(Riley Thorn and) The Dead Guy Next Door by Lucy Score

I can't remember when I picked this up but I've seen other Lucy Score books before but they didn't really appeal to me (they were mostly romance based). While this one has a zanier plot, it reminded me a bit of Janey Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. I actually gave up reading the Plum series although I might pick it back up at the library...it was when the giraffe was running around Trenten. I just got snapped out of the series so hard. What I mean about the feeling that they could be in the same fun genre, main lady character is divorced and down on her luck, the main dude character is detective-adjacent (he's a Private Investigator), there's a close set mystery (a neighbor murdered). Score's book has the the main lady, Riley Thorn, as a reluctant psychic, which is quite different. 

Title: (Riley Thorn and) The Dead Guy Next Door 
Author: Lucy Score
Page Number: 480 pages
Genre: fiction, contemporary, mystery, romance, paranormal, humor
Publisher: Bloom Books  (Sourcebook)
​Year: 2020

A nice, normal life. Is that too much to ask? For Riley Thorn it is. Divorced. Broke. Living with a pack of elderly roommates. And those hallucinations she's diligently ignoring? Her tarot card-dealing mom is convinced they're clairvoyant visions. Just when things can't get worse, a so-hot-it-should-be-illegal private investigator shows up on her doorstep looking for one of her neighbors…who turns up murdered.

Nick Santiago doesn't play well with others. Unless the "others" are of the female persuasion. Wink. He's a rebel, a black sheep, a man who prefers a buffet of options to being stuck with the same entrée every night, if you catch his drift. When the pretty, possibly psychic Riley lands at the top of the list of suspects, Nick volunteers to find out whodunit. Only because he likes solving mysteries not because he wants to flex his heroic muscles for the damsel in distress. All they have to do is figure out who pulled the trigger, keep a by-the-book detective with a grudge at bay, and deal with a stranger claiming he was sent to help Riley hone her psychic gifts. All before the killer discovers she's a loose end that requires snipping.

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Title wise, my book doesn't begin with "Riley Score and" but I've noticed other books do. I'm assuming it's a new decision to tie the books in the series together. The next one is called Riley Thorn and the Corpse in the Closet. If you read above, it notes the book is almost 500 pages. I enjoyed my reading; I did split if up over about three days. That being said, there was some rambling and I suppose I could argue that the book could be cut by 100 pages or so and not lose any plot. 

I think the best way to go into this book is to note that the humor might be a little slapstick, perhaps some dorky-ness involved, but for me, this was fine. I think it's it not your jam this book might be a slog. Riley is our main character, she works at an office building and ignores her "gifts." This upsets her family who have leaned into their gifts (they're all kind of hippy-dippy), especially Riley's terrifying grandmother, a powerful clairvoyant. Riley's sister is named Wander and is a yoga teacher. After the murder of Riley's neighbor (of which, she foresaw and tried to warn him and the police), her grandmother sends her a guide to hone her gifts. Her guide is named Gabe and he's a massive, gentle man. Gabe joins Riley in the boarding house where she lives with a bunch of retiree's that are eccentric and unruly. 

Before the murder, Riley meets Gabe Santiago, who is trying to serve papers to her neighbor as part of a lawsuit. There is an instant attraction between the two but they're both trying to ignore it. Riley because she's recently divorced from her TV anchor ex-husband, and Nick because he's wanting to not be serious with anyone. 

After the murder, Nick is drawn back because of his attraction to Riley. The two begin to try and solve the neighbor murder because the police seem to be uninterested. The police aspect is its own subplot of course. 

One of my favorite subplots of the book is Riley's father, who has a long standing feud with his neighbor over planning permissions and other HOA level shenanigans. There's a spite cow. I will say no more. 

I really liked the book and plan to continue the series, especially since it's summer and I have many beach days in which to read by the ocean. It's nice to switch between dark mysteries and cute/quirky books while the waves hit nearby.