A Not So Shocking Murder

Holt Jacobs Mystery #1

by Lily Stirling

First, no coffee. Then a dead guy. This is one killer vacation.

I thought being forced into a Mother’s Day trip with my entire family on the Oregon Coast was bad. Then came the dead bodies.

Turns out Mom’s cozy vacation spot kept its high murder count a secret.

So I’m stuck in a death trap.

Either I can play detective for a few days or follow Mom’s perfect schedule. Detective it is. But is my vacation long enough to solve a couple years’ worth of crimes?

Five days. Six murders.

No pressure.

***Holt Jacobs isn’t for everyone. He’s a sarcastic introvert who can never get quite enough coffee. Becoming a sarcastic sleuth was unexpected, but as an engineer, Holt is used to solving puzzles.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Ebooks

187 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 15, 2023

About the author

Lily Stirling is the writer of the Holt Jacobs Mystery series.

She has spent a quarter of a century living in the Pacific Northwest. Lily was born in Idaho, but her family moved to Washington around the time she could read chapter books.

Mysteries have always delighted her, from listening to The Hardy Boys on car trips to watching episodes of Psych.

As for sarcastic families, when she’s not writing about one, she’s living in one.

Reviews

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very quirky cozy mystery based on a single young man who has an overbearing mom and two nosy, happily married sisters. He is forced to leave his orderly life in Seattle to attend a chaotic, itinerary laden family gathering at a rental house in the Oregon coastal town of Amelia’s Haven. Holt becomes an unwilling participant in several town mysteries when he attempts to rescue a murder victim. First in a series. Clean read.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this quick mystery. The family dynamic is very relatable and I liked them all. Can’t wait to read the next one in 2024

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Not So Shocking Murder was a fun, fast, and easy read. Holt Jacobs is on a family vacation, but it sounds like he needs a vacation from his vacation. There are multiple mysteries murders at this idyllic ocean side town in Oregon. Holt tries to solve these murders between family surf lessons and dinners.

[Kathy Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A NOT-SO SHOCKING MURDER is the first in the Holt Jacobs mystery series. Holt is a nearly 30-year-old engineer who has been dragged by his mother to join in on a Mother's Day celebration with his whole family at a small town on the Oregon coast. Holt loves his family, but forced together time is not high on his list of favorite activities.

Holt arrives at the first event - a dinner at a seahorse themed restaurant - jet lagged, dehydrated and sleep deprived after a series of travel mishaps. He doesn't expect to see a new town resident die of poisoning right in front of his eyes. Nor does he expect to pass out and come to looking into the beautiful eyes of paramedic Brittany.

Curious about the reason for the man's death and eager to get out of his very organized mother's planned events, Holt decides to look into things. He soon discovers that the most recent murder is one of a series of murders that the local Chamber of Commerce isn't publicizing. Those murders include Brittany's fiancé with her brother accused of the crime.

Between trying to get enough sleep and enough coffee and dodging his mother's plans, Holt is kept busy trying to solve the series of murders.

I liked Holt who is a sarcastic introvert with a coffee addiction.

[Bruce Retallack · Rating 1 out of 5]

According to the book itself, our 1st-person narrator (Holt Jacobs) is a successful, 30-year-old man who eats well, works out, and proud of his hair. According to his own words, thoughts, and actions, he comes across as a sullen, awkward, sarcastic, inept 18-year-old, who wants to sleep for hours on end. He blames this on the jet lag he acquired from flying to Oregon from Seattle, which takes less than an hour, north to south. Jet lag? Seriously?
I decided the book must have been written by a very young male author, only to discover it was penned by a woman. So, maybe a female portrait of the eternal man-child? Dunno.
All of that might have been overcome by a robust, engaging mystery story, and indeed the concept is intriguing enough. But a) he doesn't solve it, and b) the solution is rather over-the-top, at least for me.
So, although I almost gave it up by chapter 8, I pushed through and finished. So that's something, I guess. But I'm certainly not going to continue with this series.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oddly enough, this book made me feel slightly better about my young adult son completely blowing off Mother's Day. Holt, who is almost a decade older than my son, clearly isn't into it either, but his mom's the pushy type who pressured the whole family into celebrating her. I mean, if you have to orchestrate your own party, perhaps its best not to have one at all? And even though Holt is fictional, I'm fairly sure his thoughts on the holiday aren't that unusual. Maybe it's a case of "slighty miffed loves company," but at any rate the book, which was quite entertaining, ĥelped undo my hurt feelings from seeing all those stupid commercials and social media posts where grateful families tearfully present their moms with flowers and gifts and breakfast in bed.

