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC.

#OnBorrowedCrime #Netgalley

This is the first in a new series and Kate Young does an excellent job of it because it doesn't feel like book one. There is no big info dump and I didn't feel like I had to wait forever as I got introduced to everyone before the murder. The character are well-rounded and relatable; their lives aren't perfect.

This mystery is a little harder core than many cozies. Some of the descriptions are graphic. Also, there is a bit more use of forensic techniques, particularly computer tracking, than is usual in cozies. Layla's job in a detective agency--grant you, only as a receptionist but there is some lee way there--working for the dead woman's husband gives her legitimate access to some of the police data that wouldn't normally be given out to a civilian (yeah for a realistic reason for a layperson being given information that they normally have no rights to!).

A solid mystery that is well plotted and red herrings that could lead the reader very far astray from the real culprit. I'll definitely read more of this series.

I received a copy of this from netgalley and the publishers in exchange for a fair review.

This is a well done cozy mystery albeit with some discussions on possible serial killings and a book club that likes true crime. Since is it the first in the new "Jane Doe" series, it sets up and introduces us to members of the Jane Doe book club, Lyla the MC, her family and townspeople but that does not weigh down the flow of the story

It is a solid mystery and while I thought I had figured out who (but not why), there were many red herrings which caused me to go down another path .and question whether I had it right.

I enjoyed this book, read it in one sitting and look forward to the next one which hopefully will give us more info on the mystery in Lyla's mother and uncle's past and flesh out the rest of the Jane Doe Club. And perhaps, a romantic interest for Lyla....

This was a interesting novel that had me guessing until the very end and I guess wrong LOL I did enjoy the friendship between the ladies in the book club and the interactions they have with their exes and so forth. I did want more of the book club in the book itself however I will accept that one of the individuals was more interested than all the others because she was a detective.

What a start to this amazing new series by Kate Young. Lyla Moody is an secretary at her Uncles PI business. She has dreams of becoming a partner one day. When one of her Jane Doe book club members is dumped at her house she does all she can to catch a killer. All the while being threatened as well as other members of their club.
Great characters, location and loved the mystery. I did not guess until the very end. I will be looking forward to more in the series.
#OnBorrowedCrime #NetGalley

Kate Young is a brilliant cozy mystery writer. This first book in a new series, it takes place within a book club for mystery loves and cannot be missed!

The first thing that drew me to this book was the cover. I love me a good cozy mystery so I was happy to jump right in.

Now this copy was an unedited version so I knew to expect formatting issues and spelling mistakes. That didn’t take away from the story.

The characters were well written though a little out there, like the over dramatic mother and the pompous judge. But that made the story more interesting and kept me hooked.

I loved the plot line of how a book they were reading helped the main character in her sleuthing through I will say the murderer surprised me as I was sure I had it figured out (I was dreadfully wrong).

Well written, interesting plot, colorful characters and good use of other famous murder mysteries to help tie it all together.

Will hopefully get to read another story invoking the Jane Does!

The set up of “On Borrowed Crime” is appealing to all bookworms and amateur sleuths. Lyla, a crime fan, wannabe-private detective, and book lover, tries to solve the murder of her friend Carol, without becoming a target herself.
I enjoyed the ride, the twists and turns and red herrings, and despite having figured out the culprit relatively early on it was wel crafted. Sadly, the same cannot be said for the writing, which is lacklustre and doesn’t flow.

On Borrowed Crime is the first in Kate Young’s new Jane Doe Book Club mystery series. Lyla Moody is currently answering the phone and managing the office for her uncle who is a private investigator. In her mind, she’s a receptionist today but a PI tomorrow. When the body of a member of her Jane Doe book club is delivered to Lyla’s door in a suitcase, she’s determined to solve the mystery. Then she begins to receive threatening text messages. Is she next? Who can she trust? This book had me on the edge of my seat! Five stars!