September Featured Cozy Mystery

The Deep End

Book One in the Country Club Murders Series

The Deep End

Julie Mulhern
Country Club Murders Series
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The Deep End is the first book in the award-winning Country Club Murders Series by Julie Mulhern. This witty historical cozy mystery shows readers the mid-1970's Kansas City country club scene through the eyes of spirited socialite Ellison Prentice Walford Russell.

Ellison's life revolves around her burgeoning career as a painter and her teenage daughter, Grace. Her marriage to Henry, a banker with a penchant for infidelity, has long been strained and held together only for Grace's sake. The marriage gets even rockier when Ellison visits the country club pool for her morning routine and swims straight into the lifeless body of her husband's mistress. By mid-morning, Ellison is a murder suspect, Henry is officially missing, and the country club gossip circuit is buzzing.

As she grapples with the fallout (and her domineering mother), Ellison must confront uncomfortable truths about her husband, navigate the social complexities of the country club set, and find some way to stop the bodies from piling up.

Reasons to Read The Deep End

The Deep End is a genre-blending novel that masterfully blends cozy mystery and women's fiction with 1970s nostalgia. The result is a humorous, engaging whodunit with a unique heroine who grows and evolves throughout the course of the story.

Ellison is smart, snarky, and endearing all at once. She becomes an amateur sleuth by necessity, but has an undeniable knack for it thanks to her determination and her painter's eye for detail. It's impossible not to root for her, whether she's trying to solve a mystery or dealing with societal expectations.

The supporting characters in The Deep End are a treat as well. Ellison's well-meaning friends, the men vying for her attention, the country club frenemies, and her meddling mother are all uniquely quirky and really help to create a delightful social web that enriches the story. The 1970's backdrop is also fun and brilliantly dotted with familiar cultural touchstones and references to things like Watergate, Halston gowns, muumuuu dresses, fondue, and retro diet sodas (mmm, TaB!).

The mystery itself is outstanding. Author Julie Mulhern presents a classic "fair play" mystery in the traditional style of Agatha Christie. The plot is loaded with clever clues that invite readers to piece together the puzzle along with Ellison, but the reasonable red herrings and twists make it very challenging to confidently identify a culprit.

The Deep End is available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats. The print length is 276 pages. The audiobook is 9 hours long and read by actor and award-winning narrator Callie Beaulieu.

What Readers Say About The Deep End

The Deep End has earned a lot of praise from both readers and critics. It has thousands of five-star reviews on Amazon alone. Here are just a few of the glowing reviews from readers:

“The Deep End is an enjoyable, frequently amusing mystery with a mixture of off-beat characters that create twists and turns...A fine start to this mystery series, one that is highly recommended. ”

— Mysterious Reviews

“This is not your average cozy. It’s fun and sexy with twists you will not see coming.”

— Darynda Jones, NYT bestselling author

“If you ever wanted a retake of 1974, The Deep End by Julie Mulhern is the book to read. This elite Kansas City country club setting was so dead on it gave me flashbacks.”

— Barnes and Noble Review

“Julie Mulhern can turn a phrase that makes me laugh and cry both at once. Her writing is superb!”

— BookBub Review

“I lost sleep over this book, but for the right reasons - I couldn’t bear to put it down!”

— Amazon Review

“I like cozy mysteries, and this is by far, one of the best in this genre. It contains some taboo topics, but I think it’s written in such a way that it brings little to no offense to an average audience.”

— Goodreads Review

“Ms. Mulhern expertly captures the 70s in this riveting mystery, and the narration by Callie Beaulieu (Audible version) is perfection! It kept me guessing until the very end! A+++”

— Audible Review

The Deep End Reading Kit

If you're reading this book for a book club or if you just want to keep the fun going after the last page, check out this free Reading Kit for The Deep End. It contains reader questions, book club activities, a book-inspired recipe, a coloring page, word games, and other fun items to take you beyond the book.

Country Club Murders Books 1-10

Country Club Murders Books 11-20

Country Club Murder Mystery Books in Order

There are currently 20 novels and four shorts/novellas in the Country Club Murders Mystery Series by Julie Mulhern:

The Deep End (Book 1)
Only the Good Die Young (Book 1.5)
Guaranteed to Bleed (Book 2)
Clouds in My Coffee (Book 3)
Send in the Clowns (Book 4)
Watching the Detectives (Book 5)
Cold as Ice (Book 6)
Diamond Girl (Book 6.5)
Shadow Dancing (Book 7)
Back Stabbers (Book 8)
Telephone Line (Book 9)
Stayin' Alive (Book 10)
Killer Queen (Book 11)
Night Moves (Book 12)
Lyin' Eyes (Book 13)
Evil Woman (Book 14)
Big Shot (Book 15)
Fire and Rain (Book 16)
Killing Me Softly (Book 17)
Back in Black (Book 18)
Somewhere in the Night (Book 18.5)
Tight Rope (Book 19)
Bad Blood (Book 20)
Rich Girl (Book 20.5)

Interview with Julie Mulhern

Read this Cozy Crime Reads interview with mystery author Julie Mulhern to learn more about her and her books. You'll learn why she chose to write cozy mysteries and discover how she created the characters and settings in the Country Club Murders Mystery Series.

Julie Mulhern Mystery Bookshelf

Use the arrows on either side of the images below to see all of the books in the Country Club Murders Mystery Series by Julie Mulhern. Click on the book image to see a book description, reviews, and samples on Amazon.