"Pomona Afton is the heroine you don’t want to like and end up loving! Other characters might make lemonade out of their lemons, but Pom crafts a single-batch, artisanal lemon drop martini. She’s smart, resourceful, and unstoppable—and she’s going to be one of the most unforgettable heroines of 2025."
Description
“Enormously fun, witty, and warm, Pomona Afton is the heiress-turned-underdog that you’ll definitely be rooting for.”—Kristin Perrin, nationally bestselling author of How to Solve Your own Murder
A spoiled heiress must investigate her grandmother’s death in order to gain back her trust fund, all while discovering how to be her own person and maybe even in falling in love in this rom-com meets murder mystery.
When Pomona Afton, Upper East Side hotel heiress, stumbles out of a gala and upon the scene of her grandmother’s murder, her first thought is that the society queen won’t be missed for her kind, cookie-baking ways. In fact, she was mean, greedy, and paranoid—so paranoid that she secretly slipped a clause into her will mandating that, should she die an unnatural death, all the family assets get frozen. And if the “unnatural death” isn’t explained? Those accounts stay frozen.
Practically overnight, Pomona is locked out of her penthouse with no other option than to move in with a roommate: Gabe, the irritable (yet handsome) son of her former nanny. Not only is his apartment cramped, but it doesn’t even have a doorman. Or a chef! Pom needs someone to solve this murder, like, yesterday, so she can get her trust fund back.
And Gabe? He needs this murder solved because that’s the only way his mother, who toiled for the Afton family for years, will ever get the retirement money she deserves. As Pom’s family clams up, blocking the police at every turn, Pom quickly realizes that if she wants her glamorous life back, she’s going to have to put on her big-girl Manolos and do it herself…with the help of Gabe, who she’s falling for more and more by the day.
Can Pomona Afton (who previously couldn’t solve a crossword in the bath on a hungover Sunday) actually solve this murder? And if she does return to her former life of luxury, will it be worth the possibility of losing Gabe?
Reviews
"Enormously fun, witty, and warm, Pomona Afton is the heiress-turned-underdog that you’ll definitely be rooting for on her journey into amateur sleuthing. I came for the New York vibes, stayed for the satisfying twists and turns, and loved the crackle on the page between Pomona and her accidental roommate Gabe. If you’re looking for a murder mystery that feels fresh and fashionable, look no further."
"Spoiled hotel heiress Pomona Afton joins the ranks of Katherine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story, Blair Waldorf in Gossip Girl, and Paris Hilton in real life in this droll and sophisticated mystery. . . . Pomona Afton can definitely, absolutely, and confidently solve her grandmother's murder. It's a pleasure to watch her do it.”
"Readers who love a great transformation story, ridiculously charming characters, and the chance to have a little chuckle while they’re rooting for all the right things to happen will find satisfaction on every page. . . . Rose (aka Amanda Elliot) has written a romp that will appeal to fans of Elle Cosimano, Sophie Kinsella, and Meg Cabot."