Coco is up to sleuthing out a killer in this the newest Trending Topics murder. A social media influencer comes to town to talk to Coco and ends up dead. No one knew her. Very few knew she was in town. Old secrets come unraveled. Once again Coco is drawn into the investigation.
Sarah E. Burr has a way of writing a very up to the minute cozy filled with the fastest tech savvy information. I love how her characters have such in depth personalities. You really do feel like your there a part of the story!
There are lots of twists to the plot so keep guessing! The mystery flows like smooth rich chocolate! Thanks for putting in the story how social media affects so many people's mental well being. If could this would get a 10 star rating!! Thanks #Netgalley and #LevelBestBooks for the eARC in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are mine.
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Cozy Mystery following a Delaware social media influencer & consultant and her friends aka the Sleuth Squad are on the case after she finds a mega-influencer dead.

4/5 stars: This is the third entry in Burr's Trending Topic Mystery series, which is a Cozy Mystery that takes place in Delaware and features a social media influencer and consultant. With plenty of twists and turns, Burr has crafted a mystery that balances the suspects, clues and red herrings and will leave you pondering the whodunit until the final reveal. Burr's characters are incredibly likable. It’s fun to catch up with Coco and her friends, Jasper and Charlotte (who are a hoot). And I really like seeing Coco and Hudson's relationship moving to the next level. I’m always on the lookout for cozies that feature unique careers and Coco’s work in the social media sphere hits the spot. This book touches on some sensitive issues, so take care and check the CWs. While you could read this as a stand-alone, you'll gain so much more by reading this series from the beginning; so be sure to pick up book one, FollowMe for Murder.

I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley and Level Best Books, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.

❥ dm me for murder — sarah e. burr
★ ★ ★

˗ˏˋ ♡ ´ˎ˗ genre : mystery
˗ˏˋ ♡ ´ˎ˗ pages: 338


synopsis —

a social media collab turns deadly for influencer coco cline.

cordelia “coco” cline is over the moon when she learns mega-influencer latàge wants center of attention consulting to handle her rebranding campaign. but things come crashing down when coco arrives for a brainstorming meeting only to find latàge dead on the floor of her rented mansion. while the central shores police don't suspect coco of the disturbing crime, the Internet has other ideas. Coco is horrified to see the hashtag #CocoClineistheProblem trending everywhere on socials, with anonymous accounts accusing her of having a hand in latàge’s tragic death.

armed with her phone and her fabulous friends (dubbed the sleuth squad), coco dives into latàge’s glamorous, over-the-top world of influencer-turned-celebrity. Who in central shores would want the la native dead? what skeletons had latàge been hiding?

join crime-solving influencer coco clone for her most outrageous case yet as she and her friends uncover long-buried scandals trending just below the surface.

review —

so this was the first one ive read in the ‘cosy mystery’ type series and it lured me in kept me on my toes. not a bad story and it did the job for me.

some parts of the book just dragged for me, some parts were fast paced. at some points the slang in the conversations became a bit too much but the book overall wasn’t a bad book!!

THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY FOR THE ARC IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.

This is the third book in the Trending Topic Mystery Series by Sarah E. Burr and it’s the best one yet.
Ms. Burr has skillfully crafted a diverse cast of characters who return in DM Me for Murder. It’s like sitting down for coffee with a group of friends.

The body drops early in the book, and Coco is first on the scene. Using her tech savvy skills and social media knowledge, Coco and her sidekicks, Charlotte and Jasper, get to work figuring out who could have done it.

Central Shores Police Department Lieutenant Gavin McInnis finally acknowledges that Coco has skills that could help the department solve the murder. That’s a relief! And Coco does a good job of keeping him in the loop of her investigation.

The story is fast-paced and there are excellent suspects. There are enough twists in the story to keep the reader on their toes and guessing who the killer could be.
And the surprise twist at the end is wonderful!

Once I started reading this book, I couldn’t put it down. Ms. Burr pulled me into the story and it didn’t let me go.
It hits all the marks for a contemporary cozy mystery.

DM me for murder

A sincere thank you to NetGalley and Level Best Books for granting early access to this cozy mystery. Earning a steady three stars, the story introduces readers to micro-influencer Coco Cline and her diverse group as they embark on solving the murder of celebrity influencer LaTage. As the investigation unfolds, exposing hidden secrets, the narrative takes unexpected twists and turns.

Cozy mysteries usually hit the right notes for me, but this one presented a distinctive challenge. The characters, particularly Coco and her friends, embraced gen Z slang to an extent that felt slightly forced. The frequent use of shorthand like "u" and "ur" felt unnatural, and even the inclusion of such language in the dialogue of a sixty or seventy-year-old character seemed a bit too exaggerated. The repetitive use of "spill the tea" in the context of a homicide investigation left me cringing, and the forced nicknames, like "cokes" for Coco, added an unnecessary layer of eye-rolling.

