Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Jeanie

What a great second mystery in this series! I enjoyed it so much that I want to read the first one. Alice Pepper, her family, and her friends are delightful examples that women of a certain age have great value (even when we are invisible) and a child’s curiosity. As the head librarian, Alice has the warmth, personality, sense humor, organizational skills, and wisdom of most successful librarians. The setting is described beautifully, in a suburb of Portland, Oregon, with the joy and crispness of October.

Alice has one ongoing heartache, which is her desire to see her daughter, Lauren, again. Lauren has had many challenges since she was a teenager, and a few years ago, she turned away from her mother. She also left her twin daughters, Taylor and Madison, with Alice.

Several people live at “Alice’s Palace”, including her sister, Violet, and her granddaughter, Taylor. Her friends visit frequently. There is always a jigsaw puzzle in progress, which almost everyone who visits spends time with.

One Wednesday evening, Alice was invited to visit the book club her friends enjoyed at Michelle Chong’s home. They talked about how books and other materials are selected for the library. Michelle owns a martial arts and dance studio, and is married to the famed local artist, Lars Olsen. Lars insisted on giving the book club ladies a tour of his art.

Alice enjoyed getting to know Michelle better, and thought highly of her. That Saturday, Alice and her friends were startled when Michelle did not arrive at the annual Children’s Book Festival. Groups of her students performed, and she never missed being there for them. Alice’s granddaughter, Madison, a rookie cop, arrived as cleanup began. A missing person’s report was filed for Michelle by her husband, who thought his wife may have been kidnapped. The last time she had been seen was early morning of the prior day. Madison wanted to talk with some of Michelle’s friends who helped at the festival.

Madison told Alice, Taylor, and their friends of the voluntary search to be led the next day and everyone agreed to help. The day of the search didn’t go quite as hoped. They did find an enormous clue: Michelle’s car with her handbag, ID, and cell phone inside.

Lars claimed to be too upset to join the search. Alice had good intentions, but she had flashbacks of searching for her own daughter many years ago when Lauren disappeared. She did, however, meet Lars’ old classmate, artist Marco Santino. He helped search, he said, for Michelle’s sake, not for Lars.

The book club ladies were not fond of Lars. Neither was his former art school partner, Santino. He acted pleasant, but underneath, he was cold, calculating, and took delight in belittling Michelle. About twenty years ago, he and two friends at art school were part of an American art movement. The three young men created “Unfiltered Art”, returning to childhood instincts of style and color, some of which he still incorporated in his works. His friends were in the school records, but Lars was not. There was nothing at all of Lars on the East coast or at the art school. He seemed to have popped up in West Haven, an accomplished artist, six years earlier.

Each character is designed with care; several could step from the pages, ready to go on a search or sit back with beverages and a challenging puzzle for a gabfest. My favorite character is Alice; she is kind, loving, willing to help a friend or family member in need, and intuitive when examining the few barely existing clues when searching for Michelle. When they discover a terrible murder, she worked on a step-by-step timeline. She successfully mothered her granddaughters from teens to young adults.

Alice, her family, and friends had discussed several scenarios for what happened to Michelle. They also had several suspects for the murder. When I finally had a top suspect for the murder, I didn’t want it to be that person. I was happy to be wrong, as I liked that person! All solutions were accurate, and the ending was satisfactory. I highly recommend this cozy mystery, and I am looking forward to backing up to read the first one.

Book Two in the “Alice Pepper Lonely Hearts and Puzzle Club” series, and the first that has been experienced by this reader.

Alice Pepper is the six-foot tall sixtyish head librarian in the lovely town of West Hazel, Oregon, — a town situated in the suburbs of busy Portland. Recently divorced from her shyster of an ex husband, Jeff, Alice is grandmother to twin young ladies, Madison and Taylor, the former a rookie cop. Alice is estranged from the twins’s mother, a backstory that speaks of addiction, pain, and remembered terror, a situation for which Alice cannot help but blame herself.

Now attempting to move on with her life with a bevy of supporting friends, including her tarot-card-inspired sister Violet Pepper, the ultra-capable and dreamy Stone Donahue, and her best friend Ruby Milliner(an elegant, successful woman who runs a wig empire), Alice cannot help but become involved in a missing person case that begins at a children’s book festival and soon escalates into murder.

“Invisibility was a superpower that came with age, Alice had learned.”

Deeply cosy, this is a murder mystery to be solved by a close collection of jigsaw-puzzle loving friends, not afraid to stick their noses where they may not always be welcome. The ambience remains charming, for the most part, as the danger and suspense ramps up, and the clues and the puzzling builds to its final and satisfying conclusion (guessed by this reader, but absolutely a fun ride).

Recommended for lovers of this genre, this is a solid and well-crafted character-driven cosy, with plenty of heart, as Alice (no spoilers here) finds her missing puzzle pieces, — in both her crime-solving activities, as well as in least a couple of other matters of a more personal nature.

A great big thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an ARC of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.

