Make Believe Murder

Merry Wrath Mysteries #12

by Leslie Langtry

From USA Today bestselling author Leslie Langtry comes a former CIA agent turned Girl Scout troop leader and a laugh-out-loud mystery!

Merry Wrath’s summer plans didn’t originally include an unexpected visit from her old friend, Hilly—a quirky CIA assassin who’s been forced by HR to take her first vacation in…forever. The fact that Hilly chose a small town in Iowa for vacation doesn’t bother Merry or her scout troop (especially since Hilly’s teaching them how to kill a man with one punch), but her former handler, Riley, believes something sinister is afoot.

After all Lana, Merry’s arch-nemesis, is sighted all over town, and when a Chinese operative ends up murdered in her backyard, Merry starts to wonder if Riley is right and Hilly is secretly on the job. It doesn’t help that a group of cosplaying teenage druids have targeted Merry for a misguided ritual sacrifice, or that Medea Jones, cub reporter, constantly harasses Merry, seeing the former spy as her Pulitzer Prize winning vehicle out of Who’s There, Iowa.

Merry wonders if her strange friend really is on vacation, or if she's after another target? Is it Lana? Was it the Chinese operative? Or is it Merry Wrath?

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Cozy, Humor

203 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 22, 2019

About the author

Leslie Langtry is a USA Today Bestselling Author of the Merry Wrath Mysteries and the Bombay Family of Assassins Greatest Hits series. She lives in the Midwest with her family and is an active Girl Scout volunteer. Her dream is to someday invent calorie free cake.

Reviews

[Gary Sundell]

The series is such great fun. This installment was a fun ride. I will be getting to the next book sometime soon.

[Nancy]

What do teenage druids, a stuffed mouse mobile, girl scout troop, bird goddess, Chinese spy and Whovians of Who's There, Iowa have in common? They are all part of former CIA agent Merry Wrath's crazy life. This is another fun, laugh-out-loud story from Leslie Langtry. Merry Wrath Mysteries is my favorite crazy fun series.

[Kat (Ginger Bibliophile on YouTube)]

As always it was a quick giggle filled read. Hilly and Betty are the best!! 😂

[Lauren]

always a great choice when you want something easy to read with a bit of silly

[Sandy Bartles]

Merry Wrath comes up against an old foe and an old acquaintance in this exciting book involving bodies and Girl Scouts. I have yet to read a Merry Wrath book where I didn’t get a lot of laughs. Her Girl Scout Troop is getting more precocious. The cats are darling and daring. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series!

I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.

[Lori Allen]

Leslie Langtry provides another great read. This series never fails to make me laugh and gives a great mystery read. I love these books and always look forward to the next one in the series!

[Kathleen]

Make Believe Murder earns 5/5 Cosplaying Teens...Totally Engaging Fun!

Leslie Langtry has penned another entertaining “spy-not-spy” romp with a writing style filled with vivid description, lively dialogue, and the kind a “snark” that makes this a favorite series. The mystery is incredibly engaging and complex with loads of who’s who and misdirection and an “I didn’t see that coming” end where the bad guys are thwarted. Right off readers are thrown in the deep end with, for Merry, an oddly familiar predicament of being trapped, secured to a chair, a hood over her head, but it turns just annoying to discover it’s not her past but some teens engaged in cosplay. Even odder is the surprise arrival of an assassin-not-an-assassin and vacation-challenged former colleague who just wants to hang out. Merry is reminded by her former handler, now private detective, that her friend is always on the job and doesn’t do vacations turning the situation from odd to suspicious. A possible motive for her friend’s interest in “hanging out” is revealed when credible evidence is found to validate Merry’s feelings that her nemesis Svetlana “Lana” Babikova is really in town...then, of course, the dead body in the backyard and another for good measure confirms all is not what it seems.

Take that! In a first-person narrative, I was totally engaged in how Merry’s past exploits with the CIA are deftly intertwined to punctuate her skill, illustrate motivations, and explain how trouble just can’t leave her alone. Adding a delightful, quirky twist is her legendary Girl Scout back-up who revel in the suspense, hone their own skills, and often suggest outlandish ideas. Ok, I don’t see parents really allowing their daughters to be trained as super spies at such a young age, even if Merry tries to limit the sharing of her assassin friend’s how-tos, but it is the most fun..so, suspend your disbelief and enjoy! Other intriguing stories include Merry and her husband Rex, who’s tried to keep Merry from getting involved with very limited success, her friend county examiner Soo Jin and her new boyfriend State Trooper Ruiz, along with teen druids, a missing special corn crop, a nosy journalist, and a vulture and two cats! Wow! What a marvelous book!

Disclosure: I received an ARC from the publisher. My review is voluntary with honest insights and comments.

[Sandra]

More fun with Merry as she entertains an assassin friend Hilly from the CIA (not that the CIA does that) on vacation. Or is Hilly really here to kill someone. Is that someone Merry? Or is it the body of yet another dead spy in Merry's yard. Or is Lana the killer. Or is Lana the target? Or is Hilly really just taking a break. And who stole an entire field of experimental corn? Hilly was delightfully odd - kinda like Merry is odd so that was fun. Naturally the girls are as thrilled with a visiting assassin and what she can teach them as Kelly is horrified. There was not enough of the troop in this one but Merry also manages to become bird goddess to a crazy teen druid cult that kidnaps her.

