Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.
FICTION CAN BE MURDER is the first novel in the Mystery Writer’s Mystery Series by Becky Clark. The novel is Clark’s first, and it will be released by Midnight Ink on April 8, 2018.
Charlemagne “Charlee” Russo has made a career out of killing people in her mystery novels. Now she finds herself in the midst of a real life murder investigation. After Charlee’s agent, Melinda, is murdered in the exact same way that Charlee kills off her victim in her current work in progress, Charlee jumps to the top of the Denver police’s suspect list. Charlee knows that she didn’t kill Melinda – despite the fact that Charlee didn’t always like her agent. Because the killer must have read Charlee’s manuscript, the detectives’ are able to come up with a short suspect list. Unfortunately, all of the suspects are Charlee’s friends – the people in her writing club, her beta readers, and her boyfriend. Charlee doesn’t want to suspect any of these people of murder, but she knows that she’s going to have to look into all of their alibis if she’s going to clear her name and rebuild her reputation. Charlee becomes even more determined to find the killer when the detectives arrest one of the other suspects. Charlee knows that this person didn’t kill Melinda. It’s just a matter of proving it before the killer catches up with her.
FICTION CAN BE MURDER is such an intriguing cozy mystery. As a mystery writer, I felt like I could really connect with Charlee’s character. I know what it’s like to put time, brain power, and research into murdering people on paper. It’s unfathomable to think that someone would take my fictional murder and then act it out in real life. Especially if that person is doing it to frame me and ruin my life. Having a set number of suspects based on who read Charlee’s manuscript also gave the reader a good chance to play along and try to figure out the killer before the big reveal. You don’t have to worry about a new suspect popping up a page or two before the main character figures out who the killer is. I also enjoyed the secondary mystery of what happened to Charlee’s father. I’m looking forward to the next novel in the Mystery Writer’s Mystery Series.