Review: Mystery Magnet by Gregory Ashe

Title: Mystery Magnet

Series: The Last Picks: Book One

Author: Gregory Ashe

Length: 174 Pages

Category: Cozy Mystery

Rating: 5 Stars

At a Glance: An amateur sleuth goes sleuthing, and it all adds up to a fun cozy mystery. I look forward to getting to know this motley crew of characters so much better.

Reviewed By: Lisa

Blurb: He was born to write mysteries. Now, he has to solve them.

When Dashiell Dawson Dane moves across the country to a small seaside town called Hastings Rock, he has one goal: get away from his ex. Okay, two goals – because he wouldn’t mind a little help from his new boss, celebrity mystery author Vivienne Carver. With Vivienne’s mentorship, Dash is sure he can get over this blasted case of writer’s block and start telling his own stories again.

The only problem? Vivienne is murdered on Dash’s first night at Hemlock House. And when police find a secret passage that connects Dash’s bedroom to Vivienne’s, they’re sure they know who did it. Now Dash has to prove his innocence – and the only way to do that is to figure out who really killed Vivienne Carver.

Review: Gregory Ashe is best known for writing novels that are more emotionally catastrophic than aesthetically cozy. If your guts don’t feel like they’ve been yanked out through your tear ducts, have you ever even read him? No. But that’s all changed with Mystery Magnet, the Scooby-est of mysteries, and that means fun. What, really, could be more meta than a mystery author writing about a mystery author who becomes embroiled in a mystery, against his will, and then must solve it? If you want something done right . . .

Dashiell Dawson Dane, aka “It’s just Dash,” has quite the pedigree. His own parents are bestselling mystery authors, which is fine. Except he knows that’s how and why he got the job as Vivienne Carver’s new assistant. It certainly couldn’t be thanks to the two short stories of his own he’s had published. It’s when Vivienne turns up dead, a mere day after Dash’s arrival in Hastings Rock, that the stage is set and the intrigue begins.

Because it’s only natural the newcomer would be the prime suspect in her murder.

Dash isn’t alone on this ride, of course. He’s got a handful of new friends helping him. If it’s possible to write a character out loud, Ashe has done it with Millie, and she contrasts so perfectly with the nonverbal Keme. Adding Fox and Indira to the group, as well as Deputy Bobby—who is a person of some interest—rounds out a charming cast of characters I absolutely must know better.

As Dash and company get closer to the truth, the killer becomes emboldened to kick their crime spree up a notch, heaving Dash himself into grave danger and leading the story to its pinnacle. It appears that this amateur sleuth will be sticking around Hastings Rock for at least a little while. I hope it leads to much more sleuthing.