The Good Byline

A Riley Ellison Mystery

By: Jill Orr

Narrated by: Sarah Naughton

Meet Riley Ellison, a smart, quirky, young library assistant who's become known in her hometown of Tuttle Corner, Virginia, as Riley Bless-Her-Heart. Ever since her beloved granddaddy died and her longtime boyfriend broke up with her, Riley has been withdrawing from life. In an effort to rejoin the living, she signs up for an online dating service and tries to reconnect with her childhood best friend, Jordan James, a reporter at the Tuttle Times. But when she learns that Jordan committed suicide, Riley is shaken to the core.

Riley agrees to write Jordan's obituary as a way to learn more about why a young woman with so much to live for would suddenly opt out. Jordan's co-worker, a paranoid reporter with a penchant for conspiracy theories, convinces Riley that Jordan's death was no suicide. He leads her down a dangerous path toward organized crime, secret lovers, and suspicious taco trucks.

Riley's serpentine hunt for the truth eventually intersects with her emerging love life, and she makes a discovery that puts everything Riley holds dear - her job, the people she loves, and even her life - in danger. Will writing this obituary be the death of her?

©2017 Jill Orr (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

Entertaining light mystery

Riley Ellison and Jordan James used to be best friends. They even had a column in their high school newspaper, writing "obituaries" of over used phrases, unwise fashion trends, etc., inspired by Riley's grandfather, a famous obituary writer.

Then life moved on. They graduated. Their friendship broke up over a guy, Ryan, who became Riley's long-term boyfriend and whom she expected to marry. Riley is 24, and works in the local library as a library assistant. Jordan is a reporter at the local newspaper, the Tuttle Times.

Then Riley's grandfather commits suicide. Ryan breaks up with her and goes to Colorado, where he has a new girlfriend. The residents of Tuttle Corner feel affection for her, but also pity. She decides to rejoin life. She signs up for an online dating service, and tries to reconnect with Jordan. And thus she discovers that Jordan has just committed suicide. Except the suicide note doesn't sound anything like Jordan. It's not long before Riley, who never accepted that her grandfather really committed suicide, is investigating Jordan's unlikely suicide.

What follows is a strange adventure for her. Ryan is back in town. She meets an interesting guy, AJ, through the dating service, even though their first date is a disaster. An investigative reporter at the Tuttle Times has his own questions about Jordan's death, and he and Riley team up--even though the reporter, Will Holman, is a very odd character himself.

It turns out there's an awful lot going on in Tuttle Corner that Riley never suspected. Taco trucks aren't just selling tacos. Something is odd in the police department, and Jordan may have been looking into it. Someone is threatening the head librarian, trying to force him to accept bookmobile trucks that will be fully paid for by the donor, who is willing to be quite violent about it. AJ's background is murkier than he lets on, and he might be connected to the events leading to Jordan's death.

There's a lot here that seems unlikely, but Riley and her friends are likable, and the story is fun and lively. Dog note: There is a dog, and no, the dog does not die.

Not much substance, but it's fun.

I bought this audiobook.

Love the Title

Fun fun fun. Well written and full of humor and delight. Looking forward to the next one. The narrator is also very good.

The Good Byline

Kept me guessing death or suicde!! Also all the intrigue around who all was involved! Then there was the romance & were they all players or was any of it real.

Great storyline!

Looking forward to reading more of this authors work. Jill Orr wrote a great storyline and never gave away the ending…until the ending.

Fun read

Light Amusing mystery. If you’re someone who is annoyed by unrealistic plots or by figuring out who the bad guys are long before the protagonist does, then this one probably isn’t for you. But if you’re thrilled to find a mystery with likable quirky characters that doesn’t make your brain rot just from reading the title, then you might find this as refreshing as I did.

amazing find

perfect amount of adventure romance and sarcasm. would totally recommend this book for an easy after work read.

This book came alive

This book was a good little story with a fabulous narrator! Sarah Naughton really made all the characters come alive for me, and I was very wrapped up in Riley's life

Meh

I lost interest in this book after Chapter 16. Riley's actions and character just didn't appeal to me. The plot is okay, but, I just lost interest.

Meh...

I lost interest in this book after Chapter 16. Riley's actions and character just didn't appeal to me. The plot was OK but I just lost interest.