Oh, this book! It took me bit to get into it, but then I was hooked. I absolutely loved the three female main characters: Lana, Beth, and Jack.

It was so touching to see how Lana softened, grew, and shared her wisdom with both her daughter and her granddaughter. The mystery was a puzzle for me almost to the reveal. There were some good villains, as well as possible villains, but like true humans, they weren’t all bad. Just bad enough to possibly commit murder!

My thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was so fun! I loved our three MC, and I loved watching their relationship change. I sincerely hope this is a series.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

This was a pretty fun read. Not quite what I was expecting but still enjoyable. Mother-daughter has a double meaning as it's actually a grandmother-mother-granddaughter who work to solve the mystery of the murder in their small town. If you like your mysteries somewhere between the ones that have bad punny titles and the super dark noir ones, this one might be for you. It's pretty light but not so formulaic.

Nina Simon has written a fabulous murder mystery with twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the end, and a complex family relationship that will make you want to pick up the phone and call your own parent or child.
It's populated by dynamic, unforgettable characters: Lena Rubicon - the take-charge glamorous real estate mogul; Beth - Lena's daughter who's raising her teen daughter in a quiet coastal community, eschewing her mothers' lifestyle; and Jack, Beth's 16-year-old daughter, a strong and independent nature-lover who spends every free moment kayaking. When Lena is forced to convalesce in Beth's small home, tensions run high. But then Jack is charged with murder and the three women are forced to work together to try and solve the crime, repairing their relationship along the way. It's been a while since I finished this book and I miss hanging out with the Rubicon women - I hope there's a sequel!

I love these women - I hope the author goes back to this little town.
Strong, fierce, independent and unapologetic - yes yes yes!
After Lana's bleak cancer diagnosis, she heads to her daughter's house. Their relationship at best is strained. Lana needs a project to stop driving Beth nuts. Thankfully, there's a murder - Ricardo is found on her granddaughter's kayaking tour. Jack is the prime suspect.
Together the Rubicon women work to find the real culprit. Along the way figuring out how to work together.

Murder mystery so captivating and a fun read.
This was very entertaining story of a grandmother, mother and daughter ttrying to solve this murder mystery, fast paced, and also twisty.
I really enjoyed this book.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Coming out 09/05/23.

I love a good mystery and the more twist the better. This book delivered! The unfolding story of the relationship between the three generations added dimension to the adventure. The setting, northwestern slough, was new to me. I enjoyed visualizing this area as they traversed the waterways and farmland. I’m hoping these 3 sleuths are going to continue their crime solving.

A delightful mystery with a realistic dynamic between three generations of women who set out to solve a crime. This unique premise (with an older protagonist!!!) made reading this a great fun. I found the characters to be well developed and their interactions very believable; and I even liked the teenager! A great whodunit that I would recommend. Awesome cover!!!

The author did a great job in detailing the crime, the motive, the players, and the clues that were interspersed throughout the telling of this suspenseful and intriguing tale. I enjoyed the backstory that made the mom, the daughter, and the granddaughter the person they are today as they ultimately worked together to find a killer hiding in plain sight. When I thought I had a handle of the person responsible, the author changed direction with a few strategically placed plot twists that enhanced my reading pleasure and ratcheted the drama up a notch to a fevered pitch and I all could do was watch it play out until the only person left standing was the killer. And I especially loved the bonding and self-discovery of the three generation of women. This was an excellent book and I look forward to more works from this author.

4 stars

This was a marvelous multi-generational female power thriller! Let’s start with the matriarch, Lana, she’s an LA real-estate powerhouse. Cancer has forced her to move in with her daughter Beth and granddaughter Jack. The three women are in a small town on the coast.

Jack is a water lover, she works a job at a kayak company, leading tours. All is well until Jack discovers a dead body one day at the end of a tour. As the police home in on Jack as a suspect, Lana decides that she will investigate the case and find the real murderer.

The three women work together to untangle the web of lies and secrecy that surrounds a land trust organization, ranchers, and shady business dealings. The trio are driving the police crazy, but are they truly in danger?

I’m excited to discover this new debut author. Lana was really the star of the show, and I loved the backstory of the author and why she wrote this book, be sure to read the description of that.

