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Wren Winters #2
Murder, She Rolled
Solving a murder can get dicey.
Wren Winters is thrilled when her gaming group is invited to join the town’s new superstar streamer Noelle Williams for a live demo—after all, a little publicity could put Wren’s board game shop, the Cardboard Sheep, on the map. But moments before they go live, Noelle collapses on camera, and by the time Wren arrives at her house, Noelle is dead and the police are swarming.
Detective Greene, who still remembers last summer’s murder at Wren’s shop, is back with questions—and suspicions. As Wren and her friends reel from the shock, secrets about Noelle’s life relentless online harassment, jealous exes, and a sister desperate to pull her offline. Then another member of the group falls ill with similar symptoms.
With danger closing in and a game board full of suspects, Wren refuses to sit on the sidelines. She’s determined to solve the puzzle before her friend’s game is over for good.
A witty, suspenseful mystery filled with nerd culture, clever puzzles, and a board game shop you’ll wish was real.
Wren Winters is thrilled when her gaming group is invited to join the town’s new superstar streamer Noelle Williams for a live demo—after all, a little publicity could put Wren’s board game shop, the Cardboard Sheep, on the map. But moments before they go live, Noelle collapses on camera, and by the time Wren arrives at her house, Noelle is dead and the police are swarming.
Detective Greene, who still remembers last summer’s murder at Wren’s shop, is back with questions—and suspicions. As Wren and her friends reel from the shock, secrets about Noelle’s life relentless online harassment, jealous exes, and a sister desperate to pull her offline. Then another member of the group falls ill with similar symptoms.
With danger closing in and a game board full of suspects, Wren refuses to sit on the sidelines. She’s determined to solve the puzzle before her friend’s game is over for good.
A witty, suspenseful mystery filled with nerd culture, clever puzzles, and a board game shop you’ll wish was real.
368 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 6, 2025
15 people are currently reading
1111 people want to read
About the author
Shelly Jones
29 books41 followersShelly Jones is a professor by trade and a nerd by design. Woefully introverted, their pockets are full of post-it notes and their head is full of (unsaid) witty come-backs and un-won arguments from years past. When they aren’t grading papers or writing new cozy mysteries, Shelly can often be found hiking in the woods or playing a board game while their cats look on. Find them on BlueSky @shellyjones.bsky.social, Instagram @shellyjonesauthor, or sign up for their newsletter at https://shellyjonesauthor.com/.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 5, 2025
Murder, She Rolled by Shelly Jones, second in the series and second book for me to read by his author once again has a murder happening. Wren and friends becomes involved by being at the home of the collapsed woman. When another becomes ill, it is all committed to solving the murder which should lead to finding the killer. I like how Detective Greene questions everything. Wren may not agree with me. He is the kind of police you would want to be suspicious of all until they are ruled out as suspects. This was an entertaining cozy mystery that worked hard to be inclusive for all
September 10, 2025
I enjoyed this book. I am not a gamer (of either board games or computer games) so I don't claim to understand what they are discussing when the characters talk about cards etc. What I do know is mysteries that I like and this was certainly one of those. There was a lot going on, namely because of the poison, as a result there was a number of questions that needed to answer before they could find the killer. Like how was it administered? Who was the target? And why? This lead to a number of methods, suspects and motives all of which were cleverly crafted to keep you guessing. I never did come up with the answer. I Like the characters, it's a core group of friends, with there own skills and strengths all of which are needed to get to the bottom of the mystery. They are also likeable and down to earth people that care for each other. Looking forward to the next book because while the main mystery did get solved and you can't really call it a cliff hanger but the author gave you an idea of what the next case is going to be and I can't wait.
Esther's old college roommate Noelle, reaches out to her and invites the cardboard cuties to test out a new game while streaming it live to her viewers. It's only when they arrive that Esther confesses she is worried about her old friend, she has withdrawn from the world because of a stalker. The night of the recording Noelle fails to turn up at the library and instead insists on live streaming from her home. It's only when she collapses that the friends get an idea that things are a lot worse than they thought. The friends are reeling from the death but then one of them ends up in hospital and it's all hands on deck to find out what is happening. With poison in the mix the first job is to figure out how the poison got into there system and why the rest of them weren't poisoned too. Figure that out and they might just catcher a killer. Even with a friend in the hospital and investigating the murder, life still goes on and with the harvest festival coming up the friends will have to divide there time to come up with clues and suspects.
