New novel coming June 10, 2025! Preorder now! :)
Advance Praise for Making Friends Can Be Murder
“Great characters, a twisty crime, a sweet romance -- a delightful read.” – Abbi Waxman, bestselling author of Christa Comes Out of Her Shell
“This oh-so-clever book hinges on a hilarious hook—a group of women who share the same common name, Sarah Jones, decide to meet up—but one of them may not be who she seems, and may, in fact, be a murderer. Deftly plotted, with priceless witty banter and keen insight into human nature, examining the good and bad inside us all, MAKING FRIENDS CAN BE MURDER is deliciously devious, thought provoking, and a page-turning good time.” – Colleen Oakley, bestselling author of The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise
“I'm calling it now: Kathleen West is the new queen of the cozy! How lucky we are that she has expanded her genius to another genre—and absolutely nails it with the charming, clever, and twisty MAKING FRIENDS CAN BE MURDER. Only West could make a killer lovable, and the rest of her cast is even more endearing. Never has murder been so heartwarming.” – Stephanie Wrobel, bestselling author of The Hitchcock Hotel
“Fans of the Finlay Donovan series, rejoice: your new obsession has arrived! Making Friends Can Be Murder is an irresistible mix of warmth and suspense, a light-hearted mystery with a razor-sharp edge. You’ll fall in love with this endearing and unlikely hodge podge of characters as they work to solve a murder—and try not to become the next victim.”
–Megan Collins, author of Cross My Heart and The Family Plot
“I alternately grinned and gasped my way through MAKING FRIENDS CAN BE MURDER. In this delightful pageturner, Kathleen West deftly balances charm and darkness, delivering a satisfying mystery, a love story worth rooting for, and an ode to making new friends at any age.” – Laura Hankin, author of One-Star Romance
“In MAKING FRIENDS CAN BE MURDER, Kathleen West explores the power and beauty of intergenerational friendships when a group of women with an unusually common name are faced with fraud and murder investigations. Together with an FBI agent on his first case, this cast of endearing and funny characters digs through clues while navigating loss, grief, and the difficult choices we must make when trying to do the right thing. MAKING FRIENDS CAN BE MURDER is hugely entertaining, a clever page turner that’s full of heart, and a must-read for the soul.” – Nigar Alam, author of Under the Tamarind Tree
Thirty-year-old Sarah Jones gets caught up solving a murder in her new neighborhood after unknowingly befriending a dangerous con artist (who’s nothing like what she seems) in this playful, twisty mystery from acclaimed author Kathleen West.
It feels like kismet when Sarah Jones, newly relocated to Minneapolis after abruptly calling off her engagement, gets invited to join a group of women who share her same very common name. For years Sarah has received all types of correspondence intended for different Sarah Joneses, but now it seems that this mistake has given her the opportunity for an instant community.
What starts as a low-stakes meet-up called “The Sarah Jones Project” soon turns sinister when another local Sarah Jones is found dead, under suspicious circumstances, at the base of the downtown Minneapolis bridge. After fielding numerous calls from concerned loved ones ruling out their Sarah as the victim, the surviving Sarahs decide to take matters into their own hands.
Aided by the dead woman’s nanny, a newly commissioned (and very handsome and eligible) FBI agent, and a cloistered nun with a complicated past, the motley crew of unlikely friends are determined to get to the bottom of the murder of one of their own.