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Jess Sayin' - A Grace Texas Murder Mystery
When former journalist Jessica Hart returned home to the idyllic small town of Grace, Texas, she never expected to become a suspect in a murder investigation.
Jessica Hart’s life has taken a detour. Her journalism career in Houston came to a halt when she got laid off and her marriage failed soon after. A return to her hometown seemed to be just the thing to get her back on her feet. But, taking a job as a church receptionist was her only option. She began a lifestyle blog, Jess Sayin’ and settled in to small town life.
One year later, Jess was miserable at her job. That is until she got fired by the micromanaging church administrator, Sandra Dorian. Full of righteous indignation, Jess unleashed her fury in her blog. The next morning, the backlash against Jess was brutal. It seemed the whole town was against her.
On New Year’s Day, Sandra’s body was found outside by the church wall with her skull crushed. Jess is the number one suspect. Now she has to find the real killer to clear her name and find out what's really going on.
Along the way she will tangle with her lawyer ex-husband, her feisty great aunt, and a former Miss Texas. The ever growing list of suspects includes a suspicious groundskeeper, a quirky accountant, and Sandra’s husband with a secret he wants to keep hidden.
Before too long, there's another body found at the church. Can Jess crack the case before the killer cracks her in the head?
Jessica Hart’s life has taken a detour. Her journalism career in Houston came to a halt when she got laid off and her marriage failed soon after. A return to her hometown seemed to be just the thing to get her back on her feet. But, taking a job as a church receptionist was her only option. She began a lifestyle blog, Jess Sayin’ and settled in to small town life.
One year later, Jess was miserable at her job. That is until she got fired by the micromanaging church administrator, Sandra Dorian. Full of righteous indignation, Jess unleashed her fury in her blog. The next morning, the backlash against Jess was brutal. It seemed the whole town was against her.
On New Year’s Day, Sandra’s body was found outside by the church wall with her skull crushed. Jess is the number one suspect. Now she has to find the real killer to clear her name and find out what's really going on.
Along the way she will tangle with her lawyer ex-husband, her feisty great aunt, and a former Miss Texas. The ever growing list of suspects includes a suspicious groundskeeper, a quirky accountant, and Sandra’s husband with a secret he wants to keep hidden.
Before too long, there's another body found at the church. Can Jess crack the case before the killer cracks her in the head?
370 pages, Paperback
First published April 27, 2020
About the author
Cherry Northcutt
10 books39 followersCherry Northcutt is the author of the Grace Texas Murder Mystery series and the Green Witch Village Mystery series. She loves cozy mysteries, quirky small towns, antiquing, and baking. Cherry brings it all together in her books about the ideal small town. She's a Texas native who loves a good whodunnit.
She lives on the Gulf Coast with her husband. Her kiddos grew up and kept the cat for themselves.
Check out Cherry on Amazon: amazon.com/author/cherry.northcutt
Get the free prequel to the Grace Texas Series here (copy and paste in browser): https://subscribepage.io/cherrynorthc...
She lives on the Gulf Coast with her husband. Her kiddos grew up and kept the cat for themselves.
Check out Cherry on Amazon: amazon.com/author/cherry.northcutt
Get the free prequel to the Grace Texas Series here (copy and paste in browser): https://subscribepage.io/cherrynorthc...
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
May 3, 2021
Jess definitely has some issues as mentioned in other reviews and especially her blog post was very questionable but I guess that's the way the author wanted her to be. Once past the first section of the book I found myself caught up in the things happening and enjoying the mystery. It was well paced and I will read more in this series....in fact I may just download the second installment from Amazon right now ;)
March 4, 2021
Dnf'ed at 37%
When one reads another thriller trilogy alongside this book and doesn't pick this book up once, it's time to say I'm done.
I didn't have high expectations going in, but I was completely bored with the day-to-day drudgery of Jess's life. The mystery elements is drowned out in that drudgery, and I found Jess, at most times, annoying and immature. She doesn't come across as an adult who's going through another one of life's bumps, she comes across as a bratty thirteen year old. She was a hard character to like.