I was given this free review copy book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Esther's old college roommate Noelle, reaches out to her and invites the cardboard cuties to test out a new game while streaming it live to her viewers. It's only when they arrive that Esther confesses she is worried about her old friend, she has withdrawn from the world because of a stalker. The night of the recording Noelle fails to turn up at the library and instead insists on live streaming from her home. It's only when she collapses that the friends get an idea that things are a lot worse than they thought. The friends are reeling from the death but then one of them ends up in hospital and it's all hands on deck to find out what is happening. With poison in the mix the first job is to figure out how the poison got into there system and why the rest of them weren't poisoned too. Figure that out and they might just catcher a killer. Even with a friend in the hospital and investigating the murder, life still goes on and with the harvest festival coming up the friends will have to divide there time to come up with clues and suspects.
I was given this free review copy book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
October 15, 2025
The gang is back! Asked to be part of a live stream role playing game, Wren and company meet Noelle, an old friend of Ester's. Noelle is sweet but paranoid and tells them of a stalker as they set up. When the time comes for the first stream, she calls in and collapses. When Ester falls ill too, the friends start to worry about what is really going on.
On top of that, Wren finds something disturbing in her late husband's phone and takes it to the police. When Ester gets sicker, they start to think she may have been the target. What is really going on? Who hurt Noelle? And why is Ester sick? Wren works to solve these and more as she handles her game store, a harvest fest, and a library con. And maybe a meet cute too?
A great second book. Love the new subplot and the possible romantic interest. Great read!
On top of that, Wren finds something disturbing in her late husband's phone and takes it to the police. When Ester gets sicker, they start to think she may have been the target. What is really going on? Who hurt Noelle? And why is Ester sick? Wren works to solve these and more as she handles her game store, a harvest fest, and a library con. And maybe a meet cute too?
A great second book. Love the new subplot and the possible romantic interest. Great read!
October 10, 2025
No sophomore slump here! The Cardboard Cuties are back in action. Wren and her friends are invited to test a game live streaming but when the streamer dies and another falls ill it’s all hands on deck to get to the bottom of this mystery. Detective Green is also back and being his usual grump/skeptical self. Nothing but love for the by the book detective. You don’t have to be a gamer to enjoy this story. I do think it’s a very cool backdrop. Time to roll the dice and see if you can guess who!.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
October 10, 2025
Murder, She Rolled is a twisted, suspenseful, engaging, cozy mystery. Wren and friends are set to live stream playing a video game when the hostess collapses on screen. By the time the ambulance and girls arrive, Noelle is dead. Later Esther also falls ill with the same symptoms. There are plenty of suspects and possible motives, plus a few red herrings, to keep the reader's interest. I did not figure it out which is a plus for me. I really enjoyed playing along!
October 11, 2025
Noelle is doing a live demo for Wren's board game shop, but moments before she goes live, she collapses and dies. After a previous death at Wren's shop, police are suspicious. As Wren and her friends investigate, they discover secrets about Noelle's life and many suspects start popping up. Can Wren find the killer before someone else dies? Well-written story and very entertaining especially if you are a fan of board games!
January 11, 2026
It was a great book. I've never read this author before. I've often wondered about gamers and gaming, not the Vegas type. With in the pages of this truly believable story, I was soft-served an enormous amount of knowledge. About gaming shops, and mind-sets, and why, and about the they-them distinction that I've never understood. I'm ready for the next book, and currently my granddaughter is reading this one. Write On!, Shelly Jones.
January 1, 2026
Such a good read. I want to be friends with all these ladies! Such an interesting storyline with the solving of a murder. Looking forward to reading more books including these ladies.
October 19, 2025
I won this book from Goodreads Firstreads. It is a light and entertaining murder mystery.
October 9, 2025
Murder, She Rolled is a wonderful addition to Shelly Jones’ exciting series, A Wren Winters Mystery. The author provides us with a great mystery to solve. The main characters we met in book one, Wren, Charlie, Jo and Esther are all back for book two. The story is set in the small town of Hollow’s Way. Wren is a widow and owns a popular gaming store, The Cardboard Sheep. Charlie is a grad student who also helps run the store. Jo is a nurse and Esther a librarian at the local college. As the book opens, the group has been invited to be on a live show hosted by a well known gaming enthusiast, Noelle. She is a college friend of Esther’s who has recently returned to her hometown. When the group gets to Noelle’s home, they notice she doesn’t look well and acts quite nervous. She admits to them she had been receiving threatening notes that scared her. The plan is to have a practice session and then the next day, be on live from the college library.
Noelle changes the plan so she can livestream from her home with the others joining from the library. As they go on camera, Noelle collapses and they call an ambulance to her home and head there themselves. She is declared dead and she is determined to be poisoned. The detective shows up and questions them, thinking they are somehow to be blamed. Next, Esther collapses and it looks like she was also poisoned. Jo is monitoring her care and they test food and beverages and can’t seem to find the cause.
Wren and Charlie decide to look into the people they identify as possible suspects. They had seen takeout food in Noelle’s fridge that she gave to Esther the night they were in her house. It was from a local food truck that Wren decides to check out. She gets caught and the owner is not happy about her interference. They talked to Noelle’s sister and felt she had negative feelings towards her. They also learned of an on again off again boyfriend that Noelle had ended things with. In addition they found out that Esther had had feelings for Noelle in college, but they weren’t returned. A woman, Noelle used to work with when she was first starting her show now works at the library and seems bitter towards her. Noelle had called a plumber for problems she was having. It turns out the plumber was the husband of her former co-host. There are so many possibilities for who could have poisoned both women.
The book is well written with lots of twists and surprises. Shelly has provided lots of suspenseful moments. I tried to figure out who the murderer was, using the clues provided. Sadly, I was not able to figure it out. I enjoyed this book a lot. I found it very interesting also to read about the various games and role playing the group and the other customers at the shop engage in. The characters are eclectic and make a good friends group. I suspect that the next book might include a relationship developing between Wren and Professor Moss. Their interactions were fun to read. The author’s writing style is terrific and I found the series to be very original with the murders taking place around the gaming world. This is another five star book I’m happy to recommend.
I was fortunate to receive this ARC from Tule Publishing in exchange for my honest review.
Noelle changes the plan so she can livestream from her home with the others joining from the library. As they go on camera, Noelle collapses and they call an ambulance to her home and head there themselves. She is declared dead and she is determined to be poisoned. The detective shows up and questions them, thinking they are somehow to be blamed. Next, Esther collapses and it looks like she was also poisoned. Jo is monitoring her care and they test food and beverages and can’t seem to find the cause.
Wren and Charlie decide to look into the people they identify as possible suspects. They had seen takeout food in Noelle’s fridge that she gave to Esther the night they were in her house. It was from a local food truck that Wren decides to check out. She gets caught and the owner is not happy about her interference. They talked to Noelle’s sister and felt she had negative feelings towards her. They also learned of an on again off again boyfriend that Noelle had ended things with. In addition they found out that Esther had had feelings for Noelle in college, but they weren’t returned. A woman, Noelle used to work with when she was first starting her show now works at the library and seems bitter towards her. Noelle had called a plumber for problems she was having. It turns out the plumber was the husband of her former co-host. There are so many possibilities for who could have poisoned both women.
The book is well written with lots of twists and surprises. Shelly has provided lots of suspenseful moments. I tried to figure out who the murderer was, using the clues provided. Sadly, I was not able to figure it out. I enjoyed this book a lot. I found it very interesting also to read about the various games and role playing the group and the other customers at the shop engage in. The characters are eclectic and make a good friends group. I suspect that the next book might include a relationship developing between Wren and Professor Moss. Their interactions were fun to read. The author’s writing style is terrific and I found the series to be very original with the murders taking place around the gaming world. This is another five star book I’m happy to recommend.
I was fortunate to receive this ARC from Tule Publishing in exchange for my honest review.
September 7, 2025
when I was in high, a then widely publicized movie came out about some teens who got lethally caught up in the world of dungeons and dragons.
like most geeky kids if the era, I had played with a lunchtime crew, and occasionally a weekend one when I wasn't working.
for some, the lure of power and transformation were strong. others just liked to play dress up and roll cool dice.
but some were lost to the imaginary worlds where the darkness of their daily lives didn't limit them.
a modern wirld, with internet and moneys, gifts and magic Followers seem in a lot of ways contemporary variations.
but lives, and deaths, and power plays, and grievances persist.
intense and color settings mysteries, and tangles.
like most geeky kids if the era, I had played with a lunchtime crew, and occasionally a weekend one when I wasn't working.
for some, the lure of power and transformation were strong. others just liked to play dress up and roll cool dice.
but some were lost to the imaginary worlds where the darkness of their daily lives didn't limit them.
a modern wirld, with internet and moneys, gifts and magic Followers seem in a lot of ways contemporary variations.
but lives, and deaths, and power plays, and grievances persist.
intense and color settings mysteries, and tangles.
October 10, 2025
I love mystery stories and this one did not disappoint.
