Lyla works as a receptionist in her uncle’s private investigative firm, but she really would like to be a private eye. She belongs to a book group who call themselves the Jane Does and are obsessed with true crime. It hits close to home when one of their members is found dead, stuffed in a suitcase. When threatening notes start appearing, it will be up to the group, or mostly Lyla and her best friend, to discover what really happened before another Jane Doe bites the dust. This first book in the series is quite intriguing and a little gritty to called a cozy mystery. The idea of a book group trying to solve the crimes of missing persons is quite interesting. The mystery has some plot twists and is well written, and it will be interesting to see these characters in future books. ( )

Lyla loves her “Mayberry-esque” town, where she’s a receptionist at her uncle’s PI firm and joins her fellow true-crime obsessed friends in their book club. Then, she finds a body on her doorstep.

Lyla Moody lives in small town Sweet Mountain, Georgia and works for her Uncle Calvin, who's a retired cop and now a private investigator. She's always been interested in true crime, but since nothing ever happens where she lives, she belongs to the Jane Doe Book Club, where the members read mysteries and discuss them.

One evening after work she's stunned to see her ex-boyfriend Kevin, along with her horrible cousin moving in across the complex from her. As if that weren't enough, her friend Melanie is still on vacation with half her own clothes. But when she finds what she thinks is Melanie's suitcase outside her door, she hauls it inside. The next morning Melanie shows up at her door, and they both realize there's a terrible smell coming from the suitcase. What they find inside is the body of their friend Carol Timms -- and then everything happens: why would someone do this? Why would they leave her in front of Lyla's apartment? Why is Lyla receiving cryptic messages similar to the last book they read?

Not to mention, her father becomes semi-involved, her mother is having a breakdown, and Carol's husband, Judge Timms, wants Lyla to investigate, thinking she's becoming a private investigator herself. When Lyla agrees, everything goes haywire. Now Lyla is in the middle of a murder, and she just might be the next victim...

This is the first book in a new series by Kate Young, and I have to say that I absolutely loved it. There was plenty of action all the time, and the only thing that bothered me is the fact that Lyla is too busy trying to tell herself that she's better than men -- she doesn't need one, she's independent, she can take care of herself, etc. -- that she misses the big picture. Maybe if she just stopped and sat back the right man would come along that understands her desire to solve cold cases. I guess we'll see in the next book.

Anyway, that notwithstanding, Lyla is a fairly smart woman who is able to think quickly which helps in keeping her out of danger. She manages to find the clues she needs to put everything together, and while this book isn't what I would call a true cozy, it still keeps one interested right through the ending.

Although I figured out who the murderer was before Lyla did, it was still intriguing to watch her as she figured it all out. Ms. Young writes with a flair that pulls the reader in while making the characters almost leap off the page. They are animated and believable, and that is what a book is supposed to do.

When we come to the ending, it gives us a sense of satisfaction as there are no cliffhangers, which I absolutely abhor; and leaves us waiting eagerly for the next in the series. Highly recommended. ( )

When I rolled my eyes at the very first sentence of On Borrowed Crime, I should have heeded the warning and stopped right there. From a very promising premise, this first book in the Jane Doe Book Club cozy series just was not my cup of tea. From an easy-to-deduce whodunit to an awkward takeoff on Janet Evanovich's Grandma Mazur, I simply could not warm up to either the story or the characters.

Lyla loses half her wardrobe, but it's no biggie because her mother keeps her closet fully stocked at home. Lyla's car goes to the scrapyard in the sky, but-- no biggie-- she can borrow her mother's car. But if you think the thirty-one-year-old's life as the daughter of rich parents is all sunshine and roses, you obviously haven't met her mother. Apparently, Lyla's mother had some sort of tragedy in her childhood that makes her the ultimate control freak, and it's the sort of thing to fuel another book in the series, but honestly, I don't have the will or the desire to find out what happened to her. Lyla's always been obsessed with true crime, with solving cold cases, with finding justice for victims and their families, but that's not the life choice her parents want for her, so they actually put her in therapy in an attempt to snap her out of it. Marriage and babies. That's the thing. Ugh! (Hey, I can't help it if I'm pro-choice.)

However, the one thing about writing book reviews is that I'm fully aware of the fact that, while I'm describing something that drove me around the bend, at the same time I'm convincing some of you that this is exactly the book you want to read next. If you look at it this way (and I do), it's a win-win situation. The next decision is up to you.

(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley) ( )

Lyla Moody wants to be a private investigator so she goes to work at her uncle's agency as the receptionist, but when he is called out of town for a case, she takes on the job of finding the murderer of her friend Carol, whose body was literally dropped on her doorstep. Along with her book Club, The Jane Does, Lyla is determine to find justice for her friend.

Not the greatest start for a series. The characters need more depth as well as stronger stomachs if they are going to continue to investigate murders. It did seem a bit repetitive when Lyla comes into the cross-hairs of the murderer. ( )