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The Primrose Murder Academy: A Novel
Not yet published
Expected 16 Mar 27Full of Southern charm, with a cast of delightful eccentrics and canny pair of mother-daughter sleuths, the Primrose is Richmond, Virginia’s very own Only Murders in the Building.
After solving an infamous murder and nearly getting herself killed, single mom Lila Shaw wants nothing more than to settle into a quiet life in the splendid Primrose apartments with her daughter, Bea. She’s focused on launching a successful private investigation agency, tolerating her well-meaning but meddling neighbors, and finding time for the boyfriend Bea still hasn’t met.
Lila comes up with a solution to make her daughter happy and establish her own place in Richmond society—getting Bea into Stratford Academy, the most exclusive private school in the city.
Uncovering a dead body during the school tour is not part of the admissions plan, but that’s exactly what happens. When the police come up short in their investigation and the school’s board pushes for answers, the Stratford headmaster convinces Lila and her partners, Jasper and Evelyn, to take on the case. He promises that if they solve the murder, Bea will get a full scholarship.
There’s no shortage of suspects in the world of high-stakes elite education. Lila launches an investigation that challenges her own views about success and just how far she’ll go for her perfect life. And as she uncovers the many secrets hidden behind the ivy-covered walls of Stratford Academy, she risks putting herself and those she loves in the path of a killer.
After solving an infamous murder and nearly getting herself killed, single mom Lila Shaw wants nothing more than to settle into a quiet life in the splendid Primrose apartments with her daughter, Bea. She’s focused on launching a successful private investigation agency, tolerating her well-meaning but meddling neighbors, and finding time for the boyfriend Bea still hasn’t met.
Lila comes up with a solution to make her daughter happy and establish her own place in Richmond society—getting Bea into Stratford Academy, the most exclusive private school in the city.
Uncovering a dead body during the school tour is not part of the admissions plan, but that’s exactly what happens. When the police come up short in their investigation and the school’s board pushes for answers, the Stratford headmaster convinces Lila and her partners, Jasper and Evelyn, to take on the case. He promises that if they solve the murder, Bea will get a full scholarship.
There’s no shortage of suspects in the world of high-stakes elite education. Lila launches an investigation that challenges her own views about success and just how far she’ll go for her perfect life. And as she uncovers the many secrets hidden behind the ivy-covered walls of Stratford Academy, she risks putting herself and those she loves in the path of a killer.
368 pages, Paperback
Expected publication March 16, 2027
About the author
Stacy Hackney
10 books93 followersStacy Hackney lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her husband and four sons. She graduated from Wake Forest University and University of Virginia School of Law. After her legal briefs started bordering on a little too dramatic, she started writing fiction and never stopped. Stacy has published two children's books, Forever Glimmer Creek and The Sisters of Luna Island. The Primrose Murder Society is her first book for adults.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
"He's out there playing tennis like he's Andre the Giant," Evelyn said.
"I think you mean Andre Agassi," Jasper muttered.
This book involves a divorced mother, Lila, who lives in a posh senior center (Primrose) with her 11-year-old daughter, Bea. Lila's ex and Bea's father, Ryan, abandoned them and is currently on house arrest for corporate fraud. This book is the 2nd in a series, and I believe more depth to the divorce, abandonment and embezzlement story occurred in book #1 (The Primrose Murder Society).
The storyline for this book involves Lila and Bea visiting the Stratford Academy, a prestigious school where Lila is determined to get Bea enrolled. Lila has established a private eye agency with two of her elderly neighbors - Evelyn and Jasper. During a site visit, Bea and Lila discover the dead body of a talented but highly disliked lacrosse coach, Ethan Bennett. Itching to get a disinterested Bea into Stratford and trying to show Ryan Bea is better off with her, Lila decides to accept the offer to investigate Ethan Bennett's murder.
I thought this was a solid read. The mystery was good and you couldn't help but feel for Lila and how she wanted to be the best mama possible to Bea. She is willing to sacrifice anything for Bea's advancement and allows Bea's behavior to cause strain in Lila's relationship with her boyfriend, Nate. Lila feels Stratford Academy is the ideal school for Bea and ignores Bea's obvious disinterest. I enjoyed the banter between Lila and all of her elderly neighbors. There is a lot of humor in the relationships between all of the residents of Primrose, and that enhances the story.
Where the book didn't work for me was many characters were so outrageous they bordered on caricatures. For example, Detective Roberts (who Lila apparently "bested" in the first book) is ridiculously rude to Lila throughout the entire book. Bea vacillated between a precocious tween and an unsufferable smart ass. As the book progresses, you get more insight into what Bea's struggles are with the divorce, the uncertainty of her dad's future and her struggles to concentrate in school. However, in many parts of the book she can come across as really unsufferable.
I would recommend this book for anyone who likes a light, cozy mystery. I would definitely consider reading the first book in the series in order to get more background.
Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in advance of publishing and requesting I provide honest feedback.
#NetGalley #ThePrimroseMurderAcademy
"I think you mean Andre Agassi," Jasper muttered.
This book involves a divorced mother, Lila, who lives in a posh senior center (Primrose) with her 11-year-old daughter, Bea. Lila's ex and Bea's father, Ryan, abandoned them and is currently on house arrest for corporate fraud. This book is the 2nd in a series, and I believe more depth to the divorce, abandonment and embezzlement story occurred in book #1 (The Primrose Murder Society).