Jasper's questionable behavior and Coco's surprising friendship with her former school bully introduced unexpected dynamics that felt somewhat strained. The attempt to incorporate trendy language into the characters' interactions didn't quite hit the mark.

Despite these stylistic challenges, the core mystery proved engaging, peeling back the enigmatic layers of LaTage's life. The guessing game of identifying the murderer injected a level of enjoyment into the narrative. However, the exaggerated use of gen Z slang and forced nicknames overshadowed the positive aspects.

In conclusion, while the mystery provided entertainment, the forced inclusion of trendy language and somewhat unrealistic character dynamics might not resonate with readers seeking a more authentic cozy mystery experience. A three-star rating reflects the balancing act between enjoyable mystery elements and stylistic missteps.

Before anything, I would like to thank Sarah E. Burr, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, this book was a nice experience. It doesn't particularly stand out to me and has some flaws, but I enjoyed it for the most part.

**Pros**
* Coco is a nice character with personality, ambitions, flaws, qualities, and relationships. She feels real and complete.
* The writing style was easy to follow and I was able to eat the book up quickly.
* The relationships seemed real and lived in, including family, friendship, and romance.
* As per usual with murder mysteries, the story kept me engaged and curious to continue reading until the secrets were unveiled.
* All plot points were nicely tied in at the end.
* I got chills finding out what happened to LaTàge. The message behind it was very sad and very real.

**Cons**
* The ending was anticlimactic and didn't give me the thrill that usually comes with the resolution of a murder mystery.
* Some of the dialogue was unnatural, with different characters often using the same expressions, failing to differentiate themselves and seem like real people.
* There weren't many beautiful quotations to highlight, which is something that might not matter to other people, but that I enjoy a lot.

A fun, very contemporary read with engaging characters and a fast moving story.
It kept me up to finish it!

Another hit from Sarah. I’ve fallen in love with Coco and her squad of counterparts and the way Sarah makes mystery and murder have a side of fun and romance. Highly recommend this series and love the latest installment so much.

A well-crafted cozy mystery, DM Me for Murder definitely was an entertaining read that kept me on my toes. It wasn't groundbreaking, it wasn't bad; it does its job and it makes for a fun time.

You find yourself following along as micro influencer CoCo Cline gets swapped up in yet another murder investigation in her town, the third in less than a year. She enlists the help of her friends as tries to uncover what happened to another influencer, LaTàge, which she found dead upon arrival for their business meeting.

The story unravels at a very good pace, the pieces of the puzzle are given to you at exactly the right time to keep you interested. While I did find some parts were dragging a bit, it did have some good twists and I really enjoyed the ending. I do think it is a good introduction to the genre and probably more appealing to a younger audience, also considering how very rooted in pop culture it is.

I did find the constant use of slang, even in conversations, to be a bit too much at times, especially when they were sharing information about the murder. But overall, it was something I could easily overlook in the moment.

I have not read the previous books in the series and I don't think it impacted neither my enjoyment or comprehension of the book; it didn't really give away much about past cases, which made it very easy to move through the story without having that knowledge. However, I will definitely go back to read them and fill in the blanks for myself.

This book was hard for me to read - it read like an elder millennial trying to pretend to be Gen Z? A lot of phrases, words, ideas seemed so forced and really hard to handle. I didn't find many of the characters to be very endearing, and I only kept reading because I like knowing what happens.

I do think the mystery element of it was woven wonderfully, but I couldn't get past the cheesy writing of the characters.

I really enjoyed the cross between murder mystery and influencers . social media - to me it felt more current than other murder mysteries I have read.

Very millennial/Gen Z and online in nature, however it fell somewhat flat for me. I feel like this could have been shorter with the interviews and how all the clues tied together in the end. The stakes were lacking and the story meandered about. I did enjoy some bits and found it fun to follow, but that just might be social media manager in me talking.

Thanks NetGalley and Sarah Burr for the free ARC.
This was a cute and easy read. The story follows Coco Cline, a social media influencer who stumbles upon a client who was murdered. This is third book on the Trending Topic series. The characters and situations may have made more sense, had I read the first to books or realized it was a series prior to starting it. I feel that the description of the book could’ve included that this wasn’t a standalone or the first book, because I won’t the beginning of the book very confused about certain things and characters before realizing that they’d been introduced previously. Overall, it was a cute book and easy read. A lot of current pop culture references and phrases.

I found this cozy murder mystery browsing NetGalley. The cover is what caught my eye first and then after reading the synopsis it was a done deal. This was an easy read and I feel it would be a perfect vacation/beach read. It’s told from Cocos POV as she works to uncover the killer of her suppose to be new client. I definitely enjoyed this read, I feel it would be well suited as a YA genre and the author is a great writer! The only thing is, I had a bit of a hard time following the very many characters in the book. With that said, I’m sure when you are investigating a murder, there’s a lot of people you need to talk to in order to get your answers.

