This book is a classic whodunnit with twists, turns, and false leads. I determined the culprit early but that did not slow down my turning pages as I wanted to spend time with Lana, Beth, and Jack.
The relationship of the three women in the book made this a 5 star read for me. The author did an excellent job making these women relatable and fun. I also thought she portrayed the estrangement between Lana and Beth realistically with a practical outcome that I appreciated. Furthermore, I enjoyed each of these women from the first moments I met them. I laughed, I cried, and had a great time reading. I look forward to future books with these characters as I hated to leave them.
Thank you Thoughts From a Page and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Pub date: 9/5/23
Genre: mystery
Quick summary: Businesswoman and young grandmother Lana finds herself bored to tears while recovering with her daughter Beth and granddaughter Jack. So when Jack is accused of murder, Lana makes it her mission to find the real killer.

I absolutely love the title of this book - it screams family drama + detective work, and it was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to my high expectations. I loved the female MCs, especially Lana and Jack, and it was wonderful seeing all three of them build a closer relationship. But the mystery didn't really keep me engaged and felt like it dragged on too long. The last 100 pages definitely could have been condensed. That being said, I've seen a lot of more positive reviews on Goodreads, so you may enjoy it more than I did. Since this is a debut novel, I will keep my eye out for more from Nina Simon.

Thank you to William Morrow and @thoughtsfromapage for my e-ARC.

Lana is a high profile LA real estate mogul. Things take a turn for the worse for Lana when she finds out she has brain cancer. She is forced to move in with her adult daughter Beth, and her granddaughter, Jack while getting treatment. She is positive the boredom will kill her if her treatment doesn’t.

However, one day while kayaking, Jack happens upon a dead body. Jack quickly becomes a suspect. Lana will not have any of that and quickly sets out to prove Jack’s innocence with the help of Beth. Can they uncover who the murderer is without placing themselves in danger?

I really enjoyed the generational mystery solving family that this book highlighted. It was a lot of fun to have grandma, mom and daughter all working together to try to solve the murder case that Jack was the suspect for. Sure, it was a little outlandish because things just don’t quite work like that in real like but it was fun. I did think that this book was going to have humor in it but it didn’t really, so that was a mismatched expectation. I also found that at times the plot dragged at times making me with that parts were left out. However, overall, this is a really sweet story about family and working together so I did enjoy.

Thank you so much to the publisher, William Morrow, and Netgalley @netgalley, for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Additional links will be added once posted.

The first thing that drew me to this book was the cover. 🔦

A dead body has been found by Jack, a teenage girl conducting a kayak tour, and police target her as a prime suspect in their sloppy investigation. Jack’s grandmother, Lana, confesses that she saw a person with a wheelbarrow dumping a body into the slough behind their home but police officers aren’t taking her seriously and continue to interrogate Jack.

Lana is staying with Jack and her daughter, Beth, while she undergoes treatment for her cancer. She decides that conducting her own investigation will help clear Jack’s name and bring her closer to the real murderer. She doesn’t realize that digging into information that is supposed to stay hidden will put her life in extreme danger.

I can’t believe this was a debut novel! This was a fun mystery to investigate alongside Jack, Lana, and Beth. We are given glimpses of Beth’s past life when she lived with her Mother, and the tension she felt growing up with an absent parent, but what they lacked was communication. Now they’re living in the same home, pursuing the same goal in the investigation, and finally bonding. I couldn’t read the last half of this book fast enough! All the pieces clicked into place, and I was so proud of Lana for all her hard work that lead to an explosive ending.

Side note: I love when books are set in California, there’s that 1% chance that my city will be mentioned and give me a little chuckle because no one ever has anything nice to say about Bakersfield. 🙃

I don't know why, but I thought this book was going to be one of those fun mystery books. Maybe that's why I found myself struggling to get through this one.

I liked the characters enough. They definitely didn't wow me. They are who they are. That's it. None of them stand out. They don't have anything that endeared themselves to me. However, I didn't necessarily dislike them.

The storytelling in this one was exptremely slow moving. It took me way longer to get through the book than it should have. There was more unneceassary filler than actual story. I admittedly did skim a handful of parts in the book because they played no part in the actual story itself.

In a nutshell, this book isn't anything extraordinary. It's an okay book, but I woouldn't be in a hurry to read it.

