Michelle Blanchard Ardillo

Murder Will Out by Jennifer K. Breedlove (St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, February 17, 2026) is described by the publisher as a “lighter, modern gothic mystery,” and I think that is pretty accurate. I only recently discovered that I like a touch of magical realism mixed in with my mysteries, thanks to Evie Woods’ books, The Lost Bookshop and The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris.

Thanks to a 25th anniversary trip with my husband and one of my favorite authors, Elizabeth Strout, I am also in love with Maine. So, when offered this Kindle book, set on an island off the coast of Maine, by the publisher via NetGalley, I jumped at the chance to revisit that beautiful place.

This book had a lot going for it in terms of drawing me in. First of all the main character is named Willow, and I love that name, even if I tend to gravitate toward more traditional names. And, secondly, Willow is an organist. I studied piano briefly and also briefly attempted to learn to play the organ, so I was intrigued by that. It’s obvious that the author is a musician as she weaves into the storyline things about various organ pieces that Willow loves to play. In fact, Breedlove has quite a storied career as a musician with multiple degrees and is on the music faculty of Loyola University in Chicago. I also enjoyed the diversity of the characters.

This debut novel features a grand mansion such as those we see in Newport on The Gilded Age, except that it is allegedly haunted. Cameron House has been lovingly restored by its previous occupants, but the ancestors of those occupants linger in the halls and staircases.

While there are ghosts in this novel, they are not the main characters. Breedlove does a very good job of letting the main characters, the living breathing humans that is, really shine. If I had to offer one small criticism it is that there are a dozen or so characters and it is a bit tricky at the start to keep them all straight. The female characters that appear throughout the novel were introduced in a group and I had difficulty at times distinguishing between Mac, Catherine, Rina, and Diana. A librarian friend, a grief-stricken fiancée, and a mother-daughter team sort of became muddled to me, but I’m probably in the minority there. As I made my way through the 336-page novel, I eventually got them straight.

Murder Will Out (formerly known as More Than Blood) has a successful start as a debut novel, having already won the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel award and was a finalist for the Killer Nashville Claymore Award. I enjoyed this book and based upon Breedlove’s website, it appears that this may be book #1 of a series. I look forward to new adventures with Willow in Downeast, Maine!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, and of course, author Jennifer Breedlove for this delightful read! Best of luck with your next installment in the Little North Island Mysteries series!