I love a nice cozy as a change from the usual more violent or graphic novels I normally read. It's nice to be introduced to a new author, and possible series.

A mystery author, of a not especially successful series, attends a book festival to network and attempt to meet up with her agent. Sneaking into the main tent to try to arrange her own books in better locations she discovers the body of that same agent. Rather than returning to home she decides to prove she is just as good as her fictional detective. This doesn't endure her to others at the festival or the police.

I didn't hate it, but didn't love it either. The pacing was sloooow, where at times I wanted to just skim it or give up all together. Jane's growth as a character was great to see, as in the beginning, she was a tad annoying to me. But, I ended up enjoying her growth most out of the entire book.
A good cozy book when you need something to pass the time.

Overall it was good book. I didn’t love it I didn’t hate it. It was slow at times. But it’s a good cozy mystery. I loved the setting. Having it a crime fiction festival was super fun!

It’s obvious that the author of A Novel Murder, a debut mystery, knows her way around the publishing industry and literary festivals. This isn’t a cozy mystery, but it’s a traditional one with likable characters. And, uncovering characters and their truth is what the story is about.

Jane Hepburn is a mid-list author with six mysteries in a PI series. But, she’s never put herself forward or sought publicity. Now that her mother, her closest friend, is dead, Jane forces herself out of her comfort zone to attend the Killer Lines Crime Fiction Festival in Hoslewitt, where the biggest names in the crime fiction world, along with agents and publishers, will be gathering. Jane feels lonely and insecure. She sees herself as a “mediocre novelist, perpetual singleton, socially awkward giant.” She has no idea that the murder of her literary agent, Carrie Marks, will force her out of her shell.

A lot of people in the industry have reason to fear and hate Carrie. But, it’s Jane, sneaking into the book tent at 5:30 AM to move her books to a more prominent spot, who finds Carrie’s body, stabbed with a dagger. Once she’s talked to the police, Jane is ready to go home. In fact, she’s on the train when she runs into a fan who knows her books, Daniel Thurston, an intern at her publishing company. Daniel convinces her the two of them can solve the case. What would Jane’s PI do? They return to the festival, and join forces with a rising star, Natasha Martez. Together, they’re determined to find Carrie’s killer.

But, how do they know who has alibis, and who is telling the truth? In fact, Jane has a moment of doubt when a suspect asks her if she and her cohorts even know what they were each up to when Carrie was murdered.

A Novel Murder is a clever, insider’s look at the publishing world. It’s a complex mystery in which three amateurs join forces to uncover secrets and the truth. This is a treat for readers who appreciate the stories behind our favorite stories.

A Novel Murder by E.C. Nevin offers a cozy mystery with a classic setup and a bookish charm. While some plot elements felt familiar, the setting and premise were engaging, and the story moved along at a comfortable pace. (I received an advance reader copy and all opinions are my own.) A solid read for fans of traditional mysteries looking for a light, entertaining escape.

This was a cuteish cozy mystery. Authors are gathering for the Killer Lines festival and Jane Hepburn is attending for the first time. She's feeling like she might be loosing her agent for her books so she decides to sneak into the book tent after hours to move her books to a more advantageous spot. In doing so, she stumbles on the dead body of her agent. Jane tries to get into her detective characters shoes and works to solve the murder. In the process she gains some friends and some confidence she didn't previously have.

I found this to be a nice easy read that kept me entertained.

A murder mystery set at a crime fiction book festival?? Sign me up!

Jane is an author whose detective series isn’t getting much traction. She’s just found the dead body of a literary agent at the festival. What should she do? Join forces with some fellow festival goers and put on their detective hats of course!

I loved the cast of characters Nevin delivers for this story from our main star, Jane, to our social media famous author to our willing-to-do-anything assistant. Each person felt utterly unique and their interactions with each other were genuine. There’s a delightful mix of comedy and introspection among the group that allows the reader to feel at home and committed to tagging along with our sleuths.

In addition to a great cast, Nevin has chosen a location that is sure to appeal to readers of the crime fiction genre and one that we don’t see often. A book festival gives the depth of characters needed for a decent amount of suspects to investigate, but the small town location helps to keep it feeling isolated and removed from the day-to-day of regular life.

This one was fun, cozy, and entertaining. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more from Nevin!