[Newsfoia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Takeaway theme: Aspirin

First - pretty good characters and dialogue. But overriding the plot was the frequency of Holt’s headaches. It was like every page Holt had to talk about his headache descriptions; how he was getting one, how he had one, how it was progressing, how he was dealing with one, waking up with one, etc. The anticipation didn’t build on solving the murders but on when you have to read about another headache. You end up dreading turning the page because it would be about another descriptive whining about a headache. It’s repeat I’ve enough that I doubt I’ll read another Holt book because I’m positive it will give me a headache.

[Madison Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick easy read. I was gifted the 3rd installment in a goodreada giveaway, so I figured I may as well start at the beginning. At first, I wasn't sure I was going to like the main character or the book. As it went on, I really began to love Holt and his sarcastic sense of humor. Reminded me of my husband. 😂 The story had just enough to keep you invested and although I figured out the killers pretty early on I was excited to see how it played out. I really enjoyed the book and can't wait to see how Holt gets himself into the next predicament.

[Froggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It was so funny and enjoyable to read. From page one, it was so great. I really enjoyed how the author portrayed the family dynamic, it rang true and was very funny. The book isn't very long, so it's an easy quick read, which was nice, I actually read it in one day, I couldn't put it down. I've already purchased the rest of the books in the series, I can't wait to read more about Holt Jacobs and his adventures.quick

[Annette Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

be a tenacious reader with this one

I found it hard to get into. It Jumped into the crazy mixed up world of this first person story. The crazy of his family annoyed me so much I skipped the bulk of the middle of the book, quickly able to piece together the ending as it unfolded to enjoy the happy/frustrating ending.
No cliffhanger, completely clean ( well, what I read)

[Vanathi · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Engineer as a Solver of Crimes!

Loved the book. As someone who was an engineer, who knows lots of other socially inept engineers, I laughed out loud at Holt's inability to recognize his feelings. The reason for the string of murders was hilarious - despite having read whodunnits for decades, this was an unusual motive.

[Cynthia A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solved murders

The book isn’t bad , but hard to get started. Holt is nerdy and a little shy. He gives CPR to a man that keeled over. Too late to really help him and Holt was in shock. This incident is the reason he started investigating the recent deaths.
I will give the author another chance by reading the next book in series.

[Adele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unheard of Unhero

One of the reasons I enjoyed this story so much was that the person I trusted to solve the mysteries (that’s right, multiple murders), was because he was so NOT a hero type. The other reason…well read it to find out for yourself. (p.s. It has nothing to do with great poetry.)

[Bellamina Court · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book so much that I emailed the author a few times while reading it. Ms. Stirling had me literally laughing out loud in several places. If you enjoy cozy mysteries with lots of humor - A Not-So Shocking Murder hits the mark!

[Vickie · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I didn’t think I’d like this book, it had a strange start. I’m so glad I decided to stay with it. It’s a really good book and the characters are good. Kept me guessing while I enjoyed his mellow humor.

[Louisa Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Confusing at the beginning.

But I soon was in the “swing of things” the more I read. It just turned into an average book. No complaints about the story, but no praises about it, either.

[Sandra Gastil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Up, down & around

I thought the main character at first was a young kid! The characters I this book are very different than most books I read. I liked some of the unexpected turns it had but I won't read any other. I think readers should give it a try & decide for themselves.

[Orle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it! Tons of fun. This is a book I will re-read and look forward to the more in the series.

[Jim Milton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is lots of fun, the pages flew by (kindle pages:)

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book! Easy read!

[Tammera Mart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun mystery full of snarkiness and well-crafted characters.

[Susan Mahon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting

Interesting story of small town Oregon that is so out of kilter. The Jacobs family is crazy and very dysfunctional.

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Very cute, easy, and fun read.
I pictured Ryan Reynolds as Holt

[Michele Roosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good fast read

Great mystery....even though I knew the murderer from the beginning! Lol Great fast read and I will keep an eye out for more from the author!

[Barbara A. Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

a fun read

This was a fun, quick read. Was not totally easy to figure out and kept me reading. It was kind of a cozy/Hallmark book with a somewhat goofy male lead.

[Lorna Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a brilliant, high octane, witty and thoroughly entertaining read with highly entertaining family dynamics.

[Roy Lee Saint · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Not So Shocking Murder

A great cozy mystery with twist and turns. Chapters you can relate to. Simple read, but a fast moving story. Read, I hope you enjoy as much as I did...

[Albert Belcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. The characters are well formed. The male protagonist is a bit nuts.

[Angela Wimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to hang on to the end

This is a good book and a good mystery but boy, is it slow. I really had a hard time hanging on to the end.

[Gareth King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Fun

A little weird but a great escape. Notwithstanding the pile of books I have to get through I would read the others.