The storyline for this book involves Lila and Bea visiting the Stratford Academy, a prestigious school where Lila is determined to get Bea enrolled. Lila has established a private eye agency with two of her elderly neighbors - Evelyn and Jasper. During a site visit, Bea and Lila discover the dead body of a talented but highly disliked lacrosse coach, Ethan Bennett. Itching to get a disinterested Bea into Stratford and trying to show Ryan Bea is better off with her, Lila decides to accept the offer to investigate Ethan Bennett's murder.
I thought this was a solid read. The mystery was good and you couldn't help but feel for Lila and how she wanted to be the best mama possible to Bea. She is willing to sacrifice anything for Bea's advancement and allows Bea's behavior to cause strain in Lila's relationship with her boyfriend, Nate. Lila feels Stratford Academy is the ideal school for Bea and ignores Bea's obvious disinterest. I enjoyed the banter between Lila and all of her elderly neighbors. There is a lot of humor in the relationships between all of the residents of Primrose, and that enhances the story.
Where the book didn't work for me was many characters were so outrageous they bordered on caricatures. For example, Detective Roberts (who Lila apparently "bested" in the first book) is ridiculously rude to Lila throughout the entire book. Bea vacillated between a precocious tween and an unsufferable smart ass. As the book progresses, you get more insight into what Bea's struggles are with the divorce, the uncertainty of her dad's future and her struggles to concentrate in school. However, in many parts of the book she can come across as really unsufferable.
I would recommend this book for anyone who likes a light, cozy mystery. I would definitely consider reading the first book in the series in order to get more background.
Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in advance of publishing and requesting I provide honest feedback.
#NetGalley #ThePrimroseMurderAcademy
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I absolutely loved the first book in this series, so I was thrilled to see a second one! Though it was good, I sadly didn't find this one to be quite as charming and humorous. It started out great with a hilarious stakeout for an insurance fraud case, but it went downhill a bit from there. Bea has always been quirky, to say the least, but she crossed the line into obnoxious territory more than once this time. The Primrose residents were such a hoot in the first book, but I didn't find myself laughing at their antics as much this go around. Even Lila was getting annoying with her single-minded determination to send Bea to that school. I did still enjoy the mystery, however. There were quite a few suspects and, though I narrowed it down to a few, I was not sure which one was the killer. Although some of the charm was missing from the middle, the last 20% or so was excellent and had everything I was looking for. I was brought to tears more than once and laughed quite a bit too. The ending was really heartwarming and left me anxious to see what will happen next to these characters. Even though I didn't think The Primrose Murder Academy was quite as good as The Primrose Murder Society, I still thought it was a fun read, and I'm already looking forward to the next one. I highly recommend this series!
Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC.
Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I read the Primrose Murder Society, Hackney’s first novel, and was excited to receive her second from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. As a former Richmonder, I love the setting and the characters Hackney is developing through this series.
Although this one was a little harder for me to get into initially, I love the concept of a murder in an exclusive prep school and the opportunity to explore the challenges, pressures and expectations of growing up in a wealthy, upscale community. Hackney did an excellent job of comparing and contrasting the lifestyles of Stratford Academy families with Lila’s struggle to find her place for herself and her daughter as their lives continue to unfold in Virginia.
The dialogue is stilted at times and perhaps a bit overly dramatic in places, but overall, I give this a 4.0 out of 5 rating. It is a comfortable, fun read.
Although this one was a little harder for me to get into initially, I love the concept of a murder in an exclusive prep school and the opportunity to explore the challenges, pressures and expectations of growing up in a wealthy, upscale community. Hackney did an excellent job of comparing and contrasting the lifestyles of Stratford Academy families with Lila’s struggle to find her place for herself and her daughter as their lives continue to unfold in Virginia.
The dialogue is stilted at times and perhaps a bit overly dramatic in places, but overall, I give this a 4.0 out of 5 rating. It is a comfortable, fun read.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Lila, her daughter Bea, and the rest of the gang are fresh off their remarkable solving of a famous cold case. Lila is hoping for a breather to focus on Bea, her schooling, and recovering from her divorce. But during a tour of an academy Lila is hoping to enroll Bea in - Bea discovers a dead body. While Lila wants nothing to do with the investigation, Evelyn has other plans for the detectives. And if they can solve this murder it might just be the "in" for Lila to get Bea into the prestigious school.
While Stratford Academy has everything going for it on the outside, the truth is far less pretty than the curated grounds and stone buildings. While the staff presents as one big happy family, this family is dysfunctional and the detectives are next on the hit list.
While Stratford Academy has everything going for it on the outside, the truth is far less pretty than the curated grounds and stone buildings. While the staff presents as one big happy family, this family is dysfunctional and the detectives are next on the hit list.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This was such a bingeable read! The mystery kept me hooked, and I found myself wanting to know what was going to happen next. I really enjoyed that, instead of feeling overly dark and serious, the quirky characters brought a fun sense of humor that balanced everything out. There were also a few moments that tugged at my heartstrings, which added more depth than I expected. I wasn't expecting the ending, surprised me. Overall, this was an entertaining mystery with the perfect mix of humor and twists, and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a fun, fast paced read!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This was 4.5 for me. The end made me teary eyed with happiness and the truth of what was written. The characters of funny and lovely to read with very distinct personalities. It’s definitely a cozy read with a good mystery and a little romance.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
An enjoyable sequel; I hope there will be more!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews