Thank you to NetGalley and the author for an arc of this book!!.

Onto the review, the book was alright honestly speaking, it was a good first attempt at a murder mystery, on the more technical side the dialogues could use a lot more work, along with the pacing and the overall way the story was told. I feel the writer still hasn’t quite found out her voice yet which made it personally difficult to go on,, but there is promising hope.

On a more creative side if you like cosy mysteries you will really like this book, it follows the story of an author who just moved to Willowcroft, plagued by her mother’s criticisms and her lack thereof success she looks to Willowcroft to be a beacon of hope, and instead finds a promising murder mystery that takes place right in the center of her house.

It’s quite nice overall, it has all the elements of a good book but personally comes short of a great one. There’s hope, which is the most that I can say, and I look forward to seeing the progress.

This is a great first book in the Willowcroft Cozy Mystery series. Tammy relocated from Los Angeles to Wiilowcroft Michigan. She is escaping a betrayal of friendship and love that seems to have affected her writing career. I guess we’ll have to wait to see if more details are forthcoming in later books.
Tammy purchased a little blue cottage on the edge of town. It sounds like a lovely place.
Hesitantly, Tammy ventures into the waters of friendship with ladies in town. Olivia is the owner of a bookshop in town. Mrs. Temperance is a mature lady who helped to welcome Tammy to her cottage.
The mystery is a cold case that involves the cottage.
I loved the group who comes together to solve the mystery - Tammy, Olivia, Mrs. Temperance, Mr. Wallace and Xander, a teen out of school for summer break. There is also a highly intelligent feline sleuth, Lockie.
Investigating a 70 year old murder isn’t an easy task. I enjoyed seeing how things played out.
I like Willowcroft. It sounds like a lovely town.
Tammy has quite a bit of self talk that intrudes in which she hears the negative voice of her mother. This could be troubling for some.
Thanks to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for the opportunity to read Murder, Mystery and Mothers.

Tammy is a mystery writer who leaves LA to live in a blue cottage in the small town of Willowcroft.

Leaving behind a theiving best friend, a cheating ex and a spiteful mother, Tammy worries about making new connections in her new home.
When Tammy finds a decades old letter which links to an unsolved murder which happened in her home, she gets together with a group of people in the village to solve the mystery, all with the help of her adopted stray cat Lockie!

This was such an easy to read, delightful, small town cosy mystery. The writing style made it a book I could fly through quite quickly and I loved having an uncomplicated and fun book to read.

I loved all the characters and found it reminiscent of ‘Only Murders in the Building’ with an at first glance misfit group of friends of varying ages and backgrounds.

I would recommend this book and will definitely look out for more books by this author!

This is a new cozy mystery series and is quite enjoyable. We are following Tammy who has moved to a small town in Michigan from L.A. to get away from the betrayal of her ex-boyfriend and ex friend and the critical voice of her mother. Tammy moves into the little blue cottage that she finds has quite the history. She joins forces with several new friends to solve the years old mystery and someone in town who wants to keep the past buried.

The story was entertaining, While the ending was not such a surprise, I did enjoy the eclectic group of sleuths that Tammy has befriended and agrees to solve the mystery of her house. It is also a story that gives you the warm feels of chosen family. I have to admit my favorite character was the Lockie who seems to be quite the feline detective.

I look forward to seeing this series develop.

Thanks to NetGalley and BooksGo Social for the chance to read this ARC and give my opinion.

I enjoyed this book it’s definitely worth reading!!

After a devastating betrayal mystery writer Tammy Rumbelow flees LA for a charming blue cottage in Willowcroft, Michigan. But when a yellowed letter in the attic reveals an unsolved 70-year-old locked room murder in her living room, her peace is shattered.

Determined to start fresh, Tammy enlists the help of a ragtag group of locals:

Bookstore owner Olivia Huddlestone offers a sanctuary for clandestine conversations and genealogical sleuthing among her shelves.

Eccentric Mrs. Hazel Temperance mines her knitting circle for gossip.

Retired detective “Wally” has contacts at the sheriff’s department.

Tech whiz kid Xander Simmons hasn’t met a computer he didn’t like—or a website he can’t hack.