When one reads another thriller trilogy alongside this book and doesn't pick this book up once, it's time to say I'm done.
I didn't have high expectations going in, but I was completely bored with the day-to-day drudgery of Jess's life. The mystery elements is drowned out in that drudgery, and I found Jess, at most times, annoying and immature. She doesn't come across as an adult who's going through another one of life's bumps, she comes across as a bratty thirteen year old. She was a hard character to like.
May 25, 2020
This was such a fun book. I love a book where I can see myself in the main character. There was plenty of humor and the mystery kept me guessing until the end. I enjoy envisioning all of the Home places mentioned throughout the book. Thanks for throwing in a few recipes! Looking forward to the next one!
September 6, 2020
I really enjoyed this book. The characters were believable. You may find some to be familiar. The "leading lady" is put through the ringer. You'll have to read it yourself to find out what happens to her and I think you will want to turn the pages as fast as I did!
March 1, 2021
This has everything you want from a cozy mystery - small town busybodies gossiping to everyone’s detriment, lots of baked goods, a couple spicy affairs and a hero cat. It was packed full of Southern charm. I would recommend listening, as the narration was wonderful. Her voice is so soothing, I want her to read me to sleep.
May 27, 2020
The story was nice. Not my favorite though. It seemed to drag in the middle, losing the intensity that I feel a mystery should have, and there were frequent grammatical errors. The beginning was good, as well as the ending. Jess was not my favorite. She seemed a bit too whiny. And what is the deal with Jack, fooling around with his ex wife while he is engaged to another woman?! It was a little predictable...I knew Dawn was going to die next. I just didn’t think she would die at the end of the book instead of around the middle to help keep the story moving.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 11, 2020
I can’t say I enjoyed this one too much. While I did like a lot of the characters, unfortunately I just couldn’t get warm with Jess, the heroine. I can handle the naivety but there was a meanness to some of her thoughts and things she said or did that I had a hard troublers find endearing and sadly not funny either. Not too bad but yeah ...
Finally, the story was just too dragged out, taking too long to pick up speed and sadly also very predictable.
A shame really because I do think there could be a lot of good things working for this series. So no, I won’t invest more time into this series.
Finally, the story was just too dragged out, taking too long to pick up speed and sadly also very predictable.
A shame really because I do think there could be a lot of good things working for this series. So no, I won’t invest more time into this series.
Read
January 20, 2022If you like Jess Sayin', I'm sure you'll love the other two books in this series, Chace Scene and Babbling Brooke. Click here to see those on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08HPN61YR?...
Jess Sayin' is now available on Audible here: https://www.audible.com/search?keywor...
Visit my website at https://www.cherrynorthcutt.com/
Jess Sayin' is now available on Audible here: https://www.audible.com/search?keywor...
Visit my website at https://www.cherrynorthcutt.com/
September 13, 2020
A murder mystery that takes place in a small town near Houston. Maybe Katy? There are many small towns near Houston. Jess is divorced and has moved back to her home town to get her life in order. But she is fired by a tyrannical boss from her job as a church receptionist. Jess decides to use her blog to expose her horrible boss and includes the. Church email system in addition to the blog.
July 16, 2020
Fun and captivating
This was a fun, quick read similar to mysteries by Diane Mott Davidson, Joanne Fluke and She Grafton. I hope Northcutt's subsequent books in her proposed series are as entertaining.
This was a fun, quick read similar to mysteries by Diane Mott Davidson, Joanne Fluke and She Grafton. I hope Northcutt's subsequent books in her proposed series are as entertaining.
September 21, 2020
Great mystery read!
Enjoyed being entertained with all the kooky characters. Loved the antique aspect. Looking forward to the next one in the series.
Enjoyed being entertained with all the kooky characters. Loved the antique aspect. Looking forward to the next one in the series.
August 5, 2023
I enjoyed this book and before I had finished I was checking how many books were in the series and if I could get the audio book version, I enjoyed it that much. There is a lot going on, which kept me reading until the very end but I think what captivated me was the characters. I really liked Jess and her bosy aunt Patsy, who was quite a character. Jess is also surround by some other great supporting characters and I don't just mean the cat either. I liked the small town charm and can understand why Jess's ex husband and new wife would want to move there, even with a killer on the lose. This book has it ex's, best friends, a new life interest, animals and humour but as the blurb say best not to write a blog while drunk. The mystery kept me guessing with a good number of suspects. Looking forward to starting another instalment in this fun series in either ebook or audio.
Getting fired is never nice but when it happens and you have no idea why, it's probably best not to let you feeling known in your blog post that the whole town reads. Especially when your ex boss is murdered the day you take it down. The victim wasn't nice to anybody so the suspect list should be long but Jess finds herself at the top of the list, along with the church gardener that she also recently fired. Jess should be out looking for a new job instead she has her ex husband as her lawyer and his perky soon to be new wife acting as her best friend and the whole town blaming her. The only way to move on and prove that neither she or the gardener is responsible for the death is to find the killer herself, if she stays alive long enough.
Getting fired is never nice but when it happens and you have no idea why, it's probably best not to let you feeling known in your blog post that the whole town reads. Especially when your ex boss is murdered the day you take it down. The victim wasn't nice to anybody so the suspect list should be long but Jess finds herself at the top of the list, along with the church gardener that she also recently fired. Jess should be out looking for a new job instead she has her ex husband as her lawyer and his perky soon to be new wife acting as her best friend and the whole town blaming her. The only way to move on and prove that neither she or the gardener is responsible for the death is to find the killer herself, if she stays alive long enough.
August 15, 2025
I purchased this book on audible. I like to listen to books, when I am on a long ride on the weekends. I must say that I found myself not only listening on rides, but cooking, laying down, working (shh don't tell my boss LOL). I say all of this to say, it was that good. I truly enjoyed it. Love Jess!! What I love, and I don't want to tell too much, how a small town young woman gets put in some very awkward situations and getting through them is funny, cute, and witty! Cherry has three others in this series, and I have two more to go. I just refuse to read anything else until I get through those two! I promise you will enjoy it - listening or reading!!
September 12, 2023
A fun, fast paced read! I didn’t want to put it down. I loved the main character, Jess, who is down-to-earth and so relatable. Who hasn’t made stupid mistakes, indulged in a pity party, then picked yourself up and moved on? And the action doesn’t stop. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series!
August 26, 2024
Excellent Texas cozy mystery
Jess Saying is the first mystery in a series. The lead character is Jessica Hart - journalist and accidental amateur detective. This novel is set in an imaginary small Texas town named Grace.I loved the heroine and her friends. Lots of twists and turns and plenty of mayhem. I highly recommend this book!
Jess Saying is the first mystery in a series. The lead character is Jessica Hart - journalist and accidental amateur detective. This novel is set in an imaginary small Texas town named Grace.I loved the heroine and her friends. Lots of twists and turns and plenty of mayhem. I highly recommend this book!
June 2, 2026
This mystery was phenomenal! The twists, the turns, the humor scattered throughout... It's all so great!
Jess, bless her heart, just couldn't avoid the trouble, but a good thing for us readers that she couldn't because she kept me guessing!
If you love a good mystery, you seriously do NOT want to pass this one by! Can't wait to dig into the next one!
Jess, bless her heart, just couldn't avoid the trouble, but a good thing for us readers that she couldn't because she kept me guessing!
If you love a good mystery, you seriously do NOT want to pass this one by! Can't wait to dig into the next one!
June 22, 2021
A Fun Read
This was a fun, quick read which kept my interest the whole time. I really like the characters ( of course, bring from Texas how could you not?!). I’m getting the 2nd book as we speak....
This was a fun, quick read which kept my interest the whole time. I really like the characters ( of course, bring from Texas how could you not?!). I’m getting the 2nd book as we speak....
October 31, 2021
Enjoyable cozy mystery with numerous Texas references.
July 20, 2023
Jess Saying:A Grace Texas Murder Mystery
Good book hope to read them all, characters are interesting and believable. Would like to visit there and meet the people.
Good book hope to read them all, characters are interesting and believable. Would like to visit there and meet the people.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews