"From the author of the beloved novel Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder comes another quirky and irresistible crime novel.

Strange things are happening behind the bright pink facade of Bayside's premier laundromat, Joyful Suds, home to Joy Moody and her twin daughters.

For much of their lives, Joy has been lying to Cassie and Andie. What started as a colorful tale to explain how the twins came to live with her grew over the years and was always something she meant to set straight. Joy really did think she had more time. Worse still, Joy is struggling to define the truth from the lies.

The girls have long believed they are vital to the future and must stay hidden to stay safe. Joy has told them that their impending twenty-first birthday is significant; they will step into their roles as leaders of a revolution and life as they know it will change. Joy was right - everything will change, just not in the way they expected. On Andie and Cassie's birthday, Joy Moody is found dead and her girls face a world they are not prepared for without their mother. Joy Moody is out of time... in more ways than one."

Unless she helps her children from beyond the grave...

Much like Mayne's Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder, Joy Moody is Out of Time had me from the very beginning. In one of the reviews quoted in the front matter of this ARC, someone described Lenny Marks as both heartwarming and heartbreaking, and I think that's a perfect description of this book as well. A complete gut punch of a book, but I couldn't put it down. The titular Joy Moody runs a laundromat in a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, and she has raised twins Andie (Andromeda) and Cassie (Cassiopeia) in almost complete isolation because she tells them that that they are actually from the future, and that they will have to return to their real timeline and real parents on the day of their 21st birthday. The book opens on that day as the three of them wait to be transported to the future, but it doesn't happen. I honestly had no idea how this story was going to unfold and would never have predicted most of it. Told through alternating perspectives (mostly Cassie, Andie, and Joy) and at different points throughout Cassie and Andie's lives, the story that unfolds is engrossing and truly so sad, but with a lot of lot of heart. I cried more than once, and I wouldn't recommend this for someone looking for a light, fluffy read. But if you're in the mood for something a little heavier and pretty engrossing, this is a good one. Content warnings for death (on page), marital infidelity, serious illness, and substance abuse (off page).

This was a really unique book about an isolated family of three and how a family story becomes unraveled. It had good characters and as well-written. I love the idea of chosen family coming together.

This was an odd novel, and one I had a bit of trouble with, but in the end appreciated and enjoyed. I had been quite excited about the time travel aspect of the story and the raising kids in exclusion idea from the blurb. But it didn't really deliver or live up to the concept. I found the first half very slow and a bit dull. I found the concept interesting but I had trouble with the slowness of the unveiling and the lack of intrigue. I actually put the book down halfway through and was ready to not finish it, as it felt disappointing and I wasn't connecting with the story or main characters. I found some of the side characters to be cartoonish - the uncle in particular could have used a lot more nuance.

That being said, I did pick it up again after a few days and the second half felt much better, once there was a bit of a mystery to focus on. I liked the parts from the detective's perspective and it might have been more interesting to stay with her. I would have liked to see more depth and more intrigue into why Joy was the way she was, what led her to her decisions - there was just something missing for me here.

I can’t give a proper rating because I DNF.
I just couldn’t get into this book and each night that I opened it I struggled to stay engaged. I see some great reviews but this could just be a case of right book, wrong time but it’s more likely that the build up to the ending just took too long for me.

Not gonna lie—the cover totally grabbed me, and I’m so glad it did. Thankfully, the story inside lived up to it.

Joy and her twin daughters, Cassie and Andie, live a quiet, secretive life tucked behind their little laundromat. With just a few neighbors and customers in their orbit, Joy keeps a tight grip on their world. But her hold on reality—and her health—isn’t quite as steady, especially as her love for sci-fi starts to blur the lines between fact and fiction.

This book was a lot of things: frustrating, sad, heartwarming, and weirdly cozy. It took me on an emotional ride I didn’t expect, and I’m really glad I judged this one by its cover.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Joy Moody is Out of Time is quite the quirky little story. I enjoyed it on the whole, although some parts were a little odd and rushed/didn't seem to fit the story. The twins' relationship with the neighboring business owners and the sweetness discovered there redeemed a lot of the story.

