The World's Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant

By: Liza Tully

Narrated by: Emma Ladji

A brilliant Boomer detective and her ambitious Gen Z assistant try to get along in this delightful feel-good mystery.

Olivia Blunt is thrilled to be hired as assistant to the nationally renowned investigator Aubrey Merritt. She longs to become a valued contributor to the great detective’s work, but Merritt is a difficult, exacting boss, and the learning curve is steeper than she expected.

After weeks of boring computer work, Olivia is finally invited to join Merritt on an important case. On the night of her sixty-fifth birthday party, Victoria Summersworth somehow fell over her balcony railing to her death on the rocky shore of Vermont’s Lake Champlain. She was a happy woman—rich, beloved, in love, and matriarch of the preeminent Summersworth family. The police ruled her death a suicide, but Victoria’s daughter Haley thinks it was murder.

Merritt and Olivia soon discover that the Summersworth family is complicated web of lies, ambitions, and resentments. As the list of suspects grows, Olivia makes one apparent mistake after another. When she blunders into a truly dangerous situation, she realizes Merritt might be right: she might be in over her head with this whole detective thing…or she might be unravelling a mystery even bigger than the one they started with.

Critic reviews

“This novel succeeds through memorable characters at odds with each other (and sometimes themselves) across generational divides. A solidly entertaining read, especially for lovers of traditional mysteries."
—Kirkus Reviews

"A traditional mystery full of quirky characters and humorous situations... The ending may be totally surprising as Aubrey delivers quite the denouement in the tradition of Agatha Christie."
—FirstClue

"This is a classic wealthy-family whodunit centered on a funny and smart pair of women who are opposites in just about every way. Readers will love spending time with this investigatory duo."
—Library Journal

"Readers will be eager for a sequel"
—Publishers Weekly

"A well-written drama that had me immediately immersed in all aspects of this wickedly solid storyline that kept me intrigued throughout."
—Dru's Book Musing

"Wild applause for this clever and original take on Holmes and Watson--with lead characters who are iconic and relatable from page one."
—Hank Phillippi Ryan, USA Today bestselling author

"I can't stop recommending this book to my friends! Fun, funny, and with the best murder mystery I've read this year, Liza Tully's The World's Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant will both charm you and keep your brain busy trying to guess whodunnit."
—Jessica Payne, bestselling author of Never Trust the Husband and Make Me Disappear

The Voices in my Head!

I really enjoyed how Liza Tully used the two main characters as different voices. It seemed like the detective was my analytical approach to solving life's riddles, and the assistant was my emotional side. Whenever I found myself trying to solve the case while reading, one of the characters would ask the question I was thinking. It is brilliantly written and kept me on the edge of my seat (or step as I listened to it while walking). It needs to be the start of a series...please!

The storyline and characters kept me intrigued and not wanting to stop listening

This story had enjoyable characters, a catchy storyline, and was well read. Also it is quite humorous..I found myself laughing out loud in many parts of the

Great mystery

Great story, mystery surprises in the end. Interesting and good reading. Characters good. Hope they write a sequel.

fresh and fun

Great mystery! the author did a great job weaving the story while keeping things interesting and moving along. good, solid characters and the narration was good.

Good story, but could have been shorter.

Great narrator and good story. The editor should have lopped around two chapters off though.