I loved this! It was honestly so cute and I loved the idea of grandmothers poisoning people.
I thought that the characters were well developed, and I really rooted for Kasey, even if she was a little bit of a mess.

When Kasey uncovers strange happenings at the bakery run by her grandma—including reports of abusive men dying after placing orders—she teams up with teenage crush Jackson to investigate. Can she balance a budding romance with the need to keep her grandmother out of trouble?

I love, love, love this audiobook. It’s emotional and fun, delving into serious subjects with humor and sensitivity. Kasey is sweet and caring, but a little lost—not surprising after her traumatic childhood. Jackson counterbalances her perfectly. The audiobook narration reinforced the uplifting tone of the book.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I loved HelenKay Diamon’s novel ‘Moorewood Family Rules’, so I was excited to follow another messy family amid a mystery. Unfortunately, this one didn’t hit for me as well as the previous novel did, but I think a lot of others would really like this cozy mystery style book with a tinge of romance!

A fun read, the story of Kasey and Jackson. Kasey is being secretive about why she is back home, but discovers more than she bargained for! I liked both main characters, and wanted everything to work out for them.

When Kasey is put in the spot at her new job, she wings out a pitch idea thinking it will buy her some time, onk6 to have her bosses call her on it and send her to get the ball rolling. Little do they know that the idea she pitched was about her grandmother and aunts bakery business. Now she just has to get her grandmother and aunt to go along with the idea.
She gets home and is greeted by her former crush/current nemesis who soon can’t deny the sparks between them, but his powerful father won’t let them be together.
In the process of trying to please her boss and get her grandmother to go along with her plan, Kasey snoops in their books and realizes that their may be more to the bakery than meets the eye when you have an item called “funeral pie” on your secret menu.
This was a fun cozy mystery that had romance, family drama and murder all rolled into one. I had a good time with it and look forward to more from the author.
Thanks to Avon Books and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

Fun mystery with a side of romance, Kasey made for a funny FMC who takes on to snooping around her grandmother’s bakery business to help her win an account at her job. After finding mysterious ingredients in locked cabinets, dead husbands corresponding with client orders Kasey brings in Jackson, her childhood crush who is the nephew to her grandmother’s partner to help solve the mystery. Overall it was a fun thoughtful read that dealt with DV survivors.

"The Usual Family Mayhem" by HelenKay Dimon is such a fun read. We get sweet and spicy old ladies, a meant-to-be romance, and a well written and plotted story.

If you love Finlay Donovan, you will love the hot mess express that is Kasey Nottingham.

⭐⁣ OVERALL RATING:⭐⁣
⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Love it & Recommend - Great book, lots to love, well written, tight plotting, and characters have depth. Even if I have small problems with it I will recommend and want to share with others.

❤️ ROMANCE RATING ❤️
❤️❤️❤️❤️ | I love them together, they clearly love each other and are meant to be.

🔥 STEAM | CONTENT RATING 🔥
🔥🔥 | Heating up - References to sex are more overt but not graphic (kissing, a layer of clothing being removed or characters walking to the bedroom and the author will cut to the next scene). All action happens "behind closed doors." Can likely be read by older teens and family members.


Thank you @Netgalley @avonbooks and @harpervoyagerus for early access to this ARC in return for an unbiased and voluntary review.

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

The Usual Family Mayhem by HelenKay Dimon is a fast paced, cozy mystery romance centered around Kasey Nottingham and her family. While trying to save her job, Kasey travels back home and immediately gets caught in the middle of what she worries could be a family scandal and is reminded of what it feels like to be back with the man (she denies) she loves.

The family dynamics in this book were unmatched; Dimon knows how to create characters that you love and hate and truly has a gift at making each of her characters unique and distinguishable from one another.

I loved the narration in this novel as well. Kasey was such a fun and witty narrator and I absolutely loved her commentary as she interacted with those around her.

