The Bad Break: A Riley Ellison Mystery

by Jill Orr

Overview

Silver Falchion Award Finalist

“The small-town nature of this mystery, with the requisite fish-bowl local politics, relationships, and grudges, makes it perfect for cozy lovers who want something more modern. Readers will enjoy Riley’s humor and determination even when things turn sad.”
— Booklist

Riley Ellison has taken a great leap of faith by giving up her comfortable job at the Tuttle Corner Library for the exciting world of print journalism. Except that so far it hasn't been very exciting. All that changes when Riley's former co-worker Tabitha finds her soon-to-be father-in-law dead on the floor of his office, and Riley is asked to write his obituary. And when they discover Tabitha's fiancé's knife sticking out of his father's chest, Riley finds herself with a murder investigation to cover as well.
With Holman out on leave and mounting pressure from her boss, the mayor, and a bridezilla facing the possibility of a conjugal-visit honeymoon, Riley is desperate to prove she can handle the increasing demands of her new job. Despite warnings from her new boyfriend Jay, Riley blurs the line between reporter and investigator. Will Riley's rookie mistakes lead to more than just her byline ending up on the obituary page?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781945551208
Publisher:	Turner Publishing Company
Publication date:	04/03/2018
Series:	Riley Ellison Series , #2
Pages:	296
Sales rank:	1,124,417
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Jill Orr is the author of the Riley Ellison mystery series, which has been called “delightfully comic” and “highly amusing” by Publishers Weekly. Books in the series have garnered praise from industry professionals and readers alike and have earned a Silver Falchion nomination, a starred review and "Best Book of the Week" from Library Journal, and a Midwest Connections pick.

Originally from Chicago, Jill moved to Columbia, Missouri, to attend the University of Missouri, where she received her bachelor’s degree in Journalism and her master’s degree in Social Work. However, these days the only social work she does is at cocktail parties, and she sometimes wishes her degrees were in What’s for Dinner and Decoding the Teenage Eye Roll.

Jill lives in Missouri with her husband and two (usually delightful) teenage children. The fourth installment in the Riley Ellison series, The Full Scoop, is new for 2020. And Jill's new illustrated nonfiction humor book, How Not to Be Old (Even if You Are), arrives in November. Learn more at www.jillorrauthor.com.

Editorial Reviews

02/26/2018
In Orr’s enjoyable sequel to 2017’s The Good Byline, Tabitha St. Simon, Riley Ellison’s coworker at the Tuttle Times, calls Riley, aspiring journalist and obituary underling at the newspaper, when she finds her future father-in-law, prominent cardiologist Arthur Davenport, lying dead on the office floor of his Tuttle, Va., home. Riley calls acting sheriff Carl Haight and deputy Chip “Butter” Churner, who are convinced by the knife in Arthur’s chest that it’s a homicide. Riley seizes the chance to pitch writing the obit to editor Kay Jackson, who agrees, but when Haight arrests Tabitha’s fiancé, Arthur’s son Thad, Tabitha asks Riley to investigate. Since Arthur played around, suspects, including incensed husbands, are easy to find. Mayor Shalene Lancett and her obnoxious nephew, Toby Lancett, are eager to have Thad charged and the case closed. Riley makes lots of missteps along the rocky way to solving the crime. Fans of comic light mysteries will be rewarded. Agents: Emma Sweeney and Margaret Sutherland Brown, Emma Sweeney Agency. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

A ray of sunshine cloaked in a mystery. Orr is one to watch—the best humorous mystery writer around, with a voice all her own.”
— Laura McHugh, internationally bestselling author of The Weight of Blood and Arrowood

“Here comes Riley Ellison, the journalist-slash-hero we need right now. She solves murders! She writes obits! I loved this fresh page-turner—it’s fun, funny, and moves like lightning. Jill Orr has created a complex plot and complex contemporary characters that make murder quite delightful. Can't wait for the next in the series.”
— Lian Dolan, Satellite Sister and author of the bestselling novels Helen of Pasadena and Elizabeth the First Wife

“Deft at imbuing her pop-off-the-page characters with both humor and heart, Jill Orr also spins a gem of a twisty mystery that will leave readers breathless as they chase a huge (and dangerous) headline with Tuttle Corner’s sassy, scrappy new star reporter, Riley Ellison. Utterly delightful—don’t miss this one, y'all!”
— LynDee Walker, Agatha Award–nominated author of Lethal Lifestyles and Front Page Fatality

“By actually capturing the unique voice of a generation, Orr brings something out of the ordinary and elusive to so many.”
— BookTrib

“The small-town nature of this mystery, with the requisite fish-bowl local politics, relationships, and grudges, makes it perfect for cozy lovers who want something more modern. Readers will enjoy Riley’s humor and determination even when things turn sad.”
— Booklist

“The laughs keep coming.”
— Kirkus Reviews

“Once again, Jill Orr peppers the plot with eccentric and quirky characters – also known as suspects – who tickle the funny bone while also feeling truly authentic for the small town setting of the novel…Riley Ellison will continue to make us laugh for years to come – because she just loves life. And we love her.”
— BOLO Books

From the Publisher

2018-01-23
When a fun but flawed obituary writer investigates her subject, she finds that his death might not be as straightforward as she thought.The first person Tabitha St. Simon calls when she finds the body of her future father-in-law, Dr. Arthur Davenport, is Riley Ellison, her former co-worker at the Tuttle Corner Library and the Tuttle Times' latest obituarist. Tabitha's less concerned with what Riley will write than with what Riley might do for her. She's seen Riley do some solid informal investigating recently (The Good Byline, 2017), and she's certain that Riley can clear her fiance, Thad, of complicity in Arthur's murder, even if it's Thad's knife sticking out of Arthur's chest. Riley isn't close with bridezilla Tabitha, but she knows that if she wants to give Arthur's obituary the time and thought it deserves, she should learn all she can about him, especially if that might promote her story from the obituary section to the front page. And Riley welcomes the distraction from her personal life. She's known around town as the girl whose boyfriend, Ryan, left after years together only to knock up the first girl he met, beautiful and improbably named Ridley, and now both Ryan and Ridley are back in town. Ridley is settling in to give birth any day; Ryan, dedicated enough to future fatherhood, claims that Ridley was a blip and is desperate to get Riley back. Riley's not interested in giving Ryan a second chance, partly because she can't believe anyone would leave the perfect Ridley, partly because Riley has a real relationship of her own. Now that she's been set up with Jay via the hilariously overbearing and invasive matchmaking service Click.com, the two are living their best millennial lives together, evidenced by Riley's accidental and automatic enrollment in Bestmilleniallife.com, which has brought her together with Personal Success Concierge? and Beyoncé enthusiast Jenna B.The laughs keep coming with Riley and her network of all-but-unbelievable co-stars, though the mystery plot could be trimmed without abating the otherwise high shine.

Kirkus Reviews