The opening line by Jane Hepburn, a forty-two-year-old, six-foot-tall, struggling author in E. C. Nevin’s A Novel Murder entices immediately with Jane finding the dead body of her literary agent, Carrie Marks, at the Lines Crime Fiction Festival in the English town of Hoslewit. Jane thinks of herself as ‘plain Jane’ – now alone after her mother’s death, awkward, unremarkable, and realistic that she is friendless. Yet she believes in her seven-book mystery series featuring smooth, successful P.I. Sandra Baker. Jane was determined to track down her literary agent at the Festival and press forward with her books with Baker’s confidence and firm expectations. Unfortunately, her agent had not been responding to her inquiries for months. Now Jane never will hear from her. Jane believes her literary sleuth would have solved the murder and she can too. Time to be bold.

There is a common cozy mystery cast of characters introduced, most all possible suspects since Carrie Marks was loathed by many including other agents, writers, reviewers, publishers, employees, ex-friends (for the most part), and ex-lovers. Jane befriends two members of this cast – an up-and-coming but down-to-earth debut mystery writer, Natasha Martez, and a young intern of the murdered agent, Daniel Thurston, who is a fan of Jane’s books. The trio decide to solve the murder mystery together, with zero experience or tools – just confidence in Jane. What follows is an expertly devised jumping from possible suspect to suspect as they pick apart alibis and evidence. The tale twists, the killer strikes again, and the three realize this is not without risk for them or others. We watch the clock as Jane does. Chapters are by day and time, possibly following a suspect, amateur sleuth, or police inspector. This works well, as fears and thoughts of others fill in possible motives and backgrounds. The denouement at the “Murder Mystery Lunch” is intense and finely written. In the end, Jane’s life is altered - with new friends, a brighter outlook on her writing future, and her own stronger confidence and self-worth. She is the draw in the book, a character that elicits compassion, hope, and empathy. The rest are supporting characters. The resolution is not only a murderer is caught, but Jane is a realized, developed, confident person.

With a current wealth of literary-industry-based books, be they writer-involved-mysteries or cozy-bookstore scenarios, this is a unique and engaging story. The well-placed dark humor permeates this enjoyable book (how many other mysteries have an inspector with Twix chocolate on his nose?), the twists and turns knit together without getting jammed, and the literary references are a reader’s joy – including a room with a view.

I am grateful to Knopf and NetGalley for early access to this winning book. This opinion is all my own.

Many thanks to Netgalley for this book. I received this book in exchange for my honest review. My thoughts are entirely my own.

3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I thought the book was interesting and I was curious about what happened in the book. But Jane wasn’t my favorite even though she seems to be the main character in this and some of monologues and the way she was portrayed wasn’t my favorite. I did love the found family aspect. This book was also pretty slow paced until you get about 70-80% through the book but it was also nice to see Jane and her friends make a few more mistakes than what is typical in a cozy mystery so I think I will see what happens next if we get a follow up and how Jane and the others progress. I’m glad that Jane and her friends made mistakes but were able to make up for them in such cute ways.

I found A Novel Murder to be a fun, whodunit. I loved the quirky characters set among a literary background. A crime novel festival where an actual murder took place made it more entertaining. The author did a great job casting doubt on multiple people and doling out just enough about the actual murderer that I didn't guess who it was but once it was revealed all the tidbits came back to me. I just adored MC Jane and her trio which included Daniel and Natasha and all of her character growth. I would love to see this become a series and take part in other cozy adventures with these characters and the rest of the unlikely friends she made.

I would rate this book 3.5. Jane is a lonely mystery writer whose books are not selling well. She decides to attend a literary festival to see who she will meet. Instead she stumbles on the dead body of her agent. She makes some new friends who decide to try to solve the mystery. After all they do this for a living they should be able to solve a real murder. This is where the fun begins.

This is a cozy mystery that has many moving parts. We see the perspective from different characters but Jane is the one we want to get to know. At times the story is a little slow but then becomes very interesting. It seems to be on and off. I would still recommend giving this cozy mystery a try.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #ECNevin and #PenguinRandomHouse for a copy of this book.
#ANovelMurder

This was a super cozy and cute read! I only wish I’d read it during the Fall so that I could fully embrace the feel of the setting. When I read that this was a locked room mystery set at a book festival, I was immediately in. Because it features amateur sleuths, there are some Thursday Murder Club / Only Murders in the Building vibes. The mystery kept me guessing and I enjoyed the friendships that develop throughout the book. The meta elements involving books and the publishing world were well done. If you’re looking for a cozy, engaging mystery novel, I recommend checking it out!

