Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

This is a fun cozy mystery. And while it is a bit predictable towards the end, it is still enjoyable Valentines read. I find the characters a bit annoying at first but the plot was engaging and made up for it. While this is the 10th book in the series, it still works well as a standalone.

This fell so flat for me. I felt bored & like so many things just didn't flow. It felt like there were so many directions this could have gone but then the plot line got left behind. It could have been so much better.

This was a really fun, cosy murder mystery. There were some moments where I couldn't get past the unbelievable, but the general plot was gripping and comical enough for me to overlook it. A perfect February read. Definitely going to check out the rest of the series.

Really enjoyed this!

I went into it not realising it was part of a series, but I definitely think it can be read as a stand-a-lone.

Full of dark humour and wit, I'd recommend this one!

I have really enjoyed this writers previous books, but struggled with this one.

I still love the characters, and the setting of a valentine themed passenger train was a lot of fun.

My main problem was that the plot meandered all over the place, and lost momentum for the middle 1/3 of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing me with a eARC to read and review.

February Fever by Jess Lourey is a well played spin on the locked room mystery.

Will Mira find the murderer before a little girl is taken out?

Mira James
Our sleuth is Mira James, a Librarian from a small town in Minnesota. She and her friend are off to Oregon for a Private Investigator conference. They are taking the Valentine Train through the mountains to Portland. However, as the last few months have started, Mira comes across another dead body. So, now she knows it isn't the small town where she lives but her. She is attracting dead bodies. At least, that is what Mira now thinks. Yet, even with all the guilt and confusion, Mira sets out to find the culprit.

I like Mira. She is a good detective, and I like hanging out with her friends. Mrs. Berns is a hoot. These two create some hilarious scenarios. But seriously, Mira should have skipped the fish while on the train.

The Mystery
Ms. Loury planned out the scenes well and kept me guessing. Mira and her friends are running around a train stuck in a snowstorm, looking for a killer. Ms. Lourey had me guessing on whodunit until Mira found out. I did suspect that person before but then dismissed it as there just didn't seem to be a connection.

Four Stars for February Fever
My rating for February Fever by Jess Lourey is four stars. I enjoyed the mystery and the humourous situations the ladies got themselves into. I also like that the crew tried to keep everyone occupied and out of the investigators' way. I recommend this book to all mystery fans. I guess I will be adding the rest of the series to my TBR list.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of February Fever by Jess Lourey.

Until the next time,
~Jen

If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out Baroness Book Trove.

I love a good cozy crime book as a palette cleanser between more serious reads and Jess Lourey's Murder by Month series always delivers on that. "February Fever is a lot of fun with a nice Valentine's touch. The characters are as enjoyable as ever!

You can't have a smash hit without a Mrs.Berns. Jess Lourey did it again just this time traveling. In February Fever she sets Mira and Mrs. Berns on a trip well if you know Mira's history then you know there's a body coming. There's always a body. The storyline was well written and executed nicely. The story was entertaining. A few slow spots but nothing that could ruin the story. Hands down a great read. Be sure to have tissues handy.

This was a very cozy laugh out loud mystery. It made me feel like snuggling up in front of a fire with a hot chocolate while reading. It was funny, mysterious and the characters felt like old friends.

Jess did a really great job with these cozy mysteries. I loved the plot & the characters. Everything comes together smoothly and i enjoyed reading them.

Perfect themed book for the month. I loved being in the February mood.

The book February Fever gave me murder on the orient express vibes. With the PIs on the way to a conference are helping the police with figuring out a murder and missing person event that happened on the train.

All the way up to the end the book kept me guessing. I had no clue till I went to make my review of this book that I was book number 10 of a series. This really makes me want to go back and read them all! This can definitely be read as a stand alone as well which was really nice. The book had a great mixture of drama, fun, and love.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Mira, Jed, and Mrs. Berns go on an adventure via Ameritrain when Johnny takes a once in a lifetime internship in Oregon. Mrs. Berns surprised a broken hearted Mira with an all expense paid trip on the Valentines train from Minnesota to Portland to attend a P.I. conference, and of course see Johnny. As luck would have it, Mira can't get away from dead bodies, A lady in the sleeper car beside her is found dead, her husband and small daughter are missing. The train Conductor enlists Mira, two other private detectives, and Mira's "assistants" to help solve the case. Mrs. Berns and Jed had some pretty funny moments when they weren't busy with trip activities or investigating. Mira finds herself in another life and death situation, and she suffers great loss. Throughout the trip, she is reminded of her childhood friend who was abducted in front of her and never found. She must come to terms with past trauma, and new trauma. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It had me internet searching train trips, different type of train cars, and planning my own adventure on a train with a group of friends. Not many books have inspired me in such a way!

First book that I've read by this author and I wasn't disappointed. I like settings on trains, this was an adventure. Fast paced, funny at times, even a little sad. I'm glad I chose to read it. I would recommend.

I love a quick Mira James adventure!

Mira and Mrs. Berns end up on a cross country adventure on a Valentines train to Portland. Wherever Mira goes, bodies shall follow, so now they are trapped on a murder train that is snowed in somewhere between Montana and Idaho.

This one a little different than the others, one Mira in seeing a little girl on the train because haunted by a memory of her past that really give you insight to her character and second the ending was so sad and unexpected.

This overall was a little less lighthearted than the others Murder by Month series, but I loved the fast paced cozy mystery just the same.

Jess Lourey’s February Fever is a cozy mystery that throws romance, humor, and murder onto a snowbound train, making it sound like a dream getaway—until people start dropping dead.

The premise? A murder on a train, a missing family, and a protagonist who really just wanted to attend a PI conference and meet up with her boyfriend.

Classic case of “plans gone horribly wrong.”

Mira James finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery when a woman turns up dead on her train, her husband and child vanish, and rumors of an escaped convict spread.

With the train stranded in the Rockies, Mira has to unravel the mystery before she becomes the next casualty.

Lourey blends humor with mystery, but the comedic tone sometimes undercuts the suspense. Mira is witty and likable, but some side characters feel underdeveloped.

The pacing is uneven—strong start, sluggish middle, decent ending. The "Murder on the Orient Express" vibes are fun, but don’t expect groundbreaking twists.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3/5) – A light, entertaining read—more cozy than thrilling.
Great for casual mystery fans!

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer publishing house for this book, the latest installment in the Mira James mystery series.

What a unique setting for a cozy mystery. I love the departure, pun intended, from the standard cozy mystery settings. Mira. And the gang really had me guessing right along with them up to the end.

This is well written, with a well planned mystery filled with red herrings and lovable character characters. A refreshing to have a departure in setting and I can’t wait to read more in this series.

I love how unique these are! Yet they all flow so nicely into the next book. This was like a locked door mystery on a train. So good.

Thank you to the author, Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My apologies for the delay in posting, I had several familial health challenges to contend with in the past months.

I didn't realize this was part of a series until I started and while it can be read as a standalone, there are obviously some gaps if you aren't familiar with the backstory. Our female main character is a librarian taking classes to become a PI because - in her small town, natch - she has found a dead body and solved the accompanying murder mystery every single month for who knows how long. On her way to a PI conference by train, she of course encounters - what else - a dead body on the snowed-in train. It's a fast read and mildly amusing, but I found the characters (each in their own way) almost a caricature of themselves. That wore on me after a while.

The book was the tenth in a cozy murder mysteries series and it is as great as all the other ones...

Thank you NetGalley! This has to be my favorite installment of the Murder by the month series. I can’t wait to continue reading the rest while following Mira James