Without a Clue starts out as a rom-com, quickly turns into a mystery, and ends up as a fun romance/mystery fusion that ticks all the boxes of both genres.
Twenty-seven year-old Penelope Mae Dupont (Pip) is personal assistant to The Magnificent Seven, seven successful authors in seven different genres who banded together decades ago to jointly promote each other’s books. There have been a couple of new additions to the team as authors have retired, so they’ve been joined by Crystal and Nash, who write YA and cowboys respectively.
Pip, Hugh (her official employer), and the rest of the Magnificent Seven are leading a reader cruise, where fans of the seven authors will be treated to days at sea in the company of their favorite authors.
But all is not well, and the trip of a lifetime faces an unexpected challenge when Pip discovers the body of one of her authors …
The cruise ship is at sea, which sets up a classic closed-room mystery in a modern shipboard twist on an Agatha Christie novel. As Pip tries to keep the death a secret from the passengers while still ensuring all the promised entertainments go ahead, she’s also working with Nash to try and solve the mystery, which leads to more than a few fun moments.
The one thing I don’t necessarily like about rom-coms is the obligatory comedy scenes, which I often find cross the line from comedy into cringe. While Without a Clue started with such a scene (think John Cusack and his boombox standing in the ocean), the rest of the book was worth the effort. I did have a few nagging questions as I read and was pleased to find they were all answered in the big reveal scene.
After all, this is a mystery. The big reveal is compulsory!
It’s also a romance, and the developing relationship between Pip and Nash ticked all the boxes for me. He’s a gentleman in a cowboy hat, a worthy hero, and I loved the way he supported Pip right from the start. I also loved the lack of angst: as the quote above shows, the stakes in romance is the heart willing to get hurt.
In fact, my only complaint about Without a Clue is that despite being published by Harper Collins Christian Publishers, it’s not actually Christian fiction. It’s fun, but there is no faith element. So if you’re looking for Christian romance with emphasis on the Christian, this probably isn’t going to float your boat (pun intended).
Recommended for fans of Sarah Monzon, Angela Ruth Strong, and Courtney Walsh.
Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.
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About Without a Clue
A laugh-out-loud rom-com wrapped in a whodunit, this high-seas adventure proves that sometimes the best love stories start with a little murder.
Penelope Mae Dupont has one superpower: keeping her cool. Which is essential when you’re the personal assistant to renowned mystery author Hugh Griffin. But when Pip organizes a luxury book cruise featuring The Fabulous Seven–a glittering cast of seven bestselling authors known for both their brilliance and their drama–her trademark composure starts slipping. One boat. Seven egos. Hundreds of fans. What could possibly go wrong?
Well . . . murder, for starters.
On day two, Hugh is found dead–and the cruise security team proves to be utterly incompetent. Stranded in the middle of the Atlantic with no help in sight, Pip realizes if anyone’s going to solve the case, it’ll have to be her. And so, with her friend and ally Nash, the dreamy Western author who’s just as rugged as the cowboys he writes about, she puts her amateur sleuthing skills to the test.
As Pip and Nash navigate an ocean of secrets, shocking twists, and one too many red herrings, she’ll have to decide whether she’s meant to stay behind the scenes–or finally step into the spotlight . . . and maybe, just maybe, find love along the way.
In the world of mystery and love, sometimes you have to risk going overboard to find the truth.
Find Without a Clue online at:
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Courtney Walsh is a novelist, theatre director, and playwright. She writes small town romance and women’s fiction while juggling the performing arts studio and youth theatre she owns with her husband. She is the author of thirteen novels. Her debut, 
Denise Hunter is the internationally published bestselling author of more than 30 books, including “The Convenient Groom” and “A December Bride” which have been made into Hallmark movies. She has appeared on the The 700 club and won awards such as The Holt Medallion Award, The Carol Award, The Reader’s Choice Award, The Foreword Book of the Year Award, and is a RITA finalist.
