Death by Dating: A comedy murder mystery

by Nick Lennon-Barrett

“I either block them or start planning my wedding!”Zosha Paul navigates an unpredictable career, disastrous love life, endlessly critical mother, and best friend who’s been accused of murder. Which might be manageable... without ADHD.Struggling with a company restructure, she dreams of rehabilitating the increasingly grim reputation of the HR department. But this proves extra challenging when an (admittedly unpopular) member of staff is murdered at the Christmas party.Since ‘murdered people’ are a ‘people issue’, Zosha must add murder investigation to an already overflowing plate—complete with stalker ex-girlfriend and terminally ill father.But as she tries to (hyper-)focus on the case, how far is she willing to go to uncover the truth and save her best friend from a life in prison?And more urgently, can she solve the crime before she does something she’ll regret with the distractingly handsome investigating officer? (The one with the biceps.)Death by Dating is the latest comedy murder mystery from Nick Lennon-Barrett.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Ebooks

274 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 24, 2023

Reviews

[Linda Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book !!! Zosha Paul was a certifiable MESS ! And as hilarious as all get out 1 I absolutely adored her !! On the job, EVERYONE came to her to ask for advice. Or AKA, solve their problems. But, in her personal life? Total disaster !She made me giggle more than once. Especially the attraction to the "ginger haired copper". Her on again and off again sleeping buddy and his name changed. It changes on whether or not he ticked her off in the pursuit of her very best friend. Oh, he got it but he didn't like it. Zosha does have rather the switching of allegiances when it comes to men and women in her life. In her sexual life and some readers might not like that. She was almost dangerously loyal to friends and that made things even more interesting in the story and at times funny ! Her ex-girlfriend was a psycho and I felt a dangerous one. I kept saying, "Just boot her out Zosha, get a restraining order !" This girl has the luck of the Irish, lol. Everyone thing works out in the end,happily. With a couple of surprises when it comes to the murder. Although I liked both men who had romanced Zoha (and slept with her) I was a bit sad for the one man, not ending up with her. I liked him a lot.
I want to read more "Zosha" but not sure how much trouble she could get into. Then I remembered one of her favorite sayings, "Do you even know me?" and she would laugh. I found myself laughing with her as I'm tying this. By the way, I loved the name Zosha.
I kept thinking through the story, "How does this author write so personally about Zosha's ways of thinking." Then the author mentioned in the notes that they suffer from some of the same things. Neurodivergent. Not a phrase I was familiar with but I have some understanding now.
Nick Lennon-Barrett thank you so much for letting me read your book ! It was a hoot of an adventure and I really enjoyed the journey !!! She could become one of my best friends, is the title I'm using for my reviews.

[Christine Rains · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zosha Paul is living her best life before she even thinks about settling down. She has a high stress career in HR, a chaotic dating life, a stalker ex, and a best friend accused of murder. Totally manageable, even with ADHD. To save her bestie from prison, Zosha attempts to investigate the murder with the partners of the firm she's working for the top suspects. Can she keep everything in order and solve the crime even with the distraction of a gorgeous police officer?

This is a fun roller coaster of a mystery. There are a lot of layers to the plot, and it's amazing Zosha can keep any focus with it all. She's a hilarious narrator with an all-or-nothing attitude. That doesn't help with her dating life! Lots of twists and I could never know who to trust. Everyone has their secrets.

[Jenni Hallet · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were times that this book was comical and I couldn't put it down but there were also times where I felt like th MFC was rambling on and a chapter would drop at the pique of the story, only to skip to a new part of the story with a recap later that felt like an after-thought to include instead of letting it play out in the initial chapter. I can honestly say that I was shocked by several events in the last few pages of the book, not expecting the main outcome at all!

[Bryan Spellman · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG--he's telling my story

OK. Not really but I could relate to Zosha's life. I have been wondering if I am living with Adult ADHD and seeing that situation depicted so clearly in Zosha has been an eye opener. When you add in the plot twists and the well developed characters, you have a real winner. And kudos for the inclusion of so many LGBTQ+ characters, both good and shady.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

great little mystery

Zosha Paul is a professional with ADHD and a rather active dating life. A lot of comical characters fill the pages of this whodunnit. The ADHD aspect was done really well. A few minor typos/grammatical errors in the book. I want to read the next one in the series.

[Janyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zosha, the main character is very engaging and you can't resist rooting for her through all of the ins and outs of her murder investigation to prove her friend's innocence. I read straight through and enjoyed the ride!

[Marmalade · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great 1st book in this series and can't wait to read the next 1. I've read all the previous books by this author and haven't been disappointed by any of them. 100% would recommend if you like comedy mystery whodunits.

[Faith Shaffer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book and highly recommend it! The story was really funny and the mystery was good. There were all kinds of things going on besides the main mystery that added a lot to the story. I can't wait for the next one! Meanwhile, I am going to have to stalk the author's other works.

[Magan Mangold · Rating 2 out of 5]

Terrible FMC

The FMC was so incredibly difficult to like. Poor decision after poor decision. Made it hard to finish this book.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I...I can't get over the disaster of this main character and her crazy ex.

[Brett Vernon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good book. It does have some slow parts but it does make you angry but cry in some spots.