Monday Is Murder

Murder by Month Mystery #12.5

by Jess Lourey

✨ How much can go wrong in a single Monday? PI-in-training Mira James is about to find out. ✨

Big city gal Mira James is finally settling into itty bitty Battle Lake. Sure, there’s that pesky dead-body-a-month hitch, and her hunky musician boyfriend has begun receiving mysterious late-night texts. The fact that her problematic ex-boyfriend seems to be tailing her doesn’t help, either.

But Mira is determined to ignore all that for one day so she can focus on the December wedding of two dear friends. She's succeeding, too, until Kennie Rogers, Battle Lake mayor and frenemy extraordinaire, is kidnapped right in front of her eyes by a murderous Santa Claus.

Ho-ho-ho-oh-no! Can Mira save Kennie (and her relationship) before the slay bells ring…for good? Find out in this 124-page Murder by Month romcom novella featuring all your Battle Lake favorites.

PRAISE FOR THE MIRA JAMES ROMCOM MYSTERIES:

★ "Lourey skillfully mixes humor and suspense . . . the characters are wonderful and wacky, and the mile-a-minute pace never falters." ―Booklist (starred review)

★ "Get started on this Lefty-nominated series if you've previously missed it!" ―Library Journal (starred review)

Genres: Mystery, Romance, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Humor

148 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 11, 2022

About the author

My name is Jess Lourey, and I write about secrets.

The story of my first published novel is both devastating and transformative, something I speak about in my TEDx Talk (https://youtu.be/a5vSLh3oPXI). I've come a long way since then. I'm proud to call myself a bestselling, twice Edgar-nominated, and twice Goodreads Readers Choice Awards shortlisted author who has won the ITW Thriller, Minnesota Book, and Anthony Awards. I write crime fiction, young adult, nonfiction, children's books, and book club fiction.

I've reached over a million readers since 2020. I'm also a former writing and sociology professor who still loves to teach transformative creative writing workshops built around my Rewrite Your Life method.

I live in Minneapolis with a rotating batch of foster kittens (and occasional foster puppies, but man those goobers are a lot of work). Pop on over to Lourey's Literati, my VIP Reader group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/38538...) and/or sign up for my molasses newsletter (https://jessicalourey.com/newsletter) for the latest news, giveaways, and insider information.

p.s. You can find the Unspeakable Things epilogue here: https://jessicalourey.com/survey-two.

Reviews

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining mystery listening 🎶🔰

This kindle e-book novella is from my Kindle Unlimited account stand alone book

She and Mrs Black are looking for the missing mayor when it leads to a killer. They make it to the wedding and a happy ending 😀.

I would recommend this novella and author to 👍 readers of romantic family and friends relationships mystery novels 👍🔰 .2024 👒😆

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as well edited as Jess' other Murder by Months, so knocked it down a few pegs for me! Still plenty of laughing out loud with Mira James and her crew though.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun novella! Love this series and hope to get more!!!!

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mar. 2025
I am rereading this whole series. I saw somewhere that this book fell between the December and January books. Having just reread December, I think it actually comes directly after November. That explains why things felt out of order when I read it originally because I had already finished the whole series. Still agree with the rest of my original review. And, after all this time with no release of a Tuesday book, I guess that’s not going to happen. The author has moved on doing other books outside the cozy genre and seems to be doing very well there. It would be nice if she would return to some more stories here or spinoffs. Who knows what the future might bring…

Mar. 2022
I am so glad to get to return to Battle Lake with another installment in this series. I had thought it was done since it had already run through 12 books starting with May Day and ending with April Fools. The blurb in the back says there will be a Tuesday book, as well. Hopefully, there will be 6 more books to look forward to.

While there were a couple of minor details that were annoying - the first being the references to Mira being in town for 10 months when there were 12 books before this, and the second being we are back to Mira's insecurity about Johnny and being certain he is about to break up with her. I just don't get that and wish she would either move on to happy-ever-after with him or let him get hit by a bus or something. He is just too perfect to be true and doesn't seem a good match for Mira anyway. I probably put this in one of my other reviews, but I feel there is a weird dynamic with Mira and Gary Wohnt. I will hope to see more of that in future books or maybe even him spinning off into his own adventures.

The quirky people of Battle Lake (especially Mrs. Berns) continue to be the best part of this series. One last disappointment ... no recipes for the Battle Lake Bites column. She mentions it but didn't give a recipe. Also still hoping for a cookbook of those someday. Not that you would actually want to make all of them, but it would be a humorous read.

Looking forward to Tuesday ...

[Robyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jesse Lourey has become one of my favorite authors and this story is one reason why. This is the first story I have read in this series and she had me laughing from the very beginning. Even though this was the first book in the series that I have read, the book was written with background for the newcomer to this series to fall in love with Mira James, PI-in-training, the town of Battle Lake, Minnesota, and all its residents.

