I enjoyed "Bless Your Heart" and its "The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires" adjacent vibes. I think I gave it 3.75 stars. This one was much in that same vein, but I found myself not as invested, and ended up DNFing around 70%. I really don't have any concrete critiques, just that I wasn't as absorbed as I was before and once (mild spoiler) additional monsters besides vampires came up and I wasn't even curious, I realized I should put it down. I think I'm just not in a good reading mental space lately, so I may return to this and try it again at some point. I'd say it probably would've been around a 3 stars, so even though I usually give DNFs 1 star by default, I read so much of this that that feels harsh.

WHAT ELSE WILL WE FIND OUT ABOUT THE SECRETS THE EVANS WOMEN HAVE BEEN HIDING?

Down to two Evans women left and they thought the worst was over unfortunately something else is stirring up the town and this time they think it really is a wild animal until they see the bodies coming into their funeral home and if the undead frenzy was bad before this mess will be something they cannot handle on their own and the new sheriff will discover everything he thought he knew from the earlier killings will be absolutely nothing in comparison with the new role he has to accept as his new fate when the mutilated bodies keep turning up and coming back to life which he could never have imagined in his wildest nightmares!

I enjoyed this book so much! The likeable and misunderstood characters are very well developed and colorful. Atmosphere galore! This book could be read alone although I would recommend reading the first book "BLESS YOUR HEART" first, so you have a full understanding of the prior characters and the roles they played which brought about the second book "ANOTHER FINE MESS" in this series. These storylines are unique and the writing and storytelling are just excellent. I certainly hope the author 'LINDY RYAN' will have a book three coming out soon plus many more to be written in the this absolutely horrifically fun, gory, shocking, creepy, amusing, entertaining and unusually endearing if one can imagine experiencing all those feelings and more from a horror book! Thank you so much 'LINDY RYAN' for sharing your wonderfully, bizarrely, strange, creative thoughts which you captured on paper and I am now a big fan and will continue reading your books in the future.

I highly recommend to all horror lovers and others as long as the readers have strong stomachs and a great sense of humor!


I want to thank the publisher "ST. MARTIN'S PRESS - MINOTAUR BOOKS" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this digital copy and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have given a rating of 4 1/2 HORRIFYING AND MESMERIZING 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌠 STARS!!

Another super adorable cozy horror from Lindy Ryan. This book picks up very shortly after the events of Bless Your Heart and we find out that there are even more secrets that are being held by the Evans family.

I love the nostalgia of these books and the way that things are done in the family's small town. Keep going Lindy Ryan. I love your work!

While not as satisfying as Bless Your Heart, Another Fine Mess was nonetheless a fast, entertaining read. I trust that there will be a third title in the series, to tie up some unsatisfactory "endings." Many thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur books for the chance to read the eARC.

The Evans women are back, and Lenore Evans makes the bold decision to bring in an outsider to augment the staff at the funeral home. It's soon after the end of book one, and though Lenore and Luna are still dealing with their grief, the Evans' duty to keep the peace of the town by making sure the dead stay dead never stops. Roger, the former deputy Sheriff, was unavoidably brought into the secret and now also shares in the Evans duty, by making sure weird occurrences are hushed up.

This becomes a little hard, as something new is in town, and people are dying in messy ways, and pets are disappearing. Though the conventional narrative is of a rabid wolf, Lenore knows something else is up. There's also a wolf expert in town from the university, and it's getting harder to keep the rabid animal story going the more bodies turn up shredded.

Much like the first book in this series, author Lindy Ryan is playing with the horror and cozy mystery genres, by keeping the tone light even while the mutilated body count rises. Lenore and Luna must cope with the situation, and we also have others, including Luna's black-coated friend from book and a couple of surprise additions, who must deal with the steadily worsening problem.

I went back and forth between the book and the audiobook, and loved the way Stephanie Németh-Parker brought all the characters to life. We get the wry humour and determination of the matriarch, the tense unhappiness of Lenore, and Luna's grief and struggle to meld what she knows about herself with understanding the new threat in the town.

I love the strength of the bonds within the Evans family, and how ordinary their mission is treated by them, no matter how gruesome and scary it gets. Ryan injects lots of humour throughout, and balances the dark with the funny, and with the poignant, making this a touching story that moves fast and totally entertains. I hope we get more stories about the Evans women.

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio and St. Martin's Press for these ARCs in exchange for my review.

