3.5 / 5 Stars
This is a quick, campy read about murder. It feels like it should not work but it does if you can just suspend a ton of disbelief. Kathryn Hu is a chemist who just moved to Massachusetts to start her postdoc work in a lab. She also just started dating Tucker. It is a dream come true until she finds out that he has another girlfriend named Olivia. Oh, and whoops, he actually has a third girlfriend named Elle. Understandably, these three ladies want revenge. So when they go and trash his condo and find him dead, it doesn’t look great that their DNA is all over everything and they have a motive. They have to figure out who the real murderer is before the police catch on.

This book is filled with lots of puns (both on Kathryn’s last name and with chemistry) and a ton of bodily liquid humor (the word “poop” comes up 22 times), so be warned if that is not your cup of tea. I did love that Kathryn likes to explain where sayings come from so you actually learn a ton of fun facts.

I think you can’t take this book too seriously because exactly ZERO good decisions are made by the characters in this book. But if they made rational decisions, there would be no hijinx so just let go and let the story take you on a ride.

I liked that the ridiculousness was balanced with some more serious themes like the experience of being a child of immigrants and how hard it is to make friends as an adult. Sometimes the characters would do more tell than show for their backstories but all of the themes felt honest and real.

I didn’t see the ending coming which, as a jaded true crime fan, I loved! It was a good surprise about who actually did it.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA and NetGalley for providing the eARC! All opinions are my own.

This was an entertaining mystery with some silly humour .
I enjoyed the twist .
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Got off to a bit of a slow start, but the humor more than made up for it. I had a really fun time with this one and am excited for the sequel!

I would like to personally thank Gloria Chao for writing a book that feels like watching a slightly more unhinged, adult version of "John Tucker Must Die" while sipping three margaritas and stress-baking cookies during a true crime binge. "The Ex-Girlfriend Murder Club" is pure chaotic delight with a side of murder, friendship, and truly questionable life choices that I fully support.

Let’s set the scene: Kathryn Hu (resident chemist, socially awkward overachiever, and prime candidate for a follow-up book that is just a string of disastrous Hinge dates) thinks she’s finally found the one. Spoiler alert, she has not. Instead, she accidentally walks in on her boyfriend, Tucker Jones, proposing to another woman, Olivia. Yikes doesn’t even begin to cover it. But wait, because this man was running the full polyamorous grift without consent, there’s also Elle, girlfriend number three, floating around in this swamp of betrayal. Instead of turning on each other, these women do what any self-respecting, emotionally wrecked women would do, they team up for revenge.

And when I say vengeance, I mean vengeance. We’re talking frogs, poop, glitter bombs, the kind of unhinged chaos that makes you question if the plan was designed by a group of middle schoolers or very angry women who watched "The Other Woman" one too many times. But then... plot twist. While they’re executing this prank, they find Tucker less than alive in his closet. In fact, he’s about as dead as his commitment to monogamy.

Now we shift into full-on cozy mystery territory. They’re covered in DNA, have airtight motives, and look as guilty as a cat next to a broken vase. But they didn’t do it, promise. Enter the amateur sleuthing phase, complete with lying to law enforcement, going on a podcast (because of course someone’s capitalizing on this mess), and investigating Tucker’s many, many enemies. I mean, this man had a Rolodex of people who wanted him dead. Frankly, it’s a miracle he lasted this long. And just when you think things can’t get messier, the unhinged podcast host keeps circling like a vulture, getting way too close to blowing everything up before the girls even know what hit them.

The real star power here is the friendship between Kat, Olivia, and Elle. These women start as strangers bound by one man's stupidity but evolve into this hilarious, chaotic found family that I absolutely adored. Their personalities bounce off each other like a drunk game of "Clue." You’ve got Kat’s neurodivergent charm and her obsession with weird phrase origins (an absolute gem), Olivia’s fierce pragmatism, and Elle’s savvy writer’s brain trying to script their way out of a murder charge.

Also, can we take a moment for Detective Birch? The man’s practically exhaling romantic tension every time he shows up. He tries to stay professional while clearly developing feelings for Kat, who is over here accidentally incriminating herself while explaining the etymology of "dead ringer." The man deserves hazard pay.

