A chaotic, laugh out loud mystery about motherhood, memory gaps, and waking up with a dead body in your car
Release date: July 7, 2026
Publisher: William Morrow
Genre; Mystery/Thriller
Synopsis:
A suspenseful, bighearted, and laugh-out-loud story of a single mom trying to do it all—including solve a murder she may or may not have committed…
When Tilly Turner signed up for an introductory pole-dancing class, she was looking for a distraction. Reeling from her mother’s passing, and with her career as a stand-up comedian in ruins, Tilly has just moved back to the Idaho hometown she was desperate to leave, with her twin daughters in tow.
But Tilly gets more than she bargained for after a night out with her new pole-dancing pals. She wakes to a raging hangover, no memory of the evening before, and a dead body in the trunk of her car.
Who was the dead man? And more importantly, who killed him? Tilly has no alibi and needs answers. But investigating a murder is complicated, especially with an old frenemy circling, childcare plans falling through, and pole-dancing classes to attend. And don’t even mention the sexy ATF agent who she’s trying (and failing) to keep at arm’s length.
As Tilly races to solve the mystery before the police come knocking, she finds herself implicated in a larger plot that includes political subterfuge and arms dealing. But who knows—maybe busting a criminal enterprise will be just the shake-up she needs.
Balancing both heart and hilarity, and with a witty take on the struggles of modern motherhood, Last Night Was Killer is a charming introduction to the most unlikely—and likable—of sleuths.
Review:
I did not expect this book to be this funny. Not “light chuckle while reading in bed” funny. More like “why am I laughing at a woman actively unraveling a potential murder while dealing with childcare falling apart” funny.
Tilly is the kind of character who feels like she is operating just slightly outside of control at all times, which is either going to be exhausting or deeply relatable depending on your personality. For me, it landed in the second category. She reads like a real woman who is trying to hold everything together and is doing it in the most chaotic possible order. And honestly, that’s the charm here.
The setup—waking up after a pole dancing class she barely remembers with a dead body in her trunk—is outrageous in the best way. But what kept me reading wasn’t just the premise. It was Tilly’s voice. Mary Pauline Lowry leans fully into wit without losing emotional grounding, which is what keeps this from becoming pure absurdity.
There’s also something interesting happening underneath the humor. The book quietly threads in grief, motherhood fatigue, identity collapse, and the pressure of starting over when life doesn’t really give you a clean reset. Tilly’s return to her hometown feels less like a comeback and more like a slow motion collision with everything she tried to outrun.
Also yes, this is funny. But it’s also not cute. There’s a darker current running through the mystery, and once the political and arms dealing threads start tightening, you realize this isn’t just “oops I maybe committed a murder” territory. It escalates in a way that keeps the story from staying comfortably in comedic mystery land.
That said, I wouldn’t call this a traditional thriller either. It sits in this weird, very specific middle space: thriller readers will recognize the stakes, but the delivery is lighter, messier, more emotionally chaotic than procedural or high intensity suspense. Which is exactly why it works.
It feels like reading someone trying to solve a crisis while also trying to survive their own life at the same time.
This is one of those books that lives or dies on whether you connect with the voice—and I did.
It’s not a clean mystery. It’s not a traditional thriller. It’s something looser, funnier, and a little more emotionally tangled than that and somehow, that’s exactly why it works.
Perfect for Readers Who Love
- fast-paced mysteries with a strong comedic voice
- chaotic, messy heroines trying to hold life together
- thrillers with lighter, character driven delivery
- stories about burnout, reinvention, and starting over
- books where things spiral out of control in the most human way possible
Overall rating: 4/5
Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.
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