This is such a fun sequel, and I was so thrilled that I was approved to read it. Since the first book, Bless Your Heart, I've been thinking of the characters and wondering what happens next...

After the tragic events of one month ago, the remaining Evans women try to cope with their losses and move on from the past. However, another monster is on the loose, and the dead are not staying dead.

This was a fun, quick, and gory read that I devoured - I was so happy getting back to this family of women and their secrets.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for this ARC!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my review copy!

This was a hard to put down read! It was funny, gritty, gory, and very descriptive! Haha. I would offer trigger warnings for animal/kid discussion, but somehow the way Lindy Ryan wrote things, it's not in an overly dark way.

I would recommend if you don't mind gore and dark humor!

Another Fine Mess is the 2nd-book in Lindy Ryan's Cozy Horror-Mystery series, Bless Your Heart. This adorable, yet slightly graphic series, is set in small town-Texas in the 90s. It's a series my Horror-loving, Cozy Mystery-obsessed heart didn't know it needed, but now adores with wild abandon. I can't say too much about the plot without potentially giving away important aspects of the 1st-book, Bless Your Heart, so I'm going to keep this short and simple.

Basically, these books follow the women in the Evans family, who own and operate a Funeral Home. This is a very important job, because in their small town, the dead sometimes rise and they're not happy. It's the Evans job to make sure they stay dead and buried. While the 1st-book was more of a vampire-esque story, this one has the town believing that some sort of hybrid-wolf is on a rampage, killing townsfolk and possibly stealing pieces of their bodies. It's a bloody mess.

We follow the Evans women, and a few of their allies, as they try to determine what's actually going on, and stop it before more innocent lives are lost. The deeper they dig however, the more it seems this killer may be somehow connected to them, but how?

I thought this was so entertaining. I listened to the audiobook again and love Stephanie Nemeth-Parker's narration. It's such a great fit for this series. I highly recommend the audio format.

To me these books have the perfect mix of Horror, heart and Mystery. The Horror aspects are mainly contained within the kill scenes and the supernatural elements. Other than that, it is all Cozy Mystery. I think Ryan does a great job of blending those two worlds together, and I know a lot of Readers, myself included, absolutely adore both genres. Having them together like this is just such a delight.

Even though I don't find the mysteries to be particularly memorable, I still love reading them. It's not something that's going to stick with me until the end of time, but I don't really need it to. I read for entertainment and to escape from real life for a while, and Ryan definitely provides me that escape with these stories. I walk away a happy girl!

Thank you to the publisher, Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I'm really hoping this series continues. I would love to spend more time with the Evans women. I feel closer to them now than ever!

The cover makes it seem like this novel is going to be a cozy mystery with a werewolf but don’t be fooled! 😂

This is actually a horror novel with humor, gore, mystery, and family. The author was not afraid to take out a character. Or 10 😂. Like no one was safe!

I had some trouble following along with the lore, I didn’t realize this was a sequel and diving into this without the context of the first book was not impossible to follow, but that background at a slower pace and fleshed out would have helped. I’ll have to back track and pick that one up from the library.

But regardless, the was an enjoyable listen and clearly ends on a cliffhanger for the next book.

Thank you @netgalley and @minotaur_books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Another Fine Mess is the sequel, continuing the story of the Texas town in the late 1990s under attack by a form of zombies. It’s bloody and gross but it is sort of campy and funny at the same time and also so clever and unique. It is the only way I didn’t get squeamish. The characters are a hoot and I love the small town vibes and interactions even as they are battling the dead coming back to life.

It’s time to pick up the trocar, grab some butterscotch candies, and step into the Evans Funeral Parlor once again.

In this book, we join the Evans women after the harrowing events of Bless Your Heart. Things are not all fine and dandy. Instead of things calming down, the Evans have more of a mess to deal with. They’re trying to adjust to their new situation, not to mention the strange things that keep happening. Pets keep going missing, the dead keep rising, and there are no answers to be found. The Evans team up with the new sheriff to try to keep the town safe from whatever monster is prowling.

Ahh, what a joy it was to be welcomed back to the funeral parlor. I loved getting to spend more time with some of my favorite vampire slayers.
I liked that the story started with a glimpse into the past. From there the narrative changed POV between the characters in present time. I found all the POVs to be engaging.

