Congratulations to Nina Simon for having her debut novel Mother-Daughter Murder Night selected as the September pick of Reese's Book Club!

The relationships among three generations of mothers and daughters are complicated, but add a cancer diagnosis and a dead body ... and things get very interesting.

This story about real estate mogul Lana, her down-to-earth daughter Beth, and her adventurous teen daughter Jack is an interesting blend of murder and family drama. The plot includes more than one complicated family, care for the ecosystem near their southern California town, and a cast of quirky secondary characters. Will we see some of them again in a sequel?

I love the origin story of this novel. Nina Simon stepped away from a CEO position to care for her mother after a cancer diagnosis. With their shared love of murder mysteries, they brainstormed characters and plot points during chemo treatments and hospital days. The results of this challenging time was her mother's restored health and this enjoyable novel.

Although their covers are similar, don't confuse this with Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto. While Mother-Daughter Murder Night includes some laughs, it's not the slapstick humor of Vera Wong.

Thank you to William Morrow, NetGalley, and the Thoughts From a Page Patreon community for a review copy of this novel.

Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon is a lovable mystery. When you throw together an estranged mother and daughter, what better activity to bring them together than to try to solve a murder? Beth and her daughter, Jack, have created a quiet life in a small coastal town…until Beth’s mother, Lana, calls from LA with some frightening news—she’s sick and needs Beth’s help. Now all three women are living together and things are definitely strained.

When a dead body is found on the water while Jack is leading a kayak tour, the women are thrown into the investigation when the police question Jack. Lana has a lot of free time and wants to protect her granddaughter so she starts investigating herself. Soon all three women are looking for clues in their small town and annoying the local detectives. There are plenty of suspects but not a lot of motive. Will the women be able to find the killer and clear Jack’s name?

I enjoyed the story! All the main characters were lovable and I liked seeing their family dynamic develop. The story had a cozy mystery feel, with twists and turns to keep me guessing how the crime had taken place. Overall a pretty decent read!

Based on the cover and title, Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon wasn't exactly what I thought it would be, but boy did it hit. Every woman in the Rubicon family touched my heart, and honestly, I think the best thing about the book is its characters. The viewpoints alternate between Jack, Jack's mother Beth, and Beth’s mother Lana which was a wonderful way to highlight each of the women. Jack may have been the youngest as a teenager, but she was also pretty mature, and I quite enjoyed what her POV brought to the story even though it doesn't occur as much as the adult viewpoints do. There is plenty of drama in this family, even before the dead body, and I loved that it was mixed with emotion and humor.

If you are a fan of listening to audiobooks, I would highly recommend this one and I thought Jane Oppenheimer did a fabulous job as the voice of the 3 different women. Even though I prefer full casts, she somehow managed to feel like a different person every time the viewpoints switched. This ended up being a more complex plot than I would have initially realized, and I had no idea what was going to happen right up until the climax. I would put Mother-Daughter Murder Night partially in the cozy genre, and it definitely gave me all the warm and fuzzy vibes. I already foresee a re-read in my future, and I would LOVE to see this turned into a series (hint, hint). Overall, I recommend this debut to fans of cozy mysteries, family dramas, and whodunnits!

Lana Rubicon is a high-powered real-estate executive. When she has an unexpected health issue, she finds her flashy life in San Francisco a thing of the past, at least temporarily. She winds up living with her daughter Beth and granddaughter Jack along the Elkhorn Slough. If her illness isn’t enough, Jack, 15, who leads kayak tours, finds herself in the center of a murder investigation. Worse, there might be more than one murder. The three women aren’t convinced that the police are doing all they can to find the culprit, so they endeavor to find the evidence themselves. It isn’t easy, but each woman brings her own special skills to the pursuit. ,

Mother-Daughter Murder Night is a fabulous debut novel. The title is off a little, as it’s really more of a grandmother-granddaughter collaboration, or maybe just call it a multi-generational teamwork as grandmother, mother, and granddaughter join together to find the perpetrator of a murder.. It’s a well-written book with characters that are fully formed and fleshed out. The setting is well defined, a bit atmospheric. It’s beautifully plotted and is likely to keep you guessing most of the way through.

This book doesn’t disappoint. It will keep you turning pages and trying to guess who’s behind the murders and why. There are many possibilities, and each has their own reasons for why they might be the one. The author says in her note at the end of the book that she wrote it with her mother as an advisor, mirroring the story line.

I loved this book, and I’m looking forward to future books from this author. This book goes on my highly recommend list.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I thank all involved for their generosity, but it had no effect on this review. All opinions in this review reflect my true and honest reactions to reading this book.

From my blog: Always With a Book

This is a book that grabbed my attention because I totally got Finlay Donovan vibes from it. But I also loved the comps that were being made for it – I loved both The Maid and The Last Thing He Told Me, so I figured between all three, I couldn’t go wrong…and I wasn’t disappointed. And it also just happened to be an early read selection for the @thoughtsfromapage patreon group and I loved our group chat as well as being able to hear from the author. The inspiration for this book is really something.

I loved that this book was both a mystery and a family drama. While the mystery does drive part of the story, I think the main focus is really on the family dynamics between the mothers and daughters. They all had issues in their relationships and needed to work through them, with learning to understand and forgive being at the top of the list. This is what really what kept me engaged in the story, as I found each of the three to be so well written and so realistic. I loved Lana, the matriarch of the family, the most, and felt that she really steals the show. She was fierce and formidable, feisty and downright funny at times!

I could sense the author’s appreciation for the environment, and I loved how she worked that into the story. Those early mornings on the paddleboard that Jack loves resonated deeply with me.

This was a great debut and I really enjoyed the whodunit as much as I enjoyed the family drama of the Rubicon women. I would love to see another adventure featuring these women, though I’d be just as curious to see what else this talented author has in store for us.

Special thanks to William Morrow for the ARC of this book.

This story is very clever. Even though it's more about a dysfunctional family than a mystery but I do love dysfunction in a family, especially with the female side. It makes me feel better about my own family.. If this were a movie, I'd probably label it as a dark comedy.

I'd mostly recommend this book for people looking for a light read and it's really cool to see how the book came about by the author. So I'd advise you check out the authors notes. 3.5 stars up to a 4.

This cozy mystery with some action was the perfect antidote to going back to work this fall.

I deeply enjoyed the fierce female characters, the natural setting and the suspenseful mystery of Mother Daughter Murder Night. Lana and Beth are no nonsense females who both work hard to build lives for themselves - both single mothers who were responsible for raising daughters on their own. Jack is their granddaughter and daughter who gets tangled in the web of the mystery. They team up as a formidable and unforgettable investigative team - there are moments of dark humor with Lana's cancer diagnosis as well as her move from her high-powered society life to the humdrum little town that Beth and Jack live in. The author gives us enough background history about their relationship to add to the drama of the mystery - all of their issues will be familiar to women everywhere - these are very relatable and lovable characters.

High-powered businesswoman Lana Rubicon has a lot to be proud of - her keen intelligence, impeccable taste, and the L.A. real estate empire she’s built. But when she finds herself trapped 300 miles north of the city, convalescing in a sleepy coastal town with her adult daughter Beth and teenage granddaughter Jack, Lana is stuck counting otters instead of square footage—and hoping that boredom won’t kill her before the cancer does.

Then Jack—tiny in stature but fiercely independent—happens upon a dead body while kayaking. She quickly becomes a suspect in the homicide investigation, and the Rubicon women are thrown into chaos. Beth thinks Lana should focus on recovery, but Lana has a better idea. She’ll pull on her wig, find the true murderer, protect her family, and prove she still has power.

With Jack and Beth’s help, Lana uncovers a web of lies, family vendettas, and land disputes lurking beneath the surface of a community populated by folksy conservationists and wealthy ranchers. But as their amateur snooping advances into ever-more dangerous territory, the headstrong Rubicon women must learn to do the one thing they’ve always resisted: depend on each other.

This was selected as a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick for this month, so it probably does not need my recommendation, but I do strongly suggest that cozy mystery lovers who like a little more drama and suspense should read this. It is perfect for a mother daughter buddy read and for your own book club! 4.5 stars/5

This book was...fine. The premise was intriguing, but the characters fell flat for me, and I struggled to get interested in the actual mystery.

I ended up really liking this one! It was more intense of a mystery than a cozy, but since it featured these three connected women, there was still an element of coziness to it. I think it’s set up to potentially become a series, and I’d definitely be interested in following these characters as their relationships grow and develop.

The mystery itself could have been beefed up a bit. There weren’t a ton of details and what details did exist got kind of lost in all the land trust talk. I did like the rotating POVs of Lana, Beth, and Jack. It was interesting to see their different sources of information and techniques for obtaining that information.

Overall, I thought this was a good take on the typical mystery and I would definitely read a sequel.

Note: I received a copy of this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I quite enjoyed this book with its combination of mystery and intergenerational family dynamics. Lana (the grandmother) immediately involves herself in solving a crime after Jack (her granddaughter) discovers the body and becomes a suspect in the investigation. Lana is also trying to navigate her messy relationship with her daughter (Beth), as they are all living under one roof as Lana is working through a cancer diagnosis and treatment. The fact that the story of these three women was just as much of a focus (perhaps even more) than the murder itself was what really hooked me on the story. Watching them work through their challenges and figuring out how to love each other was a highlight of this book for me.