Alice Pepper is a librarian, but she solves puzzles and murders on the side.

Plot: When dance instructor Michelle doesn't show up to a performance, she's assumed missing. Her husband, famous artist Lars, doesn't know where she is, and the police get involved. Alice digs deeper, finding out that their marriage may not have been what it seemed, and Lars's empire may be crumbling.

While it looks like the mystery is what happened to Michelle, there's a huge twist, and the mystery gets a lot more complicated - and deadly.

Alice is a wonderful character, and she's surrounded by a great cast of supporting characters as well as a long list of possible suspects. The setup for the mystery is well done, and the ending is surprising and intense. There's also a nice side story about Alice's relationship with her estranged daughter and twin grandkids, whom she raised.

However, I found the beginning to be confusing, with many of the characters coming onto the stage at once, and much of the middle to drag. I'm also not generally a fan of the inept police trope, which is the basis for so many of these stories.

In sum, this a sweet cozy with likeable characters, but it lacked some sophistication in the mechanics.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kensington, and Ron Noonan for the opportunity to review an advanced copy. The book is already available for purchase.

Book two of the Alice Peppers series starts out with a missing person who may not want to be found, which brings back painful memories for Alice from her past. This story grabbed my attention right away as Alice and her friends follow what few clues, they can find to hopefully lead them to the missing Michelle. Michelle, the very responsible woman who teaches dance and martial arts, is missing in action during the annual children’s book festival, and no one, not even her husband, knows where she has gone. Speaking of Michelle’s husband, Lars makes for a very good suspect for the missing Michelle. He is an arrogant egomaniac artist, at least he is until he turns up dead, stabbed. Since Michelle found his body upon her return home, she is at the top of the suspect list. Now, how is that for a hook!

This is a stand-alone cozy mystery with a “mature” main character. Librarian Alice Pepper and her lonely hearts and puzzle solving friends are 60-ish but that doesn’t stop them from getting involved, in spite of Alice’s granddaughter Madison’s request to “leave it to the police.” In Madison’s defense, she is the police.

Alice refers to her group of friends as the Lonely Hearts and Club not because it is a real club or because they are lonely but rather, all of the ladies are single. At least the book starts out that way. The little ribbon of romance that is woven into this story gives it a nice subplot when two of Alice’s friends find themselves with admirers. The only possible problem with this is that both men are possible suspects, but they aren’t the only suspects. Lars had a way of making enemies with his caustic attitude that was reserved for no one and utilized with everyone, even his 17-year-old intern. The more you learn about Lars the less it makes sense that Michelle is even on the suspect list. The motive could be money, love, or revenge

I thought that it was interesting that there is a missing piece to one of the puzzles that Alice’s sets up to work on. I can relate to working on a puzzle and not being able to find the last piece. Thankfully, they turn up on the floor under the table. Alice felt like she was missing a piece to the murder mystery. Alice was also missing a piece of her family which was touched on in the series starter and is completely explained in this book giving the story a nice plot arc. The cozy and real-world elements are blended together to give added depth as well as enjoyment. I look forward to seeing what puzzle Alice puts together in the next book.

With such a great book title, one only hopes the story will be equal to it. And it was. So nice the story was reflected in the book tile. An enjoyable book for cozy readers. Thanks to #NetGalley and #ThatMissingPieceIsKillingMe for advanced digital copy.

This is the second in series and my first of the series. This can be read as a stand alone as the author introduced the characters and the story is easily followed.
I enjoyed this charming cozy mystery. The protagonist is a savvy smart senior surrounded by her close family and puzzle group friends. When a local friend disappeared they are on the case with clues abound.
This is a fun read with well developed characters that all add to the series. The sleuth is well crafted to conclusion. I look forward to the next in series. Well done to the author.
Thank you for the ARC Netgalley. My review is my own opinion.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for gifting me the new book by Roz Noonan, the second in this series. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!

Librarian Alice Pepper has found her tribe in small town West Hazel, women who enjoy making puzzles and maybe solving a mystery or two. When a local lady goes missing, Alice and her friends are determined to find out what happened. Those investigations lead to a look into the art world in their town and they may have put themselves into danger as well.

This is such a fun, cozy mystery series that I would highly recommend, especially because it showcases older women who are strong, resilient, and determined, plus they are there for each other no matter what. This was a good mystery with multiple suspects and I liked the thread of Alice's fractured family as well. I hope there are more books to come in this series!

Alice Pepper is a mid-sixties librarian in West Haven Oregon who lives in a sprawling house that includes her friend Ruby, Sister Violet, and granddaughter Taylor, who's twin sister is a local police officer. They share and life and jigsaw puzzles. Alice loves puzzles and boy does she encounter a doozy. Violet's book club friend Michelle who runs a dance/martial arts studio in town has disappeared. Alice rallies the ladies and joins the search and then we have an unexpected twist.

This is a story that pulled me in with not only the mystery but also the relationship dynamics s with family, and friends. I enjoyed getting to know all the secondary characters. The story with them kept me as involved as the mystery. I love seeing an older sleuth.

