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An Ada Latia Mystery #1
A Special Interest in Murder
A brilliant neurodivergent female sleuth colliding with an FBI agent with a secret. A crime that is not all it seems. A page-turning, red-herring-filled murder mystery, perfect for fans of Nita Prose, Richard Osman and Anthony Horowitz.
Ada Latia is twenty-four years old. She used to be the youngest millionaire in the cosmetics industry. She used to be married. Now, she spends her time studying ways to communicate with aliens. After all, aliens could not possibly be more cruel or deceitful than other humans.
Ada’s spiteful ex-husband Rex believes autistic people like her are monsters, so she’s not surprised when he calls her to share a clickbait article gleefully shouting that one autistic child has killed another at a special school in Idaho.
Rex just means to hurt her, but when Ada reads the article, it’s not the lies about autism being fake that catch her it’s a disturbing photograph of the dead child. The image of the girl is perfect – too perfect. As if someone has committed a murder, and then carefully staged the scene to cover it up.
Ada reports her suspicions to the FBI, and the case crosses the desk of her old classmate Henry Bloodstone, who invites her to assist him. Ada’s not a trained investigator. It’s painful for her to come up against situations she’s not an expert in. She barely remembers Henry, even though it’s clear that he remembers her. But the death is a mystery – and Ada, who counts murder as one of her special interests, has never learned to let a mystery go.
Ada Latia is twenty-four years old. She used to be the youngest millionaire in the cosmetics industry. She used to be married. Now, she spends her time studying ways to communicate with aliens. After all, aliens could not possibly be more cruel or deceitful than other humans.
Ada’s spiteful ex-husband Rex believes autistic people like her are monsters, so she’s not surprised when he calls her to share a clickbait article gleefully shouting that one autistic child has killed another at a special school in Idaho.
Rex just means to hurt her, but when Ada reads the article, it’s not the lies about autism being fake that catch her it’s a disturbing photograph of the dead child. The image of the girl is perfect – too perfect. As if someone has committed a murder, and then carefully staged the scene to cover it up.
Ada reports her suspicions to the FBI, and the case crosses the desk of her old classmate Henry Bloodstone, who invites her to assist him. Ada’s not a trained investigator. It’s painful for her to come up against situations she’s not an expert in. She barely remembers Henry, even though it’s clear that he remembers her. But the death is a mystery – and Ada, who counts murder as one of her special interests, has never learned to let a mystery go.
224 pages, Hardcover
Published September 2, 2025
8 people are currently reading
76 people want to read
About the author
Mette Ivie Harrison
68 books436 followersMy name is pronounced "Metty" like my mother's "Betty." It is Danish, and we were all named after ancestors. I guess by the time they got to number nine (out of eleven), it was getting tricky. So I got the funny Danish name no one knew how to prounounce. In Denmark, it should be "meta" like "metaphysical." It's from the Greek for "pearl." And no, it's not short for anything. Not even Mediterannean.
My first book, THE MONSTER IN ME was accepted for publication in 1999 and was published in 2002. My second book, MIRA, MIRROR was published in 2004. The latest book, THE PRINCESS AND THE HOUND , was published in 2007. A sequel, THE PRINCESS AND THE BEAR, came out in April of 2009.
I now live in Utah with my husband and 5 children, ages 5 to 14. I write during nap time, or at 4 in the morning, or while the broccoli for dinner is burning. Whenever I get a chance. I love to write the kind of books that I love to read. And I love to discover what is going to happen next, just like a reader would. I also do some racing in triathlon.
from http://www.metteivieharrison.com/myli...
My first book, THE MONSTER IN ME was accepted for publication in 1999 and was published in 2002. My second book, MIRA, MIRROR was published in 2004. The latest book, THE PRINCESS AND THE HOUND , was published in 2007. A sequel, THE PRINCESS AND THE BEAR, came out in April of 2009.
I now live in Utah with my husband and 5 children, ages 5 to 14. I write during nap time, or at 4 in the morning, or while the broccoli for dinner is burning. Whenever I get a chance. I love to write the kind of books that I love to read. And I love to discover what is going to happen next, just like a reader would. I also do some racing in triathlon.
from http://www.metteivieharrison.com/myli...
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
June 8, 2025
When I first saw and read about "A Special Interest In Murder," I was incredibly excited. A cozy mystery with an autistic protagonist written by an autistic author? As a neurospicy cozy mystery reader: Hell to the yes. Unfortunately, the follow-through left quite a bit to be desired.
We meet Ada, fresh off a divorce where she lost the cosmetics company she founded. Her ex, who is incredibly bigoted against autistic people, sends her a blog post about the death of an autistic girl at a boarding school for autistic children. Ada finds some things she thinks are off about the photo, discovers there hasn’t been any other write up about this death, and decides to contact the FBI. Enter a guy she knew in high school: Henry. He’s now an FBI agent, who decides to follow up on Ada’s tip and investigate the murder, with Ada’s help.
