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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Marie Jones doubles as Luella Van Horn when she wants to solve mysteries. So far these consist of finding lost dogs until she gets a phone call to solve a murder on her favorite reality tv show, Sex Island.
Between the contestants, producers and the director there is no lack of suspects. Can she figure out who the murderer is?
This was a great, light hearted (yes a murder book can be light hearted), funny read. It was easy to get into the characters and form and love/hate relationship with them. Marie was so funny while she tries to keep up the appearance of her alter ego. While I have never watched Love Island, I got the premise and loved it. I wasn't thrilled with the ending. It seemed to lack the thought that the rest of the book had and seemed like it was quickly thrown together instead of any thought put into it.
Between the contestants, producers and the director there is no lack of suspects. Can she figure out who the murderer is?
This was a great, light hearted (yes a murder book can be light hearted), funny read. It was easy to get into the characters and form and love/hate relationship with them. Marie was so funny while she tries to keep up the appearance of her alter ego. While I have never watched Love Island, I got the premise and loved it. I wasn't thrilled with the ending. It seemed to lack the thought that the rest of the book had and seemed like it was quickly thrown together instead of any thought put into it.
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I love you Jo Firestone.
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Fun but falls apart a little at the end.
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Imagine The Bachelor, Only Murders in the Building, and Scooby-Doo went on a bender, woke up on a tropical island, and tried to solve a murder. That’s roughly the energy of Murder on Sex Island—a purposely absurd, occasionally sharp, but sometimes overcooked satire that knows exactly what kind of book it wants to be, whether or not you’re on board.
Jo Firestone leans hard into the ridiculous premise: a washed-up/wannabe PI, posing as a contestant on a sexy reality TV show, trying to redeem herself while surrounded by influencer types and shady producers. The main character, Luella van Horn is a mess. She’s the kind of detective who stumbles into trouble, panics, and somehow still ends up with a dead body in her tub.
There are some genuinely funny lines and great moments of cringe comedy—Firestone’s humor shines brightest in the details: the absurd confessionals, the petty alliances, the cynical showrunners trying to spin a death into better ratings. It’s reality TV meets whodunnit.
But- it tries very hard. And sometimes, it shows. The dialogue doesn’t always land, the character interactions can feel more like improv sketches than actual conversations, and the plot—the mystery part of the mystery novel—is more like background noise. You’re not here for tight pacing or shocking reveals. You’re here for the chaos, the camp, and the commentary on just how far reality TV will go to entertain us.
Would I recommend it? Yes, just be sure you know what you are getting. It’s a great beach read—short, strange, and never taking itself too seriously. But if you’re expecting a twisty thriller or even consistent satire, you may end up more amused than amazed.
Jo Firestone leans hard into the ridiculous premise: a washed-up/wannabe PI, posing as a contestant on a sexy reality TV show, trying to redeem herself while surrounded by influencer types and shady producers. The main character, Luella van Horn is a mess. She’s the kind of detective who stumbles into trouble, panics, and somehow still ends up with a dead body in her tub.
There are some genuinely funny lines and great moments of cringe comedy—Firestone’s humor shines brightest in the details: the absurd confessionals, the petty alliances, the cynical showrunners trying to spin a death into better ratings. It’s reality TV meets whodunnit.
But- it tries very hard. And sometimes, it shows. The dialogue doesn’t always land, the character interactions can feel more like improv sketches than actual conversations, and the plot—the mystery part of the mystery novel—is more like background noise. You’re not here for tight pacing or shocking reveals. You’re here for the chaos, the camp, and the commentary on just how far reality TV will go to entertain us.
Would I recommend it? Yes, just be sure you know what you are getting. It’s a great beach read—short, strange, and never taking itself too seriously. But if you’re expecting a twisty thriller or even consistent satire, you may end up more amused than amazed.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A quick entertaining read, but not much more than that. The plot was too clunky and haphazard to be a good mystery, and the narrator was too self-conscious of her jokes to be truly funny. Most of the humor came from sarcastic asides, not what was actually happening in the story.
I am exactly the target audience for this book. I love a good mystery but don’t take it too seriously. An incompetent narrator is one of my favorite tropes. I get a kick out of reality dating shows - for the social commentary, of course. I love the comedians Firestone works with, including the ones who found her book laugh-out-loud hilarious. But the jokes didn’t land for me. I suspect the book didn’t get as thorough of an edit as it needed in between the self-publishing and mainstream-publishing processes.
I am exactly the target audience for this book. I love a good mystery but don’t take it too seriously. An incompetent narrator is one of my favorite tropes. I get a kick out of reality dating shows - for the social commentary, of course. I love the comedians Firestone works with, including the ones who found her book laugh-out-loud hilarious. But the jokes didn’t land for me. I suspect the book didn’t get as thorough of an edit as it needed in between the self-publishing and mainstream-publishing processes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Murder
Moderate: Homophobia, Kidnapping
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes