Riley Thorn and her private investigator boyfriend, Nick, are back for another adventure. Riley has been asked to assist the police in their investigation after a corpse was found in a closet. Nick is worried about her safety, but Riley is determined to help. Meanwhile, Nick is working on a case to find a missing dad for his ex, who needs to find him before she can go on vacation. Along the way, Riley is also working on honing her psychic abilities with the help of her family and grandmother. She even gets to meet Nick's family. This book is a fun and refreshing romantic mystery, full of laugh-out-loud moments and charming characters. Lucy Score has done it again, and I can't wait for the next installment. Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Bloom Books for my ARC. This is my honest and voluntary opinion.

The Corpse in the Closet is another fabulously ridiculous and amusing book in the Riley Thorn series. Riley and Nick are back along with the hilarious crew from the elderly housing mansion, the serious Detective Weber, Riley's muscled and warmhearted psychic mentor, Gabe, Riley's pompous ex and tv news anchor, Griffin Gentry and his vapid tv weather person fiancée, Bella Goodshine, Riley's off-the-wall psychic family, her best friend, Jasmine, and Nick's oversexed work buddies, Brian and Josie. We also get to meet Nick's crazy family, as well as a new bunch of oddball people connected to several murders in the city. Burt, the large, super active, ever hungry dog and Daisy, the spite cow are back too!

This book is laugh-out-loud funny, absurd, wacky, adventurous and full of eccentric characters. Both Riley and Nick have crazy, unusual families, and the dinner scenes with them are fantastically comical and entertaining. People's names, physical descriptions and the situations they find themselves in are uproariously funny. Despite the murders and other serious crimes going on, Score manages to keep the story light and fun. I really enjoyed the first book in the series, The Dead Guy Next Door, but I think I like this one even more. And the ending leaves the reader with a surprising new bit of information that will hopefully be addressed in the next book in the series. Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for the digital ARC.

This is the second book in the Riley Thorne series by Lucy Score and continues with the story of Psychic Riley Thorne and another murder mystery..
A rom com Full of wit, humor, romance and enough mystery to keep you guessing. I just loved the characters and the banter. Such a fun hilarious read that just leaves you wanting more!
Thank you to Lucy Score, NetGalley and Sourcebooks Bloom books for the ARC.

I loved this book! Such a fun read! Thank you NetGalley and Bloom books! Lucy Score is one of my favorite authors so I am so happy I got this ARC. Can’t wait for the other books!

📚 ARC Review 📚

The Corpse in the Closet⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Riley Thorn is back at it again with another case on her hands. She uses her psychic abilities to find possible leads and clues to take the investigation forward. After what happened last time, her boyfriend, Nick isn’t too happy that she’s helping out again. He worries a lot about her safety, especially when they realize they have a serial killer on their hands. It doesn’t help that Riley also had a “vision” to either back off the case or she’ll be next.

Just like the first book, this one had its hilarious moments with the banter and sarcasm between the characters. It’s more like a whodunnit murder mystery with a little romance thrown in. Overall, I enjoyed it!

This book republishes tomorrow, April 16, 2024. Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Bloom Books for my advanced readers copy. This is my honest and voluntary opinion.

2.5 ☆

ok so if you like quirky romcoms with a great humor and wacky characters, this one’s for you! i might be in the minority here, and i’m not saying i hated it, but i just didn’t feel that invested in the story. i like the characters, LOVE the hilarity of their lives, but there’s just so much i can take. i didn’t want to gaslight myself into liking this because i knew part of my lack of enjoyment was a ME thing instead of it being the book. <i>the dead guy next door</i> was very middle-ground to me and like that one, this book seemed to drag as well.

maybe i shouldn’t read multiple romcoms in a row. balance is key and all that.

thank you netgalley for this arc in exhange for a review.

Great book! The characters are perfectly described that it was easy to grab their personality I did love grandma with her old roots and strict spiritual teaching. This book was funny entertaining and had a mystery plot that had me stuck in the book! I loved it

This book was laugh out loud funny. Is there a category of comedic mysteries? Because that’s what this book is. Psychic Riley is working with her private investigator boyfriend Nick when she is asked by Detective Weber to help on a police case. Nick’s missing person case overlaps with Weber’s case as they all work to solve it. Add in Riley and Nick’s crazy housemates and families and you get lots of fun.