This is an incredibly interesting mystery with a lot of twists and turns. And the tight POV certainly gives the setting of a boarding school for autistic kids a different ambiance than we’d have seen from Henry. Ada’s POV is used to great effect when it comes to this.
The first big strain on my suspension of disbelief came when Henry took on this case. There is no reason the FBI would have jurisdiction on the murder of a child at a boarding school—that would fall firmly on the local police. At multiple points, I almost stopped reading this book based entirely on the way everything around the FBI’s taking the case and Ada’s consultation is handled. The only reason I finished it is because I agreed to ARC it. I will say that there is an explanation for some of this in the end. My opinion is that the explanation is not a good one. It still makes very little sense, and it doesn’t change the fact that some of these plot holes are gaping, but for anyone who also wants to throw the book based entirely on this setup, you do get an explanation approximately 90% of the way through.
Next, we have Ada. Just… Ada. I’m the first person who will argue that female characters don’t need to be likable. But Ada is a mess. She comes across as robotic, at best. At worst, she is the literary version of Sheldon Cooper.
There is a lot of telling and not a lot of showing when it comes to the positive traits of Ada’s character. The biggest instance of this is with Ada’s ability to care about anyone else: We’re told repeatedly that she’s empathetic—Henry, at one point, says, “Not many people have your level of empathy”—but we never actually see evidence of this empathy. Instead, we get a person whose response to the sobs of a grieving mother is three paragraphs bemoaning how much sensory overload it’s causing. Who then follows this up by accusing the grieving parents of being one-and-done because they hated the idea that they could have another autistic child. No one in the room (aside from the parents) seems to take any issue with this.
Ada spends pages bitching about Henry asking questions to ensure she’s comfortable and that her needs are met. Complaining about his intuitive judgements. Accusing him of lying, manipulating, and being biased against autistic people, with absolutely no evidence. She wishes he’d tell her she did a good job with something, and then when he does, she gets upset because it isn’t in the specific wording she’d like. Henry, my man, you deserve better than Ada.
The highlight of the book for me was meeting all the various staff at the school, learning the ways their lives had been touched by autistic people, and hearing the different reasons those interactions had given them for choosing to work in the field of autistic education. We see a wide variety, from people who have autistic children in their lives, to those with autistic siblings. The scenes where we got to see them interact with the children at the school were great.
I wish I could say that I know people who would enjoy this book, or that I could think of a target audience that would, but I can’t. The allistic cozy mystery fans I know would be incredibly put off by the massive plot holes in the set up, and the autistic ones would be genuinely upset by the stereotypical representation offered by Ada. More showing and less telling with Ada’s traits would go a long way in turning this book from a Barely Finished to a 3.5-4 Star read, and something I’d be able to recommend.
Many thanks to Severn House and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC.
We meet Ada, fresh off a divorce where she lost the cosmetics company she founded. Her ex, who is incredibly bigoted against autistic people, sends her a blog post about the death of an autistic girl at a boarding school for autistic children. Ada finds some things she thinks are off about the photo, discovers there hasn’t been any other write up about this death, and decides to contact the FBI. Enter a guy she knew in high school: Henry. He’s now an FBI agent, who decides to follow up on Ada’s tip and investigate the murder, with Ada’s help.
This is an incredibly interesting mystery with a lot of twists and turns. And the tight POV certainly gives the setting of a boarding school for autistic kids a different ambiance than we’d have seen from Henry. Ada’s POV is used to great effect when it comes to this.
The first big strain on my suspension of disbelief came when Henry took on this case. There is no reason the FBI would have jurisdiction on the murder of a child at a boarding school—that would fall firmly on the local police. At multiple points, I almost stopped reading this book based entirely on the way everything around the FBI’s taking the case and Ada’s consultation is handled. The only reason I finished it is because I agreed to ARC it. I will say that there is an explanation for some of this in the end. My opinion is that the explanation is not a good one. It still makes very little sense, and it doesn’t change the fact that some of these plot holes are gaping, but for anyone who also wants to throw the book based entirely on this setup, you do get an explanation approximately 90% of the way through.
Next, we have Ada. Just… Ada. I’m the first person who will argue that female characters don’t need to be likable. But Ada is a mess. She comes across as robotic, at best. At worst, she is the literary version of Sheldon Cooper.
There is a lot of telling and not a lot of showing when it comes to the positive traits of Ada’s character. The biggest instance of this is with Ada’s ability to care about anyone else: We’re told repeatedly that she’s empathetic—Henry, at one point, says, “Not many people have your level of empathy”—but we never actually see evidence of this empathy. Instead, we get a person whose response to the sobs of a grieving mother is three paragraphs bemoaning how much sensory overload it’s causing. Who then follows this up by accusing the grieving parents of being one-and-done because they hated the idea that they could have another autistic child. No one in the room (aside from the parents) seems to take any issue with this.