Mira James is helping prepare for her friends Sid and Nancy’s wedding, along with many of her friends. Sid and Nancy own the town’s Fortune Café where the wedding will be taking place on this December Day. As Mira James says, “You live in Battle Lake long enough, you learn to tell yourself things happen for a reason."

As her and her friends are preparing for the wedding that day, and Mira is worried that her new musician boyfriend Johnny is going to initiate “Project Pull Away” to dump her because he had woken up and seen her for what she describes herself as the “clumsy, unlucky, corpse-finding gal she was”, Mayor Kennie Rogers is kidnapped right in front of her and others eyes outside the storefront of Fortune Café.

At first, Mira and the quirky Mrs. Berns, think it may be a wedding stunt mistaking Mayor Kennie Rogers for a bride to be as kidnapping the bride is an established tradition in Minnesota. After Mira, Mrs. Berns, Sid, Nancy, and the others realize this is no wedding stunt, and Mira receives a call from the kidnapped Kennie Rogers, Mira knows she must look for Kennie and Mrs. Berns isn’t going to let her do it alone.

As we tag along in the adventures of Mira and Mrs. Berns looking for Kennie along with the other folks of Battle Lake trying to prepare for Sid and Nancy’s wedding, you will be like Santa in “The Night Before Christmas” and your belly will shake, like a bowl full of jelly.
Not only the adventures of looking for Kennie, will Mira resolve her anxiety and feelings that Johnny may be ready to dump her?

“Monday Is Murder” is a quick read that will leave you wanting more and wanting to read the entire series if you haven’t already. Thank you, Jesse Lourey, for this print copy of “Monday Is Murder.” I have already ordered the series! #MondayIsMurder #JesseLourey #ToadHouseBooks #RomCom #Fiction

https://www.augiesbookreviews.com/mon...

[Beth Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Battle Lake gang is back and this reader couldn't be happier! I have been a fan of Jess Lourey since the first sentence I read of her Murder by Month RomCom Mysteries beginning with May Day and can not describe how wonderful it was to read about my favorite characters again in her latest Murder by Month RomCom Mystery Novella, Monday is Murder.

My favorite small town hero - Mira James- is back and as usual, mayhem and chaos are back as well in the small town of Battle Lake. Mira, as readers of previous novels might remember, is a PI in training and has the mysterious knack of landing smack dab in the middle of murders. I am honestly beginning to wonder how anyone is left in the small town after all of the shenanigans that have transpired.

Leave it to Mira and her band of misfits (I say that with love) to stumble onto yet another mystery during the planning of the wedding of her dear friends, Sid and Nancy. As the preparations begin so does the chaos. Kennie Rogers, mayor and creative entrepreneur is kidnapped by Santa Claus right in front of Mira. Now what's a girl to do? If you are Mira you are going to investigate and track down that rogue Santa and find Kennie at all costs.

I won't ruin the story for you in this review but suffice it say that all of the fun characters of Battle Lake that we have come to know and love over the years are back in full regalia and it is positively wonderful. Jess Lourey has again won me over with her words and her wit and I found myself laughing out loud several times at both the ridiculousness of the situations and yet -- it seems just so right for Battle Lake. Mrs. Berns, Chief Wohnt, Johnny, Bad Brad, Nut Goodies and more make this novella quick paced and quite entertaining.

This book should be on everyone's To Read list for 2022 because don't we all just need a little bit to giggle about? I love this author's versatility when it comes to writing but I have to admit that her Month by Month series has a special place in my heart as it is where I was first introduced to her writing. What are you waiting for? Get your copy today and join the rest of us as we revel in the return of Mira James. Thanks to the author and publisher for a free copy for my honest review.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

YOU GUYS. The same characters who populate Lourey’s excellent Murder by Month series are back! That’s right: Mira James, Mrs. Berns, Kennie Rogers, Johnny the cute boyfriend, Sid and Nancy, Bad Brad, Jed, Chief Wohnt, and Curtis. I have missed these guys so much since April Fool’s came out and I thought we had seen the last of Battle Lake, Minnesota. And there’s even a teaser for the continuation of this novella series, and I couldn’t be happier. Well, maybe if the author decided to keep going with the Murder by Month full novel series I would be happier, but I’ll also take more of her thrillers and feminist suspense, please.

This one is a novella, about half the length of one of the M by M books. It took me about 2 hours to read, and I did it all in one sitting. I got my fix of protagonist Mira--who I really want to be best friends with—and her crazy, super funny inner dialogues. And the one-liners from Mrs. Berns! What a hoot. The events of the novella take place all in one day and are based around the wedding of the women who run the best café in town. It’s a great structure that bookends the story and holds together the looney episodes of Mira’s escapades in between.

