Joy Moody Is Out of Time

By Kerryn Mayne

Book Overview

From the author of the beloved novel Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder comes another quirky and irresistible crime novel

Strange things are happening behind the bright pink facade of Bayside's premier laundromat, Joyful Suds, home to Joy Moody and her twin daughters.

For much of their lives, Joy has been lying to Cassie and Andie. What started as a colorful tale to explain how the twins came to live with her grew over the years and was always something she meant to set straight. Joy really did think she had more time. Worse still, Joy is struggling to define the truth from the lies.

The girls have long believed they are vital to the future and must stay hidden to stay safe. Joy has told them that their impending twenty-first birthday is significant; they will step into their roles as leaders of a revolution and life as they know it will change. Joy was right - everything will change, just not in the way they expected. On Andie and Cassie's birthday, Joy Moody is found dead and her girls face a world they are not prepared for without their mother. Joy Moody is out of time... in more ways than one.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1250340500
• ISBN13: 9781250340504
• Release Date: August 2025
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.19 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.6" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

A complicated story of a mother's love

Kerryn Mane writes lovely stories about complicated characters that despite their flaws, you can't help liking. And boy is Joy complicated! She is full of secrets, actions with long term consequences, love for her twins, and unfortunately a brain tumor to cut it all short. I am not sure how realistic it would be to keep Andie and Cassie completely offline while still living in a town, but I went with it because they story they had been told by Joy about being from the future with a destiny of returning there when they turn 21 to lead a revolution was fascinating. The love those girls had for Joy was also touching, even as they got older and had more questions about the truth of where they came from. Jumping back and forth in time, mostly starting with Joy's death, but going back to how the twins came into her care (with a heartbreaking decision that shaped their lives) and also the fallout of living without Joy and her story. There are ups and downs, finding out who really cares for Joy and Andie and Cassie, and who just wants to be with them for fame (because of course it would make the news about twins who think they come from the future) or their inheritance. And there is the added interesting feature that a laundromat is where most of it takes place. I enjoyed this story and while it is not quite as great as Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder, I am still happy I got to read this and enter the intriguing world that Kerryn Mayne has created in this novel.