Ada spends pages bitching about Henry asking questions to ensure she’s comfortable and that her needs are met. Complaining about his intuitive judgements. Accusing him of lying, manipulating, and being biased against autistic people, with absolutely no evidence. She wishes he’d tell her she did a good job with something, and then when he does, she gets upset because it isn’t in the specific wording she’d like. Henry, my man, you deserve better than Ada.
The highlight of the book for me was meeting all the various staff at the school, learning the ways their lives had been touched by autistic people, and hearing the different reasons those interactions had given them for choosing to work in the field of autistic education. We see a wide variety, from people who have autistic children in their lives, to those with autistic siblings. The scenes where we got to see them interact with the children at the school were great.
I wish I could say that I know people who would enjoy this book, or that I could think of a target audience that would, but I can’t. The allistic cozy mystery fans I know would be incredibly put off by the massive plot holes in the set up, and the autistic ones would be genuinely upset by the stereotypical representation offered by Ada. More showing and less telling with Ada’s traits would go a long way in turning this book from a Barely Finished to a 3.5-4 Star read, and something I’d be able to recommend.
Many thanks to Severn House and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC.
July 15, 2025
˗ˏˋ 2 stars ⟡ ݁₊ .
im still not sure how i feel about this book. i didn't really like the writing style as most of her sentences were short and choppy and that kinda messed with me. despite this book being 200 pages short, the pace of the mystery was excruciatingly slow to me and made me keep putting down the book. the only reason i finished this book is bc i agreed to ARC read it.
⤷ thank you to netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
im still not sure how i feel about this book. i didn't really like the writing style as most of her sentences were short and choppy and that kinda messed with me. despite this book being 200 pages short, the pace of the mystery was excruciatingly slow to me and made me keep putting down the book. the only reason i finished this book is bc i agreed to ARC read it.
⤷ thank you to netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
June 18, 2025
An autistic woman is sent the photo of a dead child by her mean spirited ex husband, and she becomes convinced that the child was murdered. She reaches out to various forms of authority figures including the FBI, where, by extreme coincidence, a fellow classmate from high school, is now working.
Henry reaches out to Ada and tells her he thinks she may be correct and that he's willing to investigate. The book is told from Ada's point of view which means that we have, not an unreliable narrator necessarily, but one with a different way of processing information and different priorities, which leaves the reader a bit unbalanced. A lot about the story is unrealistic, starting with Henry just showing up, ready to take her to a potential crime scene with no sort of vetting or channels, or whatever. Then in the car on the way to the school where the crime occurred, he wonders if Ada is STILL mad at him for daring to have asked her out on a date back in high school.
Ada is mystified by this whole exchange, as she was completely unaware that he had asked her out, due to a habit of wearing earbuds to drown out loud noises. And being another example of the broken modern man, Henry just assumed her silence in response to his invitation was a withering inability to dignify giving a response to such a ludicrous ask, rather than, you know, checking to see if she even heard him. And he's obsessed over this event since high school, through college, marriage, etc. Sure...
Over and over we are shown that Henry is one of the 'good' ones, for attempting to understand Ada's needs and limitations while repeatedly failing by touching her, or requiring eye contact, or by lying. It all comes off a bit like the traveler who goes to a foreign country armed with 3 phrases in the native language and expects a cookie for his effort.
That being said, Ada for all of her insistence at being truthful and blunt at all costs, lies to herself and Henry as she feels a meltdown coming and at no point ever communicates the need to stop. Again this is a set up for the reader to see how 'good' Henry is, that he doesn't make fun of her, but instead got her to a quiet room. But instead I just felt that she was choosing to make things harder on herself. She is so guarded against Henry or anyone else mocking her but she remains oblivious to how Henry feels even when he flat out tells her.
We're told at the beginning that Ada is 24yrs old which is jarring to remember when we learn that Henry's wife died from cancer, after foregoing treatment in hopes of carrying a child to term. Henry is young to have dealt with that, and also quite young to have any standing at the FBI to carry out such an investigation and bring Ada into it. Needless to say, he didn't.
The whole case centered on 'autist's not being bad or good and the non neurodivergent adults treating the children as good or bad because they were on the spectrum.
Ada was bullied at school and made to feel unwanted in her family and in her marriage, and so goes into the case, convinced that Ella, the child in the photo was made to suffer simply because she was autistic. We learn that Ella wasn't a good fit at the school, but because of the needs for donor money, Ella was allowed to make everyone miserable until finally someone cracked. But instead of letting this be a reminder that differently abled people are like anyone else and as likely to be good or bad as anyone else, we are then shown that as bad as Ella was, the person who killed her was so much worse. Not for killing her but for daring to say that she didn't care for the autisum that made Ella so uncontrollable and how Ella's behavior skewed the results that the school claimed to produce in their students. It was an ugly denouement and Ada loses faith in Henry, not understanding that he was stringing the murderer along in order to get the confession they needed.
Eventually, a disillusioned Ada locks herself away, unaware of the aftermath of the case until finally Henry shows up at her door. He has been reinstated and has the power now to offer her on-going work as a consultant on certain cases where her 'skills' could help. Sort of a new 'magical negro' trope where the only person of color in a movie serves only to take care of the white protagonist. Ada keeps wanting to just be but we are to believe that she can be trotted out like a truth seeking weapon on cases for the FBI with no training or guidance. She's autistic therefore she's RAINMAN.
