I think I’m going to be an outlier with this book- but it just didn’t tickle my fancy 😕. This is another book in which I loved the author’s debut novel, “Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder”, so I was very excited for this sophomore novel- but for me personally, it just didn’t deliver. This book was quirky, and a bit erratic…

This book is about Joy Moody who owns a laundromat, “Joyful Suds”. Joy also has twin daughters Cassie and Andie, who have lived pretty sheltered lives with Joy (even though they have been very well taken care of). It is now August 2023, and Joy and the girls are going to time travel to the year 2050. Cassie and Andie have been taught many skills for their lives in the future, and Joy at the last minute prepares to go with them. However, Joy Moody has run out of time…

As Joy Moody is found dead on the twins 21st Birthday, the girls start to piece together bits of their past, as well as pieces of Joy’s past. Reading through parts of Joy’s past was heartbreaking, and I so wished for this book to go in a different direction, but the storyline just seemed silly to me. I did like the characters well enough, but I couldn’t connect with any of them. Also, when I put this book down for a break I had no strong desire to pick it back up again. I just didn’t care and somewhere along the way, I lost interest.

While this book may not have been my cup of tea (or maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for this type of book right now), I still recommend it for those who enjoy quirky, happy ever afters.
(2.5 stars)

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for a DRC of this book.
Publication date: August 19, 2025
Genre~ Women’s Fiction, General,Fiction (Adult)

A story about grief and loss and how it colors our perceptions, making us do questionable things. The characters are not lovable or likeable, profoundly flawed, but as this unusual story progresses, you learn to accept them and understand their humanity and quirks. This twisty murder mystery keeps you engaged, ever-evolving, from start to finish. Satisfying read

I love Kerryn Mayne’s quirky characters and stories! Joy Moody is really something; funny, frustrating, kooky and quite imaginative. The relationships between the twins and the other business owners on the strip was heartwarming. I enjoyed everything about this book and hated to see it end.
Advanced reader copy courtesy of the publishers at NetGalley for review.

Such a great book! I have to admit, when the book first started, I was a little skeptical with the whole time travel/from the future vibe. However, once I got a little further into the story, I couldn't stop reading! I really felt connected to Joy, the girls, and Monty as the story went on. I think the author did a great job depicting what it would be like to live a sheltered life like the girls lived. I love how the story progressed and the ending was great! There was the perfect amount of mystery intertwined with family in this story and I really enjoyed reading it! Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this ARC and to get to know Joy.

Joy Moody is Out of Time was marketed correctly as quirky! This was quirky but so enjoyable. I really found myself immersed in these pages and didn't want to return to reality.

Not for me. Too quirky, not in a good way. I felt the same way about this authors first book, both ended up being DNFs for me. I like my mysteries dark, not cute.

Joy Moody is out of Time by Kerryn Mayne, and it’s a quirky mystery that I found captivating and heart wrenching. Joy Moody has raised her twins, Cassie and Andie, within the confines of her business, Joyful Suds. Joy has always told her daughters that they were born in the year 2050 and sent back to the past to be raised by her. The plan is for them to return to the future on their 21st birthday to lead a revolution. To keep them safe, Joy enforces strict rules, with no TV, no electronics, homeschooling and limited outside interactions. As the twins' 21st birthday draws near, the urgency of Joy's predicament to make things right becomes even more intense and adds a ticking clock to the narrative.

Joy is an offbeat protagonist, who is clearly driven solely by her desire to protect her daughters. As the story unfolds, we discover she has been hiding more then one significant secret which adds tension to the plot. From the very beginning, we learn that Joy is secretly battling a brain tumor which she is not treating or told anyone about.

The narrative jumps between the present, the recent past, and years past, gradually revealing the depth of the secrets Joy has been keeping. The structure of the story kept me hooked, because I was eager to uncover not only Joy's secrets but also how the girls would cope with their mother's death and the truth about their origins.

What I love about this book is how it blends sadness and uplifting moments. Joy is such a compelling character who has literally run out of time. She’s portrayed with so much depth and nuance, making her both relatable and tragic. The emotional journey of the twins as they come to terms with the truth and Joy’s death is handled flawlessly, with their emotions depicted as appropriate and understandable.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up

I loved Kerryn Mayne's first novel, Lenny Marks, and while this was just as comforting and funny and weird and offbeat... there was a lot more suspended belief needed here than I may typically like.
I would have loved to stay longer with these characters, especially all the neighbors, to learn more about their back stories. These were the ones who were the most fascinating and engaging. It can be hard to root for a main character when they are making absolutely whackadoodle decisions on behalf of their children, and this was the main flaw of Joy Moody for me.

But overall, lovely and good!

Thank you so much to the publishers and netgalley for the arc. I anxiously await Mayne's next book.

Joy Moody Is Out of Time by Kerryn Mayne is an absolute gem! With wit, heart, and a touch of time-travel chaos, Joy’s journey is both hilarious and deeply moving. A perfect blend of humor, mystery, and emotion—this book is impossible to put down. I adored every page!

This book asks a key question: what makes Joy Moody (or indeed anyone) a kind person or an unkind person?
Joy Moosy is an extremely suffocating mother to her two daughters, Andie and Cassie. She allows them almost no freedom, and she lies to them nonstop. But she means really well. Is that enough?
To me, no. To others, and to Andie and Cassie, it’s much more complicated, because Joy is their Mum. Or is she?
Read this compelling and extremely eccentric novel to find out for yourself.

3.5 for this quirky, cozy-ish mystery with found family. Joy Moody has some big secrets and the clock is ticking on most of them. This was a unique set up with a strong start and I was very interested to see where it went. It jumps back and forth in time and in points of view, but is easy to follow as you are slowly given the pieces of the story. I really enjoyed the secondary characters of the other shop owners in the strip center and how they interacted with Joy and the twins.

