I’ll be honest—romance and I haven’t been vibing lately. Maybe it’s the mood, maybe it’s the season, but I’ve found myself drifting toward cozy mysteries again, and Whack Job by Kendel Lynn felt like the perfect pick-me-up. Published by Henery Press (a house I’ve always trusted for light-hearted crime capers), this one had been quietly waiting on my Kindle since 2014. Yep, over a decade. Oops.

Reading it was like stepping back into a familiar, comforting rhythm—those Hallmark-style murder mysteries where the heroine, despite her best intentions, ends up smack dab in the middle of a crime scene. Elliot Lisbon, our leading lady, is no exception. One minute she’s planning a whimsical tea party with quirky teapots, the next she’s witnessing a shooting and tangled in a divorce spat over a Fabergé egg. Honestly, it gave me flashbacks to my early blogging days when I devoured these kinds of stories like cups of chamomile on a rainy Tauranga afternoon.

Elliot’s charm lies in her relatability. She’s not a hardened detective, just a woman trying to do her job while chaos swirls around her. And of course, there’s the classic flirtation with the local law enforcement—because what’s a cozy mystery without a dash of romantic tension?

If you’re a fan of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum or those Sunday night Hallmark whodunnits, this series will feel like home. It’s murder, mystery, and mayhem—but without the gore or nightmares. Just enough intrigue to keep you turning pages, and enough warmth to make you want to curl up with a blanket and read the next one.

A nostalgic, breezy read that reminded me why cozy mysteries still hold a special place on my shelf.

It's fun. I like brainless, funny mysteries. There are a lot of them and I think this series is on of the better ones.