I requested Joy Moody Is Out Of Time purely because I loved Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder. I didn’t bother to read the blurb. Which led me to wondering just why the heck I requested a book that seemed to be about time travel. But no fears. This is not a sci-fi story.
Joy Moody has been lying to her twin daughters for their entire lives. She meant to eventually tell them the truth of how they came to be her daughters and that it didn’t involve bringing them back from the future. But she never quite got around to it. Now, it’s the lead up to their 21st birthday, the day they’re meant to return to the future. And time is running out in more ways than one. To go into any more detail would be to spoil it for others.
The book is described as a mystery and a crime thriller, but those aren’t really accurate descriptions even though there is a murder investigation. At heart, it’s much more of a family drama. Mayne has managed to craft a heartwarming story without veering into saccharine territory. The three women all have their quirks and their faults.
This character rich story explores motherhood, responsibility and trust. I came to love all the main characters; and quite a few of the secondary ones as well. Mayne has a comfortable writing style and each scene was well thought out and easy to envision.
My thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this book.

Joy Moody Is Out of Time by Kerryn Mayne

Joy Moody will do anything for her girls, twins Cassie and Andie, who will be turning 21 soon. The girls have not had normal lives because their mother has had to protect them from people who may be hunting them down from the future. Because the girls have been isolated their entire lives this is all they know and they have nothing to tell them any different than what their mother has always told them.

But now things are changing. Joy is changing. She's getting confused, mixing up her stories with facts, beginning to believe what she has made up. Just what did she make up? It's impossible to know what is true, what is made up, and just what is going on with Joy and her daughters.

During Part I of the story, I wasn't sure I liked what I was reading. I like slow burns, I like stories that don't just lay everything out at once, but the first part didn't give me an assurance that what we were going to learn would be all that interesting, especially since we were getting so much from the viewpoint of a woman I didn't trust one iota. But then Part II comes and I became more invested in the story. Once Part III arrived, I was hooked. By then we will have lost an important character but we gain a few new characters and I wanted to know what happened and what was going to happen, even if I already had my suspicions.

The story takes time, it needs the time for it to set things up, and then the goods get spilt and all will be known. I like that even with several people who have had rough starts in life and made really bad decisions, the story shows that people can change, not all of them but some of them. For all the holding back Joy Moody does with her daughters, in the end she can't hold back anything, especially where her own life is concerned. This made for an interesting buddy read with Jayme, DeAnn, and Mary Beth.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for this ARC

Joy has told her daughters a lie their entire lives- they are from the future and will return there when the girls turn 21. Her twins believe her because of how isolated Joy kept them throughout their lives. This story was more character driven than I expected. While there are so many plot lines (they all eventually tie up nicely), this novel is about family at its core.

I enjoyed this quirky little mystery, although not as much as Mayne's first book, Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder.

I found the laundromat setting rather peaceful and soothing, in contrast to the dark and mysterious elements of the book. I found the twin girls somewhat unlikeable, but in a <i>bless your heart</i> sort of way that kept me hopeful for them.

Joy Moody made me so angry. Still, by the end I fully understood her motives. It takes skill to weave together such a compelling character arc to challenge the reader and bring them around to understanding.

At exactly 4:39 PM, on August 1, 2023 Joy Moody and her twin daughters, Cassiopeia and Andromeda (named for stars) will be leaving behind their premier laundromat, and home, “Joyful Suds” to travel through time to the year 2050. 🌎

The girls have grown up being told a FANCIFUL TALE-that they are vital to the future and must stay hidden to stay safe until their 21st birthday, when they will finally be ready to step into their roles as “daughters of the future revolution”. On that date, at the designated time- life as they know it will change.

But, instead, Joy Moody is found dead.

Told in FOUR parts: 1️⃣ Life in a Laundromat, 2️⃣ Death in a Laundromat, 3️⃣ Dear Customer (see the acknowledgement page) and 4️⃣ Under New Management with an epilogue called JOY 🩷🧼 this is a UNIQUE story about a woman with a brain tumor who now believes the story she has spun amongst the sudsy wash cycles in their pink laundromat. (See the adorable book cover)

And, because she has kept her daughters “safe” in their very SMALL ( home schooled) WORLD-they are ill prepared to take on the very BIG WORLD that they now find themselves in, and must rely on FOUND FAMILY, their three neighbors to navigate what comes next.