I think the story might have worked better overall if the twins had been younger. Twenty one years in a suburban shop area made their complete isolation to the outside world unlikely enough that it took me out of the story, even with the given explanations. Also, I obviously don’t know how the health care system works in Australia, but can you just use someone else’s card with no ID? Genuinely curious.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy and a chance to read this early. All opinions are my own.

I loved this little oddball book! It was weird and charming and fun to read. There was a ton of bizarre in this story, which just made it better for me. It really showed the heart of this tale. Joy Moody and her wacky cast of characters were very engaging. I was so sucked in despite a slightly slow start (mostly because I’m worn out!) It was a fantastic story and I adore this author. Thanks for my free ARC in exchange for my review of the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this quirky and unique book. It's a great combination of mystery and family drama. The characters are all original, and the premise is quite bizarre. It was a nice change of pace from other books I've been reading, but there was something about the way it was written that made it seem believable under the strange circumstances. The author did a great job bringing the characters to life, especially imagining the thinking of the twin sisters who had spent their whole lives being homeschooled and not having friends their own age. Readers slowly have the events that led to their circumstances revealed, and there are multiple mysteries to solve and many red herrings along the way. As a fan of Mayne's previous book, I am happy to have had the chance to read an advance copy of this one. I look forward to reading her next book. Although this is a great book to read just for pleasure, I think it also would make an excellent choice for book discussion groups. Highly recommended!

This story is a wild ride that keeps you guessing from the first page. For the first half of the book, I wasn’t sure if I was reading a fantasy or mystery. The ending was sad and sweet and the whole book was a reminder of all the grey areas between right and wrong.

Extremely quirky and unusual characters and an odd premise combine to form a well written but strange story. This novel was not as good as Lenny Marks but was still intriguing and interesting.

Review of Uncorrected Digital Galley

Joy, sitting near the peppercorn tree, waits with her identical twin daughters, Cassie and Andie. Today the twins are twenty-one; today they’re going to be transported back to 2050.

But nothing happens and Joy declares that “something is not right.”

Joy holds secrets from her daughters; sometimes she means to set things right, but somehow the right moment never appears. And now Joy knows that, by the end of this day she will be gone.

But gone where? And how? And why?

=========

As the unfolding story slowly reveals the backstory of how the girls came to believe their mother’s claim that they’d come from the future, that they would return to 2050 on their twenty-first birthday, readers come to understand how controlling-mother Joy has kept so many secrets for so long. Beneath the seeming-craziness lies a truth so buried that readers are not likely to suspect it before its stunning reveal.

More than a story about events, this is a story about family, about commitment, about caring. It’s about a mother’s love for her children. The characters are quirky, the plot whimsical yet believable and intriguing. Readers will laugh and cry as the reasons for Joy’s isolation of the twins comes to light. Readers are likely to debate whether Joy's mothering is abusive or simply over-protective.

Readers who enjoy family drama, a bit of a mystery, and quirky characters will find much to appreciate in this sad, bittersweet, unique story.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley
#JoyMoodyisOutofTime #NetGalley

This is a cozy and intriguing mystery. Cassie and Andie are from the future, at least that's what Joy has been telling them for the past decade. When the day of their scheduled teleportation ends in Joy's death, the Moody twins try to figure what really happened and who they can trust.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

I had a fantastic time reading this book! The quirky setting of Joyful Suds, with its bright pink facade, immediately drew me in. I loved getting to know Joy Moody and her twin daughters, Cassie and Andie. The mystery surrounding their past and Joy's colorful tales kept me hooked from the very beginning.
Joy's struggle to differentiate between truth and lies added an intriguing layer to the story, and I found myself empathizing with her predicament. The anticipation leading up to Cassie and Andie's 21st birthday was palpable, and I was eager to see how their roles as future revolution leaders would unfold.
When Joy Moody's untimely death left the twins to fend for themselves, I felt their sense of loss and uncertainty. The twists and turns that followed kept me on the edge of my seat, and I couldn't wait to see how Cassie and Andie would navigate their newfound responsibilities and the dangers that awaited them.

Overall, the book was a delightful mix of mystery, family dynamics, and suspense. The author's engaging writing style and well-developed characters made it an enjoyable read from start to finish. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mystery with a touch of whimsy!

I found myself liking this book more and more as I read it and was able to wrap my head around the fact that this book was different from most of my reads. Joy, Cassie, and Andie are not your normal characters and I needed to not see them as everyday people I would pass in the street people. By the end of the book, I had come to understand what Joy had experienced and what the author Kerryn Mayne was showing me. If you have picked this book up and started it I would recommend giving it a chance to grab you. I think you will enjoy the ride.
Thank you to NetGalley and St.Martins Press for the ARC.

Kerryn Mayne’s *Joy Moody Is Out of Time* offers a captivating blend of mystery and family drama. Set in the quirky Joyful Suds laundromat, the story follows twin sisters Cassie and Andie as they confront the tangled lies spun by their mother, Joy, after her death on their 21st birthday.

Mayne skillfully balances humor, suspense, and emotion, exploring themes of motherhood and identity. Joy is a fiercely protective yet flawed character, and her well-intentioned deceptions create an intricate puzzle for her daughters. As Cassie and Andie shift from blind faith to seeking the truth, the narrative builds tension, revealing secrets at a gripping pace.

With its emotional depth and charm, *Joy Moody Is Out of Time* is an engrossing read that resonates long after the final page, appealing to fans of character-driven suspense and unconventional storytelling.