The Usual Family Mayhem

The Usual Family Mayhem

HelenKay Dimon

Enjoyment: Quality: Characters: Plot:

Revenge is a dish best served cold—especially when it comes in the form of one of Grandma’s “special” pies. Get the best of family hijinks, girl power, and hilariously justifiable crime in the latest novel from award-winning author HelenKay Dimon. Kasey Nottingham needs a splashy idea at her company where they find and develop the next big thing for investors—her job depends on it. Impulsively, she pitches Mags’ Desserts, a beloved small-town business run by her grandma Mags and live-in “best friend” Celia, two women who overcame deadbeat husbands and financial ruin to build a word-of-mouth clientele. Kasey expects her boss to say no. Instead, he sends her home to North Carolina to land the deal…and now she has a problem. Mags and Celia aren’t interested, which isn’t a surprise, but something else is going on in their kitchen. Locked cabinets. Cryptic conversations. Unexpected notations on business records. The ladies have secrets and whatever they’re hiding is big. As reports of mysterious deaths of abusive men in the area surface—all in households that recently received a delivery from Mags’ Desserts—Kasey worries Gram and Celia have gone into the poison pie business. As investors start circling, Kasey enlists Jackson Quaid, Celia’s nephew and Kasey’s long-time crush, as her reluctant investigation assistant. Jackson is practical. Kasey has a wild imagination. Together, they dodge Kasey’s boss and gather intel. And kiss. Lots of kissing, though probably not the best idea to start an unexpected romance. Doing it while keeping two feisty ladies from going to jail for knocking off bad husbands—even if those husbands deserve it—might be impossible…but Kasey never shied away from a challenge. 

Publication Year: 2025


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  • Angelica
    Apr 28, 2025
    Enjoyment: Quality: Characters: Plot:

    The Usual Family Mayhem by HelenKay Dimon is a cozy romance with a touch of mystery with some badass grandmas and a conflict-avoidant main character. It's a fun, easy read. I couldn't put it down. 

    Kasey Nottingham needs a big idea to save her job, so she throws out a wild pitch—her grandma’s small-town bakery, Mags' Desserts. She never expects her boss to say yes, but when he does, she’s sent back to her waspy home in North Carolina to make it happen. There’s just one problem: Mags and her best friend Celia aren’t interested. Actually, scratch that—there’s a much bigger problem. Something sketchy is going on in their kitchen.

    Locked cabinets, cryptic whispers, weird financial records… and oh yeah, a string of dead abusive men in town, all of whom recently got a delivery from Mags' Desserts. Yikes. Determined to get to the bottom of things, Kasey ropes in Celia’s grumpy but gorgeous nephew, Jackson Quaid. Between dodging investors, uncovering secrets, and way too much kissing, Kasey’s got her hands full. But if her grandma really is in the poison pie business, keeping her out of jail might be the toughest challenge yet.

    There's a lot to love in The Usual Family Mayhem. There's great banter and a few laugh out loud moments. I loved the romance between Kasey and Jackson. They are delightfully flirty. What I didn't love about this story is how conflict-avoidant Kasey and her grandmother are. I wished that they would just talk to each other. 

    Overall, The Usual Family Mayhem was a fun read. Thank you to Avon Books, HelenKay DImon, and Netgalley for and Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest opinion. I honestly really enjoyed it and look forward to recommending it to friends and family this summer.

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