Esther was worried about her friend Noelle. Noelle claimed that she has been receiving threatening notes and is concerned that someone is stalking her. Noelle invites Esther and her friends over to play a game with her and she doesn't look well while they are there. They leave and set up a time to mainstream the game at the library and Noelle says she isn't feeling well so she is just going to stay home and join in online. While they are recording she logs on and passes out. When they get to her house they have found that she has passed away.
Now the group is helping Esther, who ended up being poisoned, to solve the mystery. Check out the story I think you will like it
Esther was worried about her friend Noelle. Noelle claimed that she has been receiving threatening notes and is concerned that someone is stalking her. Noelle invites Esther and her friends over to play a game with her and she doesn't look well while they are there. They leave and set up a time to mainstream the game at the library and Noelle says she isn't feeling well so she is just going to stay home and join in online. While they are recording she logs on and passes out. When they get to her house they have found that she has passed away.
Now the group is helping Esther, who ended up being poisoned, to solve the mystery. Check out the story I think you will like it
November 13, 2025
I absolutely loved this! I love that it's inclusive, the characters are so eclectic. And I love that the author kind of added a Jessica Fletcher flair. That was such an amazing show. I still watch it sometimes. I had a feeling on who did it. Everything just seemed off about them from the start but I loved the lead up to it. And the dragon was an awesome touch🤣 I wish I could go into a shop like Wren's. I bet it would be so fun. I know I'm kind of scatterbrained with this but there was so much I absolutely loved about this. And finding out about Marcus....that's going to be an interesting read. I can't wait to see what's next!.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
October 10, 2025
Quite an enjoyable read!
These Wren Winters Mystery stories are always entertaining. The main character of the series is Wren Winters, a widow running a gaming store. Then we have her friends who all get together for a gaming night every week. When one of the group’s friends is murdered, they all step up to help. We have danger and murder and investigations with one of the group ending up in the hospital. Even though I’m not a gamer myself, I really do enjoy these mysteries in spite of that. They are all well written with exceptional plots that keep me turning the pages.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
These Wren Winters Mystery stories are always entertaining. The main character of the series is Wren Winters, a widow running a gaming store. Then we have her friends who all get together for a gaming night every week. When one of the group’s friends is murdered, they all step up to help. We have danger and murder and investigations with one of the group ending up in the hospital. Even though I’m not a gamer myself, I really do enjoy these mysteries in spite of that. They are all well written with exceptional plots that keep me turning the pages.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
October 10, 2025
Murder, She Rolled (A Wren Winters Mystery #2) by Shelly Jones
Another great addition to Shelly Jones’ new mystery series! Murder, She Rolled delivers plenty of intrigue and suspense, keeping readers guessing about the killer’s identity right up until the very end. The story is extremely well-written, with engaging characters and a believable, well-paced plot.
Jones has a real talent for crafting mysteries that are both clever and satisfying, and this book is no exception. I highly recommend Murder, She Rolled to anyone who enjoys cozy mysteries with a sharp twist—and I’m already looking forward to the next installment in the Wren Winters series!
Another great addition to Shelly Jones’ new mystery series! Murder, She Rolled delivers plenty of intrigue and suspense, keeping readers guessing about the killer’s identity right up until the very end. The story is extremely well-written, with engaging characters and a believable, well-paced plot.
Jones has a real talent for crafting mysteries that are both clever and satisfying, and this book is no exception. I highly recommend Murder, She Rolled to anyone who enjoys cozy mysteries with a sharp twist—and I’m already looking forward to the next installment in the Wren Winters series!
October 29, 2025
I was excited to see a game themed mystery as I really enjoy games of all kinds. This book mentioned a lot of role playing games, which I've never had a chance to try but am curious about. The various game titles mentioned seem to be made up for the book, which I get, but some of them sounded so fun I wish they were real! Though this was my first time reading this series I caught up with the characters pretty quickly, and I'm intrigued by the start of another mystery arc alongside the main case.
October 12, 2025
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. as it's well plotted, the mystery is full of surprises and twists, and gripping. .
I liked the good storytelling and the fleshed out characters. The game boards and the hobby were an enjoyable touch of originality
Highly Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
I liked the good storytelling and the fleshed out characters. The game boards and the hobby were an enjoyable touch of originality
Highly Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
October 27, 2025
The writing in this was great. It was easy to follow, and the author does a wonderful job of showing both neurodivergency and chronic illness. Also, that those 2 things don't make us less capable if given the accommodations we need. The mystery was well done, and I love the use of games.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
October 10, 2025
Another wonderful book in this series. Characters that will intrigue you and a storyline that will glue you to the book make this a wonderful and fun read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews