She Doesn’t Have a Clue

YA author Moke (Hood) makes her adult debut with this winning romantic mystery centered on a bestselling novelist. When Kate Valentine agrees to attend her ex-fiancé’s fancy wedding on a private island in the San Juan archipelago, she expects to spend most of the weekend hiding away to work on her newest manuscript. Once she arrives, however, her plans are upended. First, she’s forced to share a room with the dreamy Jake Hawkins, an ex who Kate has recently become convinced is the one that got away. Then someone at the wedding dies in a poisoning that eerily mimics the plot of one of Kate’s novels, and she enlists Jake’s help to determine who among the party might be responsible. Predictably, sparks fly between the amateur sleuths, but it’s to Moke’s credit that little else about this brisk and charming whodunit is predictable. With truly surprising twists, fully developed characters, and a satisfying balance of courtship and detection, this has more than enough for a potential series. Agent: Elizabeth Bewley, Sterling Lord Literistic. (Jan.)