I think I expected romance to be more front and center, but it felt more secondary. Since it was reading more mystery than romance for me, the pacing felt slow. The plot of the story was great. I loved Riley's fierce and headstrong personality and Nick's protective nature. Gabe is my favorite.. such a teddy bear. I didn't like grandma... at all... the entire book.

Rating: 3 ⭐️
Pub Date: April 14, 2024
How I Read It: 📱

Synopsis
A murder mystery where a dead woman is found in a closet and the police are at a loss and ask a psychic to help them figure out the murder.

My Thoughts

The premise of this book is interesting, but unfortunately, that was where it ended for me. I felt this book was corny with all the swearing and sexual talk (the boyfriend is a cringeworthy pig). There was also so much going on in the book that I was lost a lot of the times. Maybe there was stuff I was missing from the first book that I needed to read to get me up to speed.

Final Thoughts
When I read the synopsis, I thought this would compare to one of my favorite series, the Stephanie Plum series, but it was nothing like that. I also recommended reading the first book before diving into this one.

❗️Of Note
🤬 Swearing
🌶️ Spicy

Themes:
🔍 Mystery
📝 Psychics

Ratings
Characters: 2 ⭐️
Pace: 3 ⭐️
Enjoyability: 3 ⭐️
Narrator: N/A

Thank you to SourceBooks Bloom Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book!

Great book, enjoyed how this one develops and the amazing way the author does this books. This series is definitely super good and easy reads . Will be definitely recommending

Thank you to NetGalley, Lucy Score, and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for granting me access to an e-Arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 ⭐️s rounded up to 4⭐️
I absolutely adore Lucy Score and her writing, and own the majority of her books. However, I cannot seem to relate or connect with the characters in this series like I usually do. Riley is a physic, who is still battling to control her abilities while helping a detective and PI (her boyfriend) solve cases along the way. What makes this series is the side characters and all the problems they create on the journey along the way. With them, I found myself laughing and continuing just to see what kind of trouble they were going to get into next.
With that being said, I will say I enjoyed this book more than I did the first one and I will give the next one a try.

4.5/5

I’ll be honest, I went into this book not realizing that it was the second book of a series, so there were some aspects that confused me at first (like, psychic powers being real) but that’s totally on me, and at no point did I ever feel that I was missing critical points of the story!

All in all, I really enjoyed my first foray into the Riley Thorn world. The story was full of mystery and humor, without feeling over the top or facetious.

I adored the cast of characters as each character has their own personality and truly immersed me into the story’s (oftentimes hilarious) plot.

The romance between Riley and Nick, though often stopped from becoming -ahem- detailed, was adorable while not being the picture-perfect relationship of some books.

At times the plot felt unnecessarily dragged out and slow, and I do wish we got to see a bit more of Riley and Nick, but as it is, this was a great read now I’m very excited for book 3!

Really enjoyed this one! Romantic comedy mixed with murder mystery, psychics and a cast of endearing octogenarians :) I found the first book in this series a little hard to get into but really enjoyed this one, and already bingeing the third. A fourth comes out this summer!

This wasn’t really what I was expecting from Lucy Score but I loved it nonetheless! A solid 4.5/5 ⭐️ from me!

I am a huge fan of Lucy Score and to no suprise, I really enjoyed this novel from her as well.. If you have ever watched and enjoyed the show Extgraordinary from producer Charles Palmer I feel like you would just adore Riley and Nick. Despite the themes being different, our MC Riley really gave mega Jen vibes and in the best way possible!

This book 2 kept up the hilarious, the ridiculous and the mystery of the first book while continuing to move the story forward with new and old characters and new ghosts to put to rest. This book was so over the top but still had me giggling and ready to reach for the next one as soon as possible.

#arc
#netgalley
#thecorpseinthecloset

I am obsessed with this series! They're such fun, light-hearted reads with a cast of hilarious characters. They're such a great mix of romance and mystery. I can't wait to read book 3.

The characters made this book. Not only was I interested in the mystery, the romance sparks but the banter between the characters had me laughing so outloud I had to tell everyone what I was reading! Took me right out of reality and let me just live in this world of lovely, yet hilarious cast of characters. The dry humor and quick wit had me smiling from beginning to end! The only reason I gave a four stars instead of five was because for my personal enjoyment, I would have favored more Nick & Riley time.

(I did not realize this was the second book in a series, which made this book pretty confusing in the beginning. I won't include that in my rating because I think I should have figured that out before requesting but posting just in case this helps someone else!)

The psychic murder mystery storyline was so interesting, that I wish we had gotten more of that. But I felt like this book was just trying to do too much which caused it to drag at times. Everything felt like a caricature and some of the jokes were pretty immature, which really took me out of the story. Wish I like this more because I've read and enjoyed lots of Lucy Score, but it just wasn't really for me.

Loving this series and how there is mystery and romance all in one! Loved the old retires in this one and the dynamic between Nick and Riley while living together. I do feel like the romance line dropped out a bit since we knew they were already together and I would have loved to see that strong again.

This is a book full of hijinx and hilarity. It’s about a psychic who is new to accepting her powers. She daring the handsome PI Nick Santiago, who is her PI boss. Now add in Mrs. Penny and the gang, her octogenarian former roommates and you have a recipe for laughter..
I really enjoyed this book and will be reading the rest in this series.

