Genre:

Mystery, Romance


Pages:

273


Rating:

4 out 5

New York City, 1924

Determined to pursue her dream of becoming a crime reporter, heiress Trixie Frank believes she’s off to a running start when she lands a job at the most successful tabloid in Manhattan. Unfortunately, her high hopes fade fast when she’s assigned to the rewrite desk.

Sean Costigan is a demoted homicide detective on the commissioner’s blacklist. The last thing he needs complicating his life is a perky debutante with delusions of becoming the next great American journalist. Too bad she happens to hold one of the keys to solving his latest case, the Central Park murder of a notorious gangster. The other key?

Sean’s childhood sweetheart, the victim’s widow, who has gone missing.

Sean soon has more trouble with dames than any good man deserves. But that’s the least of his worries. When he suspects deadly corruption within his own department, it’s not just his and Trixie’s careers that depend on finding the killer. It’s their lives.

It Had to Be You, a finalist for the 2014 NJRW Golden Leaf Award

“This book offers the perfect elements for a 1920s whodunit, starting with the murder of a bootlegger and suspects that include a Ziegfeld girl, a sexy widow, gangsters and cops. Enter an eager reporter who’s an heiress and a lone wolf cop from Hell’s Kitchen. What we get is a murder mystery that surprised me in the end and a fun new romance brewing between opposites that attract.”

“Ms. Royer weaves in all walks of life from the era. A Zeigfeld girl, a beautiful widow from Sean’s old neighborhood, a stuffy, overbearing butler, a street urchin, and a slew of cops and gangsters. A fun trip through a wonderful time period. Well done!”

“I loved this story. It’s like Nancy Drew in the twenties. Only instead of depending on her daddy’s money, this girl fends for herself as a fledgling reporter.”

Above reviews from Amazon

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I felt that the book started off a little slower than I preferred, but once it picked up, I really enjoyed it.

The setting was in 1924 and short of the language, you couldn’t really discern the era difference (unless you count that they can’t call on a cell phone frustrating as I did at times! LOL)

They mystery unfolds with a murder with only one eyewitness.

There are several suspects in the murder, but you are definitely left trying to figure out who did what. In time, we easily learn who one of the two murderers is, but the second murderer is left unknown.

I was able to figure out the second murderer before it shared it, but there was more to it than just that and I have to say, I was slightly surprised.

It definitely wasn’t as predictable as I originally thought it would be and I liked that.

On top of the mystery, there were a lot of secrets to figure out and piece into the puzzle, along with a fizzling romance and a sizzling romance.

I adored Trixie. She is my type of stubborn ‘dame’ and Sean… well, Sean would have been my pick too!

This really is a fun, 1920’s mystery. It doesn’t have a lot of the anxiety ridden suspense that some mysteries do (every once in a while, my anxiety appreciates the break) and I would say the violence is quite minimal and not at all graphic.

If you enjoy puzzling mysteries with a little romance on the side, you are sure to enjoy this read. (I am not sure I would recommend it to the male population as I felt a lot was feminine based, but you never know! I didn’t feel that anything about the book was ‘girly’ per se, just more of a feminine view point.)

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About the Author

Delynn Royer is the older, smarter, funnier, more ornery alter ego of author Donna Grove, who, as a young mother, published several lighthearted historical romances. The first, A TOUCH OF CAMELOT, won a Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award. Soon after that, Delynn set aside her pen to concentrate on her day job and raising her two sons.

Motherhood never ends, but kids eventually fly the nest. Delynn has returned to her first love, writing. She has updated editions of her backlist to be available as ebooks and is working on new titles that she hopes will entertain and lighten readers’ hearts.

IT HAD TO BE YOU is Delynn’s latest ebook release, the start of a new romantic mystery series set in 1920’s Manhattan, from Carina press. The second, Goodbye, Tootsie, is due out this Summer.

Aside from delving into the historical research that inspires her novels, Delynn enjoys classic movies, reading, travel and yoga. She lives with her husband in Pennsylvania.

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, all the opinions above are 100% my own.

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