This book took me a little while to get into. I don't think I've ever read a "cozy mystery" before. The writing style reminded me of a pair of satires I've read, and I think it's mainly that several of the characters felt like caricatures, or were at least described in a way that felt exaggerated, like in satires. I also got a little defensive when the main character was first described, because she's a six foot tall woman and it sounded like the author was going to be negative about that. By the end, I think the author did a really good job of showing the character's height as one of the things about herself that she is insecure about, but something everyone else either thinks is great/attractive or doesn't really notice or care about. So as a man who married a beautiful six-foot-tall woman, I accept this. I enjoyed Jane's characterization and growth as she realized she is worth more than she gives herself credit for, and I enjoyed the bits of other people encouraging her and "discovering" her. There was a point where I realized I was really rooting for her to be successful in both solving the murder and in her career.

It was an interesting setting, and meta in many ways: our heroine is a crime writer caught up in a murder mystery; a murder occurs at a festival of authors (many of whom write that kind of story); most of the characters are in writing and publishing and the author talks about two prominent characters who are in publishing and are each secretly writing novels of their own, and if you read the credits of this story, "E.C. Nevin is a pseudonym for an ex-publishing professional." So even if exaggerated, I see a lot of truth in the characters across the publishing world in this book, lending legitimacy to the story.

Overall, I had fun reading this book and thought the main characters were very likeable and easy to root for.

authors gather at a book festival and murder ensues. They are gathering clues and suspects to investigate. Lots of twists and turn, complex interesting an quirky characters and a fast past story make this a page turner and a must read!

Following her mother's passing, and long-time relationship ended, due to cheating by her boss/boyfriend, 42-year-old author Jane Hepburn finds newfound courage to attend the lively Killer Lines Crime Fiction Festival, where she hopes to connect with her recently unresponsive agent and editor. Her plans take an unexpected twist when she stumbles upon the murder of her agent, Carrie Marks. With the police not following the clues obvious to Jane, she takes it upon herself to solve the murder and, if successful, be celebrated by her peers and hopefully revive her career. Jane finds moral support from her agent's intern, the young and extremely handsome Daniel, who is not only a huge fan of her work but also genuinely believes in her talent, and her newfound friend Natasha, an up-and-coming star author everyone is eager to sign. Together, they embark on this journey to solve the murder, discovering friendship and courage.

E.C. Nevinn's debut novel is filled with moments of laugh-out-loud humor and an abundance of twists and turns that keep readers guessing until the final page. Jane's relatability makes it impossible not to root for her as she builds her confidence and forges genuine friendships throughout the story. While cozy mysteries aren't typically my preference, this one captured my enjoyment, and I hope to see Jane and her friends return in a series. I'm eagerly looking forward to more!

A Clever Whodunit Where Fiction Bleeds into Reality

Killer Lines is a sharp, witty mystery that pulls back the velvet curtain on the world of book festivals with a body count. Jane Hepburn, an underdog author with more ambition than book sales, finds herself in the middle of a real-life murder investigation that reads like one of her own thrillers. With a quirky trio of amateur sleuths, endless literary egos, and more red herrings than a fish market, this page-turner is a love letter to crime fiction and a sly jab at the industry itself. A delightfully meta mystery full of charm, secrets, and the ultimate writer’s fantasy: turning a murder into a breakout hit.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Although Jane is not a character for everyone to love, I felt she was probably more down to earth and realistic than most. Everything I've read about the publishing world is cutthroat. So kudos to E.C. Nevin for that. I do wish the pace moved more quickly. But overall a good cozy. Thanks #Netgalley and #KnopfPantheon,VintageandAnchor for the eARC in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are mine.

I disliked this immensely. It started off with a fast pace, but I came to loathe the main character. She is a sad, dithering woman, struggling to be noticed by her publisher, editor, and pretty much everyone else at a crime writers awards weekend (think Bloody Scotland). It reads like an episode of Murder She Wrote, only less campy and therefore less fun. The prose is okay, the investigation tedious, and the solution an annoying cliche.

I had no idea before reading this book that publishing was such a cutthroat occupation! Jane Hepburn is the main character of the book, an author who has written six books in a crime fiction series. Her book sales are disappointing, and Jane hopes to get more attention for her books by attending the Killer Lines Crime Fiction Festival (and also sneaking some of her books into a display of the most popular books).

