The World's Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant

Really good read!

If you’re looking for a cozy mystery book with offbeat energy and a sharp-tongued, brilliant boomer detective, The World’s Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant is one of the most enjoyable mystery books I’ve picked up recently. It’s a character-driven, fast-paced read that unfolds around the suspicious death of Victoria Summersworth, a happy woman whose fall from her balcony railing during her sixty-fifth birthday party is ruled by police as suicide—but daughter Haley thinks otherwise.Olivia Blunt is desperate to prove she can handle the whole detective thing, but her eagerness often results in one apparent mistake after another. Her mentor, the nationally renowned investigator Aubrey Merritt, is the exact opposite: steady, brilliant, and infuriatingly composed. Their dynamic adds tension to the unfolding crime, creating a mystery that’s both layered and compulsively readable.While I was frustrated with Olivia’s reckless behavior and lack of character growth, the mystery itself kept me hooked. The writing is tight, the dialogue smart, and the pacing just right. This is the kind of cozy mystery series I’d recommend to anyone who loves smart, flawed characters, books with emotional tension, and a detective story that plays out like a modern game of Clue.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was such a fun cozy mystery. I hope this ends up being a series, I would love to go on future cases with Olivia and Merritt. Aubrey Merritt is a renowned Private Investigator, and she is looking for an assistant. Enter Olivia Blunt, a fact checker for an online news outlet with no investigative experience but a fascination in detectives and mysteries. Eager to learn the business and earn the respect of the famous PI, Olivia is determined to do her best and become a PI herself.When a case takes them to Vermont, Olivia and Merritt must determine if a socialite and matriarch of the Summersworth family took her own life or was murdered. Olivia's empathy for the family, the deceased, and the suspects often leaves her questioning Merritt's tactics and investigative practices. She often jumps to conclusions and goes with the easiest solution instead of slowing down and looking at the bigger picture, something Merritt coaches her on. As the duo questions friends and family members the case has many red herrings and slowly reveals several different motives. Olivia makes lots of mistakes and thinks she is doing a terrible job on the case, however she uncovers several key clues that Merritt is able to use to solve the case.I thought this was really entertaining and fun. Olivia at times bumbles around trying to please Merritt and ultimately displeases her grumpy boss, but she learns new skills and finds clues at every turn. Merritt was very gruff and stoic and essentially impossible to impress, so nothing Olivia ever does is going to be right which adds to the humor of the book. The banter and sarcasm isn't going to be to everyone's taste, but I enjoyed it. I expect if the series continues these two are eventually going to get along swimmingly. I liked how the author kept you guessing who-dun-it with all of the characters and plot lines. I wasn't sure until the very end, I was close, but who I thought ended up not being the culprit.Overall if you are looking for a fun, cozy mystery, I highly recommend this one.

Loved everything about this book! Please tell me it is the beginning of a series!

Dollycas’s ThoughtsNationally renowned investigator Aubrey Merritt needs a new assistant and soon hires Olivia Blunt. While a fan of the detective’s work, Olivia finds she may be out of her depth. Merritt has extremely high standards, and Olivia hopes to keep up and learn as much as she can to meet her new employer’s expectations.Olivia’s first weeks are filled with computer work and research until Merritt needs her for a critical case involving Victoria Summersworth, widow of Warren Summersworth. His death left her as the majority stockholder of both Kingfisher Development and Wild Goose Resort. Eldest son Neil heads Kingfisher Development, while she took the leadership of the resort; however, she recently turned over the day-to-day operations to her son, Scott.On the night of her sixty-fifth birthday party, Victoria fell to her death from her balcony to the rocky shore of Vermont’s Lake Champlain. The police have classified the death a suicide, but Victoria was in a happy place in her life; her daughter, Haley, does not believe she would take her own life. Haley has hired the “world’s greatest detective” because she believes her mother was murdered and needs to prove it. The rest of the Summersworth family just wants to move on.Olivia gets off to a rocky start, and Merritt starts to wonder if hired the right person. Olivia begins to doubt herself as well. But then, clues start to fall into place, and both learn there is much more to the mystery than they originally thought . . .This book gave me a Holmes-Watson feel. Merritt is a smart, well-known sleuth who has high expectations. Olivia is an enthusiastic young woman who wants to learn from the “world’s greatest detective”. She has great research skills and good instincts, but like Holmes, Merritt can be dismissive of theories and observations. At times, Olivia tries so hard to impress her boss that she makes mistakes. I enjoyed both for very different reasons. Merritt was interesting. She pushed my buttons with stern, stout behaviour. Olivia had to deal with a lot and may have doubted herself, but she did not give up.Did Victoria take her own life? Or was it murder? The story has a huge cast of characters, but I was easily able to keep them straight. The Summersworth family is a dysfunctional family who all make great suspects. Some employees also may have wanted Victoria dead. Merritt does interview after interview with Olivia, taking notes and photographs. Olivia also does research and a little legwork of her own. There were many clues, red herrings, and twists. Then we delve into Agatha Christie territory. Merrick brings all the suspects together to explain why she eliminated each one, ending with her proclamation of the guilty party. I was delighted to know I was right, but this part was dragged out a little too long. I found myself skimming instead of being excited for the reveal.The other thing that was wonky for me was some of the dialogues. They didn’t feel genuine, and the explicit language was completely unnecessary, although at times it was the most genuine dialogue.The World’s Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant was an enjoyable read. A little more editing could iron out any issues I had. I want to see what is next for Merritt and Blunt. With this case complete, Olivia now knows what to expect from her boss, who admits she will not change. She also has a fiancé and a future mother-in-law, and some really fun days ahead.I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.