This book is marketed as the FISRT Ada Latia story, indicating that Henry and Ada will indeed continue to work together.
Henry reaches out to Ada and tells her he thinks she may be correct and that he's willing to investigate. The book is told from Ada's point of view which means that we have, not an unreliable narrator necessarily, but one with a different way of processing information and different priorities, which leaves the reader a bit unbalanced. A lot about the story is unrealistic, starting with Henry just showing up, ready to take her to a potential crime scene with no sort of vetting or channels, or whatever. Then in the car on the way to the school where the crime occurred, he wonders if Ada is STILL mad at him for daring to have asked her out on a date back in high school.
Ada is mystified by this whole exchange, as she was completely unaware that he had asked her out, due to a habit of wearing earbuds to drown out loud noises. And being another example of the broken modern man, Henry just assumed her silence in response to his invitation was a withering inability to dignify giving a response to such a ludicrous ask, rather than, you know, checking to see if she even heard him. And he's obsessed over this event since high school, through college, marriage, etc. Sure...
Over and over we are shown that Henry is one of the 'good' ones, for attempting to understand Ada's needs and limitations while repeatedly failing by touching her, or requiring eye contact, or by lying. It all comes off a bit like the traveler who goes to a foreign country armed with 3 phrases in the native language and expects a cookie for his effort.
That being said, Ada for all of her insistence at being truthful and blunt at all costs, lies to herself and Henry as she feels a meltdown coming and at no point ever communicates the need to stop. Again this is a set up for the reader to see how 'good' Henry is, that he doesn't make fun of her, but instead got her to a quiet room. But instead I just felt that she was choosing to make things harder on herself. She is so guarded against Henry or anyone else mocking her but she remains oblivious to how Henry feels even when he flat out tells her.
We're told at the beginning that Ada is 24yrs old which is jarring to remember when we learn that Henry's wife died from cancer, after foregoing treatment in hopes of carrying a child to term. Henry is young to have dealt with that, and also quite young to have any standing at the FBI to carry out such an investigation and bring Ada into it. Needless to say, he didn't.
The whole case centered on 'autist's not being bad or good and the non neurodivergent adults treating the children as good or bad because they were on the spectrum.
Ada was bullied at school and made to feel unwanted in her family and in her marriage, and so goes into the case, convinced that Ella, the child in the photo was made to suffer simply because she was autistic. We learn that Ella wasn't a good fit at the school, but because of the needs for donor money, Ella was allowed to make everyone miserable until finally someone cracked. But instead of letting this be a reminder that differently abled people are like anyone else and as likely to be good or bad as anyone else, we are then shown that as bad as Ella was, the person who killed her was so much worse. Not for killing her but for daring to say that she didn't care for the autisum that made Ella so uncontrollable and how Ella's behavior skewed the results that the school claimed to produce in their students. It was an ugly denouement and Ada loses faith in Henry, not understanding that he was stringing the murderer along in order to get the confession they needed.
Eventually, a disillusioned Ada locks herself away, unaware of the aftermath of the case until finally Henry shows up at her door. He has been reinstated and has the power now to offer her on-going work as a consultant on certain cases where her 'skills' could help. Sort of a new 'magical negro' trope where the only person of color in a movie serves only to take care of the white protagonist. Ada keeps wanting to just be but we are to believe that she can be trotted out like a truth seeking weapon on cases for the FBI with no training or guidance. She's autistic therefore she's RAINMAN.
This book is marketed as the FISRT Ada Latia story, indicating that Henry and Ada will indeed continue to work together.
June 8, 2025
I'm giving this book a 3/5 star rating because I do not know how to rate my feelings about it. (And since 3/5 is smack in the middle, that feels fair and logical.)
So, this story follows a neuro-divergent detective with an obnoxious ex. And she has to solve a murder alongside the FBI. She used to be a cosmetics industry billionaire (yes, that career change was equally as confusing to me too).
This had so much potential to be fun, but the writing and characterization was not it for me.
I just didn't love the writing style, it was too simplistic in an almost choppy way. Everything was stated so plainly, there was absolutely no character to the writing itself (if that makes sense). I'm not asking every author to have the most flowery writing, that can get annoying too, but having such stagnant sentences really feels so elementary and strange.
My big problem with this book though, the characterization! You will know that this detective main character is neuro-divergent every other sentence. There's nothing wrong with being neuro-divergent, obviously, I am neuro-divergent in like half a dozen different ways. So I get it. But when I am going through life, I'm not looking at people and going "that's not very OCD of them" or "there's no way they're anxious because why are they doing that thing that way." That is not how neuro-divergent people think. But that is how this main character thinks. She thinks people are not autistic because they are not autistic in the exact same way she is...fun fact: every single person is an individual, and therefore, different. Not every single person with the same condition is identical. That is common sense, I fear.
