The game is afoot

Elise Bryant

Book - 2025

"A clever and hilarious new mystery about a mother who thinks she has to do it all-even solve a murder-from the author of It's Elementary After rage quitting her job, Mavis finally has time to get all the rest she's been putting off. Or she should have the time. Hypothetically. Except she's taken on a new role: Supermom. Her hours are filled with chauffeuring her daughter, Pearl, around to her extracurricular activities, somehow ending up class mom, and...investigating another mystery? When Coach Cole, the director of the kids' soccer program, drops dead on a sunny Saturday morning, no one suspects foul play. However, the police soon discover something suspicious left on the field, making it clear that someone had i...t in for the coach. But who? Sure, parents got mad when he made their precious star athletes sit on the bench, but not that mad. Mavis is determined to find out, even if it takes her into the dark, dangerous underbelly of gentle parents and MLM girlbosses. Plus, it's an easy distraction from everything else going on. Like the panic attacks she keeps brushing off. Or the fact that she's unemployed and totally lost as to what her purpose and path in life should be. And then there's her ex-husband who's back in town and doing everything she's ever wanted, just as she's beginning a new relationship. Mavis knows a murder investigation probably isn't the self-care she needs right now. But how exactly are you supposed to take care of yourself when you don't even know who you are anymore?"--

Saved in:
1 copy ordered
Subjects
Genres
Detective and mystery fiction
Humorous fiction
Romance fiction
Novels
Romans
Published
New York : Berkley 2025.
Language
English
Main Author
Elise Bryant (author)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
pages cm
ISBN
9780593640807
Contents unavailable.
Review by Library Journal Review

In Bryant's funny sequel to It's Elementary, 32-year-old Mavis returns to amateur sleuthing at Knoll Elementary School. She has impulsively quit her day job and doesn't know how she'll support herself. As a single mother, she feels pushed and pulled by her loved ones, her beloved daughter, her live-in father, her new boyfriend, and her ex-husband. Now Mavis has more time to be involved with her daughter's school activities and the other students' mothers, many of whom are recruiting for multilevel marketing schemes. In Mavis's gentrifying California suburb, overinvolved parents are fiercely ambitious and protective of their children and appear willing to do anything to push their children forward--but is one of them ruthless enough to murder the soccer coach? None of the school parents is who they seem, and Mavis finds herself in mortal danger when she least expects it. A fast-paced, warm portrait of a devoted mother trying her best, this novel ends on a cliffhanger, suggesting a third series installment is in the works. VERDICT A must-read for fans of It's Elementary, but newcomers will also enjoy meeting feisty Mavis.--Jan Marry

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