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Dirty Myrtle
Not yet published
Expected 9 Jun 26A few days before Thanksgiving, Sailor Cassidy is running an amateur stakeout she has no business conducting. She’s nursing a bad breakup, following a plan that’s half-baked in more ways than one, and reckless enough not to care. What could go wrong?
Across town, Officer Tuscaloosa “Tusk” Knight is working an off-the-books job for his captain, tailing a drifter who, it turns out, once sat two rows over from him in high school English. It’s not exactly the glamorous step toward promotion he pictured, but it beats paperwork.
When Sailor’s disaster and Tusk’s assignment collide, the two stumble into a life-or-death mess involving kidnapping, half-wit criminals, and a tangle of small-town secrets longer than the Carolina coast. With the clock ticking, Sailor and Tusk are left trying to separate the truth from the lies, and the lies from the truly stupid decisions.
Across town, Officer Tuscaloosa “Tusk” Knight is working an off-the-books job for his captain, tailing a drifter who, it turns out, once sat two rows over from him in high school English. It’s not exactly the glamorous step toward promotion he pictured, but it beats paperwork.
When Sailor’s disaster and Tusk’s assignment collide, the two stumble into a life-or-death mess involving kidnapping, half-wit criminals, and a tangle of small-town secrets longer than the Carolina coast. With the clock ticking, Sailor and Tusk are left trying to separate the truth from the lies, and the lies from the truly stupid decisions.
310 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication June 9, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 30, 2026
This book thrives on chaotic friendships, big feelings, and a heroine who makes questionable choices but is impossible to look away from. The dialogue is sharp and there’s more emotional depth under the drama than you’d expect.
Not quite 5 stars because the middle drags a bit and some conflict feels extra just for the sake of it, but overall, a fun, character-driven read with heart.
Not quite 5 stars because the middle drags a bit and some conflict feels extra just for the sake of it, but overall, a fun, character-driven read with heart.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Overall Rating = 4.17
Storyline & Concept = 4
Writing and Delivery = 4
Editorial = 4.5
In this engaging novel, Sailor Cassidy, part of a close-knit yet slightly dysfunctional family, takes it upon herself to help her sister with an amateur stakeout. At the same time, Officer Tusk Knight of the local police, vying for a promotion, takes on a secretive surveillance task for his boss. When the paths of these two characters intersect, things go spectacularly wrong.
This novel’s style was set from the first page. Although the stakes are high and the crimes are serious, the tone is witty and the incidents are often slapstick. I don’t say this in a derogatory sense. I love wit and banter and knew immediately I’d be entertained by this novel. And if entertainment was the author’s prime objective, it was achieved in a page-turning manner. However, set in a small town along the Carolina coast where the roots and history of the inhabitants run deep, I struggled to keep track of the long line-up of characters, their nicknames, and their ties to each other. That being said, this novel will appeal to anyone who enjoys a fast-paced, character-driven read laced with laugh-out-loud moments and a light, but entertaining plot.
Sublime Line: “A brisk-paced and humorous thriller that delivers, chaos, chemistry, and a cascade of bad decisions.”
Storyline & Concept = 4
Writing and Delivery = 4
Editorial = 4.5
In this engaging novel, Sailor Cassidy, part of a close-knit yet slightly dysfunctional family, takes it upon herself to help her sister with an amateur stakeout. At the same time, Officer Tusk Knight of the local police, vying for a promotion, takes on a secretive surveillance task for his boss. When the paths of these two characters intersect, things go spectacularly wrong.
This novel’s style was set from the first page. Although the stakes are high and the crimes are serious, the tone is witty and the incidents are often slapstick. I don’t say this in a derogatory sense. I love wit and banter and knew immediately I’d be entertained by this novel. And if entertainment was the author’s prime objective, it was achieved in a page-turning manner. However, set in a small town along the Carolina coast where the roots and history of the inhabitants run deep, I struggled to keep track of the long line-up of characters, their nicknames, and their ties to each other. That being said, this novel will appeal to anyone who enjoys a fast-paced, character-driven read laced with laugh-out-loud moments and a light, but entertaining plot.
