Blacke, Olivia. Killer Content. New York: Berkley Prime Crime, 2021.
ISBN-13: 978-0593197882 | $16.00 USD | 288 pages | Cozy Mystery
Blurb
It’s murder most viral in this debut mystery by Olivia Blacke.
Bayou transplant Odessa Dean has a lot to learn about life in Brooklyn. So far she’s scored a rent free apartment in one of the nicest neighborhoods around by cat-sitting, and has a new job working at Untapped Books & Café. Hand-selling books and craft beers is easy for Odessa, but making new friends and learning how to ride the subway? Well, that might take her a little extra time.
But things turn more sour than an IPA when the death of a fellow waitress goes viral, caught on camera in the background of a couple’s flash-mob proposal video. Nothing about Bethany’s death feels right to Odessa–neither her sudden departure mid-shift nor the clues that only Odessa seems to catch. As an up-and-coming YouTube star, Bethany had more than one viewer waiting for her to fall from grace.
Determined to prove there’s a killer on the loose, Odessa takes matters into her own hands. But can she pin down Bethany’s killer before they take Odessa offline for good?
Review
4 stars
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Cozy mysteries are usually too…cozy and action-less, for me, but Killer Content piqued my interest and persuaded me to give the genre another shot. And once I reframed my mindset in terms of the branding of the “cozy,” I found I was able to enjoy what this one brought to the table.
One of the best parts is the setting…while I’ve read several books set in New York, I liked how this one generally felt like a no s change of pace, even keeping in mind it is a busy metropolitan area. The cute little Williamsburg apartment and charming bookstore/cafe are examples of settings that feel idyllic, and I loved the vibes I got from them.
And the fact that Odessa herself is new to the area makes it easy for a non-resident to resonate and soak it all in with her. Not only that, but there’s a charming recurring cast of characters that are absolutely delightful.
The mystery itself is engaging, and I was impressed with how it was still able to deal with a complex crime and the questions around it without delving too much into the shock value, as I feel like some other cozies I read pulled back too much and lost my interest as a result, to the point that I didn’t really miss the lack of intensity of a more standard mystery.
This is one of those books that, to my knowledge, appeals to all the familiar cozy mystery tropes, yet is still accessible for someone who isn’t so sure about the genre or its appeal yet.
Author Bio
Brooklyn Murder Mysteries author Olivia Blacke writes quirky, unconventional, character-driven cozy mysteries. After shuffling around the U.S.A. from Hawaii to Maine, she currently resides with her husband and their roly-poly rescue puggle, but is forever homesick for NYC. In addition to writing, disappearing into a good book, and spending way too much time on social media, she enjoys SCUBA diving, crocheting, collecting tattoos, and baking dog cookies.
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