This is my first book by Lucy Score and I really liked it. It was a twisty read with silly characters that kept my attention. I liked the murder mystery and the way the characters interacted with each other. Thorn and Santiago were a sweet couple There were some parts that felt slower than others but otherwise it was a pretty fun ride. Definitely want to check out the next book in the series. Even though I didn’t read the other book in the series I was still able to get up to speed. I’d say it was a funny, romantic, murder mystery. 3.75 rounded up to 4.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

Overall Grade: 4.5 ⭐️

I’ve been trying to find the words to tell people why they should be reading Lucy Score. Honestly, her books are a trojan horse of storytelling. See, here’s the thing. When you pick up a book like her newest story, Riley Thorn and the Corpse in the Closet, and you launch into the story, at its rom-comesque surface, it’s seemingly zany. Riley Thorn, the heroine, is a psychic. She’s not thrilled with her gift, so she goes into different situations where people need her to use her psychic abilities, and she begrudgingly agrees. She fights the use of her gift. This leads to all kinds of issues. Add to that an overprotective new boyfriend in Nick, a cadre of senior citizen roommates who are out of control, a family of gifted mystics, a grandmother with an iron fist, trying to control Riley’s use of her gifts, a large farting dog, a strange smell from next door, and the murders of some not-upstanding humans to the mix, and, to me, it feels very out of control. Every turn of the page brings another twist for Riley who is trying to negotiate a new relationship, find some alone time with him, and maintain her autonomy over her gift. This story is heavy with story and characterization; its feel is light. But that’s the Trojan horse of Score’s writing because belying that zany story is a couple of life truths.

For one, Lucy Score uses the murders of internet trolls to highlight the insensitivity and mean-spiritedness between humans. Interestingly enough, Score kills two of these people in the story and she threatens a couple more, and I think you’re meant to consider the ways that we treat each other, especially through the computer. Score presents these deaths in a way that makes us laugh in her fiction, but there is a graver truth to its existence: these unkind characters forgot empathy and compassion for humankind through their online behavior. And we’re supposed to think about that, I believe.

Secondly, Riley is such an interesting character. She’s beautiful, quirky, intelligent, and independent. Since Nick has committed himself to her, and as a consequence of the happenings of the first book of this series, out of his worry, he makes choices that undermine her agency, her ability to make her own decisions. And Riley fights this. In doing so, there aren’t dramatic issues with their relationship in this book; any angst of Riley Thorn… lies in the revelation of the story. What Lucy Score does is create a conversation around Nick’s male instinct to protect Riley so that she can maintain her independence while respecting Nick’s fear over her. These conversations feel important in the world of romance, even rom-coms, when male characters can often undermine the decisions of the heroines.

Additionally, because Riley struggles with the responsibility behind her psychic ability, there is a message about doing your best even when you worry that you will fail. Some of Riley’s insecurities about being a psychic lie in her worry that she won’t perform well. It takes much of the book for her to realize that she has to try first, do her very best, and accept the results.

All of the qualities of Lucy Score’s Riley Thorn and the Corpse in the Closet make for a story that will simply make you smile

Lucy Score is a phenomenal author! She never disappoints! This was a fun filled book and kept me laughing.

What a great read! The humor, the suspense, the little bit of love story, it was all on point. Lucy Score’s writing is so smooth and enjoyable, it makes it so easy to absolutely devour her books!

Riley Thorn has another case on her hands after what happened last time she’s a bit apprehensive but decides to take on the challenge. She’s to use her psychic abilities to find possible leads and clues to take the investigation forward. Her boyfriend Nick Santiago worries a lot, he brought Thorn into this mess while it’s a risky job but she was never supposed to be put in danger. Time is of the essence especially when it becomes clear they have a serial killer on their hands. It all comes to a head when Riley receives a warning. Back off or you’re next.