Sublime Line: “A brisk-paced and humorous thriller that delivers, chaos, chemistry, and a cascade of bad decisions.”
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Read my review on NovelsAlive.com by clicking the link below. It is also posted in full.
https://novelsalive.com/2026/05/13/4-...
Myrtle Beach is the setting for Dirty Myrtle by Kennedy Weible. It’s a mystery with family dysfunction, inept bad guys, and too many crazy crimes to count!
Sailor does surveillance on her sister’s cheating husband, and she has no idea where it will lead. There’s a lot of tension, injuries, crimes, and criminal intent that always seem to be just on the surface without any depth or details revealed. But once the meat of the story is reached, we are taken on a merry ride.
Sailor’s entire family, along with some friends, are in deep. Will they survive and help take down the bad guys? At times, I felt like I was in an Abbott and Costello episode. There were even some laugh-out-loud moments along with the cringeworthy ones as they tried to stay out of the line of fire. With most criminals getting what they deserved, the story ended abruptly, leaving a few loose ends. I could see another book showing us what the supposed good guys are up to, along with the changes Sailor hopes to make in her life.
Dirty Myrtle could have several meanings as multiple crimes are committed and Sailor and her family assists the police in bringing the bad guys down.
https://novelsalive.com/2026/05/13/4-...
Myrtle Beach is the setting for Dirty Myrtle by Kennedy Weible. It’s a mystery with family dysfunction, inept bad guys, and too many crazy crimes to count!
Sailor does surveillance on her sister’s cheating husband, and she has no idea where it will lead. There’s a lot of tension, injuries, crimes, and criminal intent that always seem to be just on the surface without any depth or details revealed. But once the meat of the story is reached, we are taken on a merry ride.
Sailor’s entire family, along with some friends, are in deep. Will they survive and help take down the bad guys? At times, I felt like I was in an Abbott and Costello episode. There were even some laugh-out-loud moments along with the cringeworthy ones as they tried to stay out of the line of fire. With most criminals getting what they deserved, the story ended abruptly, leaving a few loose ends. I could see another book showing us what the supposed good guys are up to, along with the changes Sailor hopes to make in her life.
Dirty Myrtle could have several meanings as multiple crimes are committed and Sailor and her family assists the police in bringing the bad guys down.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Gritty but big-hearted dark comedic thriller set in Myrtle Beach with complicated but realistic characters.
Sailor Cassidy, a HVAC tech, is messy, generally stoned, but when she sees her sister, Carrie, is down over the possibility her husband, Morgan, cheating, Sailor decides to investigate - “no license, no plan, just a big heart and a camera” (BookBelow). What Sailor soon learns is that Morgan is in deep trouble with some very bad types. This leads her by accident to Detective Tuscaloosa “Tusk” Knight who’s following a drifter on an “off the books” assignment. Before you know it , they find themselves meshed into a “life-or-death” mess which includes kidnapping, half-wit criminals and small town secrets bigger than you can imagine.
Sailor is a fabulous character. She’s very funny. A lot of the story is about her and her complicated family. Carrie, her sister, has grit and a backbone; Tusk is such a decent guy. The author has done a good job creating realistic characters. The book though bogs down in the middle so hang in there to the end. It will be worth it.
I’d like to thank NetGalley and Apprentice House Press for allowing me access to this fun ARC.
Sailor Cassidy, a HVAC tech, is messy, generally stoned, but when she sees her sister, Carrie, is down over the possibility her husband, Morgan, cheating, Sailor decides to investigate - “no license, no plan, just a big heart and a camera” (BookBelow). What Sailor soon learns is that Morgan is in deep trouble with some very bad types. This leads her by accident to Detective Tuscaloosa “Tusk” Knight who’s following a drifter on an “off the books” assignment. Before you know it , they find themselves meshed into a “life-or-death” mess which includes kidnapping, half-wit criminals and small town secrets bigger than you can imagine.
Sailor is a fabulous character. She’s very funny. A lot of the story is about her and her complicated family. Carrie, her sister, has grit and a backbone; Tusk is such a decent guy. The author has done a good job creating realistic characters. The book though bogs down in the middle so hang in there to the end. It will be worth it.