Her romance with Jackson was also such a strong point in this novel. These two characters balanced each other out perfectly, and if you’re looking for a book where the male character is willing to fight for the woman he loves, this is the book for you. I loved how real their relationship felt and I might have even found a new book boyfriend to add to the ever-growing list. With dialogue like this – “When it comes to you I know exactly what I think and feel. And I’m sure as hell not going to wait another ten years to kiss you again.” – how could you not fall for him?

I will absolutely be recommending this book!

Thanks NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for the Advanced Reader’s e-proof in exchange for an honest review!

What do you get when you mix one chaotic granddaughter, a pair of Southern grandma besties, and a pie shop with a suspiciously high death toll among abusive husbands? A deliciously cozy mystery with heart, humor, and enough sass to fill a bakery case. The Usual Family Mayhem is like if The Golden Girls had a murder subplot and just a sprinkle of romance.


Read If You Like:

🥧 Cozy Mystery
💋 Second Chance Romance
🏠 Returning Home
👩‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family Drama
😏 Chaotic Woman Energy
🕵️‍♀️ Funny Women Solving Murders

Blush Meter: 🔥 / 5

Fade-to-black romance and a whole lotta pie chemistry. This one's sweet with just a pinch of spice.

Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5

Cozy, quirky, and quietly feminist—The Usual Family Mayhem serves up mystery and mischief with a side of heart.


Kasey Nottingham is not what you’d call a woman with a plan—unless that plan is to spontaneously pitch her grandma’s dessert business to her corporate overlords without, you know, mentioning the small detail that her actual grandmother runs it. Or that said grandma and her bestie Celia have no intention of selling. Or that the pie shop may or may not be the epicenter of a string of poetic justice-style murders involving trash husbands and flaky crusts.

Naturally, corporate eats it up and sends her to North Carolina to “seal the deal.” What Kasey finds when she gets home is… less “expansion opportunity” and more murder mystery with a cinnamon-sugar twist. Mags and Celia are being cagey, the cabinets are locked tighter than Fort Knox, and too many women are walking out with a knowing smirk and a pie that seems to change their whole damn lives.

Enter Jackson Quaid: Celia’s nephew, longtime family friend, and Kasey’s “oh-no-he-got-hot” childhood crush. The man is steady, loyal, and somehow manages to stay sane despite the utter chaos around him. Together, they set out to figure out just what’s going on behind the counters of Mags Desserts—whether it’s grandmas gone rogue or a very elaborate revenge pastry scheme.

Let me be clear: this book is pure joy. I grinned through it like I’d eaten a pie laced with serotonin. Kasey is a lovable disaster, Jackson is a human golden retriever with a toolbelt, and the grandma duo? Icons. Southern sass and quiet rebellion wrapped in lace-trimmed cardigans.

Despite the absurdity (and the high probability that someone is definitely baking their way into a murder charge), there’s so much heart in this book. It’s about family—the messy, complicated, ride-or-die kind. About justice, not the legal kind, but the kind where women protect other women with butter, sugar, and maybe just a pinch of poison. And yes, it’s about second chances: in love, family, and finding your own version of peace even when everything else feels like a dumpster fire.

The romance is light and lovely—very much “in the background but still satisfying.” If you're looking for spice, this isn't that kind of bakery. But if you're here for tension-filled pie baking, soft forehead kisses, and a boy who’s been in love with the same girl since childhood but never made it weird? You’re in the right place.

Final Thoughts:

If The Maid met Vera Wong in a Southern kitchen with a pie knife and a secret recipe, The Usual Family Mayhem would be their love child. Perfect for when you want a low-stakes mystery with charm, heart, and zero body horror (unless you count pecan pie with raisins… which, honestly, should be a crime).

This is a story that says women are complicated, clever, and sometimes a little bit dangerous—and they should be. Also, don’t mess with Southern grandmas. Just don’t.

Now excuse me while I bake something and side-eye the next book on my reading list.

Until the next swoon-worthy story… happy reading and happy romancing! 💕

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishers for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

This was a really cute cozy mystery - Kasey gets herself in SUCH a mess but watching her undue it is just really fun. This reminded me a lot of Vera Wong and was really enjoyable!! Super quick read also and I really enjoyed that.

This was an enjoyable read- a touch of mystery, romance and humour!

Kasey Nottingham needs to keep her job and her boss wants her to find and develop the next big thing for investors.

Impulsively, she pitches Mags' Desserts, a beloved small-town business run by her grandma Mags and friend Celia.
When Kasey goes home to tell them, she finds more than she bargained for... not only with Mags' Desserts, but also her longtime crush Jackson.

Looking for a light read with some laughs and shenanigans, you may enjoy this one too

THE USUAL FAMILY MAYHEM by HelenKay Dimon is a contemporary, adult storyline focusing on Kasey Nottingham’s return to Winston-Salem, North Carolina in the hopes of convincing her grandmother to sell her business.

Told from first person perspective (Kasey) THE USUAL FAMILY MAYHEM follows Kasey Nottingham as she struggles to remain employed at Nexus Opportunity Ideas, a centre for creativity and business proposals but weeks go by and our heroine is unable to come up with a definite plan. Put on the proverbial spot, Kasey is forced to come up with a business idea, and spews the first thing that comes to mind-franchising her grandmother’s at home bakery, a business that does more than sell treats and sweets. Hoping to convince her grandmother Mags, and business partner Celia, Kasey’s arrival home comes with much trepidation, and the face to face confrontation with the man who broke her heart years before, a man who is hoping to get a second chance. Jackson Quaid is a successful attorney, and Kasey’s arrival in Winston-Salem comes with too many questions including the obvious why but Kasey believes she has stumbled on to a dangerous secret, and with Jackson’s help begins to uncover a potential murder-for-hire plot using baked goods as the vehicle of death.

The world building follows several pathways including the potential for Jackson to enter politics. Jackson’s ambitious father is determined to push his son onto the forefront of power but Jackson is refusing to play the games, and Harlan Quaid takes aim at Kasey, and her grandmother’s business. Kasey is struggling with a direction in life, and in this, she battles between head and heart, in the face of loving our story line hero.

The relationship between Jackson and Kasey is one of unrequited love but although Kasey has been in love with Jackson for as long as she can remember, our heroine is unaware that Jackson has felt the same, for just as long. Kasey Nottingham is smart yet flighty, and in this, her inability to stay focused will be used as a threat against our story line hero. There are no $ex scenes.

We are introduced to Kasey’s grandmother Magnolia Nottingham, and her partner, Jackson’s aunt Windsor; Jackson’s father Harlan Quaid, and Kasey’s bosses Brock and Micah.

THE USUAL FAMILY MAYHEM is a story of secrets and lies, family and relationships, acceptance and love. The premise is captivating and thought-provoking; the romance is subtle; the characters are sassy, energetic and charismatic.


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The mystery! The romance! And a baking business that just might be aiding in a little thing called murder! Sign me up!!! This story was such a fun read and the family hijinks were top-notch. It is a wonderfully engaging contemporary cozy mystery and perfect for fans of Dimon's previous book, Moorewood Family Rules.

This is such a cozy and sweet love/mystery story!! I was worried that this would be too cheesy for me…it started off that way but tapered off once the mystery portion picked up. What will Kasey do about her job? Gram? Celia? Jackson? Harlen? Brock? Micah? A few storylines coming together like the perfect recipe. I love most every one of these characters… if you liked the show, Dead to Me, or love seeing the demise of the smallest man who ever lived (Harlen tbh…not a spoiler…you’ll know)…this is a fun one! And also like… I now want pie…or a scone…or muffin…. Or cupcake… but not a mini one…never a mini

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Avon for letting me read this ARC. All opinions are my own!

HelenKay Dimon is a master at cute, funny dramas! What I loved: quirky and lovable characters like Gram and Celia. The reliable and very dreamy Jackson, and the second chance romance of Kasey and Jackson. I even loved the sniveling and conniving Brooks and the narcissistic Harlan. What I wished was a little more developed was Jackson and Kasey’s relationship before. I would have liked a couple chapters bouncing back and forth from past to present, starting when Kasey move in with Grams and moving all the way through the Christmas with Anna. It would be cool to have it in Jackson’s pov so you could see how his vision of Kasey changed throughout the years.

Kasey returns home because she promised her boss she had an idea for a new project. She actually returned home to lick her wounds and try to find a new direction in her life. She feels like a failure. The last thing she wants is to have to spend time with Jackson her childhood nemesis and all around great guy. Jackson is a successful lawyer. He loves living in his hometown near his family. He never considered Kasey anything other than off limits. Now she’s back and he can’t stay away. He knows Kasey has a secret. Kasey thinks her grandma has a secret. And now the two of them will have to work together. Will their history keep them apart or will they finally figure out how to be together?

Kasey is a little quirky. She is dedicated to her family. She doesn’t get a lot of growth in this story. Instead the author has Kasey discover what was already inside of her. I think the magic talent Kasey discovers is funny. Jackson has wanted to by with Kasey for a very long time but she moved away and he respects that she wants to live on her own. He has good reasons for keeping Kasey at arms length for years. When she claims that her gram and Celia (Jackson’s aunt) are up to something, he readily plays along. The older women are the only real family either Kasey or Jackson have so they would do anything to protect them. Jackson’s father is alive but he’s a jerk. I like how the author had all of the characters reveal their “secrets” and “lies”. There is a bad guy in the story. In fact, I would argue there’s more than one. Everyone who needs it gets their comeuppance.

The is a mix of cozy mystery, romance and family drama. I really enjoyed this book. The author created various storylines that all worked together well in the end. I will definitely read more from this author in the future.

Oh man, I really expected to love this one. The Usual Family Mayhem presents itself as a cozy mystery crossed with romance, which is exactly what I want out of a book, but throughout the entire story, I was kind of scratching my head wondering where both the mystery and romance were. The entire time, the main character suspects that something's going on, but there are no real stakes: sure, she's worried about her loved ones, but the worry is entirely abstract. Unlike with other many cozy mysteries, there's no police knocking at the door or other impending threat that makes it clear how urgent it is for the main character to solve the mystery. And I'm fine with books veering away from genre conventions; I often think it's interesting when they do. But if they do, it feels important to fill the gap with something else, which didn't really happen here. The romance fared better. I did like the idea of the main character with Jackson, but I hoped for a bit more build-up to their connection. At the end of the day, I think the biggest deterrenet to my enjoyment was the main character herself. I got the sense that she was supposed to be a likeable character despite her many flaws, but it was hard to feel that way when she was making poor choice after poor choice, including bringing aforementioned loved ones into the crossfire. And pitied herself all along the way. She barely took ownership of her actions, and it just got to the point where I didn't even want to root for her anymore. I'm really sad this one didn't work for me because I really expected to like it.

📖 This is a fun low-stakes family drama/mystery. I enjoyed the cute family dynamics and really loved the overall story. I did get a bit annoyed with the FMC, as other reviews mentioned, she's definitely a pick-me girl, and it does get a bit repetitive. However, the grandmothers made up for it with their witty banter and intelligence.

💡 Perfect If You Like:
✔️ FMC returning to small hometown
✔️ Lovable older characters
✔️ He's had feelings longer than she realizes

📝 My Notes to You:
→ This is an easy read, and a light story that's a great escape from day to day stress.
→ The grandma's are literally the best. I want a whole book with their story!
→ The audiobook narration was very well done.

2.75 stars

This book was okay! I really loved the idea of the book. But I just didn’t connect with any of the characters. Kasey was pretty unlikable to me. Her personality traits seemed to include, being ~quirky~ and eating dessert. Maybe it the was the style of writing that just didn’t hook me in? There were so many characters that were talked about but I didn’t know about them. Plus Harlan was just a weird character for me? And the amount that Jackson stood up to him and said he didn’t want things, but then went to him to make sure he was okay? Just confusing.

I’m sure this book will be for other people! It’s a funny, murder mystery with some romance and lots of desserts!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! All thoughts and opinions are my own.