I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
She Doesn't Have a Clue
by Jenny Elder Moke
Published by Minotaur Books on January 21, 2025
Setting: Hempstead Island, Washington
Genres: Romantic Mystery
Pages: 336
Format: Audible Audiobook, Hardcover, Kindle, Paperback
Source: NetGalley
Goodreads
Bookhype
BookBub
Storygraph
Get Your Copy at: Amazon
With a colorful cast of characters and a cellar full of wine, anything can happen―from murder to a second chance at love―in Jenny Elder Moke's half mystery, half romance adult debut set at a lavish destination wedding.
A high-end wedding on a private island off the coast of Seattle sounds like something out of a magazine. But for bestselling mystery author Kate Valentine, it’s more like a nightmare.
Why Kate agreed to attend her ex-fiancé’s wedding is its own enigma, but she’ll plaster on a fake smile for two nights, with the aid of free champagne, naturally. And because the groom happens to be her editor, she’ll try to finish a draft of her latest Loretta Starling mystery as a wedding gift. But when the bride is poisoned and Kate stumbles across a dead body, she finds herself in a real-life mystery that eerily echoes the plot of her latest novel. And the only person who seems willing to help Kate catch the killer is Jake Hawkins, aka: the Hotstralian; aka: Kate’s biggest romantic regret.
As the wine flows and the weather threatens to hold every guest hostage, bitter resentments and long-held grudges surface amongst the colorful crowd. Anyone could be capable of murder, it seems. What would Loretta do? Unfortunately, Kate doesn’t have a clue.
She Doesn’t Have a Clue by Jenny Elder Moke follows Kate Valentine as she embarks on a weekend that she wished she never partook in.
What will happen when Kate Valentine attends her ex-fiancee’s private island wedding?
Kate Valentine
Kate Valentine is our sleuth and female love interest on this wild journey. She thought attending this wedding would be a great time to work on her latest overdue manuscript for her editor. The editor is the same person who is getting married and is her ex-fiancee. Kate Valentine tried her hardest to finish the book before this point, but nothing seemed to flow until this crazy weekend.
She tries to hide behind her books instead of living the life she wants because she is afraid. Kate goes through a lot of progression of herself and what she wants throughout this story. I do like her as a character, and I hope she continues to grow while not letting what happened at the wedding set her back.
The Mystery
Kate Valentine ends up living at least two of her books during this weekend. Except she isn’t the only person to put that two and two together and to save her own behind, Kate needs to solve the mystery so that she doesn’t end up going to jail after this weekend is over. The first mystery is the poisoned bride, and then she stumbles across a dead body while trying to solve the first mystery. Now Kate has two mysteries to solve and unknowing if they are connected until everything starts to fall into place. I must admit I figured out the murderer but not the why until the sleuth did. At this point, I felt terrible for Kate since she had had a rough weekend when all she wanted to do was work on her book and get some free champagne.
The Romance
Kate Valentine gets help from Jake Hawkins – an Australian, an old friend, and Kate’s love interest – since he doesn’t want to see her get hurt. They use the whole thing about two heads being better than one to justify it. Jake and Kate end up getting together, and I think they are cute. They both worked through the faults that they made in the past and are stronger than ever now.
Four Stars
My rating for She Doesn’t Have a Clue by Jenny Elder Moke is four stars. I also recommend She Doesn’t Have a Clue by Jenny Elder Moke to adult readers as it gets a bit steamy in a few scenes and is inappropriate for young eyes. Ms. Moke did an excellent job on her first adult book.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of She Doesn’t Have a Clue by Jenny Elder Moke.
Until the next time,
Happy Reading!
About Jenny Elder Moke
Jenny Elder Moke is the award-winning author of children’s and adult literature. She enjoys fast-paced adventures with plenty of mysteries, surprising turns, and laughs along the way. Her adult debut, SHE DOESN’T HAVE A CLUE, is a murder-mystery rom-com mash-up for fans of Clue and Knives Out. It releases January 21, 2025.
Jenny lives in Denver, CO. She is represented by Elizabeth Bewley at Sterling Lord Literistic.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2025 Alphabet Soup-Author Edition-RC
- 2025 Cloak and Dagger
- 2025 Goodreads RC
- 2025 Medical Examiner Mystery RC
- 2025 Romance Book Reading Challenge
- 2025 Traveling the World
Leave a Reply