In this debut novel, a grandmother, mother, and daughter work together to solve the mystery of a dead body discovered in their coastal California town. This is a cozy mystery for fans of The Thursday Night Murder Club. If you like stories with girl power, strong older female protagonists, and complicated mother-daughter relationships, then you will enjoy this delightful mystery.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for an advanced e-reader copy.

Lana discovers she has tumors in her brain and she has to call her daughter to help her. Beth wants to help her mother so she picks her up and makes all the calls to get her the best care possible. Beth brings Lana home with her while she is going through chemo treatments and wants her to rest and recover.

Lana isn’t the type of woman to lie around. Her granddaughter discovers a dead body in the slough. As Jack was leading a kayak tour and found the body the police have her as number one suspect.

Lana starts digging for clues and piecing the mystery together. This bond the whole family together as they solve the mystery. Some parts were funny and ultimately it was a great who done it mystery with heart.

This is an outstanding debut novel! From the blurb, I expected something a lot more flighty and frivolous, but this is a serious crime novel blended with a really lovely story about intergenerational mother/daughter relationships and repairing fractured family ties. Well-constructed characters, a central mystery with a resolution that made sense (and wasn't difficult to guess at) but had enough twists and turns to stay interesting and keep me reading long after I should have been asleep for the night. Looking very forward to Nina Simon's next book! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this one ahead of release.

A sweet, if predictable, cozy mystery. It was a good debut novel that kept the interest of this reader until the end.

This murder mystery is so much more than just a thriller. It is also about strong women, three generations trying to protect the lives they've created and the interpersonal relationship of mothers and daughters. If you loved The Thursday Murder Club, you'll love the Mother-Daughter Murder Night.

Nina Simon's debut novel was an absolute delight to read. I found this novel much better than I expected to! From the description here I thought it was going to be a "cutesy" three generation figuring out the mystery. It wasn't! In fact, as soon as the book arrived and I read the back blurb, I changed my mind. The description on Goodreads makes it sound sillier than it is.

I feel like the circumstances under which this book was written greatly influenced the story. This was as much about solving a murder as it was about the strong bonds and complex relationships between three generations of women. The relationships between the three women and how they evolved throughout the story made for such a heartfelt read. I loved seeing things from both Lana’s as well as Beth’s POV. Lana was the absolute BEST character and made the whole book for me! Sassy, tough, and absolutely hilarious at times, I could only hope to be half as amazing as her someday!

Lana is an excellent business person in commercial real estate. It’s her whole life until she’s diagnosed with cancer. Forced to call the daughter and granddaughter she’s not close with, she moves in with them for the next four months while recuperating. When 15 yr old Jack finds a dead body during an assisted kayak trip, becoming the primary suspect, the three women band together to solve the murder. Three strong women characters and an interesting murder make this debut mystery a hit, one that’s fun to read on many levels.

This book turned out great! It felt a little slow moving at first and I wasn’t sure where it was going, but once it picked up, I didn’t want to stop!

So fun. I loved the mystery and the relationship between the three protagonists. The dynamic between the three of them was funny and heartwarming. I enjoyed trying to guess who the killer was going to be.

It took me a while to get through this book. It felt slow & the mystery didn't really intrigue me. I was expecting it to be similar to Finlay Donovan or Vera Wong based on the cover & description.
We have 3 generations of women who don't have a close relationship. It actually reminded me of Gilmore Girls but without the fun banter & wit. Lana is the wealthy grandmother who has cancer & comes to stay with her daughter Beth & granddaughter Jack. Lana did not support Beth's teen pregnancy & became estranged. Jack her granddaughter is now 15 years old & becomes a suspect of a murder. Lana goes from being a real estate mogul to investigating a murder with many shady people involved.
I would have preferred if they all worked together as a team but instead it was a lot of arguing & pointing fingers with each other. I also didn't like how every clue resulted in a whole reason as to why this person is clearly the murderer, instead of just letting the reader decipher the clues on their own.
I did like the character of Lana. She was straight forward, confident, & fought for what she believed was right & true
Although, I didn't click with this book I would recommend to those who enjoy family drama & mysteries.

I’m giving this one a 4.5 stars rounded up!

Mother-Daughter Murder Night is an epic debut novel by author Nina Simon. From the first page I was instantly riveted to this amazing story.