This is a very modern murder mystery with a ton of relevant references. Coco is a social media influencer who is about to meet her biggest client yet. Except when she goes to meet LaTage, she finds her body instead. This isn’t the first time Coco has been involved in a murder case which leads the internet to do what it does best - make memes and put Coco on blast blaming her. We follow along as Coco tries to unravel the real killer while deep diving into long-buried scandals.

I have not read the previous two books in this cosy mystery series, but its title both lured me in and slightly annoyed me (surely it should be DM For Murder - but the previous two books have had this format #FollowMe For Murder and #TagMe For Murder). Anyway the aching nowness of having our Miss Marple be an internet influencer, and all of its of the moment references (Pedro Pascal presenting SNL), is ameliorated by it actually being quite good. There is a right way and a wrong way to drop a reference, or use slang, and Burr unerringly always ends up on the right line even when she is borderline parodying herself. The book refers to X not Twitter, and also briefly lingers on how problematic Musk is, and in itself will probably be dated in about six months. But that oddly makes it feel specific around its central friendships and groupings. Oh, and the murder works.

Influencer and fashion vlogger LaTàge is in town to use the services of our heroine, lower-wattage influencer (and part-time sleuth), Coco Cline. The book kills its victim in Chapter One (relatively rare for this genre), and has general misgivings about this being the third murder in a year in the area and the third to involve Coco - it doesn't have the heart to do a drawing room style ending. Suspects slowly line up and whilst Burr writes for an audience that is probably savvy with much of the Instagram terminology, she treats it with a light enough touch to explain what's going on (it helps that the cops are largely dummies that need things explaining to).It is odd reading something so clearly designed to be consumed within the next six months, but that urgency gives it pace. I'm not sure I would even call it a cosy mystery, whilst it ticks many of the boxes, it feels a little more substantial than the average. I'll be going back to read the previous ones.

I was hoping that this was going to be a fun, new cozy mystery, but I was disappointed.
From the beginning, the story was childish and really not the type of adult cozy mystery I love to read.
Unfortunately, I will not be recommending this book to others.

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

"But that was the internet for you. Just one remark, one comment, could make or break a public figure."

I would consider this a modern Millennial/Generation Z coded retelling of a Nancy Drew mystery. The FMC, CoCo Cline is a famous social media influencer who was meeting up with another famous influencer names LaTage. Upon arrival, Coco finds LaTage dead. Throughout the story, we follow Coco's various leads despite the county's police department not wanting her help (again, very Nancy Drew coded, caught sleuthing where she does not belong).

I was under the impression that this novel was going to be adult fiction, however it read more middle school/early high school level. The story and mystery was very surface level and it lacked a substantial amount of character development. The story is mainly focused on Coco interviewing possible suspects, but once the mystery concludes itself, it felt like all that investigation was useless and not relevant to the discovery.

I would have enjoyed this read more if I was in middle school. I believe this book is best suited for younger audiences who are well versed in social media. There are many references to social media that an older audience would not understand, which would likely disconnect them from the story.

My favorite part of this story was when we were introduced to Coco's friends, Charlotte and Jasper. I like how they assisted Coco with her investigation and were a supportive friend group. I would have liked to see more on the message surrounding the toxicity of social media, as the story touches on the 'social media hate' Coco receives after being the one to discover LaTage dead.

cozy mysteries are my type, and Sarah E. Burr nailed it with this one!!

thankyou netgalley for the arc. all opinions are my own and are totally honest and unbiased!

Thank you net galley and level best books for the early. This book was a solid three stars as normally I do really enjoy cozy mysteries. This book follows micro influencer coco cline and her group of friends, family, and colleagues as they set out to find out who killed celebrity influencer LaTage. After finding out the star may have been harboring many secrets, the investigation spirals into something twisty and shocking. Normally I enjoy reading books that follow influencer as a gen z girl who follows some of them in real life, however this one ended up being a bit over the top for me. The characters in the book were constantly using generic gen z slang, not just over text but in real life which I found super unrealistic and kind of ridiculous. I, as a gen z, don't even talk like that in real life, so how am I supposed to believe these millennials are talking like this? Even a sixty or seventy something year old dad was using words like u instead of you, ur instead of your, and lol or dl. How does he even know what down low means?? The number of times they said, spill the tea, in reference to homicide investigation information drove me crazy. No body talks like that and also the nicknames everyone gave each other was also making my eyes roll. Not everyone has to have a nickname so saying cokes for coco or manz for Amanda kinda made me wanna scream. Also, jasper acted kind of poopy and even coco pointed out his selfishness sometimes so I'm confused as to why they're friends. It also shocked me to find that coco befriended her old, mean school bully who body shamed her. Couldn't be me but you do you boo. Anyways, besides all that, I did like the actual mystery to it and uncovering all these secrets about LaTage's life. I had fun trying to guess which one of them could be the murderer. 3 stars.

The classic who dun it combined with some modern day social media influencers. This story was well written and relatable to the world we live in today- as far as the social media aspect. While not my favorite I’ve read recently, definitely enjoyed it and would recommend to others.