Dirty Pairs

by Emily Brott

Genres: Mystery

356 pages, Paperback

Published July 27, 2026

About the author

Emily is the indie author of several fiction novels: The Switch Theory and Everything You Need To Know, both published in 2023, and The Grand Gesture, published in 2024. Her work spans a range of women’s fiction genres, including family drama, suspense and romance.

She is also the author of two traditionally published cookbooks: Have Your Cake, a healthy baking cookbook, and Healthy Home Cooking For Kids.

Emily lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her family.

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Reviews

[Susan Z (webreakforbooks)]

Dirty Pairs is the perfect cozy mystery for those who like something lighter for spooky season. Four middle aged women cover up the accidental death of a man when a sexy rendezvous goes wrong, only to find out something nefarious happened and it wasn't accidental after all.

As the ladies work to uncover the truth, they stretch their capacity as sleuths as well as friends. I really enjoyed watching the women morph into better friends and even better people.

[Emilie (emiliesbookshelf)]

Colette, Katie, Alice and Lydia are unlikely friends, brought together by a relaxed game of mahjong.

When one Monday, Colette SOS’ the group WhatsApp chat, asking for their help, all the ladies rush over to find Colette shaken, and their mahjong teacher Lawrence, naked and dead in the kitchen

Turns out Colette had been having an affair with the attractive teacher, and he had a heart attack

Quick thinking, they spring into action to make the scene appear less sinister, so Colette’s children don’t find out

But as the police start to ask more questions, it looks as though this death might not have been an accident. This forces the mahjong ladies to dig into Lawrence’s life to prove Colette’s innocence

Told from multiple POVs we get to know each of our mahjong ladies who are all very different but interesting characters, I loved how their personalities compliment each other.

And let me say this saucy crime was a page turner and I couldn’t put it down! There was fabulous friendship, laughing out loud and the murder mystery that had me guessing until the very last chapter

Highly recommend this fabulous book! 🤩

Thank you so much to Emily Brott for my gifted copy 🫶

[Elle (IG: simply.elle18)]

This was such a fun read! I love Emily's writing style, so flowing and easy, and I was drawn into the story (which was told from four POVs) immediately.

I love a good cosy murder mystery and this was such a great palate cleanser between all those dark, crime and horror books I've been reading of late.

The friendship the four ladies have was so lovely, and the mahjong references throughout the book has made me very interested to learn the game!

This one certainly kept me guessing and I cracked the case just before the truth came to light!

The ending was just perfect!

A big thank you to the author for a copy of Dirty Pairs.

[Gloria (Ms. G's Bookshelf)]

⭐️4 Stars⭐️
Dirty Pairs by Emily Brott is a story about a murder that’s so scandalous and funny you’ll be laughing out loud, it’s cleverly written and a lot of fun.

Sexy mahjong teacher, Lawrence dies on Collette’s marble kitchen bench top….naked! A sexual encounter gone wrong?….well you’ll have to read the book!

Collette panics and instead of calling for an ambulance she call the ladies from her mahjong group to help her move the body.

A police investigation discovers that Lawrence was murdered and the girls try to do their own investigation to uncover the real murderer and to clear Collette’s name but do they believe her?

Reading this story has made me want to try out the game of mahjong, it sounds intriguing.

This cheeky cosy crime read is an absolute page turner and I also enjoyed the friendships of the women throughout the story.

Publication Day 2nd August 2026
Publisher Self Published

A huge thanks to Emily Brott for sending me a copy of the book.

[Natalie Gold]

This book follows four friends - Colette, Alice, Lydia and Katie who play mahjong together regularly. One day Colette calls the rest of the group to her home where their mahjong teacher has died.

This is the third book I have read by Emily and they are always such a wonderful time. This book kept me hooked the whole way, wondering what happened the day the mahjong teacher died. The story gave Desperate Housewives vibes and I loved it. The drama, the humour, the family live and the mystery! I loved that each of the women had their own unique personality traits and how they all brought something different to the group. Overall, I really enjoyed this one and its the perfect book to check out for #AussieAugust

[Kirsten]

Dirty Pairs is fun and cheeky cosy mystery showcasing female friendship. Emily hooks you in immediately with a big opening scene and holds your attention the whole way through. Mahjong teacher Lawrence dies in a rather uncompromising position in Collette’s kitchen. She sends out an SOS to her card playing buddies who help her move the body and come up with a backstory. The evidence against Colette soon stacks up and they work together to help clear her name. Lawrence is quite the ladies man of the mahjong circuit and has been having some other issues in his personal life which means there is soon a lengthy list of other suspects to investigate. I was kept guessing right up to the end and certainly didn’t pick it!

