Review by Booklist Review
When her daughter Pearl's soccer coach dies on the field under suspicious circumstances, Mavis knows she may have another mystery to solve among the parents and teachers in their lives. Fresh from uncovering criminals at her daughter's school in It's Elementary (2024), Mavis decides to investigate who was angry enough with Coach Cole to poison him. But this busy mom has plenty of other things going on: running Pearl's birthday party, becoming surprise-appointed class mom, rage-quitting her job during a disastrous DEI workshop, discovering her elderly father's true crime podcast, and balancing her new boyfriend with overtures from her ex-husband. Among all of this, her investigations only uncover more games, from that of slippery, MLM scheming mom Bethany to the blackmail involved in the cast list of the school play. Is there no one among the parents, teachers, and coaches of the school community who can be trusted? Intrepid Mavis is a funny, smart, realistic parent and sleuth. Bryant's series is a welcome addition to the genre.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In Bryant's exuberant sequel to It's Elementary, divorced mom Mavis Miller throws herself into an investigation of multilevel marketing schemes. After quitting her job at a teen mentoring nonprofit when her annual review comes without a raise, Mavis flings herself into the joys of being a full-time mom. Before she knows it, her calendar is full again: she's running her second grader, Pearl, to a host of after-school activities, managing a PTA turf war at Knoll Elementary, and spending time with her new boyfriend, school therapist Jack Cohen. As if that weren't enough, Pearl's soccer coach drops dead during a Saturday morning game, and the autopsy reveals he was poisoned. When police set their sights on Mavis's ex-husband, Corey, who helped prepare the game's snack table, Mavis decides to uncover the real culprit. Her most promising lead prompts her to take a close look at the "wellness" products being hawked by Knoll moms looking to learn a little extra cash. Mavis's witty, freewheeling narration is filled with barbs (she notes that the duties of a "team mom" include "sending out surveys about team colors and then choosing what she wanted all along (aquamarine)"), and Bryant stuffs the plot with keen observations about contemporary parenting and school politics. This is a breezy good time. Agent: Taylor Haggerty, Root Literary. (July)
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Review by Library Journal Review
In Bryant's funny sequel to It's Elementary, 32-year-old Mavis returns to amateur sleuthing at Knoll Elementary School. She has impulsively quit her day job and doesn't know how she'll support herself. As a single mother, she feels pushed and pulled by her loved ones, her beloved daughter, her live-in father, her new boyfriend, and her ex-husband. Now Mavis has more time to be involved with her daughter's school activities and the other students' mothers, many of whom are recruiting for multilevel marketing schemes. In Mavis's gentrifying California suburb, overinvolved parents are fiercely ambitious and protective of their children and appear willing to do anything to push their children forward--but is one of them ruthless enough to murder the soccer coach? None of the school parents is who they seem, and Mavis finds herself in mortal danger when she least expects it. A fast-paced, warm portrait of a devoted mother trying her best, this novel ends on a cliffhanger, suggesting a third series installment is in the works. VERDICT A must-read for fans of It's Elementary, but newcomers will also enjoy meeting feisty Mavis.--Jan Marry
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A divorced single mother opts for sleuthing over therapy. After "getting sucked into the dark, dangerous world of the PTA and becoming an amateur detective for a few weeks," Mavis Miller--mom to almost eight-year-old Pearl--knows she should rest. And she will, just as soon as she convinces her boss to promote her. Then she'll finally have the breathing room she needs to focus on herself. Sure, she signed Pearl up for scouting, theater, and club soccer, but her ex-husband, drummer Corey, recently gave up his touring career in order to co-parent Pearl. Things might be a little awkward between Corey and Mavis' new boyfriend, Knoll Elementary school psychologist Jack Cohen, but she's choosing not to worry about that right now. When Mavis "rage-quit[s]" her job after her well-paid supervisor denies her a raise due to budget woes, she intends to use the extra time to recenter. Then someone fatally poisons Pearl's soccer coach during a game. Police question Corey, who supplied the team's snacks, prompting a panicked Mavis to repurpose her gratitude journal as a suspect list. Jack suggests she's using the investigation as an excuse to ignore what happened at work, but Corey is family--she has to protect him. If digging also serves as a distraction, "well, that's just an added bonus." Bryant at once gently lampoons momfluencers, "pushy MLM girlboss[es]," and other modern parenting stereotypes while granting those same characters agency and complexity. Mavis' witty, increasingly manic first-person-present narration lends a solid sense of stakes to the multifaceted plot's assorted mysteries, and her burgeoning love triangle injects a fizz of romantic tension. Laugh-out-loud humor shares the page with candid conversations about race and mental health. ("I know self-care is, like, athing. But it seems like it's only okay for these white ladies to rest and self-care.") This is a series with legs. Madcap suburban intrigue with a soupçon of self-help. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
