Call In For Murder: A Neon Desert Novel by Tammy Barker
About Call In For Murder
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting - Nevada
Independently Published
Publication date: October 19, 2025
Print length: 238 pages
Paperback ISBN-13: 979-8999862600
Digital ISBN-13: 979-8999862617
ASIN: B0FVMJMQ3R
Call-in radio host Ashley Compton is Las Vegas’s best friend when it comes to giving relationship tips to strangers. But when a repeat caller is found murdered after exposing her woes on the air and accepting the challenge to put up or shut up, Ashley questions if her homespun advice was the catalyst for the murder. Afraid of losing her job and destroying her reputation, Ashley heads to the seedy side of Las Vegas to snoop around. There she encounters shady dealings: lies, gambling, adultery, and potential criminal activities. When her two-timing and felonious suspects spout glib excuses to justify their behaviors, she digs deeper and is threatened, injured, and gets what she dishes out: advice she doesn’t always like. Can Ashley’s sleuthing skills catch the killer, or will she end up just another crime statistic? Can she save her career, or will she be put on the Do-Not-Call list?
About Tammy Barker
Review
Intriguing start to this Las Vegas-set cozy mystery series.
Call In For Murder is the first book in Tammy Barker’s new Neon Desert cozy mystery series featuring radio talk show host Ashley Compton, Miss LARE (love and relationship expert) to her listeners, who offers blunt, straightforward opinions on their relationship and personal communication matters. When one of her listeners is murdered soon after calling in for advice about her cheating spouse, Ashley is overcome with worry and guilt that her advice to the woman may have gotten her killed. She ignores her usually practical inclinations and decides to investigate on her own.
Main character Ashley Compton, while a strong and opinionated voice of reason on the air, is an emotionally fragile but healing soul in real life. The advice she offers call-in listeners dealing with an unfaithful partner is informed by her own personal experience. She relocated from LA to Las Vegas to leave the source of her own betrayal behind and met her new best friend, Nathan Reader, an older gay man whose connections at the local radio station helped land her the new job and alias as Ms. LARE. Nathan is a fun sidekick but a steadfast voice of reason as he tries to be supportive and keep Ashley out of major trouble.
The plot moves quickly, with the death occurring early in the book and Ashley’s cheating former fiancé unexpectedly tracking her down, with reconciliation in mind. The adversarial detective in charge of the murder investigation is as stubborn and relentless as she is, but hunky and perfect for a future love interest. I enjoyed the Las Vegas setting, with all of the mentions of landmarks and history. While the dialogue was predictable at times, there were some good misdirection and red herrings to keep readers guessing all the way to the final reveal, which established the foundation for a long-term conflict that can continue into future books in the series.
I recommend CALL IN FOR MURDER to cozy mystery fans,
especially those who enjoy a Las Vegas setting and engaging characters.
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