In Another Fine Mess we get more of everything I loved about the first book: supernatural creatures, family drama, heartbreak, and sass. I loved getting to know more about the family history and the reasons as to why the town constantly has the dead rising. This book kept me wanting to know more. I really enjoyed the development of the side characters this time around too, especially Kim Cole with her Black Cherry lipstick and black liner.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read with a lot of heart. It can be hard to live up to the first book in a series but this was an excellent sequel. Definitely start with Bless Your Heart and then move onto this one, otherwise you lose a good chunk of the story.
This book managed to surprise me several times which added to the fun.
One particular part reminded me of Casper. I won’t go into detail but it was such a good scene that it’s been stuck in my head ever since I read it.

Despite the gory scenes in the story, this is kind of a cozy read for me. I’d recommend this to those who love thrillers, are starting out in horror, or are wanting a little bit of a palate cleanser in between more disturbing books.

I’m really looking forward to the next book in the series.

Thank you so much to Lindy Ryan for providing me with a print ARC. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for the eARC.

I just finished Another Fine Mess by Lindy Ryan @lindyryanwrites Book 2 of Bless your heart series and here are my thoughts.

Evan's women have an important job… Making sure the dead stay buried and after the loss of 2 of their family members… It’s up to Luna and Lenore to keep the fight going. Trouble is… Something is out there tearing people to shreds.. It’s not something they have seen before but the trouble is coming right to their door and they are the only ones who can fight whatever monster it is and keep the town safe.

I liked the first book. I went into it blind and had no idea it was a southern vampire horror with cozy vibes.. But I enjoyed it. So this time round I got the audio and the kindle… When I read a book, I have a tone and voices in my head… Moving into audio upset my balance haha. Once I got past the change the audio was soooooo much better than I could have hoped for.

I really love Luna in this installment. She didn’t sit well with me in the first book but I really started to warm to her and now I love her! It’s a lot to bury family and she managed to stay on point. Lenore was great the whole time and I absolutely adore Ducey. She is cranky and a bad ass! It’s hard to blend genres and keep a balance but there was some really emotional moments, some chuckle worthy moments and some carnage! It’s a win win win.

Yes it’s a cozy horror. I know that seems oxymoronic but it was so good. I don’t even know if it’s a real genre but it’s coined now haha. I love the southern charm, the generational family magic and the fact we were introduced to what appears to be some kind of werewolf!! HOWLLLLLLL…..

It was great. I cannot wait for book 3! Honestly if you love southern vampire reads.. Give this a go.

4 stars

Thank you to @netgalley @minotaur_books and #macmillanaudio for my gifted arc and alc!

#anotherfinemess #lindyryan #blesssyourheart #anotherfinemess #vampirebook #paranormalread #horror #cozyhorror #bookreview #bookishreviewer #bookblogger #readingallday #readreadread #justonemorechapter

While I was excited to get a sequel to Bless Your Heart, I had no idea what was going to happen after the way the last one ended. I have to say it definitely exceeded any expectations, and with the way this one ended, I hope we get more of the Evans women and of this small, strange town they protect.

Another Fine Mess finds us about a month after the events of Bless Your Heart, we are down two Evans women, and while it won't bring them back, at least they stopped the big bad terrorizing the town. At least until animals start to go missing and begin being found.. You know, not alive anymore, they could possibly, maybe, be animal attacks until people are next on the attack list, and they are definitely dead, and it's you know, probably not an animal attack. But what is it? Is the question.

It's up to the Evan's women left, along with a few other surprising people to help figure out what's going on, and man, do they have their work cut out for them.
I found this story highly entertaining, emotionally devastating (for both myself and the characters involved), and at times had me laughing out loud.
I love this world that Lindy Ryan has created, and I hope we get more books and I get to learn more about the past and see what other horrors are lurking in this small town.

*Another Fine Mess* cracked my heart open and stitched it back together with laughter. Lindy Ryan masterfully blends horror and humor into a story that feels both wildly magical and painfully real.
At its heart, this is an intergenerational tale about women — messy, strong, stubborn women — who hold their family and their town together even as the world around them crumbles. It's a novel that sings with the beauty and chaos of connection, and with the kind of love that isn't clean or easy, but unbreakable.

The late '90s setting hums underneath everything like a half-forgotten song, bringing an oddly tender sense of nostalgia. For me, living in rural Virginia, the portrayal of small-town life — its isolation, its tight-knit loyalty, its strange magic — felt deeply personal and achingly familiar.

Ryan's horror will sneak up on you when you least expect it; the humor will save you just in time. One page might break your heart, and the next will leave you laughing out loud through the tears. Her characters are unforgettable — the kind that set up camp inside your chest and refuse to leave. I already can't wait to tumble back into this beautiful, broken world she's created.