I’d like to thank NetGalley and Apprentice House Press for allowing me access to this fun ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was a gritty, character-driven crime read with a strong sense of place and a cast of deeply flawed, complex characters. The story leans heavily into messy relationships and moral gray areas, which made it feel raw and realistic.
I really appreciated how immersive the atmosphere was—it pulls you into the setting quickly and keeps you there. The tension builds well, and there were definitely moments that kept me engaged and wanting to know what would happen next.
For me, the pacing felt slightly uneven at times, especially in the middle, and the multiple perspectives occasionally made it a bit harder to stay fully grounded. That said, the overall experience was still compelling.
If you enjoy darker, character-focused crime stories with layered dynamics and emotional intensity, this is one worth picking up.
This was a gritty, character-driven crime read with a strong sense of place and a cast of deeply flawed, complex characters. The story leans heavily into messy relationships and moral gray areas, which made it feel raw and realistic.
I really appreciated how immersive the atmosphere was—it pulls you into the setting quickly and keeps you there. The tension builds well, and there were definitely moments that kept me engaged and wanting to know what would happen next.
For me, the pacing felt slightly uneven at times, especially in the middle, and the multiple perspectives occasionally made it a bit harder to stay fully grounded. That said, the overall experience was still compelling.
If you enjoy darker, character-focused crime stories with layered dynamics and emotional intensity, this is one worth picking up.
February 8, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.
Dirty Myrtle offers an interesting premise and a compelling central mystery that kept me curious about how everything would unfold. The plot itself was engaging, and I appreciated the layered secrets and gradual reveals that built tension throughout the story.
That said, the narration felt somewhat confusing at times. The novel leans toward a third-person omniscient perspective, but the rapid switches between characters’ viewpoints, combined with long chapters and a timeline that frequently moves back and forth, occasionally made it difficult to stay fully oriented in the story.
Even with those challenges, I still enjoyed the overall mystery and the direction the plot took. Readers who enjoy character-driven suspense with multiple intersecting perspectives may find this one especially intriguing.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.
Dirty Myrtle offers an interesting premise and a compelling central mystery that kept me curious about how everything would unfold. The plot itself was engaging, and I appreciated the layered secrets and gradual reveals that built tension throughout the story.
That said, the narration felt somewhat confusing at times. The novel leans toward a third-person omniscient perspective, but the rapid switches between characters’ viewpoints, combined with long chapters and a timeline that frequently moves back and forth, occasionally made it difficult to stay fully oriented in the story.
Even with those challenges, I still enjoyed the overall mystery and the direction the plot took. Readers who enjoy character-driven suspense with multiple intersecting perspectives may find this one especially intriguing.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Dirty Myrtle was a complex, and at times mind-boggling crime read with a long list of complicated characters. Every character had their own quirks and struggles that end up all being connected. The plot line builds quickly, evolving from drug deals to kidnappings to murders. You get deeper looks into the story and relationships between characters from the always changing perspective.
The story was overall pretty engaging, but I did find certain parts of the story to drag a little. The book was written well. The dialogue was fun and witty, and the characters had you rooting for them even with their (at times) questionable decisions.
I would recommend this book if you like a darker crime novel with multiple perspectives.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
The story was overall pretty engaging, but I did find certain parts of the story to drag a little. The book was written well. The dialogue was fun and witty, and the characters had you rooting for them even with their (at times) questionable decisions.
I would recommend this book if you like a darker crime novel with multiple perspectives.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Myrtle Beach is trashy, chaotic and comfortable with bad decisions.
Sailor Cassidy runs an amateur stakeout with no plan and no business doing it. Officer Tusk Knight tails a drifter on an off-the-books assignment. Both of them end up neck-deep in kidnapping, drug trouble and small-town secrets that stretch the length of the Carolina coast.
The cast is enormous, and keeping everyone straight takes effort. Th alley conversations and backroom deals really put you in the scene.
This is the mystery caper version of f*** around and find out — one bad decision after another, by every person involved.
Frenetic in a way that suits the setting, and often laugh-out-loud funny.
Slow to start (some of that was me — I’m a mood reader), but worth coming back to.
