December 1, 2024
Drawing on her experience writing rom-coms like Best Served Hot (under the name Amanda Elliot), Rose now combines romance with a mystery. When heiress Pomona Afton's grandmother is murdered, the family learns that their assets are frozen until her death is explained. Locked out of her penthouse and bank account, Pomona moves in with handsome Gabe and needs to solve the murder to get her life back. Prepub Alert.
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December 16, 2024
Rose debuts with an amusing mystery that skewers the entitlement of wealthy New Yorkers. Pomona “Pom” Afton, 28, spends her days partying and jetting between international Fashion Weeks. The heiress to a luxury hotel chain, Pom possesses a fortune that—though controlled by her fierce grandma Marion—seems limitless. One evening, Pom goes to Marion’s private suite at an Afton hotel, only to find the old woman stabbed in the throat and chest. Content to let the police handle the investigation, the family eagerly awaits the reading of Marion’s will. To their horror, a clause has been added stating that, should Marion die of unnatural causes, all family assets will be frozen for at least one year, and will be unfrozen only when the murderer is caught. With no trust fund to draw on, Pom is expelled from her own suite at an Afton hotel and decides it’s incumbent on her to find her grandma’s killer—if only to secure her inheritance. She teams up with Gabe, her former nanny’s son, to do some sleuthing, and sparks soon fly. Rose’s pacing is swift, her clues are subtly placed, and Pom’s fish-out-of-water perspective provides some charming, if predictable, humor. A sequel would be welcome. Agent: Merrilee Heifetz, Writers House.
Starred review from February 1, 2025
Twenty-eight-year-old heiress Pomona Afton lives rent-free in the Afton family's flagship New York City hotel, a floor below her hands-off parents and two floors below her bullying grandmother, attending galas while her older brother Nicholas works in the family business. Avoiding responsibility is Pom's full-time occupation until she finds her grandmother's body: the matriarch has been murdered. When it's discovered her will stipulates that the family assets will be frozen if she dies under suspicious circumstances until a guilty party is found, the Afton clan goes their separate ways, hoping for a speedy solution. When Pom realizes she's on her own, her survival skills kick in. Will solving a murder be one of those talents? Readers who love a great transformation story, ridiculously charming characters, and the chance to have a little chuckle while they're rooting for all the right things to happen will find satisfaction on every page. Though some of the family dynamics are more destructive than supportive, those interactions nevertheless create positive changes, including sparking Pom's successful foray into small-batch baking. Add Pom's role as an awkward amateur sleuth with accurate insights and a budding romance, and we see that Rose (aka Amanda Elliot) has written a romp that will appeal to fans of Elle Cosimano, Sophie Kinsella, and Meg Cabot.
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March 15, 2025
Bellamy Rose, the pseudonym of romance author Amanda Elliot, serves up aSchitt's Creek-esque mystery. Pomona Afton has it all: designer scarves, galas every night, and limitless credit-card charges. As an heir to the Afton hotel empire, Pom has never had to work a day in her life. Why would she, when everything is paid for by her grandmother, the current head of Afton Hotels? Living under grandma's reign isn't always sunshine and diamonds, though; the matriarch is disliked by many and feared by most. Pomona has been avoiding her grandmother lately, and then one night while she's out partying, she misses nearly a dozen calls. When her grandmother turns up murdered the next day, Pomona is in for a rude awakening. Apparently, Grandma Afton anticipated that her not-so-friendly demeanor could cause a few hiccups, and added a clause to her will freezing all Afton assets for at least a year should she die suspiciously--and only unfreezing them if her murder is solved. Within a half hour, Pom and her family are kicked out of their hotel apartments with absolutely no real-world skills to help them. Luckily, Pom can hole up with Gabe, the son of her former nanny, until the worst is over, even if that means slumming it for a few days. As Gabe helps Pom with a painful reality adjustment, she learns that he needs the Afton money just as much she does: His mother is set to receive a large sum from the will. Together, he and Pom decide to tackle the case head on--after all, how hard can it be to solve a murder? Pom's journey never takes itself too seriously, with plenty of hijinks as readers watch a fallen heiress learn to stand by herself. Pom and Gabe's relationship is light and sweet, and Pom is a likably flawed heroine. Elliott's romance fans will recognize her flair for writing about food, and will surely look forward to more sleuthing and spice from Bellamy Rose. A breezy murder mystery meets rom-com from a skilled author.
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