Welcome to the world of writers, publishers, and agents. Lots of unpleasant character turn out to be a great source of hilarity, and a few who don't recognize their value gain insight and confidence by working together to solve a real murder. Parts of the story seemed a little too "insider" to me, but the well-done investigation, and the witty and Laugh Your Sox Off lines really did it for me. Hope the author polishes things up and makes this a series!
I requested and received a free temporary uncorrected proof on NetGalley Reader PDF from Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor via NetGalley. Pub Date Jun 17, 2025 #Lotsoffun #England
#ANovelMurder by #ECNevin @aaknopf @pantheonbooks @vintagebooks @anchor.books #NetGalley #CozyCrime #KillerLinesCrimeFestival #Whodunit #BookishMystery #newseries #booksaboutbooks #mysteryauthors #friends #investigation #amateursleuths #murder #witty

Thank you for the opportunity on reading an early copy of a novel murder. It was a slow burn for me in the beginning but about 20% in it really picked up for me. I really enjoyed the plot . Definitely recommend

First thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy of this book. I was not a huge fan of this storyline and it seems to drag on a bit, and veer back and forth between all the suspects a bit too much for me. First it is one person, wait then it is another person, and on and on. Overall, it was just ok and I didn't connect to the main character as much as I thought I would.

I ended up DNF this one only about 15% of the way though. I loved the concept of it but I feel the execution of it fell flat. I did not like how every other sentence started with Jane, I get its written in 3rd person and I've read many 3rd person but I have never seen one so repetitive. I also feel like the little bit of humor i did read also just was not hitting how I think it was suppose to.

Fun, twisty book with a great setting. Authors, agents, a book festival in the English countryside. What’s not to like? We follow our main character Jane, a crime author who struggles getting attention from her agent and editor and then works to solve a mystery of the murder at the book festival. With new friends and a new found confidence, we see Jane blossom and grow. A fun book!

This clever cozy mystery is set at a murder writers' book festival. The plot is great. In a book tent, Jane Hepburn stumbles on the body of her agent and sets out to find the murderer. There are seven possibilities, all well-written characters with motives. The plot kept me guessing. I loved seeing Jane's confidence and self-respect grow as the story unfolded.

Thank you, E. C. Nevin for writing this extremely enjoyable book. Please write more. Thank you, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor, and Net Galley for the advanced copy of this entertaining book.

I love a good cozy mystery, and I was excited to receive an ARC of A Novel Murder by E.C. Nevin. In this one, our amateur sleuth, Jane Hepburn, is a socially awkward author of mystery novels who attends a literary conference to promote her work and of course finds the slain body of her own neglectful agent. Great setup!
Jane is shy and feels out of place, especially because she has to wear the yellow badge of Visitors because her agency didn’t even pay her way as an Author. Soon enough she teams up with an unlikely duo or friends – a fellow author and an intern at her agency – and they begin to poke around into the murder. learns the value of friendship, culminating in a satisfying blend of mystery and personal growth.
This was a fun read, and it’s great to see Jane start to take risks and grow her confidence throughout the book. It was a solid and amusing mystery with a satisfying ending.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy of A Novel Murder, set to be published in June of 2025.

Three stars. This is a solid mystery. With seven suspects, it kept me guessing to the end. I love that the book is set at a book festival and special touches like names of drinks served at the fair. They are quite funny. The book feels overly long and scenes of an escape room and a lunch served in a clue-like mystery are distracting. There are also two mentions of Elon Musk/Tesla which are annoying to me given the current environment. Jane's character reminds me Briget from Briget Jone's Diary and I hope to read more about her in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC.

It was a struggle to get through this book for me. The problem wasn't the writing, it was that I hated the main character. And pretty much all the other characters. I didn't like how judgemental and rude everyone was. The main character kept comparing people's appearances to animals, which was very icky and she just kept doing it all throughout the book. I was really hoping that Jane would have an arc and would grow on me, but it just never happened.

The mystery was fine, nothing too exceptional, but it wasn't a terrible mystery either.

When I picked up this book I was really hoping that I would fall in love with the setting. That didn't happen. It seems like the author thinks that everyone in the publishing industry is just the most miserable, horrible person who hates everyone else in the industry.

This book's style of humor was really not my cup of tea, but I think some other people would enjoy it.

There were some interesting experiment l writing choices that didn't particularly land for me, but I appreciated that the author was trying something different and fresh.

Overall this book wasn't what I hoped it would be, but I think that other people would really enjoy it as long as they gelled with the main character.

This book was so much fun! Who doesn’t love a cozy murder mystery? It takes place in a book festival. The characters are over the top. The plot is great. You have a great experience your FMC Jane is trying to solve a mystery of who killed her agent, and just goes on an adventure with her new friend Daniel and Natasha. This had me laughing out loud so many times.. Jane is shy. She doubts herself, but it all works out and it’s just a good time. Can’t wait to buy a copy when it comes out in June.

