The World’s Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant
(Merritt & Blunt Mysteries)
Mystery/Women Sleuths
1st in Series
Setting – Vermont
Publisher : Berkley
Publication date : July 8, 2025
Print length : 400 pages
Hardcover
ISBN-10 : 0593816773
ISBN-13 : 978-0593816776
Kindle
ISBN-13 : 978-0593816783
ASIN : B0DJQD4BFR
Audiobook
ASIN B0DNLP6BPK
A brilliant Boomer detective and her ambitious Gen Z assistant try to get along in this delightful feel-good mystery.
Olivia Blunt is thrilled to be hired as assistant to the nationally renowned investigator Aubrey Merritt. She longs to become a valued contributor to the great detective’s work, but Merritt is a difficult, exacting boss, and the learning curve is steeper than she expected.
After weeks of boring computer work, Olivia is finally invited to join Merritt on an important case. On the night of her sixty-fifth birthday party, Victoria Summersworth somehow fell over her balcony railing to her death on the rocky shore of Vermont’s Lake Champlain. She was a happy woman—rich, beloved, in love, and matriarch of the preeminent Summersworth family. The police ruled her death a suicide, but Victoria’s daughter Haley thinks it was murder.
Merritt and Olivia soon discover that the Summersworth family is complicated web of lies, ambitions, and resentments. As the list of suspects grows, Olivia makes one apparent mistake after another. When she blunders into a truly dangerous situation, she realizes Merritt might be right: she might be in over her head with this whole detective thing…or she might be unravelling a mystery even bigger than the one they started with.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Nationally renowned investigator Aubrey Merritt needs a new assistant and soon hires Olivia Blunt. While a fan of the detective’s work, Olivia finds she may be out of her depth. Merritt has extremely high standards, and Olivia hopes to keep up and learn as much as she can to meet her new employer’s expectations.
Olivia’s first weeks are filled with computer work and research until Merritt needs her for a critical case involving Victoria Summersworth, widow of Warren Summersworth. His death left her as the majority stockholder of both Kingfisher Development and Wild Goose Resort. Eldest son Neil heads Kingfisher Development, while she took the leadership of the resort; however, she recently turned over the day-to-day operations to her son, Scott.
On the night of her sixty-fifth birthday party, Victoria fell to her death from her balcony to the rocky shore of Vermont’s Lake Champlain. The police have classified the death a suicide, but Victoria was in a happy place in her life; her daughter, Haley, does not believe she would take her own life. Haley has hired the “world’s greatest detective” because she believes her mother was murdered and needs to prove it. The rest of the Summersworth family just wants to move on.
Olivia gets off to a rocky start, and Merritt starts to wonder if hired the right person. Olivia begins to doubt herself as well. But then, clues start to fall into place, and both learn there is much more to the mystery than they originally thought . . .
This book gave me a Holmes-Watson feel. Merritt is a smart, well-known sleuth who has high expectations. Olivia is an enthusiastic young woman who wants to learn from the “world’s greatest detective”. She has great research skills and good instincts, but like Holmes, Merritt can be dismissive of theories and observations. At times, Olivia tries so hard to impress her boss that she makes mistakes. I enjoyed both for very different reasons. Merritt was interesting. She pushed my buttons with stern, stout behaviour. Olivia had to deal with a lot and may have doubted herself, but she did not give up.
Did Victoria take her own life? Or was it murder? The story has a huge cast of characters, but I was easily able to keep them straight. The Summersworth family is a dysfunctional family who all make great suspects. Some employees also may have wanted Victoria dead. Merritt does interview after interview with Olivia, taking notes and photographs. Olivia also does research and a little legwork of her own. There were many clues, red herrings, and twists. Then we delve into Agatha Christie territory. Merrick brings all the suspects together to explain why she eliminated each one, ending with her proclamation of the guilty party. I was delighted to know I was right, but this part was dragged out a little too long. I found myself skimming instead of being excited for the reveal.
The other thing that was wonky for me was some of the dialogues. They didn’t feel genuine, and the explicit language was completely unnecessary, although at times it was the most genuine dialogue.
The World’s Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant was an enjoyable read. A little more editing could iron out any issues I had. I want to see what is next for Merritt and Blunt. With this case complete, Olivia now knows what to expect from her boss, who admits she will not change. She also has a fiancé and a future mother-in-law, and some really fun days ahead.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.
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About the Author
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” “As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.” I am also an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.” These funds are often used for gift cards and other giveaways.
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