CROSS YOUR HEART AND HOPE HE DIES by Jenny Elder Moke is a wild cozy mystery and rom-com mix with a headstrong lead character intent on finding a missing manuscript after the author dies and leaves her book deal of the century close to doom.  

Juliette Winters works for the struggling publisher, Simon Says. The memoir of wealthy business magnate Warren Ellingham promises to expose all the scandals and secrets of the super-wealthy members of the Pacific Pines Country Club. At his press party on a yacht, Warren suffers a shock, then a heart attack as party guests look on. With a malfunctioning defibrillator and no landing pad for a quick rescue, Warren dies, and his safe is ransacked. Cash and the manuscript go missing. This just can’t be, and Juliette starts her search for the manuscript thief. Suspects abound, including Warren’s inept son, a disgraced professional golfer, a couple in financial distress, and an angry chef stuck in a bad contract.  As Juliette tackles the investigation, she is soon joined by her fellow employees and friends—Kate, Veeta, Kennedy, and Charlie. Dr. Charlie Hawkins, the man she originally called a dud, proves to be rather proficient in helping her investigate and getting her heart rate up. Can the ice queen find the manuscript, catch a killer, and let Charlie Hawkins melt her heart, just a little bit?  

CROSS YOUR HEART AND HOPE HE DIES is a fun, fast-paced story that throws Juliette into precarious situations where she uses her bravado to get the answers she needs. She’s prickly, sometimes mean, demanding, never boring, and full of confidence. Unlikeable at first, readers will start to understand Juliette more as her backstory is revealed and she redeems herself (mostly). The mystery is solid, the characters are vivid and sharp, and the banter between Juliette and Charlie is witty, humorous, and full of sexual tension. The story moves at a quick pace, and Juliette puts several characters in their place as she barrels through the suspect list and narrows in on a killer. Those who like humor, romance, mystery, and a little steamy sex will enjoy CROSS YOUR HEART AND HOPE HE DIES.