[William]

Wonderful entertaining mystery listening 🔰😅

Another will written romantic thriller mystery adventure novel book twelve in the Merry Wrath Mystery Series by Leslie Langtry. A friend from Merry's past shows up on vacation or is it? Then a body is found in the backyard of Merry's house. Is it murder? And the mystery is on for Merry, Rex, and the rest of her friends to a successful conclusion. I would recommend this novel and series to readers of mysteries. Enjoy the adventure of reading 👓 or 🎶 listening to 👍novels 🔰🏡🐈🐕😇 2022

[Carolyn G. Manuel]

The CIA Has No Assassins

Another dead body shows up in Merry’s backyard. Then on of the CIA assassins that don’t exist shows up says she’s on vacation. Kidnappings and teenage druids are just some of the characters. Great series.

[Tonya Peterson]

Assassin but not an Assassin

Merry found a former co worker and decided to show her around on her 1st vacation ever. When there was a body once again found at her house across the street she wondered if her friend did it. Following the clues pieces start to fall in place

[Debra Hahn]

Liked all the characters, especially the Girl Scouts! If I ever get into abad
fix I’d want them to have my back. This mystery will keep you on your toes to
figure out who done it. A great clean, funny mystery. Get it now.
Debra H.

[Mary Barna]

Merry saves the day, eventually.

Spies all over Whose There. Iowa, A dead woman in her backyard, A missing cornfield (or rather cornstocks missing from a field) and Hilly drops in for a vacation.

Same old, same old... Lots of fun.

[Val]

Absolutely NUTSO! 😵 Not at all sure how much more crazy this book could have gotten.

[AMBER Reeves]

I love this series.

[Charles Yoder]

Not my favorite of the series but still enjoyable. My favorites are the ones where the girls are front and center.

[Patty]

Great read I laughed myself silly

Great read it kept entertained till the end.Love the girl scouts,can't wait for the next book enjoying the series immensely

[Mary]

Fun! I hope there will be more from Hilly future books.

[Anita]

Loving these books.

[Marie Maywalt]

Entertain

Easy read, entertaining.,funny. Always a quick pick up light reading. I enjoy this author very much and especially the girls in the troop.

[Sheila C]

Very entertaining. Love the girl scout troop, & all the quirky characters. Very similar writing to Jan's DeLeon, who I also enjoy reading.

[Debra Hahn]

Murder Hits It’s Mark

This book was Great! The characters were awesome. I love this book, because of its twist and turns. It really keeps you wondering who dun the deed.
Debra H.

[Laura Episcopo]

So good!

Best one yet! I loved the mystery of who done it. It kept me guessing the killer until the very end!

[Roxi]

Do they, don’t they. This one will keep you second-guessing.

[Kathleen]

I love this series

[Marsha]

I do love this series. I'm playing catch up on getting to all of them. Can't wait until I get the next one. I just never know what's going to happen.

[Andrea Dennis]

I really enjoyed the chaos and fun the Hilly character added. I found the Lana resolution a disappointment. It seemed written as an afterthought rather than the fully flushed out story line it deserved. As always, the Girl Scout Troop adds the humor and drama.

[Carole Craddock]

Merry Wrath seems to be a magnet for dead bodies! In Make Believe Murder, a dead body turns up in Merry’s back yard, right at the time an old friend and colleague from the CIA pays a surprise visit. But who is the victim and who murdered her? Was it Lana, the Russian agent who is still on the run and stalking Merry, or is it Hilly, the old friend and colleague who is a known assassin for the CIA (although the CIA does not have assassins…) and claims to be on vacation? Merry is also the victim of several kidnappings, mostly harmless by some local teenagers just having fun, but also by a very dangerous person out for revenge. Add in her very clever Girl Scout troop, who seems to be getting even smarter (and dangerous) in each book, along with a few pretty clever twists throughout, a vulture who is always a good listener, and a cat (who looks like Hitler) that always seems to know the inside scoop, and you have a sequel that is very hard to put down. Leslie Langtry is so witty in her writing, and she always has me laughing throughout her books. I always have a favorite quote from each book (although it has hard to pinpoint just one because there are so many clever lines). The one I chose for Make Believe Murder, “I slept for ten hours. Which was unusual for me. Normally after a kidnapping and torture, I merely needed a nap. Maybe I was just getting old.”

[E]

One word - AWESOME!

Another great book. The twists and turns in this one will have you laughing & glued to the book. The characters and action packed story will leave you wanting more. Looking forward to the next one.

[Suzan]

This is an excellent installment in the Merry Wrath mystery series. This may be #12, but the fun has not diminished at all. The crazy antics continue when a dead body is found in Merry's backyard. Plenty of suspects are running around Who's There Iowa including a former CIA colleague who claims to be on vacation, a teenage reporter after a story about Merry Wrath, and more Lana sightings. Old favorites are back in action, the girl scout troop never fails to entertain. Rex, Riley, and Soo Jin have their theories and each contributes to the story. Make Believe Murder would work great as a stand alone, but for those of us addicted to all things Merry Wrath this is a must read. It is hugely entertaining, laugh out loud funny, and will keep you guessing until the end.

I was provided with an ARC from the publisher for my honest review.