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars

I really enjoyed this mystery! It was a bit hard to get into, but once I did it was really fun. I could have done without the other narrators, honestly, which is the only mark against it. As we got further on in the book almost everything was from Jane's POV, which was much better.

Jane is a delightful character, but does seem too hard on herself for my taste. Once she started to get more confident and believe in herself she actually made a lot of headway with the case and her life. Her collection of rag-tag writers/editors/staffers were quite fun and as the group grew it was more and more charming.

Overall, a solid mystery and a delightful read!

I think this book has a lot of potential, but also it seems a bit clumsy. The main character write mystery novels for a living, but doesn't seem to know how to actually investigate things and can't remember what the different is between motive and intent. The premise is good and a number of the characters are likeable, but it just falls flat through the dialogue. With the number of characters to keep track of, it starts to plod on a bit unlike most mysteries which are a faster pace.

I enjoyed this book greatly. While the story initially appeared fairly simple, the story kept unfolding new layers of information that stacked up over time to give you a very interesting view of this world and the cast of characters it contained. The overlapping relationships, motives (both obvious and hidden), and the compressed timeline kept me engaged from beginning to end.

My only complaint is that there are a lot of characters to keep straight, and it would be helpful to have a character guide at the front to reference. Some characters do not appear for several chapters in a row, and it can take a second to remember what their role is in the story.

I unfortunately DNFed this one about 20% into the book! I wanted to like it so much, but it just felt discombobulated in a way that was not drawing me in. The actual setting of the book festival was not quite what I was hoping for, and none of the characters felt specifically interesting to me. I believe the story would improve, but I just didn't have the pull to continue at this time.

This book made me laugh, smile, and gave me such a heart warming feeling…🥹

This follows an awkward MC who recently lost her Mom and is trying to make her place in this world. This book follows her find herself and a new set of friends while solving a murder at a book festival.

This has the bookish themes, found family, lies, betrayal, hilarious scenes, heartbreak, courageous action, and a thrilling ending! All the ingredients for a perfect cozy mystery 🥰 Definitely would recommend!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

TW: some language, animal death

A Novel Murder by E.C. Nevin is a mystery of a death during a murder mystery writers conference. The Killer Lines Crime Fiction Festival is a yearly festival bringing together authors, publishing people and fans. There are various panels and chances to promote novels. A quirky novel with multiple characters.

Jane Hepburn is a writer and is determined to get her name and books recognized. She is awkward, shy and retiring, but determined. I would consider her as the main character.

Jane finds the body of Carrie Marks, a literary agent dead in the tent with all the books. She decides to solve the murder. She ends up with two cohorts Natasha and Daniel to help. Between the three of them, they begin to establish who could have and would have killed her. Slowly a couple of more people begin to help them and with the local inspector checking in, they are asking questions and finally setting up a scene where all the suspects are invited.

A Novel Murder by E.C. Nevin is a quirky novel with some very interesting characters. Jane is certainly alone and very shy. However, with the addition of friends, her character becomes stronger and more interesting. While told from multiple viewpoints which add other perspectives, I was mostly interested in Jane.

The book was not a fast read and several times I felt overwhelmed by the number of characters within the novel. I felt that caused the book to be cumbersome at times. I did complete the book and was pleased to find out who the killer was, but I think I was more pleased about Jane and her growth as a person.

A Novel Murder by E.C. Nevin comes out June 17th.

My thanks to Net Galley, Knop, Vintage, and Anchor, for this arc.

I liked the premise of this book and the cozy vibe. Jane Hepburn, an author attend a mystery writer s convention and finds her literary agent murdered. I didn't hate this but the beginning was dragging. I was underwhelmed and not wowed. There was nothing really memorable about the characters. Things picked up a bit but things fell flat.

2.5 rounding up~

So, I picked this one up because I love stories about writers and the publishing world. There’s always something juicy and eye-opening about how cutthroat that industry can be. “A Novel Murder” seemed like it had all the right ingredients: a cozy crime setup, a behind-the-scenes look at publishing, and a bit of humor thrown in. It started off promising, but unfortunately, it just didn’t quite hold my attention the way I hoped it would.

I appreciated the cozy mystery vibe, but it just didn’t fully hold my attention. It’s probably a better fit for readers who love British humor and don’t mind a mystery that meanders a bit. The actual mystery to be solved kinda fell apart, but it wasn’t completely awful. Sorry, this review is a little scattered, but the book isn’t “bad,” it just wasn’t super great either.

Thank you to #NetGalley and Knopf Publishing for a chance to read this in exchange for an honest review.

When Jane Hepburn attends the Killer Lines Crime Fiction Festival in Great Britain, she doesn't know that she will become involved in a real life murder mystery ... but she does. When a widely dislikes literary agent is murdered, Jane works to solve the mystery.