I would describe this as a mystery, whodunnit novel with a sprinkle of romance. Nothing like the other books I’ve read by Lucy Score.

It’s a bit messy, there are multiple cases going on at the same time. The pov changes without warning and there are a lot of characters to keep track off. It all comes together in the end but it took me awhile to piece it all together.

The psychic angle is so interesting, I’m not sure whether I would trust it as an investigator but it certainly makes for an entertaining book. Riley and her family is definitely the highlight of the book for me. Lots of really unique and expressive characters that puts a smile on your face.

For a mystery novel it’s surprisingly funny, I literally couldn’t stop laughing at one point. However it’s not all that intense, there’s a murderer on the loose but somehow I was never all that worried. That would make me as a reader more invested so that’s a lost opportunity. I also wish there were more romance and steam, that’s something Lucy Score excels at.

The corpse in the closet will be rereleased tomorrow with this new cover. I’m so glad I got an arc and I’m officially invested in seeing what happens next in this series.

I love the Riley Thorn series! I am a big Stephanie Plum by Janet Evanovich fan and this series reminds me of that in all of the best ways. Fun plot with crazy things that happen along the way, hilarious characters, and all with a clairvoyant touch which is new and different! Very here for the romance, Lucy Score writes the best romcoms hands down!

This was fun to re-read but I am even more so looking forward to the fourth installment of this series! Cant wait!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sharing a copy of this book!

This book was hilarious. The antics, banter and humor of the characters was amazing. This book is not only romance, it also has mystery and the main characters are acting as detective, so if someone is just expecting romance or is not a fan of mystery/detective plotting books then it wont be for them. but the characters are great in their development, and very funny.
Personally I love true crime so this combination of romance and crime solving was magical to my heart.

I love books by Lucy Score, but this isn’t my usual genre. However, I can’t wait to read the next Riley Thorn book! So, do yourself a favor and read the whole series! I literally laughed out loud multiple times while reading this book- so much so my husband was wondering what I was reading. The book has it all- a mystery, romance, dogs, sparkle, and humor. It was nice to read something different that was still well-written and enjoyable.

I revived this book as an ARC through NetGalley and publisher Sourcebooks Bloom Books. When signing up I didn’t realize it was the second book in the Riley Thorn series, so I read the first book within a day and loved it, which made me super excited to read this ARC!

The second book, The Corpse In The Closet starts off exactly where the first book left off, which in my opinion is the best way to start the next book in the series. We follow Riley Thorn, her PI boyfriend, Nick, Detective Weber among so many others on their next murder mystery adventure.

What I loved most about this book is the hilarious commentary. I found myself laughing out loud so many times to the banter and sarcasm between characters. I loved that this book dove further into Riley’s physic powers with the unwelcome visit of her grandmother.

Overall, the book is a page turner and keeps you wanting more and really trying to figure out who did it. I love this series and 100% recommend it to anyone who enjoys humorous, murder mystery’s with a little romance! I cannot wait to read the next one in the series!

My biggest issue with this book is that neither the cover nor the description say that this is the second book in a series. As a result, I found this book difficult to get into as I have not read the first book. Adjusting the cover and/or description to have this information would go a long way.

Riley Thorn is a very reluctant psychic who is being pushed by her disagreeable grandmother to hone her abilities to the highest level. Her grandmother's efforts escalate when Riley finds herself involved in both her boyfriend's case looking for a missing person and the police's search for a killer. The question is will she be able to use those skills to help those in danger before it is too late.

This second book in the Riley Thorn series is a mystery that’s as funny as it is puzzling. The book is a nice blend of humor, mystery, romance, and a sprinkling of intimate moments all wrapped up in a narrative that keeps you chuckling throughout. Thanks to Sourcebooks Bloom Books and NetGalley for an ARC. The opinions expressed are mine.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc of this book!
Unfortunately, I don't think this book was for me. I felt like this book dragged on for a few too many pages. Some of the characters bothered me too much.

Some was super witty and I did enjoy that part!

I do love Lucy Score and I will continue reading her books!!