Cross Your Heart and Hope He Dies, by Jenny Elder Moke

 Publication Jan. 20, 2026

Although not the right book for me, I am sure there is an audience out there for this book with the fiercely independent, strong willed, overly confident Juliette Winters. As the book opens, she's riding high, having just landed the contract for a tell-all book surely destined to be a best-seller. Then, uh-oh, the author drops dead just before the big announcement and to make matters worse, someone steals the manuscript. Somehow you just knew this was going to be a bad day for Juliette when she got sea sick almost instantaneously after boarding the fancy yacht for the release announcement. From there we're off to a merry, chaotic chase. 

Juliette doesn't seem to have many friends but that's okay. She's sure she'll be able to retrieve the manuscript by herself and all will be right with the world...and allow her to keep her job with her publishing company. She even manages to become a suspect herself but I'll leave that one for readers to learn why. More importantly for the romance angle of the book, she badgers handsome, people pleaser  doctor Charlie Hawkins into helping her sort out whodunit, never mind she once labeled him Dr. Dud. She needs his medical know-how. She does have friends, of course, even though she tends to shove them aside due to her own personality. But, whoa, do they ever stop talking, even when in deadly peril? Actually, we get quite a few answers to why Juliette is like she is during this chaotic, dangerous scene, including her long lived sense of rivalry with a high school nemesis. 

And those are just a few high/low points. As noted, some of you will be enchanted by Juliette and love this, so don't let my "didn't love, didn't hate" 3.5 rounded to 4 star review color your choice too much. There is humor and lots of hijinks, not to mention family angst, plus Juliette does show some growth. Thanks #StMartin'sPress - "MinotaurBooks and #NetGalley for the early peek at Juliette's not even close to dull life. How she saved the day, her life, her job, and then the publishing company was definitely a high energy read.