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River Sutton #2

A Fatal Fumble

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*Award-winning murder mystery* Only one thing would drag Robin Pearce home to River Sutton, West Virginia for the high school's 100th homecoming celebration: seeing her sister in her old cheering uniform with a huge smile on her face at the halftime show.

Ogling Sheriff Chris Payne's broad shoulders in his old quarterback's jersey wouldn't be a chore, either. So, make that two things.

But when Robin bumps into high school classmates at the football game, her homecoming turns into a nightmare. She literally stumbles over the dead body of her frenemy, River Sutton's top trophy wife.

The whole town suspects Robin, and even Chris wants to lock her up for her safety. When she's not guzzling coffee or forced to admire fall décor with her sister, Robin uses her cyber skills to uncover the River Sutton's killer before they can end her time as an amateur sleuth. Permanently. Is it the desperate soon-to-be-ex-husband? Or the greedy land developer? Or someone else hidden in the shadows? More Praise for A Fatal Fumble

This is a great mystery. The suspects and clues are seamlessly woven into the story told from the main character Robin Pearce's point of view. The story is set in a small town called River Sutton that is very easy to picture given the excellent imagery that Nancy Basile uses to describe it. There is great character development and continuation of plots from the first book in this series called A Roadside Homicide. Looking forward to reading River Sutton #3 ASAP! - Wendi O., Amazon Reviewer

Nancy's books are an easy read and suitable for teen readers. I love reading about the Ohio valley and trying point the locations. - Chuck L., Amazon Reviewer

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About the author

Nancy Basile

15 books90 followers
Get a free novelette. Meet Robin Pearce, a web traffic analyst and amateur sleuth, and her sister, Jenn, in the prequel to the series, A Shoulder to Die On. Robin comes home for a girls' weekend with her sister and her friends from sorority, but winds up in the ER. Sign up to get your free prequel at https://www.nancy-basile.com

Nancy Basile wrote about TV, movies and lifestyle for more than 20 years. As a freelance writer, she has written articles for Paste Magazine, Comic Book Resource, The Penny Hoarder, Thought Co. and Pennsylvania newspapers.

Now, she's putting her wits and her writing skills to the test in a new cozy mystery series, River Sutton Mysteries.

Be sure to follow Nancy on Instagram https://instagram.com/authornancybasile and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/authornancyb...

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5 stars
25 (62%)
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11 (27%)
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
Profile Image for Christina O’Keefe.
287 reviews48 followers
February 25, 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read if you like:
🏈 cozy mysteries ❤️
🏈 small town setting
🏈 quirky characters

Robin returns to her hometown of River Sutton for her high school’s 100th anniversary celebration. As she is enjoying a football games with all her old friends, she stumbles across the body of her childhood best friend turned nemesis Kim Dawson!! It has to be the (soon-to-be ex)husband right?? It’s always the husband!

The best part about cozy mysteries to me are the eccentric and quirky small town characters that you just can’t help but love; and this book was no exception. I really liked the majority of the characters and I was just hoping that one of them wouldn’t end up being the murderer 🤪
This one was a little less “cozy” than the cozy mysteries I’m usually used to and I loved it. It wasn’t a happy go lucky murder story, this murderer wanted the MC too! There were elements of action and surprise in this one as well, and it definitely added some fun to the mystery.
I absolutely love a small town fair setting! It’s always been my dream to live in a small town like this with fairs and events and costume contests and a place where everyone knows everyone… Unfortunately it’s not possible for my in my normal life so I have to stick to books to get that scenery that I am craving. I would do anything to get lost in my small town’s corn maze 🤪
I did not see the ending coming, and that’s my #1 thing I appreciate about a mystery. I don’t want to be able to see the end coming, so I get a shocking and enjoyable read.
Profile Image for Lori Leaf.
455 reviews39 followers
September 8, 2022
In short: Robin returns to her hometown of River Sutton, WV for the big 100th homecoming celebration. She’s having a good time catching up with old friends & made amends with one after a long feud. Unfortunately, she soon finds her friend dead under the bleachers and becomes the prime suspect.

What to expect:
🏈Strong sense of place. Descriptions that make the WV setting come to life & captured small town life perfectly.
🏈Robin is a great sleuther (especially as a computer analyst) and actually works closely with the Sheriff instead of against or evading them like is common in many cozies.
🏈All the fall vibes from football to pumpkins.

Final thoughts: I loved this book! I have read the previous 2 in the series (a novella and then book 1) and it just keeps getting better. Robin is one of my favorite sleuthers. She’s smart, independent and has great relationships with her family. I really enjoy reading how her and Sheriff Payne work together to solve the case. I look forward to the next installment and really hope Robin follows her Dad’s request and moves home.
Profile Image for Sara.
137 reviews
September 29, 2022
A Fatal Fumble by Natalie Basile

Thank you Netgallery for a copy for an unbiased review.

This was my 1st foray into Natalie Basile's work, and although works perfectly fine as a stand-alone, it is in fact book 2 of a series. I will now be reading book 1 & the novella!

