Monday Morning Blues

The Friday Night Mystery Club #02

by Joanna Campbell Slan

The second book in an exciting new series—if you remember the 80s, you’ll love these mysteries! (Can be read as a stand-alone, but hey, you’ll miss a lot of fun!)

Decatur, IL/1986

Being a divorced career woman in the late 80s isn’t easy. Cragan Collins finds the friendship of other working singles invaluable, especially as she learns the ropes of selling. When Cragan finds a saleswoman unconscious in the mall parking lot, she runs for help. But being a Good Samaritan means taking the blame when the other woman dies. Later Cragan learns the woman lied to her…repeatedly. Cragan is left wondering if she really knew her friend at all! Now a grieving Cragan sorts through her own feelings of disappointment while dodging accusations by the dead woman’s family. In the meantime, Cragan has attracted the interest of three attractive men. No wonder her head is spinning! To top it off, her friend’s killer thinks Cragan knows too much. The problems keep piling up. All Cragan needs is a kernel of truth, and she’ll figure out whodunnit.

Genres: Mystery

284 pages, ebook

First published March 28, 2022

About the author

National bestselling and award-winning author Joanna Campbell Slan was born in Jacksonville, Florida, but she grew up in a small town in Indiana. After graduating from Ball State University with a degree in journalism, she worked as a newspaper reporter, a newspaper ad salesperson, a television talk show host, a college teacher, a public relations professional, and a motivational speaker. In that capacity, she was named by Sharing Ideas Magazine as “one of the top 25 speakers in the world.”

Slan's work has appeared in five of the New York Times Bestselling Chicken Soup for the Soul books, and one of those became a television show. She is the author of nearly 80 books, nonfiction and fiction, including Death of a Schoolgirl, which won the 2013 Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence.

Joanna's personal essays have appeared in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, and one was made into a television program on the Pax Network. The college textbook Joanna wrote—Using Stories and Humor: Grab Your Audience—has been praised as an invaluable resource by Benjamin Netanyahu’s speechwriter and endorsed by Toastmasters, International.

RT Book Reviews has called Joanna “one of mystery’s rising stars.” Her first novel—Paper, Scissors, Death—was an Agatha Award finalist. It features Kiki Lowenstein, a spunky single mom who lives in St. Louis. The sixth book in that series will be released Summer 2013.

Kirkus Reviews has said, “Slan’s mysteries are most valuable for the well-developed characters and the issues they raise.” RT Book Reviews has said, “Kiki is so darn entertaining that she’ll keep readers hooked.” A series of short stories featuring Kiki are available on Kindle.

Joanna’s newest series—The Jane Eyre Chronicles—began with Death of a Schoolgirl (Berkley) and continues with the release of Death of a Dowager. The series features Charlotte Brontë’s classic heroine Jane Eyre as an amateur sleuth.

As “Lila Dare,” Joanna has penned the fourth book in the Southern Beauty Shop series—Wave Good-bye.

Joanna is married to David Slan. The Slans live on Jupiter Island, Florida.

Website: www.JoannaSlan.com

Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/JoannaCampbel...

Twitter: @JoannaSlan

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monday Morning Blues is the second book in the Friday Night Mystery Club series (no series page as of this writing) by Joanna Campbell Slan The series is set in the mid to late 80's (1986) and centers on Cragan Collins and her friends.

Cragan sells advertising for the local paper, The Gazette. It is through her job that she comes across a friend, Margo, (employee of a client) slumped over in her car. Cragan pulls her out of the car and sees Margo is covered in blood and still bleeding. Though Margo is taken to the hospital, she later dies. Something about her death doesn't sit right with Cragen, especially when Margo's mother accuses her of causing Margo's death and of theft. As Cragan begins to dig into Margo's death (and life), she finds out that she didn't really know her friend as well as she thought. Add to Margo's crazy mother a secret lover, some mysterious medication, and some mysterious seeds, and Cragan and her fellow Friday Night Mystery "Clubbers" have their work cut out for them if they want to get justice for Margo.

As for the "cozy" story... We get to learn a bit about Cragan's family life and her grandmother. We find that Cragan's inheritance is on hold with a long lost relative protesting the will. "Yakky" is still employed at The Gazette and is still making Cragan's work life miserable. And, what's up with Ryder, who's pretty much ignoring her? However, Cragan has brought in new business from TSC, Tractor Supply Company, managed by Ross Gentry. Ross takes a liking to Cragan (and her moxie!) and the two become friends. Could there be more on the horizon?

I found this entry better than the first-in-series The Friday Night Mystery Club, mainly because the writing in this is tighter (3.5 stars rolled down to 3). There are a couple of inconsistencies from the first book to this, but nothing so major as to ruin the mystery or the story. For me, the mystery in this is easier to solve than the first, but is still satisfying. It is well crafted, with clues and red herrings throughout. There are also a couple of twists and turns.

I'll spoiler-tag the inconsistencies I noticed. None spoil the mystery or its solution.
**
** Cragan's inheritance is being held up by a long lost relative protesting Robert's will. However, would any "long lost" relative have any claim on the estate if Robert's not-so-long-lost brother is still alive? He came for a memorial and to escort the body to its burial place. He attended the reading of the will and was fine with Cragan inheriting. HE would have the best -- and only?? -- claim as THE closest living relative??? The issue is not cleared up in this entry.

** Also in the last book, money had been deposited into Cragan's bank account -- practically, if not actually, on the day the will was read -- which is how she was able to get her (second!) car phone and make the big purchase she did. However, this says that the protest came "two weeks after the money should have been transferred into my account, the funds had been frozen." The money was definitely there in the last book (it was a bone of contention between Zee and Cragan for a couple of hours). So, were her accounts frozen with or without the money?

** At the end of the last book, letters were sent and The Gazette was going to print an article blowing up ex Tim's "sports hero" past. However, nothing seems to have happened to Tim. Though gossip does have his fiancée dumping him after finding out he cheated on her and Tim trying to win back her good graces. ??? [Tim does not play a big role in this book.]

Again... Not really anything to affect this story, just inconsistent with events from the previous book.

As with the first book I liked the protagonist, Cragan, a lot. In this, she seems a stronger character in standing her ground with clients and with her boss. I'm liking the cozy part more. While the first book didn't have me champing for the next-in-series, this one has me looking forward to more from Cragan and her "posse." I'm interested in where it's going.

My Review of first book in the series The Friday Night Mystery Club.

This book was not complimentary. I am reviewing it of my own free will because the book, or the experience of reading it, moved me to do so. All thoughts and opinions are mine, biased only by my experience(s).

#MondayMorningBlues; #JoannaCampbell-Slan; #FridayNightMysteryClub; #CozyMystery

[JoAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read my review on NovelsAlive.com by clicking the link below. It is also posted in full.

https://novelsalive.com/2023/03/02/4-...



It was nice to be back with the Friday Night Mystery Club in Decatur, Illinois. Monday Morning Blues is the second book in the Friday Night Mystery Club series by Joanna Campbell Slan, and it was nice to be back with characters we’ve met before but also many new ones.

Management at The Gazette is as foul as ever, and Cragan and a few other workers are still trying to rise above it and do their jobs to the best of their ability. Of course, it’s hard when your boss is forever interfering with your work if not giving hard-won accounts away to others!

The story has many twists and turns, and once again, the Friday Night Mystery Club has a real mystery to solve. Clues are sprinkled throughout, and amateur sleuth Cragan is the first to start connecting the dots after her friend is murdered. But was she really a friend since there turned out to be so many secrets between them.

Cragan doesn’t know who to trust anymore. She finds help through Ross, a new advertiser she recruited, and there’s a definite attraction between them as well. Between brainstorming with her friends in their mystery club, Ross’s knowledge and connections, and visits with her grandmother in a home, the puzzle pieces start falling into place.

The relationships between Cragan and her friends who live in her building and make up the mystery club, along with her co-worker Winnie, were refreshing. They have each other’s backs and strong friendships. It was nice catching up with all of them.

I liked how events from the first book in the series are woven throughout to bring us back up to speed on prior activities and how some of the storylines continued here. There is some romance woven along with secrets, anger, injuries, family and friends, workloads, food, and murder and mayhem. The story was often choppy and didn’t flow well between sections within a chapter. There is closure with solving the crimes but no happily ever afters so far.

Monday Morning Blues is a cozy mystery filled with clues, friendships, and more. I look forward to reading Tuesday Trash and Trouble, the third book in the series.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book took me back in time. I have always lived in Illinois. I went to college and grad school in downstate Illinois, in Macomb in the late 70’s and early 80’s. This book brought back lots of memories. I remembered what things were like back then at my first jobs and women’s rights back then. This book was well written with a wonderful heroine, Cragan Collins. I learned a lot about newspaper ad sales. Cragan had lots of bad luck with her boss and his treatment of her. Fortunately she had friends and support at work. The story revolves around a group of 4 women who have apartments in an old home. They became friends and start a club where they have dinner and drinks and discuss a book. After, things happened, they also discussed the murder and the implications. This story was about the murder of one of Cragan’s ad clients. Cragan discovers the woman and helps get her to the hospital. It isn’t immediately clear that this was a murder. After she tries to solve the mystery, she finds herself in a jam. Cragan also has bad luck with men. Her ex husband is a creep and now, her former love has arrived in Decatur. He’s the new homicide detective. She has also become involved with her new supervisor and noticed oone of her new ad clients. When this was written, things were going well in the country for women since 1986. However, now in 2025, many of the women’s and minority rights have been stripped away by the republican regime.

I highly recommend reading this book. I love all Joanna’s books and this series is fabulous!

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded up

I have really enjoyed this author's Kiki Lowenstein series and wanted to like this one just as much, but unfortunately, I don't. The two books I've read are still entertaining, but they don't draw me in like the Kiki series.

Overall, I like Cragan, the MC, and her determination to succeed in spite of her circumstances. I would never want to rely on commission work to pay my bills, but she's good at what she does, so it works for her. Some of her co-workers are jerks, but she has a few supporters and friends there, and her housemates always have her back.

The murder victim here is someone Cragan thought she knew and liked, but during the course of the investigation, things turn up that make Cragan question both of those facts. I had several characters on my list, but didn't start to suspect any one of them more than the others until just as Cragan started to piece it all together. The confrontation scene was unique, but it fit the story perfectly.

There is only one book left in this series, and I plan to read it, probably the next time I need a book with a day of the week in its title :)

[Jeanie Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Monday Morning Blues is even better than the first book. Cagan is working her tail off selling ads for the newspaper. An effort not appreciated by her boss who supports the old boys network as they support his abuses of his position. Her initiative may not be appreciated, but Cagan has no intention of doing less than her best. That philosophy takes her to the mall to cover when both of the newspaper’s photographers are called away for more immediate stories. The shoot for the clothing store goes well but upon leaving the mall, Cagan comes across an employee in dire straits in the parking lot. Cagan has a lot of questions about how her friendly acquaintance ended up almost bleeding out in the parking lot and can’t keep herself from investigating this person she thought of as a friend. The appearance of a bottle of strangely marked pills and a packet of unmarked seeds deepens her questions. A new friendship is looking positive, her inheritance is in question, and sometimes her friends are the only thing keeping her going.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading the first book in The Friday Night Mystery Club series, I immediately began reading Monday Morning Blues. It's 1986 in Decatur, Illinois. Catherine Cragan Collins sells display ads for the Gazette. At one of her stops she discovers an acquaintance, Margo Douglas, near dead in her parked car. After doing what she can to help her, she discovers that Margo wasn't who she seemed to be. Secrets and betrayals begin to stack up endangering Cragan as she tries to figure out what actually happened to Margo. Cragan is a great female lead character. I enjoy reading about her and the eclectic group of friends she has. The love-triangle happening is fun to read about. Who knows where Cragan's heart may lead her. Overall, this mystery series is very entertaining. I can't wait to see what happens in book three!

[Barbara Hackel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Death and dastardly deeds in Decatur, IL

This is the second book in the series about Cragan Collins, a advertising salesperson at the local newspaper. The author has done a terrific job of writing fiction with enough factual information about Decatur to make the whole story seem real. Set in 1986, it tells us about Cragan’s job at the Gazette, including factual information about local businesses and reference to their locations. As a resident of Decatur since 1968, I am especially appreciative of the portrayal of Decatur that is based on reality. The particular crime that is central to the plot is fiction, as are some locations and business names. The crime and the characters are well developed and supported by facts about the time period as well the locations. An exciting and interesting book, it is hard to put down. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have already recommended it to my family and friends. Excellent job and kudos to Joanna Campbell Slan!

[Angeles · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disgusting

I hadn't loved the books, but they were ready years and a great distraction for my busy brain.

There were a few things in the first book that have me pause, but I decided to overlook them.

This, however, is ABSOLUTELY disgusting:
"The distraction of her expensive grooming allowed her to overcome the fact she had a long, narrow face that only another horse could love. Come to think of it, she was built like a horse, too, with broad hips and meaty flanks. Hmm, was it possible she was a changeling born from crossing two species? Nah, probably not."

If I want to participate in petty descriptions of people or characters' faces and bodies, I would have chosen a different kind of book.

Good riddance.

This brings the end to my readership.

[Cecilia · Rating 5 out of 5]

1980s Again!