And a stray cat with a nose for clues…

As threatening letters appear and break-ins escalate around town, Tammy must prove to herself—and her inner critic—that she’s capable of solving a murder, or will that be two?

First time reading this author. I enjoyed the characters and the setting. It would be a place I'd love to live. The mystery kept me guessing, although I was surprised how long it took them to figure out one person's name was possibly the maiden name. Other than that, I look forward to more by this author.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book had a lot of fun moments and the theme of found family was what I really enjoyed in this . It’s one of those cozy mystery type of novels. Our main character Tammy decides to run away from LA to this charming blue house in a small town in Michigan as an escape. It isn’t this house that Tammy finds this whole letter that leads her on this journey to solve a 70 year old unsolved murder that happened in this house. Tammy goes on this mystery adventure, and teams up with a bunch of characters in the town will end up being more of a fun family. The best part was lockie who is the straight cat that Tammy ends up taking care of enjoying their murder mystery family/team!! I do feel like there were lots of parts of the stories that could’ve been developed more, especially with kind of the plot of why Tammy was escaping in the relations with her mother, leading her to a lot of intrusive thoughts from her. Overall, if you’re looking for a low stake, found family trying solve a cold case murder mystery then this is the one for you! Lockie was really one of the best parts of the storyline!!

Thankful to be getting this ARC through NetGalley and Montlake. Be on the lookout on May 27 for release

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC!
This small town, cozy mystery was so fun to read, all the characters were so loveable and quirky (especially Lockie). The author was so great at describing the scene, I felt like I was there with the characters, definitely Hallmark town vibes!
Tammy, Xander, Wally, Olivia, and Mrs. Temperance all brought unique and fun aspects to the case, Lockie was definitely my favorite detective. I will be picking up the prequel to this book about Lockie next! Fran Heap did such a good job on this book, I am looking forward to the next book in the series next month!
Although I loved this book, I did feel like the murderer was obvious pretty early on. With not many suspects and taking place in a small town, there weren't many options on who the murderer could be. Also there were many assumptions on what happened during the crime which was not very satisfying, I wish we got a flash back scene so we could see what actually happened. The loose ends were also a little annoying but I understand that is necessary since the mystery continues in the next book.
Can't wait to see Lockie again in the next book!

Tammy, a mystery writer, moves to Willowcroft to escape a broken heart, a betrayal and an overbearing mother! While settling in she makes a discovery about a murder which happened in her house. Her new found friends help her to solve the mystery and settle into the small community. Well written and worth a read.

"Murder, Mystery, and Mothers (A Willowcroft Cozy Mystery #1)" by Fran Heap is a multi point of view cozy mystery set in the little town of Willowcroft, Michigan. Tammy is running from her problems in L.A., an ex who helped her bff steal her best book yet and a non-supportive mother who has her so twisted up inside she still hears her negativity. Olivia, a bookstore owner and genealogist. Mrs. Temperance, a retiree who uses her knitting circle and visits to the assisted living facility for an in on all the gossip. Retired detective/police chief, Wally, comes with all his connections. The youngest and the tech guy is Xander, still a teenager. It's almost too many voices to keep track of but just barely stays within the boundaries of being able to follow along.

When Tammy moves into a little blue cottage to escape her problems over half the country away, she discovers an old threatening note in the attic. Getting Olivia and Mrs. Temperance involved then lead to getting Wally and Xander in on the investigation. One thing leads to another and they're solving a cold case.

Tammy moved to get away from LA and the heartache of being betrayed by friends. She bought a little blue cottage and found a letter from years ago. This started the amateur sleuth group with her and her new friends, as well as Lockie, the stray feline Tammy adopted. With the help of her friends, they uncover a lot of clues as well as encounter danger. I enjoyed reading the book very much. It's entertaining with adorable characters. Throughout, it's layered with funny moments that made me laugh out loud. To me, it's a page-turner and worth reading.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is a cozy mystery reminiscent of an Agatha Christie novel.  It's very easy to read, with a simple plot and simple characters.  They were amateur sleuths at best, which can be seen with their decision making skills.  The characters were not as smart as the book is making them appear. I would've liked more depth and more foundation on their relationships because the faith and trust that Tammy put on her new friends were immediately placed given that she has just experienced a betrayal. I didn't really get the mothers aspect in this book so the title is kind of a misnomer. We learn early on who's the culprit so this book is not really a case of whodunit.  However, I liked how the story ended, it was really touching.  The cat is probably my most favorite character 😽  If you like books with cats, then this might be for you 🙂