Is it a little over-the-top? Yes. Does the plot occasionally stretch the limits of plausibility? Absolutely. Did I care? Not even a little bit. This book knows exactly what it is, popcorn thriller meets cozy mystery with a dash of heartfelt growth. And the ending? It took me out. I was blindsided like a raccoon caught in a flashlight beam.

This was a 4-star ride for me. It’s silly, fast-paced, sneakily emotional, and exactly the kind of unhinged, murder-adjacent escapism I crave when real life feels too serious. And yes, I too want book two IMMEDIATELY.

Whodunity Award: For Turning Frog-Based Revenge Into Felony Charges With Style

Huge thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing, Harlequin Audio, and NetGalley for the early access to both the ARC and audiobook. Extra love to Carolyn Kang for absolutely nailing the narration. She brought so much heart and humor to Kat that I now fully want to be best friends with a fictional character. This book is easily one of my favorite reads of the summer, but the audiobook? Next level.

When I first started this book I was thinking it was similar to John Tucker Must Die or The Other Women. But it was very different! Not in a bad way. I loved this book. Just enough twists and mystery and fun to keep me entertained. And the ending was not what I was expecting!

When Kat walks into her boyfriend Tucker proposing to another woman… Her world shatters, but she didn’t expect to find a new friend along the way in Olivia, the other woman.
The two decide to go on a weekend gateway together only to find Tucker with another woman, Elle.
The three will team up after Tucker ran off, and decide they need to make him pay for his betrayal. They go to his apartment and trash it only to discover his dead body in the closet.
From there, things unravel. Hard and fast. And we will follow the trio throughout the murder investigation they’re doing to find what happened to Tucker—and save themselves from going down.
Between secrets, betrayals and plot twist, this story highlights also the power of women’s friendship in hardship.
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I can’t say I’d recommend this book. Not a bad read, but not an outstanding one either.
I didn’t connect much with the characters and guessed the murderer pretty early on—it then accentuated the feeling that the story was dragging too much.
The voice of the main character was funny though and I like how she has unique traits like giving the origins of sayings and expressions.
I had a hard time getting into it in the beginning, but once we get really into the plot and the chase of who did it, I had a better time enjoying it, and mainly wanted to see if my guess was right. It was 🤗

The Ex Girlfriends Murder Blub is a fun comic mystery about the exes of a cheating guy who get accused of his murder and have to solve it. Lots of wacky escapades, female bonding, and cozy mystery vibes.

I don't always love a podcast element, but in this book it was part of the hilarity, with the podcasters reporting all kinds of salacious rumors about the trio.

Perfect for fans of Elle Cosimano and Jesse Q. Sutanto

Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review!

The audio was fantastic for this book and I really enjoyed the narrator as well!
This book was such a fun exploration of found friendship in the worst of circumstances and I really enjoyed all of the hijinks the girls ended up in. There was a lot go growth for Kat throughout the book and learning to faces her issues. Overall, this was a fun cozy mystery that had me chucking during my morning commute. I also thoroughly enjoyed learning the meaning to a lot of common phrases.
My one negative takeaway is that our main FMC, Kat reads as younger than she is and very naive to the world which was slightly annoying to me, however, I did enjoy that the chapter headers featured her unlucky or lucky "stats".

Thank you to netgalley, Harlequin Audio, Harlequin trade publishing and the author for the E-arc and ALC.

great story with lots of twists and turns. very low stakes. although i didn’t feel any emotional connection to any of the characters

This is a fun and lighthearted murder mystery about three jilted women going to get revenge on their cheating boyfriend just to find his body instead. They were very bad at being criminals and I enjoyed their shenanigans as they tried to clear their names. The romance didn't have much focus, but I thought it was cute. The book was a good time, I just wish there weren't SO many mentions of urine and feces

A chemist, a lawyer and a writer walk into a bar and hash out a plan for revenge. After discovering they’re all dating the same man, Kathryn, Olivia and Elle have reasonable cause to think, “I’m going to kill him” — but they’ll settle for some podcast-worthy pranks, instead. When the trio stumbles upon the dead body of their ex-boyfriend Tucker, they must find his killer if they hope to clear their own names. This charming Boston-based whodunnit has as many hijinks as it does motivated suspects. Author Gloria Chao grew up outside Boston and went to MIT and became a dentist before turning to writing.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ — The Ex-Girlfriend Murder Club is a twisty, fast-paced read perfect for fans of Finlay Donovan and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. With a fresh blend of dark humor and amateur sleuthing, it delivers a fun, if slightly over-the-top, ride through murder and messy relationships.

While the premise was intriguing and the characters had great banter, some of the plot points stretched believability, and a few twists felt more chaotic than clever. Still, it’s an entertaining pick if you’re in the mood for a sassy, crime-filled romp with bite.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

What do Kathryn (a geeky scientist), Olivia (an attorney), and Elle (a writer) have in common? 🧪⚖️📚 Tucker Jones — their cheating, no-good ex-boyfriend. 🙄 They band together to confront him… only to find him already dead. Now it’s a race to prove they didn’t do it and figure out who did.

This book was seriously hilarious — I was laughing out loud more than once but also completely pulled into the mystery! If you’re into revenge plots with a side of chaos and clue-hunting, this is for you. 👀

It’s witty, wild, and full of girl gang energy. A perfect mix of humor and murder mystery — and yes, I devoured it.

I’m not the target audience for this book. The content is juvenile, and I had no respect for the characters given their immature and malicious behavior. DNF ~25%.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

This had the vibes of John Tucker must die but with a murder mystery. I loved the way the plot was fun but also twisty. I did not see the ending coming the way it did. I was shocked on how the murdered was but I love the way it was discovered. This was a good light hearted murder mystery. It had the perfect amount of tension for a book of this romcom murder mystery.

This review will contain spoilers. I do try to look at the message behind the story.

It was interesting to see the three friends come together and build a bond over the dislike of the ex. I'm sure the podcast segments will be so much fun in an audio version of this book and I kinda wish we had a real podcast, similar.

I did not love how the girls sometimes acted like they do anything and expect there to be no consequences over it. The twist however was interesting, and I wasn't expecting that.

However, the thoughts coming to my mind about how we can make blessings come from bad situations was beautiful. Two new immediate friends over the bonding of trauma. How they both realized that they found someone who helped them accept who they were and be able to improve upon but learning that they could do that for themselves. Also, that acting impulsively for revenge isn't an easy clean up. It can have life altering consequences.

I plan to share this title on my instagram at www.instagram.com/robinashleyreads just before publication.

This one was an interesting read. It gave me vibes similar to Finlay Donovan. The writing was a little bit goofy and over the top at times (it enhanced the vibe of the story). You also have to extend disbelief while reading because some of the events that transpire are not the most believable.
There are a lot of laugh outloud moments that happen in this book. I was constantly giggling at the goofy situations that they found themselves in.
One thing I felt like the story didn't need was the podcast element. I did like it at first, but the more that it was incorporated into the story the less I enjoyed that aspect.
I also really liked the bond that formed between all of the girls. They had such a fun dynamic with each other. Nothing like being cheated on, and trying to escape murder charges to bring people together. I will say that I wish there was a little bit more character growth for all of them individually. I just wanted a little bit more depth overall. They felt pretty surface level at times.
Like mentioned above, the plot of the story gets a little goofy at times. It is one of those things where you just need to sit back, enjoy the ride, and not look at the details too closely. I had a fun time while reading it. I would recommend it to others, but I don't know if I am going to continue with the series.

This book was FUN! I loved the exploration of female friendship and actually really enjoyed the somewhat whacky premise that three women who unknowingly dated the same man would band together to save themselves and solve his murder. I also really loved the plot twist/ending in this one - however, I did feel like it was a bit underdeveloped and wanted more from the killer's perspective to really bring it all home. Ultimately, I really enjoyed the ride and would still recommend this book - but also am left feeling like a couple of tweaks would have really elevated it and made it a 5 star read.

I really loved these characters and the friendship they forge. The ending felt very rushed and the fact that the police on the case was so willing to let Kat do whatever she wanted essentially was very unrealistic. A cozy mystery but fairly basic.

A fun mystery about three women who find out they are dating the same man. They plan to prank him and instead end up finding his body…