Murder Pays a Call
by Nancy J. Cohen
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Pub Date Sep 09 2025 | Archive Date Aug 14 2025
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Description
Personal concierge Keri Armstrong will accept almost any job, but solving murders wasn’t on her to-do list—until now.
When personal concierge Keri Armstrong swings by her favorite client’s mansion to drop off groceries, she expects a heartfelt chat along with a cup of tea—not Fiona Sullivan dead in bed and her room ransacked. Though police chalk it up to a botched robbery, Keri isn’t so sure. Whispers around town suggest Fiona wasn’t as adored as Keri had believed, and many of the philanthropist’s so-called friends in affluent Sunny Grove, Florida seem glad she’s gone.
Keri refuses to let Fiona’s memory be reduced to malicious gossip. Armed with a keen eye, insider access, and a fully charged tablet, she sets out to uncover the truth. Soon her file of suspects grows faster than her to-do list. Between sneaky neighbors, resentful relatives, and tight-lipped charity board members, Fiona left behind a trail of frenemies who’d happily skip her memorial brunch.
As Keri digs deeper, she discovers her late mentor had a gift for extracting people’s secrets and using them like fine china—carefully storing them until they could serve a purpose. But Fiona also kept a few skeletons in her own walk-in closet. Now, with danger creeping closer, Keri must race to crack the case before her number comes up next… and Murder Pays a Call.
A Note From the Publisher
Nancy J. Cohen also writes the award-winning Bad Hair Day mystery series.
Advance Praise
“A page-turner of a mystery from one of my favorite authors. Cohen’s deft mastery of the cozy genre shines through in every scene, delighting readers with another engrossing whodunit.” Muddy Rose Reviews
“Fans of award-winning author Nancy J. Cohen’s long-running Bad Hair Day Mysteries will be thrilled to learn there’s a new sleuth in town.” Lois Winston, author of the bestselling and award-winning Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries
“Replete with satisfying twists, unexpected character developments, and a plot to die for, Murder Pays a Call is a cozy mystery that readers will find thoroughly engaging. Libraries seeking mysteries that hold solid characterization, good problem-solving challenges, and intrigue that sizzles will welcome the full-bodied read that is Murder Pays a Call.” D. Donovan, Sr. Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
“Ms. Cohen’s characters come alive through her writing. They are your next-door neighbor, your coworker, an acquaintance from the gym; in other words, people you could be friends with. Stop whatever you are doing and get your copy of Murder Pays a Call. Be sure you have plenty of time to read as you won’t want to put the book down.” Purrcy on BookBub
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Featured Reviews

This was my first book by this author, and I was pleasantly surprised . This is a fast paced cozy mystery with awesome characters, many motives and suspects., and a plot that flowed easily and kept me guessing. I truly enjoyed, and I am looking forward to reading more in the future.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Oh, goodie. A new series from a long time favorite author. Keri Sullivan is a personal concierge. What is a personal concierge, you ask? What's the difference between a personal assistant and concierge? To be simplistic, while a personal assistant usually works for one person, a personal concierge may have many clients. I didn't think to keep track of how many clients Keri and her A Friend in Need Agency have but, well, let's just say a lot, ranging from corporate type groups to senior citizens. Fiona Sullivan is one of her favorite clients, however, one whose contacts have often helped Keri expand her customer list. Keri considers her a friend and mentor. Sadly, while delivering some items to Fiona, whose 80 th birthday party Keri had been hired to plan, she finds her dead. As if that wasn't bad enough, it's soon confirmed that she was murdered.
That's where the story really takes off. Keri is rather shocked to discover that Fiona wasn't universally liked by all, which includes her family. I won't detail the plot but will say it was fun to see a new sleuth learning as she went along trying to figure out whodunit. Needless to say, she's pushy and not real subtle in her questioning/investigation, and finds herself frequently being told that perhaps she should leave it to the police to solve. I noted that while Detective Jeff Saunders was one of ones most frequently telling her this that he continues to treat her with respect...even when some of her methods were, uh, not exactly on the right side of the legal line. She also involves a couple of her friends, which I found normal in the cozy mystery world although she never once seemed to think about their safety while snooping. True, she was quite protective of Lora, her unexpected house guest with the scary boyfriend, but her meddling there wasn't necessarily helpful, either. I did like Lora who, given her tendency to clean and organize, I rather wished could show up on my own doorstep, and Pam the reporter was rather gutsy, too. And, yes, there are some potential romances drifting about although not with the one most readers might guess. While I'm sure we'll learn more about the regulars as the series continues, the author did a nice job of fleshing them out for us in this initial introduction.
Bottom line, I enjoyed the story despite rolling my eyes at Keri's rookie sleuth behavior. As her office staff and friends often told her, she really, really needed to take her own advice and carve out some care time for herself. She's so busy running all over investigating as it is that she even manages to irritate at least one client. True, there were some solid possibilities as suspects but Keri does frequently barge in first and think later. The side story about the naturalist remedies didn't hold my attention and I'm not too sure Keri focused on it much, either. She did discover something most of us will or have discovered, the fact that people aren't always who we think they are. Thanks #NetGalley and #OrangeGrovePress for this early intro to Keri and her team, one I hope to learn more about in future books. Sunny Grove, Florida, sure has its share of secrets, that's for sure. As a former Floridian, this was a bit of a virtual trip home to turf I'm quite familiar with.

I love the Bad Hair Mystery series, so I was excited to read this new one. At first, it was a little hard to get used to the new characters, but I loved the setting in Central Florida, where I used to live, and I soon warmed up to the characters. The plot was good, and at one point I had 10 suspects with no idea of who could be the killer.
Keri runs a personal conceirge service. She goes to deliver groceries to one of her clients, only to find her dead. Who would have wanted to kill such a kind old lady? She does not believe it was a botched robbery, as the police think. As she starts investigating, she finds out that Fiona was hiding quite a few skeletons in her closet.
I will continue this series.