A cozy mystery with highly entertaining story, characters, and writing!
The idea of a murder occurring at a crime fiction festival made me smile before I even picked up the book, and the opening sentence confirmed my feeling that A Novel Murder was going to be very entertaining. I read it to my husband, and he laughed out loud! The rest of the book lived up to those expectations.
The characters are wonderfully drawn. Author Jane Hepburn, who finds the body while on a secret mission to increase her book sales on the ship, is the main character, but many chapters present the perspective of the other characters as well in ways that make them also come alive. For example, a short passage in which editor Kimberly Brown muses about taking on Jane as a project says quite a bit about both women!
The writing overall was quite good, with some nice chapter endings. My copy of the book is full of passages I underlined because they seemed so aptly done. I am a fan of well-done humor in a book, even one about murder, and I found a lot to like. It was interesting to hear the writers discussing the business of writing and publishing and elements like how to get themselves known; I am guessing that these probably reflect real life. I was a bit disturbed at how much alcohol everyone consumed and hope that this is not reflective of real life in the profession. A very small touch that I appreciated was that the date and time are provided at the beginning of each chapter, which is especially helpful when the perspective moves to a different character.
Okay, but what about the plot, the most important element of the book? It did not let me down. There are plenty of clues and analyses by Jane and her two partners in crime-solving that could implicate a number of the guests on the ship, giving the readers opportunities to solve the puzzle along with them. The denouement was quite a reasonable one.
As the book ends, Jane muses that she is still uncertain about the future of her books but is grateful for her new friends and looks forward to having them in her future. I hope readers like me will also have Jane in our futures with another enjoyable read soon!
I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley and Alfred A. Knopf.

Absolutely delightful! I truly hope this is the beginning of a whole new cozy crime series because I already want to return to this world.

Welcome to the Killer Lines Crime Fiction Festival, an annual gathering of mystery writers nestled in a charming English village. Among them is Jane Hepburn, a mid-list author on her fifth book and desperate for her big break. Jane is relatable, witty, and has just bit of hustle—especially when she sneaks into the book tent to rearrange her own novels into a more “strategic” position. Fiction turns real when she discovers the body of her own literary agent, Carrie Marks.

What follows is a classic whodunit with a modern twist—there’s a touch of Agatha Christie, a dash of Richard Osman, and a whole lot of bookish fun. I adored the setting, the quirky cast of fellow writers, and the tongue-in-cheek insider publishing references sprinkled throughout. Jane and her friends make for an unlikely but lovable sleuthing team.

This is one of those mysteries that’s fun without being fluffy—smart, well-paced, and just begging for a sequel. Perfect for fans of cozy crime, literary festivals, and stories where authors become the detectives.

#KillerLinesCrimeFestival #ANovelMurder #ECNevin #Whodunit #KnopfPantheonVintage #BookishMystery #CozyCrime

A Novel Murder was really delightful. I enjoyed getting to know Jane the protagonist as she got to know herself. There was enough suspense surrounding the murder to keep the reader wondering and enough interaction among the characters to pull the reader in.
Thank you Ner Galley for the ARC.

I received a free DRC of this book through Netgalley. I liked seeing Jane getting more confident throughout the book and making friends with Natasha and Daniel. I thought the mystery was different and kept my attention too. I would read more by this author.

I picked up A Novel Murder by E.C. Nevin on a whim, intrigued by the clever title and the promise of something a little different from your average crime read. What I got was a surprisingly layered mystery that blended the literary and the sinister in a way that felt both refreshing and quietly unsettling.

The story centers around the literary world—writers, critics, the tangled egos and insecurities that come with living and working in that space. What starts as a sharp look into this insular community slowly shifts into something darker, as a murder pulls everything into focus. It’s not flashy or overly dramatic; the novel leans more on mood and subtle tension than on action. That restraint actually worked in its favor, making the moments of revelation hit harder when they came.

Nevin has a gift for creating atmosphere. The characters are intellectual, flawed, and deeply human. No one is entirely innocent, and that moral murkiness makes the mystery more compelling. You’re not just trying to solve a crime—you’re unraveling people, trying to figure out who they really are beneath their carefully constructed personas.

I appreciated how the book plays with the idea of narrative itself—how stories are told, who gets to tell them, and what we choose to leave out. There’s a quiet self-awareness to it, like the novel knows it’s part of a tradition but is also nudging at the edges of it.

This was such an entertaining book! It was exactly the type of read I needed right now: a quirky and witty, cozy English mystery with fun characters. There were laugh-out-loud moments, as well as poignant moments. I loved Jane and I hope we hear more from her in the future.

After the initial pages, I found myself not connecting with the story or characters, so I decided to pass on this book. Did not finish

Fun cozy. Particularly enjoyed growth of protagonist. But too many suspects for murderer. Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for ARC.

Jane is a less than successful author, but is attending a mystery themed literary event in an attempt to bolster her books. Jane is insecure and shy and the event doesn’t start well when she isn’t on the author list and has to pay for her entry for a guest pass. Of course, Jane finds a body and is about to go home, defeated. She meets a fellow author and an agent’s intern and makes friends and they determine to investigate together. Throughout the book, we see Jane gain confidence as she realizes she doesn’t have to be alone and can be someone other than Plain Jane.
This was a good mystery and also a good story about friendship and the difference that can make. Thanks to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor and NetGalley for the ARC.

3.5/5

This is definitely what I would consider a cozy mystery. This follows some bookish characters and some bookish murder.

I did really enjoy the setting of this book, I crave a cute little village in the English countryside. The girlies yearn for the English countryside. And to make it even more cozy, this specifically takes place at a book festival in the English countryside!

This had some pretty funny conversation and dialogue too, I did quite enjoy that.

I did want some more oomph from these characters though. They felt a little too flat at times, they were fun, don't get me wrong. But I love when characters feel so real and these didn't quite do that for me. We meet some authors, book critiques and all sorts of bookish people, which was very fun and relatable, but they were a tad flat.

Overall, this was a fun cozy mystery for the book lovers.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.