Rachel West and the Fallen Starlet

by Emma Mills

Celebrity gossip can cut to the quick, but when it turns deadly it’s up to an aspiring reporter and her quirky neighbors to close the case in the first of a witty and nostalgic new mystery series.

Baby doll top, gladiator sandals, and fully loaded iPod at the ready—it’s 2008 in Los Angeles, and Rachel West is a little less starry-eyed than your average ingenue. There’s never been a better time to be an entertainment journalist, but the road to writing glossy profiles starts with copyediting a celeb gossip rag. Hey, it pays her bills. Most of them, at least.

Everything changes when Rachel befriends Molly Byrne—former child star and current tabloid fave due to her drunken escapades and rotating cast of boyfriends—in a nightclub bathroom.

When Molly is found dead, all of Hollywood accepts her death as an overdose. But Rachel knows for a fact her friend was clean, so when Molly’s favorite paparazzo, Casper, tells her he thinks Molly was murdered, she believes him.

With the help of a ragtag group of residents from her apartment building, a handsome detective, and her trusty flip phone, Rachel must solve the mystery of Molly’s death before she’s written off for good.

Genres: Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Adult, Adult Fiction, Contemporary

336 pages, Paperback

Expected publication May 19, 2026

About the author

Emma Mills is the author of several novels for Young Adults.

She holds a PhD in cell biology and is known for her YouTube channel, Elmify. She is also the co-creator and co-host of the "life skills" channel How to Adult, which ended in 2016.

Mills lives in St. Louis, Missouri.

Reviews

[hav!]

what do y'all know about my lord and savior emma mills

[cass]

immediate purchase i need it now

[liyana]

if emma mills writes it, i read it

[rachel x]

"A Hollywood murder mystery set in the tabloid heyday of 2008, in which an aspiring journalist-aided by a ragtag group of amateur detectives, including her quirky neighbours and a big-hearted paparazzo-sets out to prove her friend, a troubled ex-child star, was murdered."

[michelle (magical reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

emma mills never disappoints

rtc

[natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a lot of fun with this! Cozy mystery is not my genre of choice, but I loved the author's YA books when I was younger so I had to give it a shot. My only qualm is that I wanted more. As this is an adult debut, I think the author had an opportunity to go more in depth with her character emotions and relationships, but mostly stuck to the standard formula I'm used to reading in her YA books. I did love the main character and I really enjoyed the signature Emma Mills humor, but I'm also a longtime reader of the author. I think new readers going into this specifically for the mystery and Y2K of it all might be expecting a little more. Overall I still really enjoyed my time with this and will definitely continue if we do get a series out of it. I guess what I'm saying is this was definitely for me (great humor, interesting mystery, insightful commentary, and fun characters) but it might not be for everyone – especially new readers who pick it up based on the genre. 4.5 ⭐️

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This mystery about an actress found dead in her home and her BFF of the week who's left to mourn her and maybe find her killer was an addictive read that kept me turning those pages! Aspiring journalist Rachel gets the break of her life when she runs into Hollywood ingenue Molly in a restroom at a club. Suddenly they're best friends and Molly is giving exclusives to Rachel, catapulting her into the job she's been reaching for. But when Molly is found dead of an apparent drug overdose, Rachel isn't so sure that's what happened and is determined to get to the truth! Buckle in for this fun new mystery!

There were a few plot points that annoyed me, but most of them are spoilers, so I'll not write about them. This was an entertaining read that I definitely enjoyed despite the few quibbles.

[Konrad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw others use the term cozy mystery, and that feels really accurate. This was fun, a delight to sink into, easily digestible and best read over a long weekend.

I do think the coziness inherently meant a lack of profundity—which is okay, not everything needs to be the next great American novel. This does what it does well, 3.5 stars.

Thanks to Berkeley and NetGalley for the ARC.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this title via NetGalley. It does not impact my review.

3.5 Stars

I’ve really enjoyed many of Emma Mills’ YA books, so I was excited for her Adult Mystery debut. While it did take me a little while to get into it, I ultimately enjoyed it.

The story is set in 2008 which I originally thought seemed like an odd choice. I am not particularly nostalgic for 2008. However, it turns out 2008 is around the time Mills first started writing the book. It sat unfinished as she did other things and she recently returned to it, choosing to keep the time period instead of updated it to present day.

This is definitely what I would consider a cozy mystery. It’s not usually the type of mystery I gravitate towards, so it did take me a bit to get into it. While there were an enjoyable group of quirky characters, they were not very developed, so I wasn’t really invested in any of them. I also felt a little ambivalent about Rachel, the main character, and Molly, the celebrity friend that was (probably) murdered. One of the hallmarks of Mills’ books is the friendships and that was missing a bit for me here. There is also usually a slow burn romance, but there seemed to be two possible love interests in this one and nothing was resolved with those. However, I do believe there is going to be a sequel, so maybe the slow burn is yet to come. The book did have some fun banter and the humor I expected, though.

Overall, I did mostly enjoy Rachel West and the Fallen Starlet, and will definitely be checking out the sequel. I did have to adjust my expectations a bit, as this book is a bit of a departure from the author’s previous books that I enjoyed, though, and that might have impacted my reading experience. If you are a fan of cozy mysteries and pop culture, I would recommend checking this one out.

[RedReviews4You Susan-Dara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cozy, engaging mystery that kept pulling me in — and I realized pretty quickly that I was slipping into my New Adult reader mode as I read. I didn’t know this was Emma Mills’s adult debut, but once I did, it made perfect sense. Her YA/NA roots show up in the pacing and tone in a way that’s familiar, warm, and easy to fall into.

Mills is an excellent writer, and her strengths are here: clean prose, character‑driven beats, and a mystery that’s fun to unravel. I found myself settling into the investigation almost immediately — but then again, I grew up on Nancy Drew and Veronica Mars, so a determined heroine digging into a starlet’s murder is very much my lane.

Rachel’s investigation into Molly’s death had that nostalgic, slightly noir‑tinged vibe I love, and I genuinely enjoyed the experience of reading it. While the story didn’t fully hit the deeper emotional notes I look for in adult mystery fiction, it was still a solid, cozy, satisfying read with a heroine I rooted for.

A good pick for readers who love character‑forward mysteries, Hollywood secrets, and a touch of YA‑style pacing in an adult setting.

Thank you to Goodreads and the publisher for sharing an early copy of the book with me

[h o l l i s · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have no one to blame but myself for not totally reckoning with the reality of this setting. Not the 2008 of it all but the celebrity-movie-star-tabloid-focused-ness of it all. I think I just saw "Emma Mills adult novel" and requested without much more thought. My bad, yo.

I think if you were a fan of Veronica Mars, and maybe feel nostalgic for any timeline but our current one, you might get on with this. Particularly as it mashes itself up the current fad of murder clubbing aka amateur sleuths getting together to do what the police can't do. But alas, despite all of the above applying to me, I just did not. Get on, I mean.

If nothing else this was a quick and easy read.

Full review to come.

** I received an ARC from the publisher (thank you!) via NetGalley exchange for an honest review. **

[Zoe Lipman · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5

This was so much fun and so unique and had so many great elements to it.

This had a fun gossip tabloid type of feel to it (and it does involve those), a murder mystery, and Y2K vibes.

I also think the cover is so fun and cute. Love a fun little illustration.

This has a chaotic and unlikely ensemble cast of characters that don't seem like they should be trying to solve a murder, but they do it and it's fun. It's like if the characters in Scooby Doo were gossip columnists, paparazzi, and other quirky kinds of characters.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

[Namera [The Literary Invertebrate] · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I might have been... in my longest reading slump ever??? No Goodreads updates for two months, no book finished for longer than that... what on earth was happening to me?

I don't think I'm fully out of the slump yet, but I have at least managed to finish a book now, and it wasn't even a good one. This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2026, so to say I'm let down would be an understatement. But I guess thanks to this book anyway, because at least I'm back to writing reviews.

Sort of. Soon. RTC!

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is so, so much to love about this book. Aside from mystery must-haves — a fast-paced plot and an intriguing puzzle — the setting is perfectly captured, there are so many emotional layers, and the characters are well-developed and interesting. (My favorite one is a tie between Jaz and Rucksack. iykyk.) While there are some plot holes or, at the very least, unresolved plot lines, I still enjoyed this book and can't wait for the author to publish her next one.

[Becca Sloan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book got 5 stars for being a total romp and for the delight of returning to 2008. Loses an 8th of a star for how the narrator would constantly repeat things that had been said to her earlier in the book. Loses a 12th of a star for every missed opportunity to insert “two thousand and late.” Still rounds up to 5 stars.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved everything about this. Rachel West is such a fantastic main character, and her journey from copy editor to amateur sleuth was so fun to follow. The pacing was 10/10—I flew through this in two sittings because the story was just that engaging. If you want a mystery that's witty, nostalgic, and perfectly paced, you need to read this. No notes, just pure vibes and a great mystery.

[Kayla Mikel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this and couldn’t put it down. On the hunt to find the killer of her Celebrity BFF, Rachel not only tries to solve the mystery but meets with so many great people and learns a lot about herself along the way.