I did some research and the author is autistic, but this reads as if she is not and almost making fun of it? Or talking about it the way people who don't know anything about it do? It was so weird. I'm not trying to invalidate how she moves through the world with her own brain, but she's kind of pushing that way of thinking onto others and it just rubs me the wrong way. It was kind of offensive at times for me.
I also found the mystery and pacing of the story itself to be rather slow. Some people like a slower mystery, I like a much faster paced story. Keep me on the edge of my seat. I just couldn't get into this story (or its characters).
This just wasn't for me. Sorry. It was SUPER short though, I'm sure you could finish it in a single sitting if you wanted to!
Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!
So, this story follows a neuro-divergent detective with an obnoxious ex. And she has to solve a murder alongside the FBI. She used to be a cosmetics industry billionaire (yes, that career change was equally as confusing to me too).
This had so much potential to be fun, but the writing and characterization was not it for me.
I just didn't love the writing style, it was too simplistic in an almost choppy way. Everything was stated so plainly, there was absolutely no character to the writing itself (if that makes sense). I'm not asking every author to have the most flowery writing, that can get annoying too, but having such stagnant sentences really feels so elementary and strange.
My big problem with this book though, the characterization! You will know that this detective main character is neuro-divergent every other sentence. There's nothing wrong with being neuro-divergent, obviously, I am neuro-divergent in like half a dozen different ways. So I get it. But when I am going through life, I'm not looking at people and going "that's not very OCD of them" or "there's no way they're anxious because why are they doing that thing that way." That is not how neuro-divergent people think. But that is how this main character thinks. She thinks people are not autistic because they are not autistic in the exact same way she is...fun fact: every single person is an individual, and therefore, different. Not every single person with the same condition is identical. That is common sense, I fear.
I did some research and the author is autistic, but this reads as if she is not and almost making fun of it? Or talking about it the way people who don't know anything about it do? It was so weird. I'm not trying to invalidate how she moves through the world with her own brain, but she's kind of pushing that way of thinking onto others and it just rubs me the wrong way. It was kind of offensive at times for me.
I also found the mystery and pacing of the story itself to be rather slow. Some people like a slower mystery, I like a much faster paced story. Keep me on the edge of my seat. I just couldn't get into this story (or its characters).
This just wasn't for me. Sorry. It was SUPER short though, I'm sure you could finish it in a single sitting if you wanted to!
Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!
June 7, 2025
The book features an autistic amateur detective. Out of the blue our autistic detective's ex sends her a blog about one autistic child killing another - just to hurt her feelings apparently. The death is reportedly accidental but our hero thinks differently. This sets the story in motion.
The author is an adult-diagnosed autistic which lends credibility to the descriptions and viewpoint of our detective. However, in her enthusiasm to introduce us to the world of autism the author presses too hard and piles on every fact and misunderstanding related to autism. It's just too much too soon. It was a fire hose of information. I don't doubt the author, it's just the details of an autistic experience take some time to understand. The agenda is strong in this one.
Having said that, this is a readable story of a mysterious death and a primer on the experience of autism. But there isn't much action or character development and the pacing is slow snd repetitive.
It is also low-key depressing. The protagonist has such a low view of the world. She finds fault everywhere. Is there no joy in her life? Is everyone else broken? Others try to help. Try to understand. Overall, the writing and the characters are inconsistent and sometimes contradictory and confusing. I got a bit tired of the main character stereotyping neurotypical people. Especially after trying so hard not to be stereotyped herself.
And the ex-husband complicates the story unnecessarily. I don't understand his importance. He's not really relevant. There are a lot of different ways the news story that sets the wheels in motion could have gotten to our hero. I don't understand the antagonism of the ex-husband towards our detective. It's vitriolic to an extreme. The author seems to use the character as the enemy of the autistic population at large. But they were married at one time. And she was autistic at the time he married her. Little is explained.
Without the veneer of mystery I'd likely have stopped reading. There are a lot of contractions and things that simply aren't realistic. At every stage I wondered how much of the book was actually describing the author's own experiences. I couldn't shake the feeling that the author was a character between the lines.
The author is an adult-diagnosed autistic which lends credibility to the descriptions and viewpoint of our detective. However, in her enthusiasm to introduce us to the world of autism the author presses too hard and piles on every fact and misunderstanding related to autism. It's just too much too soon. It was a fire hose of information. I don't doubt the author, it's just the details of an autistic experience take some time to understand. The agenda is strong in this one.
Having said that, this is a readable story of a mysterious death and a primer on the experience of autism. But there isn't much action or character development and the pacing is slow snd repetitive.
It is also low-key depressing. The protagonist has such a low view of the world. She finds fault everywhere. Is there no joy in her life? Is everyone else broken? Others try to help. Try to understand. Overall, the writing and the characters are inconsistent and sometimes contradictory and confusing. I got a bit tired of the main character stereotyping neurotypical people. Especially after trying so hard not to be stereotyped herself.
