The Game Is Afoot
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- USD 9.99
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- USD 9.99
Publisher Description
ONE OF THE WASHINGTON POST'S 10 BEST MYSTERY NOVELS OF 2025
A clever and hilarious new mystery about a mother who thinks she has to do it all—even solve a murder—from the author of It's Elementary
After rage quitting her job, Mavis finally has time to get all the rest she’s been putting off. Or she should have the time. Hypothetically. Except she’s taken on a new role: Supermom. Her hours are filled with chauffeuring her daughter, Pearl, around to her extracurricular activities, somehow ending up class mom, and…investigating another mystery?
When Coach Cole, the director of the kids’ soccer program, drops dead on a sunny Saturday morning, no one suspects foul play. However, the police soon discover something suspicious left on the field, making it clear that someone had it in for the coach. But who? Sure, parents got mad when he made their precious star athletes sit on the bench, but not that mad.
Mavis is determined to find out, even if it takes her into the dark, dangerous underbelly of gentle parents and MLM girlbosses. Plus, it’s an easy distraction from everything else going on. Like the panic attacks she keeps brushing off. Or the fact that she’s unemployed and totally lost as to what her purpose and path in life should be. And then there’s her ex-husband who’s back in town and doing everything she’s ever wanted, just as she’s beginning a new relationship. Mavis knows a murder investigation probably isn’t the self-care she needs right now. But how exactly are you supposed to take care of yourself when you don’t even know who you are anymore?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Bryant's exuberant sequel to It's Elementary, divorced mom Mavis Miller throws herself into an investigation of multilevel marketing schemes. After quitting her job at a teen mentoring nonprofit when her annual review comes without a raise, Mavis flings herself into the joys of being a full-time mom. Before she knows it, her calendar is full again: she's running her second grader, Pearl, to a host of after-school activities, managing a PTA turf war at Knoll Elementary, and spending time with her new boyfriend, school therapist Jack Cohen. As if that weren't enough, Pearl's soccer coach drops dead during a Saturday morning game, and the autopsy reveals he was poisoned. When police set their sights on Mavis's ex-husband, Corey, who helped prepare the game's snack table, Mavis decides to uncover the real culprit. Her most promising lead prompts her to take a close look at the "wellness" products being hawked by Knoll moms looking to learn a little extra cash. Mavis's witty, freewheeling narration is filled with barbs (she notes that the duties of a "team mom" include "sending out surveys about team colors and then choosing what she wanted all along (aquamarine)"), and Bryant stuffs the plot with keen observations about contemporary parenting and school politics. This is a breezy good time.
