An enjoyable blend of romance and mystery. Although Kasey was a little all over the place, I really liked the characters and their bonds to one another. Loved the family dynamics and also enjoyed the banter between Kasey and Jackson. This was my first time reading this author and won't be my last either.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for this ARC.

While The Usual Family Mayhem has its good moments, I mean who doesn't love a good romance and murder mystery, I found that I just couldn't connect to the main character Kasey Nottingham.
In an attempt to keep her job she suggests her grandmother's dessert business as a business worthy of being developed as the next best thing for investors even though she knows that her grandmother would never go for this change. When her boss expresses interest in her pitch, she leaves Washington, D.C. to go to her hometown in North Carolina to convince her grandma.
Once there she discovers, by snooping, that her grandma's dessert business seems to be involved with mysterious deaths of abusive men in the area. Now, she has to find a way to stop the interest in the business so that her grandmother and partner don't end up in jail.
All the while, there is unrequited love with an old friend, Jackson. I wanted to root for her and Jackson to get together but all there encounters seem to be full of miscommunication and not enough communication that I felt like screaming at Jackson and Kasey to just get on with it and be together. The meddling of Jackson's father Harlan, I found off putting also.
Although this book wasn't my cup of tea it would still appeal to those who like a romantic mystery with some off-beat characters.

Thank you to Harper Collins Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for the arc!

Old lesbian couple who help women in abusive relationships with a bit of a poisonous pie?? Sign me up!
This was a lovely, cozy mystery. The main character Kasey was fun and I liked her narrating. I liked the love interest too but I just that they didn’t have to repeat the age gap by mentioning how she was an actual child when they first met.
Now I want some pie!

When Kasey Nottingham comes back home to Winston Salem, N.C., it was more than a social call to visit her grandmother and aunt. To keep her job at a business incubator company, she came up with the idea to sell artisanal pies, ones like her family's business sells. As she is trying to find a way to tell them what she did, she runs across Jackson, her teenage crush, who is now a successful lawyer. If this isn't enough for Kasey to handle, gossip has it that one of her grandmother's customers died mysteriously and she begins to think that the pie was intentionally poisoned. So, while trying to keep her job, wondering what Gram and Celia are hiding and getting Jackson to help her investigate, juggling everything is only helped by enjoying a few sweet bakery treats along the way.
An enjoyable cozy rom-com mystery that has delightful and quirky characters and ending with a satisfying solution for all.
Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for the opportunity to read this e-galley of "The Usual Family Mayhem".

I was sent this one by the publisher as a 'read it' and it did not disappoint! As a Casey, it was a bit jarring to constantly be reading about a Kasey, but this book had a great sense of humor, I loved the entire cast, even the annoying ones. Mags and Celia are AMAZING and Kasey and Jackson were adorable. It is a closed door/fade to black in case that matters to anyone but as someone who reads romance more for the feels than the descriptive sex scenes, it was fine by me!

I want to start by thanking NetGalley and HelenKay Dimon for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

The Unusual Family Mayhem was such a fun read! I loved Kasey’s inner monologue—it had me laughing at some of the ridiculousness, but she was such a great character. The grandmas were absolutely hilarious, and I was glad we got so many scenes with their antics, Gran especially! This was definitely a cute, cozy, mystery-esque read.

Now, my only two complaints: first, the pacing. Some parts felt really dragged out, and I found myself losing interest while waiting for something to happen. Second, and this might just be a personal quirk, but the love interest referring to his dad as just “Dad” instead of “my dad” in conversations with Kasey felt a little off. For example, he’d say something like, “I’m sorry, you know how Dad is,” which weirdly made it sound like they were related (even though they weren’t). A simple tweak to “my dad” would have helped avoid that.

Overall, I really enjoyed a lot about this book and would rate it 3.5/5 stars!

Highly enjoyed this new light romance, full mystery by HelenKay Dimon. I would die for the grandmas.

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

Did not finish book. Stopped at 25%.
I really wanted to like this book. The premise was cute, but the story was all over the place and I felt out of breath just trying to read it. Perhaps another round of edits would be beneficial to clarify storyline and prose.

This book was such a unique storyline and I can honestly say I enjoyed every second of this read. The characters were loveable and sassy at the same time. Except Harlan, never Harlan.

The second they started talking about the spread sheet and how there was a star on some of names I was thinking murder. And then they mention poison and I'm damn grandmas have a business going. This is cute story, but Kasey was giving me a headache with her thought process and constant involvement in things she had no business in. She was blundering her way in a situation that was clearly being taken care of. Like girl your about to ruin and expose your grandma's business. She got in the way at times when she should have just stayed out of things. The whole thing with Jackson, I mean she did not explain anything just that she had a crush and he wasn't interested. When I heard the full story... omg nah I was on Jackson's side what do you mean you were sixteen. I would have also ran screaming my head off while yelling ew on top of my lungs. Romance is sort of there, but it kind of became a jumbled mess because Kasey can't focus on one thing at a time. I feel like the story would have been amazing through the grandma's point of view, but it was a cute read. Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager!

I found Kasey's internal, and external for that matter, monologue to be hilarious! This little family exudes so much love. And Gram and Celia are fun feisty duo.