Book 2 of Riley Thorn and I'm addicted! I've already started book 3 that's how great this series is!!

If you like mystery and swooning you're in for quite a fun trip!
Never a dull moment in this old mansion filled with 80yr old retirees, who are always on the move.
Join Riley and Nick who are now living and working together along with their Lion and spiritual guides.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me early access to an e-copy in exchange for an honest review!

Riley Thorn, a reluctant psychic, is back with another murder mystery! Nick Santiago and Riley are living together when his ex partner also cop, Kellen, asks Riley for her help in solving a murder. Nick takes on a missing person case at the same time.

I enjoyed this book and I liked seeing the relationship aspect as well as the mystery solving!
Overall this was a fun book with some great laughs!

Thank you to Netgalley, Bloom Publishing, and Lucy Score for this advanced readers' copy. All opinions are my own.

This was such a fun read! I've never read a Riley Thorn book before (sorry, book 1 😬), and this is the second in the series. But it was honestly not hard to jump into the world and follow along. I felt like there were enough callbacks/ explanations of book 1 that I wasn't missing too much and could still understand the story starting from this point. That being said, you probably should start with the first one, just because it IS the first one, after all. I'll probably go back and read it to see what I missed.

This book has such a lively cast of characters and it is so easy to fall in love with each one of them (the good ones, that is!) The characters you're supposed to hate, Lucy did a great job of making sure you hate them, too.

The mystery was definitely my favorite part of the story and I wish it had focused more on that and a little less on Nick and Riley's relationship. But this IS a Lucy Score book, so it's to be expected. Over all, this was an enjoyable read. I'm giving it 3 ⭐️ because it just didn't jump out at me and although I enjoyed it and will probably read the next one, I'm not rushing to find out what happened next.

I do recommend this if you're looking for a lighthearted mystery that will make you laugh. There's romance, murder, psychics, and a lot of glitter. ✨️

Thank you to Netgalley, Bloom Publishing, and Lucy Score for this advanced readers copy and the opportunity to review. All opinions are my own.

Physic Riley Thorn and her private investigator boyfriend Nick are always in problem solving mode. A homicide detective needs Riley's help solving a murder of a corpse in a closet. Nick is working on his own tricky missing person case.

Earlier that summer, Riley almost died, and the last thing Nick wants is for her to be involved in another investigation. Even scarier is introducing Riley and Nick's relationship to their families. With the body count increasing, the meet the parents dinner being a disaster, and a nosey elderly roommate, their relationship and murder mystery skills are put to the test.

I am giving this book 4 stars. I have really enjoyed every Lucy Score book I have read. This is the second book in the Riley Thorn series, and I do recommend reading the first book before picking up this one. The writing was fun, the characters were lovable, and the plot was really interesting. Both of the books in this series reminded me of Criminal Minds, which I love.

I would recommend this book if you are a big Lucy Score fan, are interested in true crime, like mysteries and thrillers, or if your favorite show is Criminal Minds.

The new covers of Riley Thorn and the Corpse in the Closet are out now.

Riley Thorn and your favorite characters are back in Riley Thorn and the Corpse in the Closet. After barely surviving her last case, Riley is ready to have some quiet time with her Private Investigator boyfriend, Nick Santiago. However, the universe has other plans. Riley's grandmother has come for a visit to make Riley take her powers seriously and now Weber is back asking for Riley's help with a homicide case where the victim was found in a walk-in closet. Nick has his own case of a missing ex-husband who seemed to vanish out of thin air. Can Riley improve her psychic abilities to help solve two cases?

I think this is the first series where I love the side characters even more than the main characters. The situations that these geriatric roommates get into with Riley are insane but completely entertaining. I want to be Mrs. Penny when I get old. The investigation brings Riley back to her past with her previous job at Channel 50 and her ex-husband. I enjoyed Riley learning more about her psychic powers with the help of her scary grandmother and her friend Gabe to help solve the case. As with the first book, The Corpse in the Closet ends on a cliffhanger regarding Detective Weber's sister. I am interested to see what happens next for Riley and to learn more about Nick's past regarding Beth.

Riley Thorn and the Corpse in the Closet is out now!

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Bloom Books for the opportunity to review Riley Thorn and the Corpse in the Closet. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3 stars ✰

💌 thoughts

unfortunately, i couldn’t get into this. i adored all the characters in book 1 but for some reason they’re all just really annoying now. the romance died out, just bc you’re already together doesn’t mean it can’t be interesting?? they went from sparks flying to 50 year married couple. the mystery was so very irrelevant bc we have no connection with the man that went missing so why am i supposed to care if he comes back or what happened to him. this is so very sad but i still recommend the first book, the humour is amazing, and the characters are very lovable <33 in book 1, that is.

thank you netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!!

Riley is back with her uniquely weird cast of characters who had me rolling with laughter throughout the book. I suppose I shouldn't find murder and missing persons funny, but when Riley, Nick, and their "friends" and far out families get together to solve crimes, hilarity ensues and drags you in. If you've ever wondered what happens when cops, a private investigator, a psychic, and a band of merry older folks get together, these stories are perfect for you.