It’s strange but so pleasing to enjoy a book that at times seems very grim but also slapstick funny. One of the book’s characters is kidnapped and the reader starts to fear for her life, but another character getting high on THC lollipops while trying to help solve the crime is just golden humor.

I give this book 5 stars. If you don’t like people getting high from pot lollipops, then maybe this book’s not for you. That’s about as racy as it gets.

[Nicole Bohr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Monday is Murder is a holiday novella that is a side story of the Mira James mystery series. This book takes place during December and the two local Fortune cafe owners are finally getting married! Mira, Johnny and a few other locals are helping convert the cafe into a wedding ceremony.

Mira is having issues focusing on the decoration. Mira is damaged goods and catching her boyfriend, Johnny, texting late at night (and being sly about it - quickly putting his phone away when Mira glances his way) is making Mira worry about her relationship.

Besides some grammatical/editing errors (example: end of chapter four/page 20, chapter 16/page 82 the very end sentence isn’t complete - I feel like my copy is misprinted some how), the story was adorable and I enjoyed being transfixed back into Battle Lake.

I also relate to Mira being called “ma’am”. I’m moving to AR and when I was visiting my new town, I had such a weird feeling being called ma’am, and yet it’s a sign of respect. I never felt like an old lady being called that word but when everyone literally says it (even other women), it just felt - wrong (hahaha).

I’ll let you in a little secret, before the pandemic occurred and I sold my house in MN, I REALLY wanted to visit Battle Lake. Mostly to get a glimpse through Mira’s eye. I wanted to visit in all the seasons. But now I’m getting ready to move to AR but I still plan to visit MN - to visit Battle Lake (and all the other places I wanted to show my husband).

Oh and I’m glad and hopeful that this series continues. Every gal truly needs a Mrs. Berns.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've decided the only way I can accept this series -- and its eternally "almost 30" mc -- is to think of it as historical fiction. The mc's comment about being an '80s kid and her Goonies/Indiana Jones references make no sense otherwise, since even if she were an infant in 1989 she'd be in her mid-30s now.

Also, in the excerpt from "May Day" at the end, she speaks of going off to college and learning to love Guess jeans and rainbow shirts, both of which I associate with the '70s, which leaves me picturing an mc who is herself in her 70s in 2025.

Even assuming it's forever 2006 in Battle Lake, this being the date the first book in the series was published, a 29-year-old Mina would have started college in 1995, which wasn't exactly the peak of the Guess jeans/rainbow shirt era.

As the mc seems to be very much an author insert on some levels, I looked up the author's age to straighten out my confusion. She's actually not in her 70s, but is in her mid-50s. I can accept a Mina born in 1970, which means that Battle Lake must eternally be stuck in 1999/2000. Funny that no one ever mentions Y2K, but maybe if time never moves on, the turn of the millennium never arrives.

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mira James moved from the big city to a small town in Minnesota. She has developed a bit of a reputation for stumbling upon crimes and solving them which causes her to become a private investigator.

On the Monday during which the book takes place, she is busy orchestrating a friend's wedding which will take place later that day. She is worried that her boyfriend is going to break up with her and is also concerned that a former beau may be stalking her. Then a friend is kidnapped by someone posing as Santa. Is this a wedding prank or is something more sinister about to occur?

If I paid more careful attention to the title page of this book, I would have realized that it is billed as a "romcom mystery." It has the feel of a Hallmark movie. I enjoyed it, though I must admit that my mind wandered a lot while I was reading; so I may have gotten some of the details in the above synopsis slightly wrong. If you have read other books in this series, I suspect that you will be very happy to once again visit the quirky people found in these pages. While I enjoyed this light read, I don't plan to return for more.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, I've read Jess Lourey's entire Murder by Month series (start with May Day). Having said that, I loved being able to reconnect with Monday is Murder. It was like visiting old friends and realizing you still like them and they still make you laugh. My favorite part is the quirkiness of the characters. My other favorite part is the setting of the stories. Battle Lake is just down the road and Millerville and Inspriation Peak are real places in the area. I love, love, love that Jess Lourey uses real places. However, even if you aren't familiar with the area you will love the story.

I see Tuesday is Terror is coming up and I can only hope for Wednesday through Sunday coming up!

[Kirk Weikart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mira James is a small town journalist that has a knack for solving crimes. When Mayor Kennie Rogers is kidnapped, will she and her sidekick Mrs. Berns be able to solve the crime and save Kennie?

This is a novella based upon a series of novels, so I felt like I was an outsider; that everyone else (the characters) already knew each other intimately.

The characters each have foibles and idiosyncrasies that make them insecure and human. They also have unique characteristics that set them each apart.

