Dying to Get Published (The Jennifer Marsh Mysteries #1)

Author: Judy Fitzwater

4.5 out of 5 stars

After having eight manuscripts rejected, Jennifer Marsh is desperate to get published. In her desperation, Jennifer hatches a plan to murder literary agent Penny Richmond to be able to inject some realism into her writing. When her day job as a caterer leads to her meeting Richmond in person, she is brought back to reality and abandons most of her plan. However, she still wants that added realism, so she continues with her plan to infiltrate her apartment building. Then Richmond is killed and Jennifer is the prime suspect. At the same time, Jenifer meets Sam, a reporter, who convinces her to help him investigate the death of a local news anchor. Can Jennifer find Penny Richmond’s real killer and help Sam solve the news anchor’s death? Will her dream of being published ever come true?

The first 100 pages of the book is about Jennifer’s plan to kill Penny Richmond, and this part of the plot is interesting and different, especially seeing her thought process. Then the last 90 pages is a standard solve the mystery to clear someone’s name. Overall, the writing in general was average, but the flow of the story and the character interactions were very good.

I really liked the characters. Jennifer is generally funny and the way she gets into situations and out of them is humorous. She’s persistent, and her desperation and determination to achieve her dream is relatable. She has strong friendships, and her friends are quick to help her after she’s arrested. I also liked Sam. He’s as equally devoted to reporting as Jennifer is to writing, so they’re a good match.

Overall, I liked this book. There are some things that could have been better, so I’m rating it 4.5 out of 5 stars. If you love cozy mysteries, then you’ll like this one.

Price through Amazon Kindle: $0

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004GB0MG6

(I do not benefit from the use of this link.)