**Content warnings:** graphic gore, animal death.

If you love stories about messy families, haunted pasts, stubborn hope, and the fierce, complicated women who keep the world turning, *Another Fine Mess* should be at the top of your list.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur for the advance copy. All opinions are entirely my own.

This was a wild, wild ride. I figured not much could get crazier than the first installment of this gory, funny, over-the-top series, but Lindy Ryan managed to siphon a bit more into the tank! I can’t wait to read the next one!

This cozy mystery had me giggling and suspicious in equal measure. It’s giving Hallmark vibes with a side of homicide, and honestly, I ate it up. The main character is nosy in the best way, and the dialogue had that snappy charm I live for. A cute, quirky whodunit with heart—and tea. Lots of tea.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I don't normally pick up horror books (I'd put The Shining in the freezer very early on, let's put it that way), but this one was the right amount of creeps, gore, and humor. The walking dead just keep coming, and the Evens sisters just keep....doing their thing. Even though I haven't read the first book, the second book still made sense--took me longer, but I still enjoyed it, particularly the multigenerational Evans women and the addition of the unflappable Kim.

Good read, would recommend to anyone looking for horror but not something that will keep you up at night.

This series is full of horror and humor, it’s a horror cozy mystery. This was a great sequel that picks up pretty much where the first book left off. Something I predicted would happen came true, two parts brought tears to my eyes, and I didn’t guess who the monster was too far in advance. I will give a word of warning there is a lot of death in this book of both the human and animal variety, all of it pretty dang gory (be warned).

I do think you really have to read the first book to fully enjoy and understand this one. I can’t wait for book 3!

**Thanks to the author and Minotaur Books for the e-arc I received via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.**

This was a fun dive back into the world of the Evans women! If you liked the first book, you will probably enjoy this one. The author holds nothing back, and no one is safe! I really enjoy the use of non-traditional monsters in this world. I thought for sure I knew what was really going on, until it became too obvious and then I realized it had to be something else. So that's actually nice, because it keeps you on your toes and doesn't get too easy.

I will say, the opening sequence with the cat was a bit heartbreaking. I could've done without the copious mentions of pet deaths. If that bothers you, then just be prepared for that.

I hope there is a follow-up book!

Pre-Read notes

This is an arc that got away, but didn't get very far! This book is available now. I was drawn to this one because of that excellent cover! I like reprisals of Little Red Riding Hood and I'm excited to see how Ryan will utilize the source material.

Final Review

Review summary and recommendations

I just couldn't connect! It's on me though, I misjudged this one by the cover. A great read if you're a fantasy cozy mystery fan!

Something similar that I really enjoyed is Cackle by Rachel Harrison (my review!).

Reading Notes

Two things I loved:

1. Humid nighttime air tongued Pie’s cheek as she made her way to the edge of what remained of her family’s property. The shovel stood where she’d left it staked in the ground, right where the moonlight touched grass, where the green grew a little coarser than the rest. p6 Gorgeous descriptive writing!

2. Ghost wolves. Roger’s eye twitched and he fought not to look at the bright pink MISSING PET flyer tacked to the café’s bulletin board. Normally rabid animals would be Animal Control’s problem, but the whole town had gone on red alert over this elusive critter that Lenore convinced him to blame for last month’s attacks. The station’s phone hadn’t stopped ringing since. p46 Okay so it's not what I thought, and still a great scary creature! (Also, this passage contains the word "twitched", one of twenty-seven iterations of it throughout the book. I hope it turns out that the repetition is intentional and clever!)

One quibble:

1. This book is a little convoluted – it's just drowning in detail that is more distracting than enhancing.

Notes:

1. This book has nothing to do with Little Red Riding Hood, my b.

2. Here're my content warnings: animal death, excessive blood, gore,

3. This book is the second in a developing series. I have not read the first book, and I don't recommend doing it that way. I feel like I'm playing catch-up!

4. DNF @ p157 – I'm picky about fantasy and this one isn't for me. It's on me though, I totally misjudged the book by its cover!

Rating: DNF @ p157
Recommend? yes, for fantasy readers
Finished: Apr 21 '25
Format: accessible digital arc, NetGalley
Read this book if you like:
🪄 contemporary fantasy
🐺 werewolf stories
🔍 mysteries

Thank you to the author Lindy Ryan, publishers Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for an accessible digital arc of ANOTHER FINE MESS. All views are mine.
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