Publication Date: March 11, 2025
Revenge is a dish best served cold—especially when it comes in the form of one of Grandma’s “special” pies. Get the best of family hijinks, girl power, and hilariously justifiable crime in the latest novel from award-winning author HelenKay Dimon.
Kasey Nottingham needs a splashy idea at her company where they find and develop the next big thing for investors—her job depends on it. Impulsively, she pitches Mags’ Desserts, a beloved small-town business run by her grandma Mags and live-in “best friend” Celia, two women who overcame deadbeat husbands and financial ruin to build a word-of-mouth clientele. Kasey expects her boss to say no. Instead, he sends her home to North Carolina to land the deal…and now she has a problem.
Mags and Celia aren’t interested, which isn’t a surprise, but something else is going on in their kitchen. Locked cabinets. Cryptic conversations. Unexpected notations on business records. The ladies have secrets and whatever they’re hiding is big. As reports of mysterious deaths of abusive men in the area surface—all in households that recently received a delivery from Mags’ Desserts—Kasey worries Gram and Celia have gone into the poison pie business.
As investors start circling, Kasey enlists Jackson Quaid, Celia’s nephew and Kasey’s long-time crush, as her reluctant investigation assistant. Jackson is practical. Kasey has a wild imagination. Together, they dodge Kasey’s boss and gather intel. And kiss. Lots of kissing, though probably not the best idea to start an unexpected romance. Doing it while keeping two feisty ladies from going to jail for knocking off bad husbands—even if those husbands deserve it—might be impossible…but Kasey never shied away from a challenge.
The Usual Family Mayhem is a cute title for the latest book by HelenKay Dimon. Filled with strong female characters, it’s a cross between a cozy mystery and a romcom with some laugh-out-loud moments. There are so many secrets to uncover, and that’s half the fun.
Kasey, at twenty-six, is still trying to find herself. She now lives in Washington, D.C., but is always waiting to be fired, especially since her direct boss doesn’t like her. She grew up living with her grandmother and her grandmother’s close friend in Winston-Salem. Gram and Celia run a business that creates pies and other desserts, and I was drooling over some of the descriptions.
When Kasey shows up back home for several weeks, they think the worst, but little do they know why and what she has inadvertently set in motion. Jackson, a friend and Celia’s nephew, always seems to be around when he’s not being a workaholic lawyer. There’s a definite attraction, but Kasey seems clueless about what’s really going on, even with romance in the air. He comes to her defense throughout, always picks up the pieces, and always seems to be in the right place at the right time.
There are multiple stories being told with many unexpected twists and turns. The story was sometimes choppy, but other times, it had a good flow. The secondary characters besides Jackson seemed to pop in and out when they were least expected, but we didn’t get to truly know them.
Jackson’s dad, Harlan, had his own agendas and was always vocal about them, even when no one else was interested. Gram and Celia definitely knew how to use their Southern charm, and I was surprised there weren’t more “bless your hearts” thrown around. There is some closure, but the story ends abruptly.
The Usual Family Mayhem stands up to its name with multiple stories and Kasey always snooping around. Grab a glass of sweet tea and discover what everyone is up to.
HelenKay Dimon is a former divorce lawyer with a dual writing personality. Her books have been featured in numerous venues, including The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Cosmopolitan. Her most recent release, Moorewood Family Rules, has been optioned by Paramount for television. She also writes thrillers as Darby Kane and is a #1 international bestseller in that genre. Two of her thrillers have been optioned for television, including her debut, Pretty Little Wife.