One day Lana Rubicon, 57, is a high powered real estate agent in LA, and 11 months later she’s living with her estranged 30-something nurse/daughter Beth and 15 year old granddaughter (Jack/Jacqueline) north of Monterey near the Elkhorn Slough nature preserve. Cancer has changed her life and she still needs chemo, but she is definitely bored and worried about becoming invisible (something worse than dying). The monotony of her recovery period suddenly changes when Jack, a local kayak tour guide, finds a dead body in the slough while guiding a group of tourists. Jack doesn’t recognize him, but the victim had booked a reservation on her previous tour, a bachelor party gone insane. The police initially zero in on Jack with these flimsy circumstances and Lana will have none of that: she and her granddaughter (and her reluctant daughter) are going to solve this murder.

The author tells us that this is a love letter to her own mother who was also diagnosed with cancer, and this is a delightful story of three generations of women with all their personal quirks still united by unconditional love. There’s a Gilmore Girls vibe that I loved. 5 stars!

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO but close — Beth has hazel eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO Elkhorn Slough is a real place, an environmental restoration protected by the state.But Paul’s thinking that if you place two different plants in close proximity then they would magically absorb each other’s characteristics is pretty stupid.

Nothing more bonding for a Mom and daughter than....murder? Real Estate investor Lana is recovering from cancer at her daughters home in a coastal town when her granddaughter Jack come upon a body while kayaking. Jack becomes a suspect and craziness ensues. Lana decides to investigate in order to save her family. Loved the bond between these women and the dedication to get to the truth. I found the book easy to read and I definitely wanted to know how it ended.

This was a fun story for me. Three generations work together in different ways to solve a local murder. I enjoyed the relationships that the women had in the story and the way their sleuthing and working though solving the elements of the murder brought them closer together and essentially through their past misgivings. I would recommend to anyone looking for a light hearted story that will hold them to the end and keep them wondering.

This is a well-written debut novel by Nina Simon. It’s about three generations of strong women who come together to solve a murder. The grandmother just found out she has cancer and moves in with her daughter and granddaughter. The granddaughter finds a dead body in the slough while she is giving a kayaking tour.
The three main characters are smart and likable even when they have their disagreements. The writing and character development is good and the story is easy to read. I liked that it flowed smoothly. I wouldn’t mind if the author followed up with another murder with the same women. Even though there is a murder to solve I think this is a good book about a loving family.
I want to thank William Morrow, NetGalley and Nina Simon for this book. I think we’ll see more books by this author.

This was a solid debut, part cozy mystery and part family relationship story. I enjoyed the family dynamics between the grandmother (Lana), mother (Beth), and daughter (Jack) and the murder mystery kept me turning the pages. I wish the author focused more on the relationship between Lana and Beth and how that differed from the relationship between Beth and Jack. And how their relationships impacted how each viewed the murder that took place, including how they each got involved in the investigation of the murder. Instead, the story lost me a little with the land trust storyline.

Thank you to William Morrow for the opportunity to read and review.

This was a sweeter-than-expected multi-generation tale of three women--grandma, mom, and teen daughter--in coastal California. I loved how the environment played a supporting role, and how the relationships between the three women were fleshed out and grew over the course of the novel. It was also a solid mystery, keeping my interest until the end.

I loved this book. It hooked me from the beginning and I could't put it down. The book focused on a mother and teenage daughter and a grandmother who isn't close to either, who comes to live with the daughter for a period of time to recuperate from an illness. The teenage daughter is accused of a killing someone and while the grandmother recuperates she tries to solve the crime. The potential suspects all have something to lose. The characters are well developed and the evolution of the relationship between the mother and grandmother is interesting to watch. I will keep an eye out for future books by this author.

Mother-Daughter Murder Night is new take on a familiar genre. The relationships between mothers and daughters are at the heart of this murder mystery. Simon has created engaging characters and a well-crafted plot.

I really enjoyed this fun debut novel, Nina Simon"s "Mother-Daughter Murder Night"!! It's a cozy-type murder mystery and it mixes plot twists with the complicated relationships of three generations of the Rubicon family, grandmother, mother and granddaughter, in a sleepy Central California, small town setting. I was instantly engaged as the three investigated a local murder, and soon find themselves implicated & in danger. Loved former L.A. real-estate maven, Lana the most! Thoroughly enjoyable, quirky & full of charm! My sincere thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the complimentary DRC, my pleasure to review it...

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Lana is recovering at her daughter's house, when her granddaughter becomes a suspect in a murder investigation. Lana decides to use her talents to solve this case. This book kept me guessing.