And the ex-husband complicates the story unnecessarily. I don't understand his importance. He's not really relevant. There are a lot of different ways the news story that sets the wheels in motion could have gotten to our hero. I don't understand the antagonism of the ex-husband towards our detective. It's vitriolic to an extreme. The author seems to use the character as the enemy of the autistic population at large. But they were married at one time. And she was autistic at the time he married her. Little is explained.
Without the veneer of mystery I'd likely have stopped reading. There are a lot of contractions and things that simply aren't realistic. At every stage I wondered how much of the book was actually describing the author's own experiences. I couldn't shake the feeling that the author was a character between the lines.
September 27, 2025
First off, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
In A Special Interest in Murder by Mette Ivie Harrison, we meet Ada Latia, a twenty-four-year-old former cosmetics millionaire whose life has taken some unexpected turns. Now divorced and immersed in her fascination with alien communication, Ada is pulled into a disturbing mystery after seeing a staged-looking crime scene photo of a murdered autistic child. When she reports her suspicions, the case connects her with FBI agent Henry Bloodstone, an old classmate, and Ada finds herself drawn into a murder investigation despite not being a trained investigator.
The premise sounded great to me—a brilliant neurodivergent sleuth with a unique perspective, paired with an FBI agent who has his own secrets. Unfortunately, I had a hard time getting through this one. Even though the book is fairly short, I found the pacing slow and the story often boring. I honestly worried it might end up being my first DNF, though I did push through to the end.
What kept me going was Ada herself. As someone who works with autistic kids in a school setting, I really appreciated the representation. The book shows both the struggles and strengths of being autistic, and Ada’s character development felt authentic and interesting. In fact, despite struggling with the story itself, part of me wants to read more about Ada solving crimes in the future—which makes no sense to me, but speaks to how compelling her character can be.
Overall, I’m giving this 2 stars. I wouldn’t personally recommend it due to the slow pacing, but I do think the message about autism and the unique perspective make it worth considering if you’re looking for a more character-driven, cozy mystery.
In A Special Interest in Murder by Mette Ivie Harrison, we meet Ada Latia, a twenty-four-year-old former cosmetics millionaire whose life has taken some unexpected turns. Now divorced and immersed in her fascination with alien communication, Ada is pulled into a disturbing mystery after seeing a staged-looking crime scene photo of a murdered autistic child. When she reports her suspicions, the case connects her with FBI agent Henry Bloodstone, an old classmate, and Ada finds herself drawn into a murder investigation despite not being a trained investigator.
The premise sounded great to me—a brilliant neurodivergent sleuth with a unique perspective, paired with an FBI agent who has his own secrets. Unfortunately, I had a hard time getting through this one. Even though the book is fairly short, I found the pacing slow and the story often boring. I honestly worried it might end up being my first DNF, though I did push through to the end.
What kept me going was Ada herself. As someone who works with autistic kids in a school setting, I really appreciated the representation. The book shows both the struggles and strengths of being autistic, and Ada’s character development felt authentic and interesting. In fact, despite struggling with the story itself, part of me wants to read more about Ada solving crimes in the future—which makes no sense to me, but speaks to how compelling her character can be.
Overall, I’m giving this 2 stars. I wouldn’t personally recommend it due to the slow pacing, but I do think the message about autism and the unique perspective make it worth considering if you’re looking for a more character-driven, cozy mystery.
October 28, 2025
This book won’t be for everyone, which is not necessarily a bad thing. The novel introduces Ada Latia, a 24-year-old neurodivergent protagonist written by a neurodivergent author, Mette Ivie Harrison. That pairing brings a distinct lens to both character development and narrative structure, one that’s different but also challenging in execution.
The slim page count suggests a lean, focused mystery, but instead, the story gets bogged down in repetition. Tangents and teaching moments, likely meant to illuminate Ada’s perspective, start to feel like reruns. The prose itself is choppy, which might be a stylistic choice to reflect Ada’s thought patterns, but it made for a disjointed reading experience.
From the outset, Ada’s ex-husband Rex makes his presence known, and not in a good way. He’s the kind of character you hope ends up as the victim, but alas, he’s just the messenger, nudging Ada toward a murder investigation involving a school for autistic children. His stance on the case is clear-cut, and not in a way that invites nuance.
As the plot unfolds, it leans heavily on convenience. Clues fall into place too easily, and the mystery loses its grip. Instead of feeling immersed in a whodunit, I felt like I was being walked through a tutorial on autism; well-meaning, but not well-balanced.
I genuinely wanted to engage with what the author was trying to portray. The premise had promise, and Ada’s voice deserved space. But by the 25% mark, I was already contemplating a DNF. Sadly, I didn’t get much further before I set it aside.
The slim page count suggests a lean, focused mystery, but instead, the story gets bogged down in repetition. Tangents and teaching moments, likely meant to illuminate Ada’s perspective, start to feel like reruns. The prose itself is choppy, which might be a stylistic choice to reflect Ada’s thought patterns, but it made for a disjointed reading experience.
