This was a fun cozy mystery set at an English Crime fiction festival.

Crime writer Jane Hepburn is committed to finally giving her writing career the boost that it needs by putting her books front and center in the bookstore tent at the Killer Lines Crime Fiction Festival. She never imagined that she'd be tripping over the dead body of her agent, the generally reviled Carrie Marks. With the assistance of Daniel, the agency's intern, and new up-and-coming novelist, Natasha Martez, the mighty trio draw on their crime writing skills to solve the murder. Virtually, everyone in attendance has a motive. The question is, can Jane and her team solve the murder before everyone departs at the end of the weekend.

This was a typical cozy mystery with its many red herrings and lots of potential suspects. The sleuthing team gathers intel and ponders motivations and opportunities of each of the potential perpetrators. The writing is good, the story is amusing. It did get off to a rather slow start but the final scenes are a wild ride and quite good. This would be an enjoyable read for every cozy mystery fan.

I am grateful to publisher, Knopf, for having provided a complimentary copy of this book. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.


Publisher: Knopf
Publication date: June 17, 2025
Number of Pages: 352
ISBN: 978-0593803004

This was a very good mystery and I would love to see this become a series because I really want to read what’s next for these characters.

A murder at a thriller author award ceremony? Count me in. This book had everything I love; a crime, a group of crime solvers, and twists and turns like crazy.

I had ideas throughout the whole book on who the murderer could be but I was wrong every time. I will definitely be reading more from this author!

Author, Jane Hepburn, is attending the Killer Lines Festival in the hopes of making the the main character in her mystery series a household name. When she stumbles upon an actual murder, she will have to use the skills of her main character, and some help from her new friends to solve the case. I loved the setting and the characters in this novel. Jane makes several diverse friendships throughout the festival, and they all ban together to help solve this mystery. It was humorous and had a good pace.

Welcome to the Killer Lines Crime Fiction Festival, the place for star writers of the genre to meet their adoring fans. But be careful—this year the murders don’t take place just on the page.

Jane Hepburn is a forty-something mystery author but not a wildly successful one. She wants to make her fictional private detective’s crime-solving abilities known to everyone. In other words, she wants her fiction to be in demand. And she sees her chance at the Killer Lines Crime Fiction Festival in Hoslewit, England. Her plans are to sneak into the book tent after festival hours to rearrange the books so that hers are up front where they will receive more attention.

But she finds way more than she bargained for when she slips into the book tent that night. She finds the murdered body of Carrie Marks, a literary agent. And this isn’t just any literary agent: it is Jane’s literary agent. Jane decides that she must find out who did this horrible thing. After all, she does write mysteries, and her fictional detective always solves the case. This isn’t fiction though: it is real life.

Carrie Marks was loved by some and hated by others, so how difficult could it be to find the guilty party? With the help of her friends Daniel and Natasha, she begins her sleuthing. But she is at a festival for crime writers, and each one has a motive along with the knowledge how to commit a crime and get away with it, at least in a book. Turns out this might be more difficult than Jane anticipated.

Red herrings galore make it a challenge the to figure out just who is responsible, and it was finally revealed in a very tense and exciting way that some of the characters were lucky to get out of alive. The ending was fantastic! I hope this is only the first of many mysteries that Jane Hepburn solves. I want to read them all.

A Novel Murder was a great read, thoroughly enjoyable with lots of humor throughout. I got my ARC copy from Netgalley, and I do recommend this book.

DNF @ 20%. I love a good cozy mystery, especially one set in the publishing sphere, but this didn’t hit for me. The writing is solid and I got the feeling the story would progress at a decent pace, but it just wasn’t grabbing me. It’s written with a lot of snark and cynicism which becomes tiring after a while.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this advance copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This book was right up my alley. A cozy, murder mystery at a crime themed literary festival that reads like a locked room mystery, even though it isn't. There was a fun setting, loveable characters and of course murder. The plot was slow paced and dragged at some parts. However, the quirky characters, humor and friendships made up for it. The actual murder mystery was decent and kept me guessing. Overall it was a 3.75 ⭐ read and would recommend it to any cozy murder mystery fan!
Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for providing an advanced copy of this book for review

She was just trying to move her books to the front table. Someone left a perfectly good dead body where she'd trip over it and now she has to solve the crime or do the time.

A great debut of a fun series that I'm looking for to reading again.

This is a cute and cozy murder mystery. The MC, who appears to be the only real 3 dimensional character, is an enjoyable lead.

A not too successful author, Jane writes about a detective that does very well in her field. With a murder at the local book and publishing fair, she realizes that her character comes from within her and utilizes that ability to help solve the murder mystery.

Done with humor, this book is a cute little palette cleanser and a fun weekend read. I gave it 3⭐️.

As always, I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin Publishing for allowing me to have an advanced ebook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A Novel Murder is an ok cozy mystery. The characters are good and the setting and subtle satire of the crime fiction world are excellent. The only issue is that there are so many red herrings and the story just kind of keeps going and going and going. The book was both enjoyable and yet kind of a slog...