I wanted to read this book because I love mysteries. The British setting and the Crime Fiction Festival were appealing.

This was an engaging mystery! It was well paced with a smart amateur detective. I did enjoy the book festival and the supporting characters. I recommend A Novel Murder for other mystery fans!

Okay, I enjoyed this one. It was a tad bit of a slog and was somehow simultaneously predictable while also unpredictable? I took some additional time to write this review because I wanted to collect my thoughts, but I don't think the time helped. I pushed myself to finish this one, but the ending was good. Essentially, I'm still not sure how I feel about this read so I'll give it a middle-of-the-road rating.

Thank you to Netgalley, Knopf, and E.C. Nevin for this advanced copy! This is my honest, unbiased review in exchange.

I’m still sorting through my thoughts on this one—A Novel Murder left me feeling a bit conflicted, and I’ve been debating where to land on my final rating. So, let’s unpack it.

🔪 What didn’t work for me:
The biggest struggle I had was with the main character. Her constant self-loathing—especially about her appearance and weight—felt heavy-handed and repetitive. It wasn’t just part of her internal dialogue; it dominated it. After a while, it started to feel less like honest vulnerability and more like fishing for pity. It added nothing to the plot and honestly pulled me out of the story.

The pacing was another challenge. The story moved very slowly, and I had to push myself to keep going. It lacked urgency, and I just couldn’t connect with the characters or the central mystery. I considered DNFing it multiple times, which is rare for me. Even when the killer was finally revealed, it didn’t pack much of a punch—I was too checked out by that point to be surprised or impressed, even though I hadn’t guessed it.

📚 What I did enjoy:
The setting—a true crime fiction festival—was a super fun and clever backdrop. I loved the concept of amateur sleuths coming together to solve a murder in real life. The ensemble cast had quirky charm and offered moments of levity, even if they couldn’t quite carry the weight of the story’s slower moments.

⭐️ Final thoughts:
If I had to choose right now, I’d probably land at a 2 or 2.5 star rating. There were things to enjoy here, but overall, it felt like a slog. I wanted to love the premise so badly, but the execution just didn’t deliver for me.

Jane Hepburn, author of detective novels, is at the Killer Lines Crime Fiction Festival to promote her series, even though she dreads these types of events. Being an introvert and having no real friends, she happens to be the one who finds the body of her literary agent. Jane is now befriended by a first time author, Natasha and an intern at the Marks Agency, Daniel. Since Jane is the older one in the group, it is decided that she put on her Detective Baker persona to work and they begin to investigate by going about questioning the ones who they think might be responsible . They soon realize that there are plenty of suspects, from would be novelist to assistants, all who had reasons to what her dead.
A delightful cozy mystery set in the book world of publishing and promotions., with someone, who is now beginning to realize that becoming involved and making friends, gives them the courage needed to move forward in life.
Thank you NetGalley and Knopf for the opportunity to read this e-galley of "A Novel Murder".

I thoroughly enjoyed this debut cozy mystery from EC Nevin. Jane is a moderately successful mystery writer with a serious self-esteem problem. In an attempt to shake herself out the rut that has plagued her since a failed romance and the death of her mother, she decides to attend the Killer Lines literary festival. Jane's world is quickly tilted and expanded, when she stumbles upon the body of her agent. Teaming up with a hapless intern and a spunky debut author (their group chat is titled "meddling kids"), Jane uses her knowledge of the mystery genre coupled with her late mother's aphorisms to untangle a web of intrigue, infighting, and hidden romance to unmask the killer. I sincerely hope this proves to be the first of a Jane Hepburn series.

1/5 stars: This is Nevin's British Cozy-ish Mystery stand-alone that's set in England and features a struggling British mystery author as she teams up with a crime writer and a hapless intern to sleuth out who killed a renowned (and reviled) literary agent stabbed to death after finding her body inside the book tent at a book festival. Written in multiple POV, Nevin's writing and character work are well done. Unfortunately, this just wasn't a book for me; leading me to DNF it at 13%.

I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Knopf in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.

This was a good, fun, cozy murder mystery. It takes place at a Crime Fiction Festival in a quaint little town. Jane is our FMC who wants to make a name for herself as an author when one of the most famous book agents at the festival is murdered. She decides to take her sleuthing from pen to real life. Along the way she meets and befriends some fun characters to make a Scooby gang of sorts to solve the murder.

I will say, the plot is a bit much (in the over the top funny kind of way) and you’re going to question every move and suspect along the way. Overall it was a light fun read and if you get the clues, you catch the killer (people reading was not Jane’s strong suit lol).

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor Publishing for allowing me access to the eARC of the novel in exchange for my honest opinion.

#ANovelMurder #NetGalley