From the outset, Ada’s ex-husband Rex makes his presence known, and not in a good way. He’s the kind of character you hope ends up as the victim, but alas, he’s just the messenger, nudging Ada toward a murder investigation involving a school for autistic children. His stance on the case is clear-cut, and not in a way that invites nuance.
As the plot unfolds, it leans heavily on convenience. Clues fall into place too easily, and the mystery loses its grip. Instead of feeling immersed in a whodunit, I felt like I was being walked through a tutorial on autism; well-meaning, but not well-balanced.
I genuinely wanted to engage with what the author was trying to portray. The premise had promise, and Ada’s voice deserved space. But by the 25% mark, I was already contemplating a DNF. Sadly, I didn’t get much further before I set it aside.
August 14, 2025
When I first saw this I was super interested because I love a good mystery but this story did not live up to my expectations. I didn’t particularly like the writing style, it seemed all over the place. The characters fell flat and lacked depth. The fmc, Ada, is very blunt and borderline rude, and I was not vibing with her. She spent half the time complaining and thinking people were laughing at her, and complaining that Henry was asking her questions. She was so back and forth, and contradicted herself so many times, it quite honestly annoyed me. She was not being fair to Henry for a majority of the book. Ada’s job is researching ways to communicate with aliens but the way she would randomly go on tangents about aliens didn’t add anything to the overall plot and I felt they were just there as filler paragraphs.
I really struggled getting through this one. It was only 223 pages but it felt longer because the pacing was very slow. I couldn’t connect with any of the characters or get immersed in the storyline. The whole book was about Henry and Ada investigating and interviewing the staff about the autistic student’s death at the NAVITEK school. This book had no action, no further mystery, no suspensefulness, no twists or turns that kept me engaged or further interested in the story. And honestly the ending was predictable, there were very obvious hints as to who it was.
I do gotta say though, it was touching to read about the staff and how autism, and the students impacted their life.
thank you Severn House & Netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest opinion.
I really struggled getting through this one. It was only 223 pages but it felt longer because the pacing was very slow. I couldn’t connect with any of the characters or get immersed in the storyline. The whole book was about Henry and Ada investigating and interviewing the staff about the autistic student’s death at the NAVITEK school. This book had no action, no further mystery, no suspensefulness, no twists or turns that kept me engaged or further interested in the story. And honestly the ending was predictable, there were very obvious hints as to who it was.
I do gotta say though, it was touching to read about the staff and how autism, and the students impacted their life.
thank you Severn House & Netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest opinion.
October 4, 2025
Kind of disappointing. I loved Ms. Harrison's Linda Wallheim series -- couldn't wait for each new book to come out and was disappointed when it ended. I really liked that character and how Harrison approached crime solving in it. I was thrilled when I saw she was starting a new series. This one was a mixture for me of self-introspection, women's fiction, young adult and a bit of mystery. I did appreciate how Harrison explained through Ada what is it like for some people with autism, it just got to where it was overtaking the rest of the story. I enjoyed how Ada's perceptions regarding the murder added to the solution. It just seemed to overtake the story at points. The ending, the last 30-45 pages were awesome. I pretty much guessed who the killer was when we meet that character, and the reason why was a major jaw dropper -- a well done jaw dropper. Until the ending I was on the fence if I would continue the series but after that I will definitely give book 2 a chance.
June 30, 2025
The writing style is overly simplistic and lacks depth, making the prose feel choppy and elementary. Characterization, particularly of the protagonist, is also problematic. While neurodivergence is central to the character’s identity, the portrayal often comes across as one-dimensional and reductive, emphasizing diagnostic traits in a way that feels both unrealistic and, at times, alienating—even to neurodivergent readers.
The pacing is slow for a mystery, with little tension to sustain interest. While brevity might appeal to some readers—it’s a quick read—the story’s underdeveloped characters and flat narrative left little impact. Ultimately, this book had potential but didn't resonate with me.
The pacing is slow for a mystery, with little tension to sustain interest. While brevity might appeal to some readers—it’s a quick read—the story’s underdeveloped characters and flat narrative left little impact. Ultimately, this book had potential but didn't resonate with me.
August 9, 2025
um, what was this? okay, so i came into this unsure what it was going to be like but fairly certain I was going to like it. i mean, autistic, alien-obsessed former cosmetics millionaire sleuths at a school for autistic kids? it had to be great. sadly for this book, one doesn't rate on how it sounds, but how it actually is, and this one completely failed to deliver. the sleuth was constantly trying to invalidate others' experienecs, both neurotypical people and other neurodivergent people, because they didn't present exactly the same. the plot holes are gaping, the resolution is incredibly weird, the ex-husband's character doesn't fit together... however i found the interview part really touching and well-written. 2 stars. tysm for thea rc.
August 28, 2025
1.5 star for me. Ada Latia is twenty-four years old woman, who got involved in solving murder of young autistic girl. Ada is also autistic ,and with help of old friend Henry Bloodstone they join together to resolve this case.