A Novel Murder by E. C. Nevin
#fiftyninthbookof2025 #arc #anovelmurder #booksaboutauthors

CW: death, murder, foster system, arson, animal death (off the page), adultery

From NetGalley: In the quaint English town of Hoslewit, the biggest names in crime writing have congregated to celebrate all things bookish and murderous. Author Jane Hepburn is determined to make her time at the Killer Lines festival worthwhile. This is her chance to change her fortunes and make her fictional Private Detective Baker a household name. And if she has to resort to sneaking into the book tent after hours to rearrange some books so hers are front and center, so be it. But when Jane encounters the dead body of renowned (and reviled) literary agent Carrie Marks, the festival takes on a decidedly different tone. Joined by Carrie’s newest client, debut novelist Natasha Martez, and the agency’s hapless intern, Daniel Thurston, Jane decides to put her fictional sleuthing skills to use in the real world—she’s going to solve the murder. But the list of suspects is long: seemingly everyone at the festival has a motive to kill Carrie, and the more Jane and her new friends investigate, the closer they come to a dangerous truth—one that’s stranger than fiction.

My thoughts: I really loved this one! Jane is very likable and her insecurities are really believable. I love a story that takes place around books and the book festival setting was really enjoyable to read about. This one leans slightly cozy, and I’m starting to really enjoy that kind of story. They’re a good palate cleanser for the darker stuff I read. I didn’t guess the ending, but looking back, I could see the hints throughout the story that led to the killer. This was a nice easy read and worth your time.

Thank you to @aaknopf and @netgalley for the advance copy. (Available now, pub date was 6/17/25)

I really enjoyed this book and thought the writing was fantastic. Perfect blend of mystery and humor. I only knocked a star off because I didn’t feel like Sarah would have fallen for the fake phone call at the end.

A Novel Murder was a fun dive into the world of publishing and writing conferences. When Jane Hepburn goes to the Killer Lines Crime Fiction Festival, she expects to talk about her murder mysteries. Instead, when she discovers the dead body of her agent, she finds herself embroiled in one. Well-developed characters, rich setting, and just enough snark to make this a fun read.

A Novel Murder by E.C. Nevin is a suspension story about an author named Jane who shows up at a book conference after being ignored by her agent. However, when she sneaks into the book tent before opening to make sure her books are prominently displayed, she finds the dead body of a hated agent. While typically a wallflower, Jane tries to find her confidence as she and her new found friends try to solve the mystery.

I enjoyed reading this story. At times, I felt the pacing was a bit slow, but I became invested in the story and in Jane’s growth as a character. I thought the ending was well developed with its twists and turns.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for access to an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

The characters are interesting. I particularly enjoyed Jane, who was relatable with her insecurities and ups and downs. The plot was clever, and I appreciated the author’s consistent tone throughout the book. It was enjoyable to witness Jane’s efforts to solve the murders alongside her newfound friends. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

My review is voluntary and all comments and opinions are my own.

The idea of crime authors solving a real crime drew me in and brought me on a silly, goofy adventure in this cozy mystery. Giving it a 4 out of 5 stars.

What sells this story is that the characters make mistakes (a lot) and are imperfect themselves, which adds to the whimsy of the story. Despite being a murder mystery within a murder mystery, the story is lighthearted and there are enough twists and red herrings to keep even the best detectives on their toes.

First time reading this author and I enjoyed this book.
Started a bit slow for me but then it picked up the pace and was a fun mystery read that kept me entertained. Would have liked a bit more to the story but overall it kept me in my mystery reading binge.

This cozy crime novel was outstanding!
The story keeps twisting and turning and you learn something about each character that builds to the final story ending.
This book will keep readers engaged and guessing on multiple levels from start to finish.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who likes a good cozy mystery.

A Novel Murder, by E. C. Nevin

“And what was that Detective Inspector Ramos on about, saying someone wouldn’t be killed over a book? Doesn’t he understand how important books are?”

This book was such a treat! It took me until about 10-15% to really get into the story line and recognize the characters, but once I did I was hooked.

Jane Hepburn is a mystery writer… but not a very successful one. She is attending the Killer Lines Crime Fiction Festival, with hopes of making connections and speaking with her agent. On the first night, Jane goes to the book tent to display her books in a more prominent place and stumbles upon her agent- with a knife in her chest.
Jane makes new friends, and they band together to try to solve who wanted (or who didn’t want) Carrie Marks dead.

I loved the character development, the red herrings, and the overall coziness of this novel. I am really hoping it becomes a series!
4 stars and I will definitely be recommending this to my friends!

“when you wake up, you never now how that day will end. It’s that fact that makes life both terrifying and wonderfully exciting.”

“she is off to meet her friends, and together they are going to solve a murder. How thrilling!”

“Murder isn’t everywhere. It’s actually rather rare. Even among writers.”

Knopf provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.

At a mystery convention, Jane, a struggling writer, finds the body of powerful but hated agent Carrie Marks. She teams up Carrie's newest client, Natasha, and the company's intern Daniel to try solve the murder.

I enjoyed this book. At times it was a bit slow, but that did allow for you to get a look in depth at the characters. It was told from various povs which was confusing to keep straight at times but I really liked it because you got an outsider's take on a character and than the inner voice of the character that showed their insecurities and scars. Jane, in particular, grows during this book from being terribly insecure and lonely to having friends and with more belief in herself. It was also fun to get a look at the inside of the publishing world.

The mystery was solid with plenty of possible suspects and the mandatory twists.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Knopf Publishing provided an early galley for review.

I was intrigued by the plot concept (a murder at a murder author festival). Stories about authors and publishing are also in my wheelhouse. So, this was difficult to resist.

Nevin presents the reader with an interesting cast, both in our mystery-solvers and potential suspects. I like how the narrative viewpoint shifts around, keeping the reader informed of who is doing what when but also keeping the mystery in place. From her own experiences in the publishing industry, she also injects the story with plenty of insider details and references that resonate.

I enjoyed the story and writing enough to keep the author on my radar for the future. Per the author's website, there is a sequel in the works - A Killer Plot.