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Spoilers Beyond This Point

“Her mother had never visited Elkhorn Slough. And no one had ever been murdered there. But there was a first time for everything.”

Mother-Daughter Murder Night, Nina Simon

When Jack is interviewed after notifying police about the body, the detectives heavily suggest Jack is a primary suspect. The body has been identified as Ricardo Cruz and he was registered for a kayak tour with the company Jack worked for. The tour he’d signed up for was one that Jack led, but she is adamant that he was not there. It’s clear that the male detective, Nicoletti, is trying to close the case as quickly as possible, and doesn’t really care that he’s accusing a 15-year-old girl of murder. His younger female counterpart, Ramirez, has a little more dedication to justice, but can’t override what’s happening. Over the course of the Rubicons’ investigation, Ramirez continues to help them out on the side, even when Lana is driving her insane.

Ramirez was far and away my favorite secondary character. She’s a thorough and caring detective who’s not afraid to stand up to Lana. While parts of this book began to feel a little bit like an Ocean’s Eleven hijinks extravangaza, Ramirez keep the story squarely in a mystery genre. She has moments of vulnerability, but for the most part she’s behind her protective shell, keeping the women on track.

“‘It started after Dad left, before Ma became a big shot. We’d melt cheese on bialys and watch in her bed. Mother-daughter murder night, we used to call it. It was our little ritual.’”

Mother-Daughter Murder Night, Nina Simon

As Lana and Jack become convinced that Ricardo’s murder isn’t the only suspicious thing happening in their town, they continue their efforts of convincing Beth to help them out. One of Beth’s patients, Hal, had recently passed away, and all three women go to the funeral to pay their respects and meet some of the people adjacent to their case. Lana ends up befriending Hal’s posh daughter, Diane, while Beth schmoozes his son, Martin. Lana orchestrates several meet-ups, including dates for Beth and Martin and herself with Jack’s boss, so they can get as much information as possible. It quickly becomes apparent that Hal’s death was not accidental, and was connected to Ricardo’s murder.

“Lana took a long sip of the water. ‘Did my wig make it?’ ‘I don’t think so. I have your suit, but it’s in pieces. The ICU nurses had to cut it off you because of all the glass embedded in the back.’”

Mother-Daughter Murder Night, Nina Simon

As the trio starts putting all the pieces together, Lana is determined to stop at nothing to get the final clues. She puts herself in so many ridiculous situations that she ends up escaping a burning building and ends up in the hospital. Luckily, she got photos of paperwork that send the women onto their next set of information. There are four people that would benefit from Hal and Ricardo’s deaths. Jack’s boss Paul, Ricardo’s boss Victor, and Hal’s children, Diane and Martin. Hal was a rancher and was working with Ricardo to turn his ranch into a communal farm that could be used by anyone in the community. This charitable action would result in financial losses for all four people.

“Lana nodded. It was time to dig deeper on Mr. Fruitful. If her granddaughter was working for a murderer, she’d kill him.”

Mother-Daughter Murder Night, Nina Simon

The final twist is that Ricardo had grown up on the ranch with Hal, Diane, and Martin. He was the child of a farmhand, born in tragedy, and treated like a golden child by Hal and Diane. Martin, harboring resentment and guilt, murdered Ricardo and his own father to keep his claim to the farmland. The pacing leading up to the final twist was an excellent balance of intensity and misleading information. Lana seems to know more than she’s letting on, but I truly wasn’t sure who the killer was until the reveal.

“All Beth knew was that they were together, they were safe, and they were laughing. And that was enough.”

Mother-Daughter Murder Night, Nina Simon

As a mystery, this was a perfect book. There was more than one mysterious death, lots of different characters with motive and opportunity, and enough twists to keep me completely invested. There’s always something special about stories that feature the relationship between mothers and daughters. And while this story does heavily feature murder & night as promised by the title, the mother-daughter bonds that are explored are truly what made this book a 5-star read for me. Cut to me reading the acknowledgements and tearing up (iykyk). I truly loved this book, and think it should be on your TBR list right now!