This book is one of my favorites. I absolutely loved the family drama and now there's a murder next door and they have to help solve it. I loved it. It is definitely one of my favorite books this year! 6 star read!
I just reviewed Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon. #MotherDaughterMurderNight #NetGalley
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This book has gotten a lot of hype, including being picked for Reese’s book club and receiving a starred review from Library Journal. Based on that, readers may expect a lot from this first novel. In my opinion, it delivers. It is the kind of read where I kept saying that I would return to other things that I had to do when I finished the chapter that I was reading…but then, I just kept on going. All in all, I really enjoyed this one. There are humor, family relationships, a murder…and all of this is well executed in these pages.

Readers meet the three women of the family. Lana has been a real go-getter. A cancer diagnosis has led her to needing some assistance not an easy thing for her. Lana asks her daughter for help and Beth brings her from LA to a quieter community by the water with a slough.

Beth was a teen mother. She is a nurse who lives on the grid but with a homespun lifestyle. She and Lana have a history of not seeing eye to eye. Beth is mom to Jack (Jacqueline), who, when the story opens has been a pretty independent and competent teen. She has led many expeditions on the waters near her house.

What will happen when a body is found? Which of these women will be under suspicion? (Readers find this answer early on.) Who will get involved in finding the truth? Will they succeed? Read this one to find out. Readers will be glad that they did!

Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for this title. All opinions are my now.

This combo mystery and mother-daughter story (the title doesn't lie) is a great balance of somewhat darkly humorous and emotional in a quirky, never saccharine way. Complicated relationships fill this book- none more so than those between family members- and it's also got a really distinct and atmospheric setting. For a mystery, it's very character driven (still solidly plotted though) and the Rubicon women are wonderful to spend time with.

There are a lot of murder mysteries out there, some you can guess and some are very complicated. What I liked best about this book is the relationship between the Grandmother-Mother-Daughter trio that was once strained and becomes very close as they get drawn into helping to solve a murder near their home.

My thoughts
When Lana finds out she has cancer she has to quit her job as a high power real estate agent and move in with her daughter and granddaughter to the beautiful Monterey Bay Area. Lana and her daughter Beth have a complex relationship but when a murder happens and Jack Lana’s granddaughter becomes a suspect the Rubicon women pull together to uncover whodunnit.
This book combines a murder mystery and a strained family that end up pulling together to help each other through this murder and sickness which ends up helping repair their family.Nothing brings a family together like a murder next door.
This is Nina Simon debut novel and a Reese’s book club pick. Also if you can read Nina comment on Goodreads about why she wrote this book it’s very touching.

Smart, independent LA-based real estate mogul Lana Rubicon has moved in with her daughter and granddaughter in Monterrey County, California, following her cancer diagnosis. Used to being constantly busy, she is quickly drawn into an amateur murder investigation when granddaughter Jack comes across a dead body in the slough while leading a kayaking tour.

While some suspension of belief is necessary to believe someone could become as fully entrenched in a crime investigation as Lana does, I really enjoyed the mystery. But what I loved even more was the family drama that was wrapped up inside what I went into thinking would be a typical mystery. Lana shines as a strong, doesn’t take no for an answer women and the relationship she forges with her estranged daughter and granddaughter is fun to witness. The author’s note at the end describing how writing the novel as a special project with her own cancer-diagnosed mother was icing on the cake

Trigger warning: Cancer

Loved the family dynamics in this book!
The matriarch Lana stole the show, with her sleuthing that bonds the family together more than ever! Definitely recommend!

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this Advanced Readers Copy of Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon!

This is such a great choice for a book club book. I had so much fun reading this slow burn mystery. I loved the relationships and the mystery flowed and was well written. There was humor and plenty to entertain. Reading the note in the back also made me relate to this so much as I also have had a parent go through the same thing. Nina Simon is an author to keep an eye on.

Final Rating: 3.5 rounded up

This was a really cozy murder mystery following a grandmother-mother-daughter trio! After being diagnosed with cancer Lana moves in with her daughter and granddaughter in a little coastal town and takes it upon herself to clear her granddaughter as a suspect in a murder and find the actual culprit. I loved how different each of the women were, and how they each had distinct personalities! The family dynamics is what really shone with this book, and I loved the note at the end that the author wrote this for her own mother during her cancer diagnosis and treatment which is so sweet! I was hoping for more high stakes, and at times you do have to suspend your disbelief, and I do wish that the trio had worked together a bit more, but overall it was a fantastic debut and I'm very excited to see what Nina Simon writes next!