This was my first book by Ms. Noonan but won't be the last. I can't wait to catch up with everyone in the next one!

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This one lands right in the middle of the road. It’s not a bad read by any means. It’s decent, comfortable, and exactly what you’d expect from a cosy mystery. But at the same time, it didn’t leave a strong impression. The mystery itself is fairly standard fare for the genre, which is fine in a cosy—what matters more is whether it holds your attention. And while it kept me reading, I wasn’t exactly glued to the page.

What stood out to me most was the imbalance between the mystery and the cosy elements. We read cosies for the cosy, of course (think small towns, quirky locals, pets with better social skills than most humans) but this one leaned so far into cosy that the mystery often felt more like a suggestion than the central focus. I wonder if that's the intention of this series. To be more about the personal lives of the central characters that the mysteries.

I thought the puzzle aspect was less highlighted in this book, which was a focus for me in book one. I think of this as a themed cosy, so I hoped that would play a larger role in the story. It does to an extent, leading to more of an emotional conclusion than investigative conclusion. Again, I go back to that balance.

In short, this book is a fine choice if you want something safe and comfortable, but it may not satisfy if you're craving a well-balanced mystery. I think this may be one for readers who enjoy the balance skewed to drama and the cosy side.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoy Alice Pepper and in the previous the author hooked me. And with this book, she’s gotten me for life! With a protagonist that I can really relate to, a solid mystery and excellent writing, I’ll keep coming back as long as she writes this series!

Why is the puzzle missing a piece? Wait, who sent Alice the puzzle? And even more important, where is Michelle? This second in the cozy series (just fine as a standalone) sees our mature heroine Alice worried about her pal Michelle, who has gone missing. Michelle's husband Lars isn't worried and seems to be moving along already. Well, that's enough to set Alice and her pals into action to get answers. It's a nicely crafted mystery that also includes a touch a family drama involving Alice's daughter. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I liked this for the characters and stayed for the puzzle.

The older friends gather together to work jig saw puzzles and keep up on the local gossip. The successful wife of a blowhard artist with a nearly invisible past goes missing and then it's all hands on deck to find her. All except the self-absorbed husband. Then comes the mind-blowing plot twist! Good characters, creative investigations, and a riveting plot made this a great read.
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected e-galley from Kensington Publishing | Kensington Cozies via NetGalley. Pub Date Jul 29, 2025 ***** #review #goodreads #bookbub #storygraph
#ThatMissingPieceIsKillingMe by Roz Noonan #AlicePepperLonelyHeartsAndPuzzleClubMysteriesBk2 #kensingtonbooks #NetGalley #librarything #cozymystery #missingperson #familydynamics #relatives #localcops #obnoxiousvictim #friends#humor #seniorsleuths #amateursleuths #friendship #librarian #familyfriction

A clever cozy mystery that kept me guessing. Many interesting characters. Good age range. Lots of family issues. Good story. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

This cozy mystery series has so much appeal, starting with its setting, which is a small town, West Hazel, in Oregon. Alice Pepper, the main character, is a librarian who struggles with getting older and wants to make the most of her life. She has found friendship and belonging with a group of West Hazel folks who love jigsaw puzzles -- which is a really fun thing to hang a mystery on! We learn so much about puzzles and the puzzle world while Alice solves her mysteries. In this one, the wife of a volatile, temper-prone artist goes missing. Alice receives a mystery gift, a puzzle, that closely resembles the artist's work, but it is missing a strategic piece. From there, Alice works backward to find out what happened to her friend.

#ThatMissingPieceIsKillingMe #NetGalley is another great addition to this unique series, featuring a group of jigsaw puzzle lovers.
Alice is a fun, easy to like character, and she genuinely shined in this story.
While solving another murder investigation, Alice has to time to think about her own fractured family, especially her daughter, who she's been estranged from.
There's something about this series that truly intrigues me and I'm hoping to read much more in this series.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.

Puzzle-loving librarian Alice Pepper is enjoying her life surrounded by family and friends in her large house and with a budding romance developing. She's startled out of her pleasant life when a friend, Michelle, suddenly goes missing. The missing woman was supposed to lead her class of dance students in a performance at a community event, but when no one can find her, alarm bells start to ring. As the community gathers to search for her, everyone is startled when her husband, artist Lars Olsen, claims to be too busy to join in to help. He doesn't seem all that worried that his wife is missing, even going so far as to move in his much younger girlfriend. As Alice and her friends look for the Michelle, they are unprepared when an even bigger shock is discovered not long afterwards. When someone fires a gun at the amateur sleuths, Alice decides there are several mysteries to solve before she can get back to her latest jigsaw. She also is sorting through some family drama when she gets word that her estranged daughter Lauren would like to meet with her.

I enjoyed the slow pace of the mystery and the genuine friendship between Alice and her friends. The small-town vibe was also very calming and peaceful (except for the possible kidnappings and murders!).