Review By Gabrielle

Quirky and heartwarming, Making Friends Can be Murder is a fun, cozy mystery.

Favourite Quote:

How was I to know then that everything would be so different just fourteen days later? I couldn’t have known that Ruby and I and all the Sarahs would be thrown together for another, higher-stakes project. Investigating a murder! Can you believe it? 

Book Synopsis:

It feels like kismet when Sarah Jones, newly relocated to Minneapolis after abruptly calling off her engagement, gets invited to join a group of women who share her same very common name. For years Sarah has received all types of correspondence intended for different Sarah Joneses, but now it seems that this mistake has given her the opportunity for an instant community.

What starts as a low-stakes meet-up called “The Sarah Jones Project” soon turns sinister when another local Sarah Jones is found dead, under suspicious circumstances, at the base of the downtown Minneapolis bridge. After fielding numerous calls from concerned loved ones ruling out their Sarah as the victim, the surviving Sarahs decide to take matters into their own hands. Aided by the dead woman’s nanny, a newly commissioned (and very handsome and eligible) FBI agent, and a cloistered nun with a complicated past, the motley crew of unlikely friends are determined to get to the bottom of the murder of one of their own.

Between a budding romance and best friendship, Sarah feels like she’s in the right place at the right time, right up until the facts of the murder case begin stacking up too close to home. Can their team piece together where the deceptions lead before the killer silences someone else?

Review:

I just loved the premise of this book. A bunch of Sarah Jones’ meeting up and solving a crime? Yes, please. I love me a quirky, heartwarming mystery, and this book fits the bill. It was a fun ride.

Fair warning, though – the book kicks off with a bang and throws you right into the deep end. I was honestly a bit confused at first, trying to keep track of all the different Sarah Joneses and the various storytelling formats. West mixes things up with police reports, recording transcripts, text conversations, and even videos made by “Seventeen” (yep, the Sarahs go by their ages, which is super clever). Once you get the hang of it, though, it all clicks into place.

This isn’t just your standard whodunit. Sure, there’s the central mystery of who killed the Sarah Jones, who ended up dead at the base of that Minneapolis bridge, but there’s also this whole subplot about FBI agent George Nightingale and his childhood trauma. The poor guy’s been haunted by his boyhood best friend’s disappearance for years, and that emotional depth adds a really nice layer to the story.
And can we talk about these characters? The “Sarah Jones Project” gives us the most delightful found family vibes! Each Sarah brings something unique to the table, but “Sixty-Nine” absolutely stole my heart. This retired Murder She Wrote superfan is running her own Jessica Fletcher blog? I’m obsessed! And don’t get me started on Sister Mary Theresa, Seventeen’s mentor – she’s got this fascinating past and just jumps off the page.

There’s also a sweet little romance brewing between “Thirty” (our main Sarah who’s starting fresh after ditching her engagement) and the hunky FBI agent George Nightingale. Their chemistry is adorable without overshadowing the mystery elements.
Bottom line – if you’re looking for a mystery with heart, humour, and a truly original premise, grab this book! It’s the perfect blend of cozy mystery and found family story that’ll leave you smiling long after the case is closed.

Thank you, Berkeley, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.