I look forward to reading the novels.

[Shelby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strange little cozy

Admitting up front, I've not read any of the books in this series before now. I guess Mira trips over a corpse once a month since returning to her hometown in rural Minnesota. Today, 2 of her besties are getting married. Kennie Roger's, the mayor, gets herself kidnapped while decorating the outside of the brides' Cafe. It's up to Mira and her octogenarian buddy Mrs Berns to find Kennie while she's still breathing and find the kidnapper. Will they be successful?

[Jae Philon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Forever fan of Mira and Mrs Berns

I needed this Novella after going through all of the books in the murder by the month series to get my Mira and Mrs Berns fix. I have no idea how I’m going to go about life without these two ladies in it. This one was short and sweet and to the point, find and save Kennie! Kennie deserved a lot but being kidnapped wasnt one. I still wish Mira would finally get some therapy because im sick of her inner dialogue sabotaging her relationship with Johnny, like girl get a grip.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jess Lourey is one of those genius writers who can tell tales to make you laugh, to make you think, and to scare the pants off you. She does all this in MONDAY IS MURDER, a return to Battle Lake and the foils and fables of Mira James and Mrs. Berns. If this is your first exposure to the murders of the month series, lucky you -- you're in for a treat. Or you could move right along to her stand alones, but only if you aren't alone in the dark. Either way, it's treat time.

[Donna Whitmire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect

This series has done the following for me
1. I want to live in Battle Lake, Minnesota. I am from the south, Georgia.
2. I want to grow up to be Mrs Berns.
3. I want to try a Nut Goodie candy bar.
4. I definitely do not want to eat anything weird or from Battle Lake Bites.
5. Looking for Terror Tuesday.
6. This series has it all, twist and turns plot, unique characters, protagonist that grows, clean reading, funny, and makes me feel all emotions.

[Kristi Lamont · Rating 3 out of 5]

BOOK REPORT
While this wasn’t a bad story, it was nowhere near as good as the books in Jess Lourey’s Murder by Month series.

It was nice to spend time with “old friends,” though (I’ve already finished the Month series). So because of that, and because of how much I loved the picture selected as the author photo—AND because I’m a Jess Lourey fangirl—I’m rounding up what would be a 2.5 star rating if I could give it to 3.

[Bryna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh how I have missed Mira and Mrs. Berns and their silly chemistry. This is a quick read, and although familiar the story dives a bit more into Mira's struggles within her personal relationship .... and the goofiness of the people of Battle Lake. Monday is Murder was a quick escape, and you betcha I look forward to more Novellas :)

[Sarah Venz · Rating 5 out of 5]

heart warming and double over with laughter

Mira and Mrs Berns are getting funnier and funnier with each book. Their escapes and sleuthing keep you on the edge of your seat through this book. Kennie has been kidnapped! You’ll find yourself laughing out loud and even feeling the warm fuzzies with friendships becoming tighter

[Katie Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was nice revisiting familiar characters after a month-long reading slump! I didn’t realize this novella was set partway through the series I’ve already finished, but it still delivered a great storyline. It’s fast-paced and surprisingly detailed for its length—nothing felt rushed or missing. It does lose a few points for poor editing, though.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fast, fun, and funny mystery novella. Monday is Murder can be read as a standalone, but it will be the most intriguing for those familiar with the series who want to check in with these characters. Recommended for fans of the Murder by Month series and those who enjoy funny mysteries.

[Charles Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

So funny and delightful

The characters pop off the page
And you can't help but love each of them. I laughed out loud more than once. If I had to compare, if you like Stephanie plum then you will love this series.

[Jessi · Rating 5 out of 5]

love this whole series

I’d read ten years worth if they’d write them. Cute, touching, light hearted yet interesting. None disappoint so read them and you won’t be disappointed lol

[Sara Burdett · Rating 5 out of 5]

MS Lourey never disappoints

There's nothing about this book that I didn't like except for the fact that it ended. Mira and Mrs. Berns are at it again, screw ups in the best possible way.

[Nicole Lineberger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect as usual

I could read this series for the rest of my life. Kennie is kidnapped and Mira, Mrs. Berns and Bad Brad work as a team to save her. It includes some memories of past adventures with so many of Mira's friends in Battle Lake included in the story.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Makes me smile

So nice to come back to Mira and the gang! Makes me feel comfy and cozy..... Hoping there will be more stories to come?

[David Peat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as impressed with this than her other excellent books. Still great characters, plot and dilemma but needed more spice. Worth a read.

[Crystal Fijardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, quick book to read! The characters have a lot of personality and I enjoyed it.

[Cami Pexsa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun short Novella to read on weekend get-away.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun book. I had a few good laughs.