There are authors like herself, book readers, literary agents and their interns attending the festival. Jane also intends to speak to her agent who has not been returning her calls. Then she finds the dead body of Carrie Marks, a prominent literary agent, slumped over at her station in one of the tents. She had been stabbed with a dagger. Carrie had numerous enemies.

Since none of the people there were allowed to leave the premises, Jane and two other people at the festival decided to try to determine who the killer was. I was never able to guess the identity of the killer. This is the first book I've read by this author, and I am looking forward to reading more by her.

I received an e-arc from the publisher Knopf and voluntarily read and reviewed it.

This was a delightful read. The plot is ver engaging, however the pacing is rather slow for me and I found my mind wondering a bit as I read.

What a fun read! In "A Novel Murder," E.C. Nevin delivers engaging characters, confusing clues and a delightful murder mystery.

Jane is a not-very-successful mystery writer who travels to a crime-writing festival determined to take action to improve her writing career. Instead, she stumbles upon a dead body and soon becomes immersed in trying to solve the crime, just like the fictional detective in her books.

I received an ARC of this book and waited entirely too long to actually read it. Now, I am hopeful that the author has started on a sequel. I am eager to go on another adventure with Jane and her newfound friends.

Jane is relatable, smart and flawed. Lots of characters translated into lots of suspects and a bit of a juggling act in trying to keep everyone straight. The conclusion was simultaneously out of left field and telegraphed early on.

All in all, it was fun.

𝑨 𝑵𝑶𝑽𝑬𝑳 𝑴𝑼𝑹𝑫𝑬𝑹 𝒃𝒚 𝑬.𝑪. 𝑵𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒏 is a jolly whodunit with a flawed and ever-so-insecure protagonist that one cannot help but root for, #gifted via @netgalley from @aaknopf & published June 17th.

Jane is an author in her 40's who is generally happy to be somewhat invisible. The flagging interest in her crime series propels her to sneak into the Killer Lines Crime Fiction Festival. It does not go smoothly, however, and when Jane finds her prickly agent with the Crime Dagger Award in her chest, she has to decide if she has it in her, like her crime-fighting character, to search for the truth!

While this is a charming cozy murder mystery, it also seems to cast a wink to the publishing world, including influencers, but without feeling too critical. Jane herself is the real star of this story. It is a second coming-of-age wrapped in a mystery with lovely side characters and an ending I did not guess.

Overall this was a safe, comfort read that was well done. I am not sure that it is top tier cozy for me, but still enjoyable! I'd definitely recommend it for fans of the genre.

Real Rating: 3.3* of five

Nice writing with a good balance of description and action. Fun, silly, cozy plot. Enough touches from the publishing world to make me feel a tiny wisp of nostalgic longing.

Slower pace than I prefer. Not really invested in the sleuth...she doesn't have "It" for me, whatever that "It" might be. Side characters just fine but pretty predictable.

Knopf asks you to spend $14.99 for an ebook. Might be worth it if you really enjoy books about books and publishing.

Who knew the publishing world is so cut-throat. Set in a quiet small town at a crime fiction festival with a cast of quirky characters, this was a fun read. I really enjoyed how Jane's, the main character, confidence grew throughout the book.. She considered herself almost invisible and lacked the confidence in herself, not just was a writer, but as a person. As Jane and her new friends try to figure out who the killer is you're taken on a journey where everyone is the killer, or so it seems.

If you like amateur sleuthing and cozy mysteries, then this book is for you.

I received this advance review copy from NetGalley & the publisher for my honest review.

If I'm allowed only three words they would be - Loveable, querky, cozy. This was a fun read. It did take some time for Jane to grow on me, but she did and in a big way! I loved all the zigzags in trying to figure out the murderer. A lovely little mystery surrounding a book publishing festival in a quaint town. I was particualarly happy that Jane gained new friends and they all grew into themselves as the story unfolded. Jane choosing the red dress! OMG! That was desperately bold and hilarious! This book didn't make it to the "I love it" level, but I really did enjoy the ride. So for me it's a solid 4 out of 5 stars.

Story conains:
Self loathing, little or no confidence, trying to fit in, murder and attempted murder, cozy mystery, sleuthing, friendship, books and festival.