Will they be time traveling on their 21st birthday or will time catch up to Joy’s tall tales?

And, what EXACTLY was Joy really keeping the twins safe from?

I enjoyed the ORIGINAL premise of this book, and I love books with themes of FOUND FAMILY but I think the book could have been packed more of an emotional punch if the relationships with neighbors Monty, Linh, and Ellen had been more fully developed.

Still, when we learned the truth about each loose thread, I closed the book satisfied with how it was all wrapped up, and can recommend this to readers craving something a BIT DIFFERENT from the many books out there to choose from. 🌎

Available August 19, 2025

3.5 stars rounded ⬆️

Thank You to Kerryn Mayne (Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder) and St. Martin’s Press for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts!

Joy and her twins, Andie and Cassie, live a sheltered life running a laundry mat in a small beachside town believing they will be taken to the future any day now. Joy is Andie and Cassie’s mother, teacher, and boss. They’re 20 but have barely entered the world although they are smart and clever, they don’t realize how deep their mother’s secrets go. However, things start changing with Joy and some twists and turns leave her dead, taking their lives down a mysterious path that changes everything. The small housing/business units where the laundry mat is consist of a few different and interesting characters who come together as found family providing support and community in a very odd and difficult time. I wasn’t sure about the book at first because it was very unclear where it was going but once I got into the flow of the writing and story I did not want to put it down. This book gave me some hope and heartbreak with its lyrical writing, multiple POVs, and plot twists. This story had a little bit of everything; Difficult relationships, love, mystery, complicated family, sickness, mental health, found family, and, of course, joy.

I absolutely loved Lenny Marks, and had hopes this book would be similarly enjoyable.

It wasn't unenjoyable, but it was very forgettable. It felt like a few books in one. Tried to be Thursday Murder Club with a little sci-fi. The middle turned the second half into a completely different book.

It just felt like too many ideas that didn't come together terribly well.

I wasn't as intrigued by this one as much as I liked Lenny Marks, but it was still a very enjoyable book. I don't want tl give too much away, but there are several times this book goes in a direction you wont quite expect.

I'll continue to check out future books by Mayne!

Wow! I will be honest, it took me quite a bit to get into this book but it was absolutely worth it! I would definitely recommend this book! The ending was amazing. This book was full of different emotions and surprises.

Joy Moody runs a laundromat called Joyful Suds with her twin daughters, Cassie & Andie. The girls have known all their lives that Joy is not their biological mother and have been expecting to time travel on their 21st birthday to the year 2050 to meet their parents, along with Joy. However, Joy dies on their birthday, leaving them to figure out life and piece together their past. Joy Moody is officially out of time, can her girls figure out life before it’s too late?

This was a cute book. I wouldn’t go as far as saying I couldn’t put it down because in reality I put it down a lot and then kind of forgot to pick it back up. The characters were likable enough and definitely had some growth but nothing that I would say left a huge impact on the reader in my opinion. The story itself was a combination of heartfelt family tale and mystery which worked just not enough to make me care of much as I would have liked.

Wow. Joy Moody Is Out Of Time is such a unique story and it took me on an absolutely wild ride. I think a lot of people are going to love this one.

Joy Moody has been telling twins Andie and Cassie that they are from the future and will return to the
year 2050 on their 21st birthday. While devoted to the girls, she has kept them isolated with
homeschooling, lack of electronic devices and who they are allowed to associate with. When Joy is
found dead, the police are called in to investigate the cause of her death and the reason for the girls'
isolation will be revealed. Story of a woman's love for children left in her care .
#JoyMoodyisOutofTime #StMartinsPress #KerrynMoody #NetGalley

Thank you, St. Martin's Press, for providing the copy of Joy Moody Is Out of Time by Kerryn Mayne. I don’t think this book was for me. It felt uneven and I didn’t get involved in the story until about 30% into the book, but it didn’t last. I vacillated between enjoying it and being bored. I’m not sure if it was the writing or my lack of connection with any of the characters, but while the story had promise, I didn’t love it. 3 stars