Publication Date: January 21, 2025
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.
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 Hostralian; 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 is author Jenny Elder Moke’s adult debut novel.
The story takes place on a private island off Washington state over a three-day period. Kate and the others are there for a wedding, and Murphy’s Law is applied—if anything can go wrong, it will. There’s a major storm, a murder, and an attempted murder. There are clues for Kate and her sidekick Jake, who is also her potential love interest, to sort through to figure out the motivation and whodunnit, and it wasn’t who I was expecting. All details are essential and are nicely woven into the story without realizing why. There are twists and turns, red herrings, and plenty of finger-pointing. Along the way, there were revelations by various characters of relationships, family dynamics, inheritances, and more.
There were confusing storylines as the author, Kate, kept getting into her fictional detective’s head. Loretta may have made it in Kate’s mysteries, but not when Kate channeled her. Kate and the others kept referencing her previous books, but they didn’t exist, which I had to remember more than once.
There’s closure and a chance for several happily ever afters. The epilogue tied up some loose ends, steering us in a new direction for Kate, Jake, and others.
She Doesn’t Have a Clue is filled with clues, details, and vivid descriptions. Ensure you’re out of the storm as you sink into this whodunnit.
JENNY ELDER MOKE is the author of award-winning children’s and adult literature. She enjoys fast-paced adventures with plenty of mysteries, surprising turns, and laughs along the way. When she’s not writing, you can find her knitting, puzzling, or fighting imaginary crime as a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. She Doesn’t Have a Clue is her adult debut.
Jenny lives in Denver, CO.
