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Part of the Solution

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"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem." –Eldridge Cleaver

It's 1978, and Jennifer Morgan, a sassy New Yorker, has escaped to the counterculture village of Flanders, Massachusetts. Her peaceful life is disrupted when one of her customers at the Café Galadriel is found dead. Everyone is a suspect—including the gentle artisan woodworker, the Yeats-wannabe poet, the town's anti-war hero, the peace-loving Episcopalian minister, and the local organic farmer who can hold a grudge.

Concern for her community prompts Jennifer to investigate the murder with the sometimes-reluctant help of Ford McDermott, a young police officer. Little does she know that the solution lies in the hidden past.

Part of the Solution blends snappy dialogue, unconventional settings, and a classic oldies soundtrack, capturing the essence of a traditional whodunnit in a counterculture era. ​

Paperback

First published July 15, 2025

1053 people want to read

About the author

Elana Michelson

4 books14 followers
Elana Michelson is a New York City girl who has encamped to the Hudson Valley, where she writes, reads, gardens, and volunteers with local social justice organizations. After thirty-five years as a professor, she has put down a beloved career of academic writing (and student papers) in favor of writing murder mysteries. She earned a PhD in English from Columbia University, but gets her knowledge of the life and times of Part of the Solution by, well, having been there.

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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
3 reviews
August 22, 2025
The details that created the setting are rich, painting a picture for the reader that pulls them into this who dun it. The author keeps you guessing til the end and then wraps it up with a satisfying epilogue. Hope to see this become a series!
Profile Image for Fiona Arnold.
5 reviews2 followers
June 3, 2025
I received a free copy of Part of the Solution’s ARC via BookSirens, and I’m leaving this review voluntarily. Set in 1978, it tells the tale of a shocking murder in Flanders, Mass., a hippie counter-culture community. Jennifer Morgan, who relocated five years prior, takes it upon herself to solve the murder alongside police officer Ford McDermott.
I really enjoyed this book. I thought Michaelson’s writing was hilarious when necessary, serious when necessary, and revealed exactly enough information when necessary. There was a good level of criticism of the characters and their outlook on the world, without renouncing the entire counter-culture movement. I really loved the voices of Jennifer, Wendy, and Annie. This is Michaelson’s first work of fiction, and I will certainly be tuning into her future works.
I’m unsure how well the title of “murder mystery” fits this book. Sometimes, it felt like there were several chapters where very little thought was actually given to the murder, more on Jennifer’s life and the way the murder impacted Flanders. As I’m not the biggest murder mystery buff, this didn’t really bother me, but I feel that it’s worth noting. I also feel as though this book was marketed as being a duo book, with Jennifer and Ford solving the murder. That was very much not the case– it was pretty much “the Jennifer show” throughout. Also, this might be largely personal, but I kept confusing the (non-Ford) male characters… at a certain point, they all blended together for me.
Review is also here: https://dowdymusings.wordpress.com/20...
Profile Image for Helen.
1,331 reviews34 followers
July 14, 2025
When I first started reading, crime was my go to genre, but as time has gone on I haven’t spent as much time reading this genre. So it's always a treat when I get the chance to read this type of book.

When I saw the ARC copy of this available on Book Sirens I knew I needed to read it.

I found this one to be very intriguing and took no time at all to finish reading it.

I really liked this one and the author did a good job at it.

She managed to be serious when the situation required it but also funny when it was needed. And for the reader there was the right amount of information about the characters and places that was needed.

The author put faults in her characters and didn’t shy away from making them look bad.

In my mind this isn’t a typical murder mystery as there were chapters where the murder wasn’t even mentioned. But this just makes it unique.

I will be interested to read another book by the author in the future.
1 review
August 1, 2025
I’m a lover of classic murder mysteries, and Part of the Solution checked all my boxes. Michelson plays fair with the reader – all the clues add up, the solution (which I didn’t get, but then thought “Yes, of course”) made total sense, and the way in which Jennifer (the amateur sleuth in the book) fit the pieces together was great. I never thought I’d get to read a small village mystery where the village was a hippie community with all the trimmings – wind chimes, classic oldies, vegetarian moussaka, Tarot cards, and anti-war activists all in one. Part of the Solution is NOT a cozy – there is too much sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll for that --but that’s part of what I liked about it. Agatha Christie meets the counterculture.
Profile Image for Shelly Neinast.
Author 4 books23 followers
September 5, 2025
What a groovy kind of murder

A beautiful rendition of the past counterculture of the make love, not war of the 1960-70s.
I was only a teen back then, but I still became part of some of the groovy era.
The author did a splendid job of creating a fictional storyline that surrounded factual events, style, and cultural aspects of the time.
The book was well written, and you could tell the author did a lot of research on the times and emerged the reader along into the story itself. Anyone who would have lived through that special time in their life would have brought back memories as the book deepened farther into that culture.
I loved reading the book and did relate to some of the culture, especially the music of that time.
1 review
August 2, 2025
I don’t usually read mysteries, but I wanted to read this one because of its setting. I remember the 60s and 70s and the counter culture very well, and Part of the Solution brought it all back. I felt like I knew all the characters, and I kept having flashes of recognition. The author does a great job with their foibles, but she also conveys the idealism of the time. They are all complicated people and felt very real to me. I would recommend this book to anyone who remembers those days and also to anyone who is curious about them.
1 review
August 11, 2025
Reading this book was amazing.  My parents were the same age as the characters, and it was like having a window into what their lives and culture were like back then.  The posters on the walls, the way the characters dress, and especially the music always playing in the background made me feel as if I had gone back in time and was having a cup of herbal tea (and sharing a joint) with my mom when she was 28. And that’s all in addition to Part of the Solution being a really good mystery. If you’ve got Boomer parents, you’ve got to read this book.
Profile Image for Stephanie Moore.
926 reviews7 followers
July 11, 2025
**ARC Received at ALA 2025**

This book had a writing style that really flowed well and caused the book to be a quick read.

The story itself could have used a bit of work (though it was still enjoyable). I found that the changes between viewpoints was super abrupt and caused me to stumble out of the story repeatedly. I also felt that the ending could have used a bit of work since it fell extremely flat.

I did enjoy the epilogue though and felt that it was probably fairly realistic.
Profile Image for Meghan.
102 reviews
July 20, 2025
This novel is clearly written by an English teacher, as it abounds with references to numerous works of literature. The heroine of the story even compares herself to classic British detectives, modeling some of her investigative techniques on the likes of Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple. This, however, is not simply another Murder She Wrote, as the setting of a small New English hippie town towards the end of the 70’s is vitally important to the story. Drugs and the darker side of free love abound. Most of the story is flashback, with a couple of the characters reuniting for the first time since the murder as the catalyst. The ending, however, is a little open-ended; one can definitely see the possibility of the two teaming up again, should a cause ever arise.
Profile Image for Phil Bayly.
Author 8 books34 followers
October 6, 2025
A young man living in a college town in the Berkshires is murdered. It happens during the culminating days of the Love Revolution.
Vietnam is over and the original hippies are turning thirty. But radical thinking remains, like dust on the window sill. And there might be a killer left-over from the 60s, a decade of discontent. There might still be old scores to settle.
4 reviews3 followers
July 7, 2025
This book was enjoyable! It had a slower start, but quickly picked up. All of the characters were quirky and unique. An enjoyable read for a beach day.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews

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