Buzz Kill

Jane and Lila Pool #2

by J. Robert Lennon

When the shadowy circumstances of a relative's death are brought to light, Jane and Lila are plunged into the recesses of an underground drug operation with links to a burgeoning fascist movement. 

The Pool sisters have gone into business a down-home, if unequal, PI enterprise. But then Lila receives a shocking piece of news from an old friend of their Aunt Ruth' their aunt's suicide more than a decade earlier might not have been what it seemed. A lawyer, she had represented a disgraced chemist working on a dangerous synthetic opioid. But once the client, Travis Nutt, was poised to lose, he went rogue and unleashed the adulterant as a street drug, in conjunction with a shadowy cartel. Can the twins solve the mystery of their aunt's death and bring this cultlike billionaire to justice?

Meanwhile, Jane has been invited to attend a writers' conference, an outlet she relishes until her dangerously confessional prose is seen by the wrong eyes. Her teenage daughter, Chloe, becomes the victim of a deepfake video while campaigning for class president and aggressively pursues the instigators, unaware of the muscle behind them. And old Harry, Jane's father, has stumbled upon a piece of unknown history that opens an unexpected door.

Buzz Kill is a rambunctious, kinetic, elastically braided narrative of a ride that shows J. Robert Lennon is at the height of his powers.

Genres: Fiction

308 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 18, 2025

About the author

J. Robert Lennon is the author of three story collections and ten novels, and is co-editor of CRITICAL HITS, an anthology of writing on video games. He lives in Ithaca, New York.

Reviews

[Ashley Cohoon · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re in the mood for a wild, twisty mystery packed with family drama, and plenty of dark humor, Buzz Kill is the book for you. Lennon delivers a fast-paced, multi-layered story that follows the Pool sisters—Jane and Lila—as they unravel the suspicious circumstances of their aunt’s supposed suicide. What starts as a personal investigation quickly spirals into something much bigger, dragging them into the underbelly of a drug operation with connections to a rising fascist movement. Yep, it’s as intense as it sounds.

Jane, a writer struggling with the consequences of her own brutally honest storytelling, and Lila, a PI with a strong-willed determination, make for an entertaining duo. Their journey to uncover the truth takes them through a tangled web of crime, corruption, and cult-like billionaires. Meanwhile, Jane’s daughter, Chloe, gets caught up in a modern-day nightmare—a deepfake scandal that threatens her reputation, and she’s not about to let it slide. Even Jane's aging father, Harry, finds himself entangled in a surprising historical revelation.

Lennon masterfully juggles these intertwining storylines, keeping the tension high while weaving in biting social commentary. The book is sharp, witty, and full of unexpected turns, but it also carries a deeper message about power, truth, and the way technology shapes our lives.

If you like your thrillers with a side of satire and an ensemble cast of strong-willed, flawed, and fiercely intelligent characters, Buzz Kill won’t disappoint. It’s an exhilarating ride that’ll keep you hooked until the very last page.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Mulholland Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Sherry Chiger · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Buzz Kill" is a sequel to "Hard Girls," but you needn't have read the book in the series to appreciate this one. Once again, J. Robert Lennon brings his fictional characters to life in all their messy, imperfect glory. I especially loved the thorny, evolving relationship between Jane and her adolescent daughter, Chloe; it brought an emotional resonance to the story that I found a bit lacking in "Hard Girls." Conversely, the plot of "Buzz Kills" seemed more far-fetched than that of the first book, though the brisk pace, tight writing, and beautifully limned relationships among the characters made up for that.

Thank you, Mulholland Books and NetGalley, for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Alison Hardtmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

An hour later Harry and Chloe were on the road in Harry's Subaru, listening to country radio, which the girl had chosen. Rather than singing along, she was leaning over, concentrating on the lyrics. "The women are all warning each other about the men," she said. "But the men are all just proud of how American they are."

In this sequel to Hard Girls, Lila and Jane now have an equal partnership in their detective firm, although this has played out to mean Jane is doing routine surveillance work and has no idea what Lila is doing. She has arranged a local office for Jane to work out of, but it's a locksmith shop located in a defunct mall, not what Jane had had in mind. Still, they are both trying and when Jane proves more able to find information to help them locate a relative, Lila pulls her into the real business, unmasking the producer of a deadly street drug. Meanwhile, Jane's daughter, Chloe, is running for class president of her freshman class, but coming up against a faked video smearing her. She decides to handle it herself.

Lennon has created a wonderful family with complicated dynamics in the Pools, and it's worth following their development from the first book before reading this one. But if you have read it, you'll be happy to know that this installment is just as well-written, tightly plotted and fun as the first. He's still delving into the darker sides of the American dream; in this book he looks at anti-vaxers and far right militants, while keeping his focus on how people relate to each other. Lennon is perhaps better known for his surreal and intelligent fiction, but it's fun to see he's just as adept at writing genre fiction.

[Lorraine Hanson]

Overly politicized.

[Steve Beed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great follow-up to Hard Girls.

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.7