Lana is an infinitely powerful woman at the top of her game. She is the empress of her real estate empire in Los Angeles and is devastated when weakness takes her down. This weakness being metastatic lung cancer. She ends up losing everything and living with her estranged daughter, Beth, and granddaughter, Jack, in their Monterey Bay bungalow. She’s living her worst nightmare when she witnesses something utterly shady out her bedroom window. This sparks a fire back into her otherwise dark and boring days, so she gets right to work scrutinizing this small town murder case. Beth and Jack also find themselves involved and fighting for their safety against a murderer, all while rekindling their lost relationship with Lana.

Nina Simon is brilliant with this legendary whodunnit. I’m a girl that pines for horror and sometimes finds whodunnits a bit boring, but this novel was just way too fun. The characters are authentic, the humor had me cracking up, the atmosphere was beautiful yet gritty, and the plot had twists I didn’t see coming. This author was able to lead me in so many directions, that I just couldn’t put that ending together. Not completely, anyways.

But Nina Simon will tell you that it isn’t just about the murder. It’s about these three women growing and learning together while piecing their relationship back together. This book was just a well-rounded, wholesome read that I would recommend to anybody.

A great thank you goes out to Nina Simon, William Morrow, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I definitely requested this book based on the cover alone! It was giving me major Finlay Donovan vibes and after reading the synopsis, I was convinced I'd love it. I'm always down for a good cozy mystery and love mother/daughter drama!

This book is about a single mom, Beth and her daughter, Jack, living their best lives in a costal town in California when everything is upended by two things : Beth's estranged mom, Lana moving in with them and the discovery of a dead body!

The three generations of Rubicon women have a lot to learn not just about the secrets of their town but also about each other as they learn to live together during difficult times.

The grandma/mom/daughter relationships gave me major Gilmore Girls vibes and I couldn't help picture them as Emily/Lorelia/Rory because there were so many similarities!

As far as the actual murder mystery part, it felt like a mix of Finlay Donovan and Thursday Murder Club but maybe even a little slower paced. Overall, I really enjoyed it but wish things moved along a little quicker.

I think this one will be a big hit for cozy mystery fans!

Thanks so much to William Morrow for the gifted ARC. This book will be available for purchase on September 5th.

3.5 stars rounded up for GR

This review is not needed because the title truly tells the story! Three women in a matriarchal family unit are trying to solve their own personal whodunnit. Lana, the grandmother, is a powerful and ambitious business woman, who has recently been diagnosed with cancer, and has been convinced to move in with her daughter Beth, a nurse. Beth lives in a small coastal town with her 15-year-old daughter Jack. As the women begin adjusting to all living together, Jack stumbles upon a body while working as a kayak tour guide. This leads to a series of complications, suspect changes, and some good ol’ fashioned investigation hijinks.
Each woman feels like someone I know, in the best way. But there is a special place in my heart for the stubborn loyalty of Lana Rubicon. She is the queen of one-liners, and is the reason I laughed out loud several times. After sitting in as a witness while Jack is questioned by the police, Lana decides it's up to her to solve the case. Much to Beth's chagrin, Jack is more than willing to help her grandmother, so Beth is almost immediately roped in too. The women interview most of the suspects surrounding the murder, investigate the areas where the murder might have occurred, and crash funerals to get more information. And it was truly all thrilling.
As a mystery, this was a perfect book. There was more than one mysterious death, lots of different characters with motive and opportunity, and enough twists to keep me completely invested. There’s always something special about stories that feature the relationship between mothers and daughters. And while this story does heavily feature murder & night as promised by the title, the mother-daughter bonds that are explored are truly what made this book a 5-star read for me. Cut to me reading the acknowledgements and tearing up (iykyk).
I don’t care what your preferred genre is, get this book when it’s published!
For a more detailed review, check out my blog! Thank you to NetGalley and Willam Morrow for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Mother-Daughter Murder Night - Nina Simon

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

A beautiful and captivating book, where a mother who has spent her life excelling in her job is struck by cancer and moves in with her estranged daughter and relearns the meaning of maternal love.

Many thanks to the author for the chance to read this heartfelt book, that also happens to contain a fascinating mystery that will keep you guessing.

Until next time, share this one with your family members!

Three generations of women working together to solve a crime. Witty and dark. Funny too! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I enjoyed it. Four stars. I could see this as a book club selection.