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There are currently 31 member reviews
for The World's Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant
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Borderlass, Belmont, MA
A Cozy Mystery with Series Potential
Styled as a fun, cozy romp with two quirky female main characters, this meticulously constructed murder mystery should find a ready audience of eager readers. I would merely caution this young author to find editors or a horticultural expert that would never allow spring daffodils to be written into a Vermont garden scene alongside zinnias in late July.
That detail set my teeth on edge and would do so to anyone with the slightest gardening knowledge. Decades ago, famed novelist Eudora Welty thought this sort of error all too avoidable in the fiction writing of her day, and I stand with her on this point as applies here. I suspect a floral designer's input might be of use in a later scene as well. This book otherwise would have been rated a full five stars.
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Karen R. (Columbus, OH)
Great start to a new series
4.5 I love strong female characters. This book has two strong female leads. I enjoyed getting to know both the main PI, Merritt and her "just OK" assistant, Blunt. It was also an interesting mystery. I am hoping for more books in this series. Highly recommend.
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Sandi W
Who did-in who?
3 stars Thank you to BookBrowse and Berkley for allowing me to read this ARC. Publishes July 2025
Many murders in this book - all done by different people. But who did-in who? And why?
Although I really don't care for books that have a lot of characters, this book did really well introducing them so that I didn't notice them mounting up. There must have been close to 20 throughout the story, but I didn't realize that while reading it.
Although this book was long - 400 pages - it didn't seem to bog down at any point, there wasn't a time when I did not want to pick it back up and read more. There were a few twists and turns throughout the novel that I was not expecting, which added to the enjoyment. A few unlikable characters added meat to the plot and the detectives unwillingness to mollify her critique of her assistant kept the girl on her toes.
This was a first read of this author and although I really think this will end up being a series, I would like to read something else by Tully. Something besides a cozy. Which is very possible since Tully is a pseudonym for Elisabeth Brink, who writes dark thrillers under the name Elisabeth Elo, as well as literary fiction under the name Elisabeth Panttaja Brink.
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Jennie W. (Denver, CO)
Enjoyable
This book was well-written, though I found the pacing a bit slow, especially in the first half. However, the story picked up toward the end, making it more engaging. I did enjoy the development of the relationship between Merritt and Blunt, which added depth and charm to the story. Despite the slow start it was an enjoyable read overall.
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Molly (Oklahoma)
"World's Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant" Is Just Okay
Liza Tully's "The World's Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant" is an easy summer murder mystery read. The book starts off with insecure, twenty-something-year-old Olivia Blunt ("Ollie") fretting over whether or not to marry her long-time boyfriend. The opportunity to work with stereotypically seasoned, stoic, and polished female detective Aubrey Merritt distracts Ollie from wedding woes and takes her onto an increasingly complex and twisty adventure. The plot is well established and keeps the reader second-guessing who could be behind the trail of bodies. In the end, the story was entertaining, but the lengthy conversations spurred me to want to get to the conclusion.
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Elizabeth D. (Apple Valley, MN)
The Assistant is Just Okay after all
I was so excited to read this book - the title and description really grabbed me - so I was thrilled when I received word I was chosen for an ARC. Thank you, BookBrowse and Berkley for the early copy! When I received the ARC, I my excitement continued, with chapter titles like "An Intriguing Woman with a lot to Offer", "Robbery!", and "The Second Best Son". I'm afraid the book may have suffered a bit from my high expectations.
First, the good. I think the side characters are well-described; I finished the book a couple of weeks ago and I still think about a few of the supporting characters. A couple of them may verge a bit on the cartoonish, but I don't think the line was crossed. It is a big cast of characters, but they're all drawn distinctly and I felt like I could picture them well or that I knew people like them in my own life.
The setting worked well for me - a sprawling resort - as it had elements of a locked room mystery, but didn't go so far as sticking everyone on an island, which seems to be the thing these days. It just felt like a fresh setting to me.
I think the mystery itself works well. I did work it out in advance, but not terribly far in advance. There were a number of different storylines that supported alternate suspects.
Now for the bad. I really disliked the World's Greatest Detective. She is very condescending to her Just Okay Assistant and berates her and her choices with some regularity. I typically enjoy prickly characters, but I think they need to have some positive traits to balance out their personalities in order to find them appealing as a character, and here I just didn't. The detective never shared information with her assistant, treated her like… an assistant (ha! But rudely). I'm still wondering why she wanted her assistant, and others, I suppose, to call her by her last name, Merritt. I just feel like we never learn anything about her or her backstory, so there's nothing to grab onto as a redeeming quality.
As for the main character herself, she's more likable. I did find her leaps from investigation to theories to be pat and conclusory. I can't entirely put my finger on what bothered me about the way she framed her theories, other than to say I felt like she seemed to come up with them fully formed without much explanation about how she got there. Another nit - and it is a nit - is there is a tiny side storyline with her boyfriend's wish for her to contact his mother about something. It's mentioned numerous times, and nothing is ever really made of it - there could have been more self-reflection or more universal points made using this as a springboard, but there really weren't, and I just saw that as a lost opportunity.
Finally I just felt like the writing style wasn't for me. I felt like it was a bit stilted - I just felt very aware I was reading. The flow did improve noticeably later in the book, in my opinion.
I think people who enjoy mysteries with sunshine/grumpy pairings would like this book. I also think people who enjoy the mystery element of a book and are less invested in "befriending" the detective will enjoy it. The mystery is more for fans of the cozy genre or who like books like The Maid or Richard Osman's series rather than hard core detective series. The closest comp I think of is Stephen Spotswood's Pentecost and Parker series, which also features a brilliant detective and her assistant, and is narrated by her assistant.
Thank you again to BookBrowse and Berkley for the Advance Reading Copy!
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Diane G. (Tewksbury, MA)
I Hoped for More
In this light, private investigator mystery, Aubrey Merritt is looking for an assistant and Olivia Blunt believes it to be her dream job.
I found the title of this book appealing and hoped to be entertained by watching a novice learn from her mentor. What Blunt learns from her mentor, the world's greatest detective, is that she has a lot to learn and Merritt is an exacting teacher. Intuitive and scattered, Blunt is the polar opposite of Merritt's buttoned up observer.
Those characterizations are to be expected with this type of plot. The whimsical title led me to believe I'd see some funny screw-ups, a bit of laughter, and mutual character growth. What I found was a 25 year-old excited for her first PI job whose efforts are continually diminished by her mentor. Blunt was endlessly plucky and I could only imagine why as the 60-something Merritt criticized more than taught. Who hurt you Merritt?
Overall, the book was enjoyable and I did want to know the outcome. There were plenty of suspects and an enjoyable Vermont setting. I'm not giving anything away to note that the resolution surprised me. I liked Blunt's character and the subplot of her future marriage, but could not warm to Merritt's character even with a few tantalizing peeks into her past when she and Blunt meet for the interview. I wished for more character development for both leads and would love to see them both learn from each other if this becomes a series.
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