Last Night Was Killer
A Novel
-
- Pre-Order
-
- Expected Jul 7, 2026
-
- $14.99
Publisher Description
"An inventive mystery loaded with humor, heart, and found family." —People Magazine
“I have never had so much fun watching a fictional character try to figure out if she killed someone or not. Wild, outrageous, silly, smart, Tilly is a heroine for the ages and Mary Lowry writes like no one else. A damn delight.” —Rufi Thorpe, Author of Margo’s Got Money Troubles
A suspenseful, bighearted, and laugh-out-loud story of a single mom trying to do it all—including solve a murder she may or may not have committed…
When Tilly Turner signed up for an introductory pole-dancing class, she was looking for a distraction. Reeling from her mother’s passing, and with her career as a stand-up comedian in ruins, Tilly has just moved back to the Idaho hometown she was desperate to leave, with her twin daughters in tow.
But Tilly gets more than she bargained for after a night out with her new pole-dancing pals. She wakes to a raging hangover, no memory of the evening before, and a dead body in the trunk of her car.
Who was the dead man? And more importantly, who killed him? Tilly has no alibi and needs answers. But investigating a murder is complicated, especially with an old frenemy circling, childcare plans falling through, and pole-dancing classes to attend. And don’t even mention the sexy ATF agent who she’s trying (and failing) to keep at arm’s length.
As Tilly races to solve the mystery before the police come knocking, she finds herself implicated in a larger plot that includes political subterfuge and arms dealing. But who knows—maybe busting a criminal enterprise will be just the shake-up she needs.
Balancing both heart and hilarity, and with a witty take on the struggles of modern motherhood, Last Night Was Killer is a charming introduction to the most unlikely—and likable—of sleuths.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This so-so whodunit from Lowry (The Roxy Letters) centers on Tilly Turner, a single mom of twins and aspiring comedian who tries to solve a murder she may or may not have committed. After 25 years in Los Angeles, Tilly is on the cusp of success as the opening act for popular stand-up Mickey Larynx, but her dreams of stardom are dashed when Mickey is caught masturbating in a hotel hot tub. Overnight, he becomes a pariah, and Tilly is unjustly labelled an enabler. When work offers evaporate, Tilly and her daughters move to her late mother's home in Boise, Idaho, where Tilly takes a restaurant job and tries to fit in. A well-meaning neighbor signs Tilly up for pole dancing classes. It's fun at first, until a drunken night out with her fellow students culminates with Tilly finding the corpse of a man in her trunk. Tilly can't identify the body, but her scrapbooking scissors are sticking out of his back, so she tries to figure out who killed him and why before the police get involved. Watching Tilly juggle the investigation with the difficulties of childcare is fun for a while, but the ending feels like a cop-out. Still, diehard cozy fans will find this just cute enough.