So believable that I literally thought I was reading an old book (old, as from in the early 1980s) I even described it to my husband as such.
Not until I read the bio at the end of the book, did I learn this is a contemporary writing, set in 1986!
Being from the Midwest I enjoyed learning some about the corn industry, as well as the characters, the female comradery, the various strong female personality characters ranging from singles, young mothers, divorcees, successful career women and even a smart grandma! And the hint of love or loves for the main character Cragen was sweet to read.
I wonder if dating nearly 40 years later is anything like that?

[Rebecca Gregory-Chifos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of the more complex cozy mysteries that I have read; the plot is very detailed. The author has definitely either lived through or done her research on the time period (the late 1980s), for--as I'm older than the hills--I can verify the authenticity of the technology and/or the lack thereof. The book is well-written and the characters three-dimensional. If I have any complaint at all about the story, it's the habit demonstrated by the main character, Cragan, of bursting into tears. Weeping over a dead friend--yes, of course, but otherwise, show a little backbone, gal!

[Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

This book is filled with feel good vibes. Friendships, co workers, budding relationships and interesting ways to look at people, businesses and plots. Cragen is an ad representative for the Gazette. She is smart, but doesn’t always believe she is so. She works hard and finds herself helping solve a crime. The writing is good and the final information is a surprise.
Well worth the read.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

great series!

In this installment of Friday night, mystery club, Cragen finds who she thought was a friend, dead in the back of the mall in her car. The book 📕 is about finding out what happened. I really enjoyed it.
Ms. Alan brings up a lot of interesting facts about agriculture. In this case, corn. I think it’s very relevant and important for people to understand that.
Will be reading the next book 📖 in the series!

[Carol Filipow Pigg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put this book down! Excellent 2nd book in a series. Totally captivating. Knowing Decatur is a bonus to the description of the area, but not needed.
My Dad worked insurance with grain silos. A part of the book reminded me of the dangers the farmers encounter.
Outstanding, and I know this book will linger with me. Advertising can be murder.

[Teresa Marzec · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a book to put down!

Wow, what a great story! This actually was so much better than the first one! Now I'll have to wait for a third one! Lol! Ross and Ryder are in the ring toss. Cragen will have her hands full! The mystery club got right down to it and helped Cragen figure out the Lars curse! Enjoy!

[Amary Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do not pass this by!!!!Fabulous

This book grabs you and reels you in ... deeply in. An ad copy worker at a paper gets drawn not only into a questionable death, but also a conspiracy. With the help of her friends and her 'murder book club' they figure out the right questions. I highly recommend

[Shannon Binegar-Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

I liked this one even more than the first. The story draws you in n right from the start. I just couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I hope there are many more that come in this series.

[Karen Scoppa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Monday Morning Blues

I liked the plot of this book but didn't like the p ok rations repeated through
Out the tale. I uh ad expected Tally to be gone. I hated that he was there pulling THE same shenanigans.

[SDreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging

In book 2 of this series adventure andP danger continue. We learn more about many characters as their likability and depth grows. The editing in this book is much cleaner than the first one.

[Karen Candee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liars

Sometimes it’s very hard to know if someone is telling the truth! I loved this book. The author does an amazing job of developing the characters and the mystery.

[Elizabeth Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

An amusing premise, interesting characters, with lots of potential. However, incredibly light weight with too many copy editing errors.

[Liz Whelan · Rating 5 out of 5]

FANTASTIC

We need Book 3,4,5, etc for this Series. Excellent writing. It kept me on the edge of my seat on each & every page.

[suzan hayden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very entertaining... Must read if you love a good "cozy" mystery!

The author is a master of drawing you in with her description of the characters and settings of the crime.

[Kimberly Urban · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blues

Having been a fan for a while of her Kiki and Cara stories, I put off reading this book. That was silly of me. Slan created new characters with depth and a plot I enjoyed.

[Georgia K Erickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Corny

Loved the local and info about seeds.
Would recommend it to my Midwest earn friends and mystery lovers
Good learning

[Jan Stenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 2 Friday Night Mystery Club

Book 2 is as great as Book 1. There were moments that brought tears, some funny moments, romance. All in all, it's a really good read.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

good story

My only criticism is that it tended to repeat things too much. Otherwise, good characters and strong plot. Definitely worth reading.

[Teryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good read and mystery; unfortunately, it had some fairly rough language throughout. (One star taken away for language and for too many typos toward the end.)

[Lee Brothers · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG this series is so incredibly awesome!!! I love it!!! This author is so good at combining separate mysteries and weaving them together and then revealing them!! So well done!!