Now my one star my seem harsh,but repetition and analyzing everything over and over again took all my joy from mystery. I didn't turn pages in tension to know what happened, I turn them to be done with this book. I guess it just not for me.
Thank you netgalley and publisher for arc.
Now my one star my seem harsh,but repetition and analyzing everything over and over again took all my joy from mystery. I didn't turn pages in tension to know what happened, I turn them to be done with this book. I guess it just not for me.
Thank you netgalley and publisher for arc.
January 7, 2026
Ugh, I couldn't decide about this one.
As a mystery story, I think its fine. And, even as a set-up for a potential series, I think its fine.
But it hits you over the head a lot with its autism activism. And I'm not sure if the portrayal really resonates that much - it kinda says all the right things, but, somehow, as though they are being taken from a text book and not from real life. (Honestly, the protagonist reminds on of the Maid, but that portrayal felt much more real while being a lot less explicit.)
As a mystery story, I think its fine. And, even as a set-up for a potential series, I think its fine.
But it hits you over the head a lot with its autism activism. And I'm not sure if the portrayal really resonates that much - it kinda says all the right things, but, somehow, as though they are being taken from a text book and not from real life. (Honestly, the protagonist reminds on of the Maid, but that portrayal felt much more real while being a lot less explicit.)
August 23, 2025
Thanks to the publisher, via Netgalley, for an advance e-galley for honest review.
What is interesting about this book is the author writing fiction from the perspective of an autistic woman, in the aftermath of her own personal autism diagnosis, and seemingly incorporating some of what she's learned into the story. Not all of this mystery came together well for me, but I'm hoping this is the start of a series as I think there's a lot of room for stories with Ada Latia.
What is interesting about this book is the author writing fiction from the perspective of an autistic woman, in the aftermath of her own personal autism diagnosis, and seemingly incorporating some of what she's learned into the story. Not all of this mystery came together well for me, but I'm hoping this is the start of a series as I think there's a lot of room for stories with Ada Latia.
August 26, 2025
This book was.. boring. Every little thing is rationalized and then discussed in relation to Ada's neurodivergence in a way that could be relayed in one line instead of ten. And then the same rationalization is repeated over and over again throughout the book -- a masterclass in telling and not showing. The premise for the mystery is also unrealistic and sometimes the dialogue comes off as stilted and NPC-esque.
(thanks NetGalley for ARC!)
(thanks NetGalley for ARC!)
September 29, 2025
I enjoyed the book. I think the author did an excellent job explaining autism and the nuances. I also enjoyed the main character explaining how she felt and thought as an autist. It was very insightful. Initially, it took me as a neurotypical person several chapters to understand her writing style. The book also does a great job advocating for autists. I look forward to reading the next one from this author.
September 7, 2025
This was an enjoyable read and I’m looking forward to seeing Ada and Henry working together. Her ex can stay in book 1! What a horrible character.
As much as I liked Ada, she did frustrate me with how hard she was on herself and others, I didn’t really see her empathetic side, which was discussed frequently, but maybe we as readers will understand this as her character develops more within the series. I enjoyed following her as she investigated and her insights into the school and attention to detail.
Henry was my favourite character, although I did struggle with all he had been through/developed his career at a relatively young age of 24?
The actions of the staff were shocking and I really didn’t see the revelation of who the killer coming. This a must for those who enjoy a cozy mystery.
As much as I liked Ada, she did frustrate me with how hard she was on herself and others, I didn’t really see her empathetic side, which was discussed frequently, but maybe we as readers will understand this as her character develops more within the series. I enjoyed following her as she investigated and her insights into the school and attention to detail.
Henry was my favourite character, although I did struggle with all he had been through/developed his career at a relatively young age of 24?
The actions of the staff were shocking and I really didn’t see the revelation of who the killer coming. This a must for those who enjoy a cozy mystery.
August 5, 2025
The author crafted an engaging mystery while sharing the experience of how a person on the autism spectrum preceives the world and is precieved by the world. Recommend to anyone who wants to learn more about autism in a more casual manner.
Thanks to the publisher for the ARC
Thanks to the publisher for the ARC
October 9, 2025
The premise intrigued me. Learned a lot about autism but felt it was over explained in spots. We know her character is autistic and her reactions and feelings are important to story but at times it felt over explained. Not sure how to explain.
I would read next book.
I would read next book.
July 12, 2025
2.75
I'm not sure this book totally knows what it wants to be but I liked the main character and would probably read a follow up.
I'm not sure this book totally knows what it wants to be but I liked the main character and would probably read a follow up.
October 1, 2025
I know people can be awful, but as a neurodivergent person some of the people in this made my brain feel icky. Not saying don't read it, but take care of yourself if you do.
August 9, 2025
DNF - while I loved the author's LInda Wallheim series, this one's writing quality is lesser. There's too much repetition about Ada Latia's neurodivergence, too much telling and not showing about her life and the investigation she starts.
eARC provided by publisher via Netgalley.
eARC provided by publisher via Netgalley.
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