My Name is Trouble

5 PRETZELS! < No idea what the hell this means? Here’s How it Works.

You guys, I love mysteries. I love them so much that I ended up co writing a mystery series with one of my best buds. That love of mysteries got me hooked on Pretty Little Liars which then led me to my love of the Bros Watch PLL Too podcast.

You can’t imagine how stoked I was when the Bros wrote their very own mystery novel with a teen protagonist. I talked about it nonstop for a month before it came out. Now that I’ve read it, I want to talk about it even more. It’s tricky to write about mysteries because you don’t want to give too much away, so I’ll just give you the basics.

Jenny Valentine has never met her dad, famous mystery author RJ Valentine, because of…reasons. When a town car randomly shows up one day to take her to Valentine Manor, Jenny thinks it’s finally her chance to connect with her father but it turns out she’s there for the reading of his will. RJ was murdered in a real-life locked room mystery and Jenny and the six other people at the reading are presented with a very intriguing opportunity.

As it turns out, RJ knew someone had it out for him and has invited the seven attendees to solve the mystery of his murder. They have 100 days to provide the executor of his will with proof of the identity of his killer. If anyone solves it, they get all of RJ’s $272 million dollar fortune. If nobody solves it, all of the money goes to charity.

Jenny is determined to win. If she can’t have a relationship with her father, she will dang sure claim her birthright. She has to solve this mystery quickly, though, because someone tries to kill her minutes after she leaves Valentine Manor. Luckily she’s been training as a girl detective her whole life. Those other chumps don’t stand a chance. She has a bottle of adderall, a closet full of disguises, and her name is Trouble. No really, that’s her middle name. Her parents thought it would guarantee that she grew up to be awesome. Spoiler alert- it worked.

The story is a delightful mashup of The Westing Game, Veronica Mars, and my beloved Pretty Little Liars. It’s filled with complex characters, suspense, and danger. It’s also full of hilarious one liners and a heckuva good ghost story. Whodunnit? Was it Jenny’s evil stepmother? Her brilliant, yet troubled, step sister? Maybe the town sheriff who RJ mocked mercilessly in his books?

I can’t recommend this book enough. The story sucked me in from page one and did not let off the gas once. I devoured it in two days and even though I scoured the story for clues I was totally blindsided by the ending. Seriously, I was so pumped after I finished that I had to go run around the yard with my dog.

Do yourself a favor and pick this book up. The ebook is available on all imaginable ebook platforms and the paperback is available on Amazon. I’m anxiously awaiting the release of book two and until I can hold it in my hot little hands. My name is Impatience.

Later Bookworms,

Charlaine LeRoux