Guest post written by Cross Your Heart and Hope He Dies author Jenny Elder Moke
Jenny Elder Moke is the award-winning author of children’s and adult literature. She enjoys fast-paced adventures with plenty of mysteries, surprising turns, and laughs along the way. Her adult debut, SHE DOESN’T HAVE A CLUE, is a murder-mystery rom-com mash-up for fans of Clue and Knives Out.
About Cross Your Heart and Hope He Dies: Hobnobbing with Seattle’s elite on a super-yacht, Juliette Winters is about to land the deal of the century – if she doesn’t get arrested first. She Doesn’t Have A Clue author Jenny Elder Moke returns with another riotous mystery rom-com that delights in rich people behaving badly.
It’s been a season of blockbuster sequels and a welcome return to romance, and we are here for it all! If you’re looking to cure that movie hangover with a delicious, engrossing book (because the book is ALWAYS better), check out this list of six books that deliver on all those favorite movie vibes.
Liked WAKE UP, DEAD MAN: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY? Try CROSS YOUR HEART AND HOPE HE DIES by Jenny Elder Moke
If you loved the locked room mystery and internet ‘soft boy’ sidekick of the new Knives Out movie, you’ve got to try CROSS YOUR HEART AND HOPE HE DIES. When book marketer Juliette Winters loses out on the biggest deal of her career after the author drops dead at his own announcement party on a luxury yacht, she suspects that his heart attack was anything but natural. She’ll need all the help she can get as she dives into the world of ultra-exclusive country clubs – including the expertise of heart surgeon Charlie Hawkins, the unnervingly earnest Australian who saves lives by day and bakes sourdough by night. Filled with humor, twists, hijinks, and at least one high-speed boat chase, CROSS YOUR HEART AND HOPE HE DIES will scratch that Clue-loving itch.
Liked SINNERS? Try THE MONSTERS WE DEFY by Leslye Penelope
Loved the historical setting of SINNERS with the twist of African American folk magic and climactic mayhem? Then you’ve got to pick up a copy of THE MONSTERS WE DEFY. The novel follows Clara Johnson, a medium in 1920s Washington DC who is cursed with the actual ability to talk to spirits, trapped by her debt to them. When the opportunity to escape comes in the form of stealing a magical ring, Clara assembles a crack team of heisters with very special abilities to secure her freedom. But magic can’t be so easily contained, and as the struggles in the spirit world begin to affect the living, Clara finds herself embroiled in a battle for her very soul.
Liked NOW YOU SEE ME, NOW YOU DON’T? Try A MILLION TO ONE by Adiba Jaigirdar
If you can’t get enough of heists with an Ocean’s Eleven-style cast of characters, then check out A MILLION TO ONE. Set aboard the Titanic (yeah, that Titanic), the book brings together four girls from diverse backgrounds to steal a jewel-encrusted book that will buy their way to freedom. A crack team consisting of a thief, an artist, an acrobat, and an actress, the girls put together the perfect plan to steal the book and make their escape from their disappointing lives. Of course, the greatest heists in history never go to plan, and this one will be no different. And no matter how badly they want to escape their fates, no one can escape the iceberg in their futures.
Loved THE ROSES? Try YOU DESERVE EACH OTHER by Sarah Hogle
If the idea of a picture-perfect couple unraveling behind the scenes with hilarious results is absolutely your bag, then you need YOU DESERVE EACH OTHER in your life. Naomi Westfield and Nicholas Rose might look like the perfect couple to be, but Naomi is sick to death of Nicholas’s boring, society pleasing ways. The only problem? If she ends the engagement first, she foots the bill for their massive wedding. Naomi has plans to force Nicholas’s hand and end the wedding, but when she discovers that Mr. Perfect is only so perfect because he’s been faking it too, they start an absolute all-out war to drive each other to breaking off their engagement first. What transpires is a hilarious, no-holds-barred sabotage fest that will have you in stitches (seriously, the shoveling scene with Naomi and Nicholas’s mom will become an all-time fave). But the harder Naomi and Nicholas try to get rid of each other, the more they start to realize they might actually deserve each other.
Loved WICKED: FOR GOOD? Try HENCH by Natalie Zina Walschots
If the idea of the “villain” of a famous story getting a turn to tell THEIR side of the story really does it for you, then you’ll love HENCH. When Anna Tromedlov is fired from her role as assistant to a superhero, she takes her righteous anger and impressive internet research skills to the dark side. As an assistant (or henchwoman, if you prefer the correct lingo) to a villain, Anna finds her true calling – to truly appalling results. HENCH explores the ways in which anyone can so easily slide into the role of villainy, driven there by the expectations of society and the pressure of those around us. It teaches us that the only distinction between heroes and villains are the ones we draw within our own minds. And with a sequel planned for May 2026 (because we love a two-parter!), this is the perfect time to get caught up on Anna’s story.
Loved ETERNITY? Try THE LOVE OF MY AFTERLIFE by Kirsty Greenwood
If the pitch of a woman reaching the afterlife and getting a second chance at love tickled your fancy, then check out THE LOVE OF MY AFTERLIFE. Delphie has been sent to the hereafter after choking to death on a microwaveable burger, but it’s not all bad – she meets the absolute ‘one’ while hanging out in the waiting room. Delphie dreams of them spending their rest of their afterlives together, until he gets popped back down to earth due to a clerical error. Delphie gets the chance to return to earth herself and find her other half, but locating ‘the one’ in a city full of other ones is a lot more than she bargained for. She’s got ten days to find the love of her afterlife and wrangle a Little Mermaid-style kiss out of him, or else return to the afterlife alone forever.
