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There are currently 30 member reviews
for Making Friends Can Be Murder
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Karen K. (SAVOY, IL)
We have an new murder mystery team: the Sarah Jones Project is On the Case!
This book took me on an enjoyable adventure into the lives of a group of women (and a man, George) at various stages of their lives. I loved the idea of a group of women of diverse ages getting together in the real and digital worlds to create art, support each other and combat loneliness in the big world.
The four most dominant characters (30, 27, 17 and George) are developed well enough to make me see them from all sides, they felt real and got my empathy. Nobody is perfect in this story, except maybe the long dead (I LIKE that).
It is a contemporary story, in that there are a few pages of vlog transcripts and a few more of group text messages, but not too much of that to be annoying. The romance felt real; there was real caring and real conflict, not just misunderstandings that get "sorted" on the last page. I loved the older women in the story also, the nun and 69 were a hoot.
The book is light and funny but not predictable and I appreciated the entertainment value of that. It is not gory or too suspenseful, just enough to keep me coming back to find out what happens, but not too much as to keep me awake at night! The very definition of a cozy mystery, but set in modern times.
I hope this mystery solving team gets repeat mysteries to share in a season 2 or 3 of the Sarah Jones Project and we get to know all of the team better.
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Deborah C. (Seattle, WA)
A fun read!
I loved the premise of this book--women with the same name (Sarah Jones) but very different backgrounds form a group. I loved getting to know the different characters, and it was fun to see how they interacted with each other.
When another Sarah Jones meets an untimely death that looks a lot like murder, the group turns its attention to crime solving.
I thought the author did a great job of interweaving all the various story lines and keeping things moving. A nice cozy mystery. And I love the book cover!
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Nina W. (Greenfield, WI)
Satisfying and humorous
The premise of the book—a group of women with the same name—attracted me. The assigning of numbers to each of them to tell them apart was necessary but seemed so arbitrary that it became a distraction and a struggle for me to keep them straight. When the explanation was finally given much further into the book, the story became much more cohesive and easier to follow.
It took longer than most books I read to hook me and send my reading into the frenzied phase. The characters were easy to relate to and well developed. The dialogue was amusing. Their struggles were relatable. The ending was satisfying. This was a fun read. It includes discussion questions.
I must mention two supporting characters who almost stole the show. Sister Mary Theresa and Supervisory Special Agent in Charge Vance delighted me, made me chuckle, and I admired them tremendously. This book would be sorely lacking without them. I would love to see them star in a sequel.
I received an advance electronic copy of this book through BookBrowse and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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Stephanie G. (Tega Cay, SC)
Fun Mystery with the Sarahs
I enjoyed this fun mystery with a group of women names Sarah Jones. I was originally a little confused with who was who, but gave it a chance and enjoyed the characters. It was a light hearted twist on a typical murder mystery. The text threads in the box were great to read and felt authentic to the story.
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Jamie K. (Berkeley, CA)
Keeping Up With the Sarahs
A social experiment by a group of women named Sarah Jones turns deadly when one of their own is murdered and another one becomes the prime suspect. Investigating the case is a young newly-minted FBI guy who falls for another one of the Sarah's, a personal trainer, who he enlists as an informant in another crime that may or may not also have been committed by the prime suspect.
What follows is a mystery romance with a good premise, but it is hard to follow as the Sarah's are only referred to by their age—Sarah 20, Sarah 17, Sarah 27, and so on. The book is also predictable and not just in the boy-meets-girl department. So many plot details, not breadcrumbs, are dished out that the book deprives readers of the biggest joy of reading a murder mystery—using their brains to follow the clues and solve the crime.
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Barbara B. (Harlingen, TX)
Making Friends Can Be Murder
Seven women all with the same name of Sarah Jones meet and bond. They identify each other by using their age "so as not to be utterly confused." Seventeen is the youngest and 69 is the oldest..
Wait, what if one of them is only pretending to be a Sarah Jones. Why is the FBI already searching for her. We have 7 Sarahs, 1 imposter, 2 FBI agents and , of course, a murder and a romance..
I thought the common name was an unique idea but found keeping track of who was who by the numbers was utterly confusing. I am, surprised the author kept everyone in her place. There was not much of a mystery as I quickly spotted the imposer and the murderer and saw that once again true love found its way.
I was a bit disappointed in the book because the first chapter offered so much which was not delivered. Read this book if you want any easy fluffy story.
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Linda V. (Independence, KY)
sweet good lifetime movie
I really had to slog thru this. It was a sweet concept of same-named characters and how they all met. It just didn't have any fire or suspense for me. Might make a nice Lifetime movie but no excitement build up.
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