There were too many suspects and side quests in this one. Also, the ending was implausible.

Mavis is my favorite free lance PI

4 stars. If all cozy mysteries are as good as Elise Bryant's, consider me a fan! Mavis Miller is back to solve another mystery when her almost 8 year old daughter Pearl's soccer coach unexpectedly drops dead on the field one Saturday morning. After rage-quitting her job, Mavis has nothing but time to solve this mystery...and help in Pearl's classroom, try to get Pearl a solo in the school play, all while putting herself second, again, and not taking care of herself or practicing self-care. I love this whole crew, including Pearl, Jasmine, Mavis's dad (who now runs a murd3r podcast!), the lovely though constantly therapizing Jack, and even horrible Trisha! Newcomer Bethany, a woo-woo cancer survivor mom who thinks essential oils can cure anything and is part of an MLM scheme, is an annoying but interesting foible to Mavis's life. This book is SO funny. I love Bryant's sense of humor! It is a mix of warm, caring parent/mom jokes, and snarky, biting observations about how chaotic life can be, including ruminatings on work, being a mom, race, neighborhood busy-bodies, technology, and crime. I laughed out loud so much while reading this story. These characters are relatable and feel strangely true to life (minus the whole murd3r thing). The mystery part is not super difficult to figure out, but the journey to get there is engaging, interesting, and zany. I cannot wait for the third book in the series! Thank you to NetGalley, Elise Bryant, and Berkley Publishing Group for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.