Sailor Cassidy runs an amateur stakeout with no plan and no business doing it. Officer Tusk Knight tails a drifter on an off-the-books assignment. Both of them end up neck-deep in kidnapping, drug trouble and small-town secrets that stretch the length of the Carolina coast.
The cast is enormous, and keeping everyone straight takes effort. Th alley conversations and backroom deals really put you in the scene.
This is the mystery caper version of f*** around and find out — one bad decision after another, by every person involved.
Frenetic in a way that suits the setting, and often laugh-out-loud funny.
Slow to start (some of that was me — I’m a mood reader), but worth coming back to.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Dirty Myrtle is a fast-paced mystery thriller that completely hooked me! Honestly, the cover and title caught my eye first, and the description doesn't do this book justice. Think Bad Monkey vibe with its quirky chaos, secrets and reveals, captivating witty smart characters, unlikely heroes.
It’s the perfect blend of chaotic energy, small-town secrets, and a lighthearted yet suspenseful atmosphere. The story centers on a relentless struggle to uncover the truth, driven by a cast of captivating, beautifully reckless characters. I absolutely loved the shifting points of view—it works brilliantly here, constantly raising new questions and delivering answers just as fast. I enjoyed every single side of this wild ride!
Thank you NetGalley and Apprentice House Press for the arc
It’s the perfect blend of chaotic energy, small-town secrets, and a lighthearted yet suspenseful atmosphere. The story centers on a relentless struggle to uncover the truth, driven by a cast of captivating, beautifully reckless characters. I absolutely loved the shifting points of view—it works brilliantly here, constantly raising new questions and delivering answers just as fast. I enjoyed every single side of this wild ride!
Thank you NetGalley and Apprentice House Press for the arc
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This book wasn't great - it was just too boring for me. In fact, I was barely absorbing what I was reading so I often found myself rereading paragraphs and still, I was unable to invest any interest into the characters or the plot. The book had a really intriguing synopsis and the dialogue was decent but in terms of execution, the book was lacking structure and organization. The sudden POV changes also made things more confusing. Overall, I was not a huge fan of this but it could be a book that others enjoy - 2 stars.
Thank you to Kennedy Weible, Apprentice House Press, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book!
#DirtyMyrtle #NetGalley
Thank you to Kennedy Weible, Apprentice House Press, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book!
#DirtyMyrtle #NetGalley
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
#DirtyMyrtle
Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book.
This gritty, no-holds-barred crime thriller plunges the reader into the dark underbelly of Myrtle. The narrative pulls no punches, providing a stark and unflinching look at the "dirty things that goes down there," as the protagonist navigates a treacherous landscape of organized crime and moral ambiguity.
For fans of raw, visceral crime fiction, #DirtyMyrtle delivers a fast-paced and uncompromising read. It's a book for those seeking a "bad a** crime book" with high stakes, authentic dialogue, and a plot that keeps the tension coiled tight from the first page to the last.
Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book.
This gritty, no-holds-barred crime thriller plunges the reader into the dark underbelly of Myrtle. The narrative pulls no punches, providing a stark and unflinching look at the "dirty things that goes down there," as the protagonist navigates a treacherous landscape of organized crime and moral ambiguity.
For fans of raw, visceral crime fiction, #DirtyMyrtle delivers a fast-paced and uncompromising read. It's a book for those seeking a "bad a** crime book" with high stakes, authentic dialogue, and a plot that keeps the tension coiled tight from the first page to the last.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you netgalley and publishers for the advanced copy!
DRAMA!!
It had a slow start but I'm so glad I stuck with it! I feel like the description of the book is just gonna sound like a joke......a Healthcare worker, cop, real estate developer, banker, and comedian walk into a bar........ chaos ensues. Lots of laughs with some tension and crime thrown in.
DRAMA!!
It had a slow start but I'm so glad I stuck with it! I feel like the description of the book is just gonna sound like a joke......a Healthcare worker, cop, real estate developer, banker, and comedian walk into a bar........ chaos ensues. Lots of laughs with some tension and crime thrown in.
March 5, 2026
Thank you Kennedy Weible and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. While the characters were interesting, I wasn’t able to connect to this story and found that it dragged on and wasn’t for me.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews