Voted Most Likely To Murder by Lacey Moone

“A high school reunion comes to an abrupt end when the dead body of the class jock shocks the school’s gymnasium in the cozy mystery debut by Lacey Moone!”– Book Blurb

Lacey Moone’s debut novel, Voted Most Likely to Murder, is a well-written, cozy mystery set in a small coastal town on the South Shore of Nova Scotia.

Heroine Belinda Bishop’s move back home was not under the best of circumstances. When she graduated from high school she left Little Blue Harbour vowing never to step foot in it again. Her dream was to become an: “investigative journalist like (her) idol, Dateline’s Keith Morrison. Exposing corrupt corporations. Staring down ruthless killers as (she) pressed them for answers. Uncovering the truth”. Now she is 32. She has lost her job, her boyfriend, and her apartment. She was forced to move back home into her old bedroom. Belinda finds herself working for her parents, helping out with their cottage rentals and RV park, Topsail Cottages and Campground.

At the beginning of the evening of her fourteen-year high school reunion, Belinda runs into Stephanie “Stevie” Hart. Stevie was a come-from-away whom she met and became instant friends with when they were fifteen. During the reunion, Belinda and Stevie bump into old classmates, including Jinx, aka Ethan Sutherland. Ethan made Belinda’s pulse race in high school and continues to give her stomach butterflies. He is called Jinx because of the Curse of the Sutherland Beard. Anyone who says his full name would experience bad luck. He is now the owner of the Right Foot Restaurant and Pub on the boardwalk. During the reunion, award trophies were given out for things like Farthest Travelled, Most Interesting Job, Teacher’s Pet, and Class Flirt.

Before leaving the reunion, Belinda and Stevie decided to take a trip down memory lane and do a little detour upstairs to Mr. Blenkhorn’s office. They wanted to draw a cartoon featuring Manny the Muskrat on the whiteboard outside his office, something they did and got disciplined for while attending the school. Once they had completed the cartoon drawing, they decided to take a different staircase downstairs. A staircase that was closer to the parking lot, but dark. Once they reached the ground floor, Belinda’s shoe caught on something soft, causing her to faceplant onto the floor. When she looked around to see what had caused her to fall, she saw Andrew, winner of the Class Flirt Award, lying dead at the base of the stairs.

Belinda’s childhood best friend-turned-nemesis, Jolene Dexter, is the prime suspect in the case because her scarf was found under the victim. Belinda doesn’t believe Jolene is guilty. In her words, “The Jolene Dexter I remember is way too Type A to push someone down the stairs and leave evidence directly tying her to the crime. Trust me, any murder she commits would involve multiple to-do lists and at least one storyboard.” Stevie convinces Belinda to put aside her differences with Jolene, and the three team up to solve the murder.

On loan from the Major Crimes Unit in Halifax, the very attractive, but stern and proper, Sergeant Brady Finlayson, along with Belinda’s childhood friend, Corporal Randall Perry, are the officers in charge of the investigation. Finlayson has only been in the Major Crimes unit for a short while and is out to prove himself. Finlayson may not like Belinda and her friend’s amateur detective snooping, but that is not going to deter them.

“Nothing brings old friends together like finding a dead body.”– Lacey Moone

I had the pleasure of attending Lacey Moone’s debut book launch for Voted Most Likely to Murder at the Shelburne County Museum and couldn’t wait to get home and read it. The attractive, fun, yearbook-looking cover sets the tone for the novel. Chock-full of high school cliques that never grew up; the mean girls, the jocks, and the teacher’s pets all at a fourteen-year reunion. It was a well-plotted novel, with plenty of sarcasm and humour, and everything a cozy mystery should have. An ex-journalist, a high school bestie, and a former childhood bestie, all with zero qualifications, are determined to solve the murder. With lots of Nova Scotia references, it kept this reader guessing until the end. I hope this is just the first book in a series by Lacey Moone set in small-town Nova Scotia. I am looking forward to reading more from this author.

Want to learn more about Most Likely to Murder? Check out our Patreon, where Sue just posted her recap of the book launch. You can find that and more on our Patreon, and support TMR to boot.

Lacey Moone was born and raised on the south shore of Nova Scotia, Canada. As a former military spouse, she has lived from one end of the country to the other, even as far north as the Northwest Territories. She currently resides in Alberta. She loves to write mysteries starring tenacious women who are as clever as they are sarcastic, with a focus on strong female friendships.

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books (May 12, 2026)
Paperback 5.5″ x 8.25″ | 304 pages
ISBN: 9798892425681

Sue Slade

Sue Slade has a Bachelor of Child Study from Mount St. Vincent University in Halifax. After working with children and adults with special needs, she now has her midlife dream job of working with books. Sue manages an independent, locally owned bookstore, Dartmouth Book Exchange, and is known for planning and executing amazing, engaging book events. Through her charismatic sharing centred around books and community, Sue has created an interactive cornerstone for authors, customers, and book lovers of all ages. Sue is an avid reader, and her reviews cross over many genres. As the East Coast Advocate for The Miramichi Reader, Sue champions Atlantic Canadian literature by featuring the diverse works and unique communities that define her home region.