This was a fun cozy mystery. I wasn't too sure of the main character Tammy in the first couple of chapters but I really liked all the other characters that were introduced. I love a sense of community in my cozy mysteries. I also loved the murder mystery.

This is advertised as a cozy mystery book, and a cozy mystery it is. Tammy has left her life in LA after her best friend and her boyfriend betray her and leave her in a slump. Paired with the negative voice of her mother constantly in her mind, she isn't really feeling great about herself.

She buys a small house in Michigan in a quiet town where nothing exciting ever happens, but on arrival mystery starts brewing and Tammy begins an investigation into a 75 year old murder that occurred in a locked room in her new home. Along the way she enlists the help of the ex-sheriff, the local bookshop owner, a teenager who enjoys research and a lady who enjoys knitting and gossip. Together, along with the local stray that she adopts, they set about to solve the crime and figure out why all these odd things are happening.

The story itself is pretty basic. It is simply written with no major twists or turns. For me nothing was a huge surprise, I guessed some of the major plot points but it take away the enjoyment of the story. There were some comments when evidence was missed during the investigation but then I was expecting a 'Aha' moment which never quite came. There was no shock reveal.

I had hoped that there would be more focus on Tammy's past and the reason why she left LA and what had happened with her friend, boyfriend and why her mothers voice was such a negative force in her head but all of these elements were glossed over. Hopefully, if this series continues, then there is scope to develop that more.

A really promising read.

If you’re down in the dumps and looking for a Hallmark-like mystery to lift you up, then consider reading this book. It’s a contemporary, light-hearted, cozy mystery that focuses more on the personality and relationship of the characters. From the start you have a feel for what Tammy’s going through. Personally, I can very much relate with her. She’s all alone in this world, the new girl in town, yet a quirky band of relatively random strangers, of differing ages, so open and genuine, rallied to support her. It’s very much a sweet respite from the realistic side of things.

The mystery was more of a serious side quest in the whole journey and although, I didn’t enjoy it much, I think it needs a sturdier structure and a clearer direction, I must say it did get pretty interesting towards the end.

All that being said, I’m looking forward to the next book!

Tammy Rumbelow, a mystery writer, relocates to Willowcroft, Michigan, only to uncover a chilling connection to a murder from 1954. As she teams up with four local residents to unravel the long-buried secrets of the town, she quickly realizes that true mysteries are dangerous.

The story starts at a leisurely pace, introducing the characters and setting, but once the five amateur detectives come together, the story gets really interesting. With a diverse mix of ages and backgrounds, the group brings a unique dynamic to the investigation that adds a whole other level of interest.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this cozy mystery! It’s a smooth and easy read – just perfect when you want to relax and immerse yourself in a book that will give you calm and fun vibes. I enjoyed the addition of a senior sleuth in the genre, and I always appreciate a cold case mystery, quirky townsfolk, and a character making a fresh start. I’m looking forward to the next in the series.

Such a great cosy mystery. I ended up reading this in one sitting, couldn’t put it down. I just needed to know who did it!

This story follows Tammy, who moves from LA to a small town. She is a mystery writer who finds herself drawn into a mystery of her very own when she stumbles across a 75 year old locked room murder mystery set in her very own new home.

It was great seeing Tammy make new friends, especially her new sidekick Lockie the cat who was just adorable.

It was such an easy read and I’m looking forward to the next book!

DNF almost from the beginning. Cozy mysteries do not require the women protagonists to be dumb and naive. The constant questioning of themselves for every little decision is ridiculous and borderline insulting.

I wanted to like this one. But I just didn't. It was blasé and plain boring. I wish that it was more engaging.