This book isn't overly complicated in the plotline and I found it a quick easy read, but the storytelling is solid. Sometimes books that are as easy to read as this fall down by not holding my attention. This one didn't fall into that trap.

Robin was certainly interesting, Jenn her sister engaging. The small quaint town feel was evident from the opening page. It was a cozy read, albeit as a murder mystery.

It was nice too to have the story also not suppress or devalue a woman, but have them accepted as an equal to work out what had happened. It's a good mystery and overall I will say it is 4/5 stars 🌟 It was a close decision on 5, but it didn't quite have the stand put wow factor I look for when doing that. Others could justifiably give 5 though. I'd certainly recommend the series.
5 reviews
February 5, 2022
This is a great mystery. The suspects and clues are seamlessly woven into the story told from the main character Robin Pearce's point of view. The story is set in a small town called River Sutton that is very easy to picture given the excellent imagery that Nancy Basile uses to describe it. There is great character development and continuation of plots from the first book in this series called A Roadside Homicide. Looking forward to reading River Sutton #3 ASAP!
1 review
February 15, 2023
I'm from a small town

I like the way she represent the town and 2 complete different seasons It was easy to relate to the family dynamics you love both of your children but sometimes you have a favorite I think they spent too much time With the sweets in the coffee But overhaul I enjoyed the both books very much and I think it be a good series for hallmark movies
5,363 reviews67 followers
April 10, 2023
A Fatal Fumble

Robin returns home for her sister's wedding and to celebrate homecoming days and she finds the body of her old nemesis and then she gets a text and finds the second body and then her sister gets poisoned with coffee meant for Robin and the killer comes after Robin herself and is caught This is the second book in this series A good read Enjoyed reading
Profile Image for Ravenclaw Library Books.
492 reviews11 followers
October 18, 2025
A Fatal Fumble by Nancy Basile is a great sequel to Roadside Homicide which was the first in a cozy mystery series and I found it just as good and has great characters, storyline and representation of LGBT as well as Plus-Size. I really enjoyed this sequel and cannot wait to read more from this author.
Profile Image for Amanda Sloan.
325 reviews5 followers
February 8, 2022
I loved this book. Cosy, mysterious, and romantic. Nancy has a way of drawing you into the story that really just works for me. I can't wait for the next adventure in River Sutton!
Profile Image for Annie.
4,703 reviews83 followers
October 21, 2022
Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

A Fatal Fumble is the second River Sutton cozy mystery by Nancy Basile. Released 16th Jan 2022, it's 211 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free. The first book in the series, Roadside Homicide, is also currently available on KU. There's a novella with the same main character which is available on the author's website as well.

This is a fun and engaging small town cozy set in West Virginia. Web traffic analyst Robin is back home visiting her family in Sutton River for the weekend festivities surrounding her high school's 100th anniversary homecoming game and parade. She runs into lots of familiar faces from her past and not all of them stir up happy memories. Despite her promises after her last amateur sleuthing escapades, she's soon up to her neck in a new murder investigation.

There's a very central romance element with the local handsome law enforcement officer, naturally. I liked that Robin wasn't helpless or prone to swooning helplessly. She does make a few questionable decisions, but overall, not as bad as many (most?) cozies. Ms. Basile is an adept author and I never found my interest waning, although there were a few eye-rollingly silly moments. The denouement and resolution weren't overly surprising, but they were satisfying. Although it's the second book in the series, it works perfectly well as a standalone.

Writers are always told to write what they know, and it's abundantly clear that the author is intimately familiar with small town West Virginia life. The various homecoming parades, main-street decorations, and all the food (and gossip) are true to life and add a lot of verisimilitude. It's a cozy, so there's not a lot of on page violence or graphic descriptions, and no overt sexual content. The MC's sister is in a stable marriage with a woman, but the author doesn't make a huge production over it. The language is squeaky clean. Definitely safe for reading on a commute or at work.

Four stars. Well done, and I look forward to more from this series. Cozy mystery comfort food.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
75 reviews1 follower
July 11, 2024
A Fatal Tumble is book two of the River Sutton Mystery series. Nancy continues the romance between main characters Robin and sheriff Chris Payne while interweaving a who-dunnit crime in Robin’s hometown.

I enjoy Nancy’s creativity, her easy style and ability to keep me entertained and guessing who might have been the culprit while also keeping my heart warm with budding romance throughout the story.

This is a quick read, to keep you entertained, sleuthing and warm at heart!
Profile Image for Amary Chapman.
1,662 reviews27 followers
November 17, 2025
Reunion mystery

Part of a great return to home e town series. Ms. Basile has created some great characters and a budding second chance romance between Robin and the sheriff while they work to solve a murder
Profile Image for Brittiny Harrand.
176 reviews4 followers
January 14, 2024
This one was better than the first book. I honestly didn't guess who it was. Happy ending. Very little closed door romance
995 reviews9 followers
October 20, 2024
Exquisite storytelling

The storytelling in this high quality cozy mystery is bright and vibrant. All the character quirks and scenic details really to bring the story to life.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews

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