Told from the points of view of the different mahjong club Colette, Alice , Lydia and Katie. Emily develops each character and their personality really well. I loved their camaraderie and how they protected and helped Colette. I particularly connected with Katie and her love for true crime and ChatGPT and loved her character arc. Emily has made a seamless transition into quite a different genre from her other books whilst keeping her warm, relatable characters and fun sense of humour. I found myself laughing out loud in several places. For fans of Sophie Green and Kate Solly.

[Louise]

There is absolutely nothing funny about murder - unless Emily Brott is telling the story.

I laughed my way through the opening pages of this when Lawrence, the mahjong teacher, dies on Collette’s Carrara marble kitchen bench - whilst stark naked.

Collette calls on her friends for help, as she doesn’t want her affair exposed, and the laughs continue.

I loved the strong friendship between the ladies who were prepared to do whatever it takes to protect their friend.

It was also a reminder that when you think you know a person…..well maybe you don’t and they may have one to two secrets that would truly shock you.

Emily writes in such a delightful way, reading her books is easy - the story just flows and you find yourself reading way longer than planned.

I’ve read all of Emily’s book and enjoyed the previous ones but this witty, clever read is my definite favourite.

Thanks for sending me a copy Emily 💝

[_biancasbookclub]

DIRTY PAIRS by Emily Brott ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I absolutely devoured this book by Emily Brott! The opening chapter had me giggling away, even though Lawrence, the girls’ Mahjong teacher, died stark naked on Colette’s marble benchtop. 😂

Instead of calling an ambulance, Colette phones her three girlfriends for help. Reluctantly, they band together to cover up Colette’s affair and stage a Mahjong game. Because obviously that’s the logical thing to do! 😂

But when the police investigate further, they discover that Lawrence was actually murdered! The girls work together to find out who would want Lawrence dead and won’t stop digging until they uncover the truth.

I absolutely loved the friendship between Alice, Lydia, Katie and Colette. They had me laughing throughout the entire book. Emily’s humour is hysterical and it’s very much my kind of humour. I have a very dark sense of humour too, so this book was right up my alley! 😂

This book has made me want to learn Mahjong and dive straight into another Emily Brott book.

Thank you so much, Emily, for sending me a copy of Dirty Pairs to read and review. I absolutely loved it!

Five stars from me! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Emily (the_bookdragons_den)]

Dirty Pairs is a delightful murder mystery about four female friends and their unwavering support for one another. It was a page turner filled with humour and intrigue which I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

I had such a fun time with these four women! Not only do we get a front row seat to their unwavering support for Collette, we also get glimpses into their personal lives and I think that made them highly relatable.

Brott’s writing style was witty and blended the light and dark themes to create great pacing and intrigue. I also enjoyed insight into the game mahjong and the politics that comes with clubs and its members.

Overall a fun and saucy mystery read that was throughly enjoyable. I’ll definitely be reading more by this author

Thank you to Emily for sending me a copy to read and honestly review!

[Marie]

Well this was a lot of fun!

This was such an entertaining story. A group of mahjong friends are called in to help Colette when she gets herself into a bit of a mess and they end up turning in to a bunch of amateur sleuths!

These characters were very amusing, their interactions made me giggle, what a funny lot they were. They all had their own personal issues and their relationships were flawed in some way. But they still showed up.

These were some amazing friends, so much support and they never stopped till they got to the bottom of the murder.

This book was lots of fun!

[Sue Thorpe]

4.4 ⭐️'s
Review to follow

[Chloe]

RTC

[Terry ~ Huntress of Erudition]

Very funny - especially if you play Mah Jongg

I really liked "Dirty Pairs" by Emily Brott. From the first pages, the story drew me in - a Mah Jongg teacher drops dead during a secret romantic trist with one of the married players. She calls her friends and fellow players to determine what to do with the body, because the police can't be seen coming to her house, and her husband and children cannot find out! I especially enjoyed that Mah Jongg wasn’t simply the backdrop for the story—the author incorporated different aspects of the game throughout the book. As a Mah Jongg player myself, I found those details added an extra layer of enjoyment and made the story more compelling.

I also loved the author’s sense of humor. Even when the scenes became dramatic, outrageous, or a little risque, there was a lightness and wit that kept the story fun and entertaining.