This book is an absolute riot; sharp, witty, and just the right amount of unhinged. Between the possibly murderous grandmas, the small-town hijinks, and the sizzling tension with Jackson, Kasey’s got her hands full in the most entertaining way possible. The mystery keeps you hooked, the humor is spot-on, and the romance? Deliciously fun. If you love a little crime with your comedy and a dash of chaos in your romance, this one’s a treat.

"People let the bob of white hair and sweet smile fool them. Amateurs."
I absolutely devoured this hilarious romantic cozy mystery! This book was non-stop laughs with an adorably unhinged always hungry FMC, sassy Southern Grandmas and a side of romance. If you enjoy the Riley Thorn series mixed in with the Pies Before Guys series, you definitely need to add this one to your TBR!

This was such a cute cozy mystery. It was over the top, and I just loved the grandmas. I didn’t love it, but overall thought it was a fun easy read.

There were some lines that bothered me a little and made me not love the story as much. I would recommend this to folks who love a cozy mystery with fun hijinks.

This was a fun book! A little slow in parts, but entertaining.

Kasey is hard up to present an opportunity at her job and throws up her grandma's baking business has a hail mary - only to have her boss like the idea and sends her back home to arrange a presentation. Once back home, Kasey can't find the courage to tell her grandma and hems and haws around a week or so - that part of the story drags, we get she isn't brave enough to mention what she pitched and it's redundant. However, she meets back up with her childhood crush and his crazy dad, who is getting himself involved in Kasey's business proposition. In the meantime, Kasey begins to think her grandma is baking up death pies and is trying to solve the mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

The Usual Family Mayhem

This fun and sweet story is packed with humor, pies, sassy Southern grandmas, and just a pinch of mystery. Kasey is a bit of a mess, but her heart’s in the right place. In an ill-thought-out attempt to impress her boss, she puts her grandma’s beloved pie business in the spotlight of a big company eager to take things national. The catch? Kasey knows her grandma would never go for it. What follows is a chaotic scramble of keeping secrets and trying to uncover what her grandma has been up to during her absence. With the help of Jackson—a family friend (and a swoon-worthy lawyer)—Kasey must figure out how to save both face and her grandma’s business.

This was an adorable story with strong female characters and plenty of humor. While I found myself cringing at the unnecessary drama that could’ve been avoided with some honesty, I get that it would’ve made for a much shorter story! The mystery element is subtle, but the banter and dynamic characters more than made up for it. Overall, this was a delightful read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Usual Family Mayhem was a fun read with suspense, family and a lot of heart! Kasey is a hot mess 26 year old who goes home on "business" when she pitches her grandmother's bakery's as a good investment opportunity. She is a free spirit with a tragic past and just can't figure out what she wants to do. Upon returning home, she reconnects with Jackson, her grandmother's partner's nephew. Jackson is a lawyer and always teasing Kasey about her faults. Kasey and Jackson suspect that her grandmother and his aunt are up to something and work together to figure out what they are up to! This book has so many different things going on: romance, mystery, suspense, family dynamic. Trigger warning: this book does discuss domestic violence and multiple characters are victims of domestic violence. I had never read a HelenKay book before and now I will definitely be going through her backlist!

Thank you HarperCollins and NetGalley for the ARC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and highly recommend if you enjoy a romance mixed with some mystery and suspense!

The premise is fun, the voice is distinct, and the writing is easy to read.

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the ARC.

HelenKay does a great job of creating characters who color outside the lines or live a bit outside the law but who you can’t help but root for. I wasn’t as sold on the romance in this one but I loved the cast of characters and wouldn’t say no to another book with the loveable scheming grandmas at the center.

Kasey is a fledgling employee at a DC business development organization, she's young and very out of her depth. When a last-ditch business pitch to her bosses results in a visit home to North Carolina to visit Kasey's grandmother and her business/life partner, everything goes topsy-turvy and turns into a mystery a la "Arsenic and Old Lace" but with a domestic violence twist. (Just *what* are the ladies up to?) Throw in a childhood crush turned grown-up hottie and there's a lot happening in this witty and surprisingly layered story.

I found this to be an engaging story overall (and you'll want to keep reading just to figure out what's going on), but I struggled with warming up to Kelsey. Her personality was frustrating and she came off as very immature much of the time. The mini-age gap between Kasey and Jackson highlighted that immaturity, as did her flightiness and avoidance in communication. The overly-prolonged evasion of why Kasey was really home for a visit caused unnecessary tension in an already semi-tense story (with its themes of secrets and a family history of domestic violence), which unfortunately impacted my overall enjoyment of the book. (I thought the second half was better than the first half.) And while I wasn't a huge fan of Kasey's, I also didn't like the serious and stable Jackson being presented as her perpetual savior always cleaning up her messes. They were intended to complement one another, but what an exhausting relationship dynamic for the both of them. There are definitely darker themes in this book so pay attention to content warnings. I did enjoy the author's witty writing style and there is plenty of dry humor and fun banter to offset the heavier moments. There are lots of layers to this story, which is a mix of tension and murder and enduring love. Reading this book made me hungry for pie and vigilante justice. If you're a fan of a friends-to-lovers slow-burn romance wrapped up in a cozy-ish mystery, with a lot of focus on baked goods, then this is the book for you! 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars for the witty writing. Publishes March 11 2025. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing an ARC of this story, this was my objective review.