Definitely Maybe Not a Detective

A fake detective agency becomes all too real in this sweet series launch from Fox (the Magical Menagerie Mysteries). Following her brother’s death from cancer, Emersyn Gray, 28, desperately needs cash to support her seven-year-old niece, Livy. So, she agrees to a friend’s plan to threaten Emersyn’s ex-boyfriend with counterfeit PI business cards and recover the money he stole from their joint bank account. When the superintendent of Emersyn’s New York City apartment building—a cheap, seniors-only spot—is murdered, however, her fellow residents link Emersyn to the business cards she’d accidentally dropped in the stairwell, and seek her help proving the innocence of a neighbor who was arrested for the crime. With the aid of a handsome stranger named Wyatt and an aspiring teen gumshoe who lives in the building, Emersyn successfully converts her fake PI business into a real one. None of the building’s residents is above suspicion, including Emersyn, whom police suspect of using her sleuthing to cover up her own guilt. Taking more than a dash of inspiration from Only Murders in the Building, Fox successfully combines kooky characters, a simmering romance, and a solid whodunit plot. Cozy mystery fans will be charmed. Agent: Jessica Faust, Faust Literary. (Jan.)