REVIEW: Definitely Maybe Not a Detective by Sarah Fox

Definitely Maybe Not a Detective by Sarah Fox is a rom-com mystery about fake identities, fresh starts, and accidentally catching feelings while trying to solve a murder.

Emersyn Gray is not a detective. She’s a twenty-eight-year-old trying to rebuild her life, raise her niece, and recover after her ex disappeared with her savings. Living in a seniors-only apartment complex wasn’t part of the plan, but it’s what she can afford—and right now, survival matters more than pride.

A harmless revenge scheme is supposed to help her get back what she lost. All she needs is a fake private investigator, a made-up business card, and a handsome stranger willing to play the role. Enter Wyatt. He’s charming, suspiciously helpful, and far more convincing than anyone expected.

Then the building superintendent turns up dead, the fake detective agency gets hired for a real case, and Emersyn suddenly has a lot more to manage than one bad decision. Between nosy neighbors, growing feelings, and a murder to solve, pretending becomes a lot harder to separate from real life.

A fake detective agency getting hired to solve a real murder is exactly the kind of premise that grabs you immediately—and author Sarah Fox had so much fun with it. What stood out most was how much heart sat underneath this fun premise. Emersyn’s determination to rebuild her life and protect her niece gave her story real weight, while the eccentric apartment community added warmth and personality. Watching Emersyn and Wyatt work through lies, growing trust, and very inconvenient feelings made this one easy to fly through.

Tropes
🕵️ Fake detective agency
💘 Handsome stranger
🏠 Forced proximity
❤️‍🔥 Slow-burn chemistry
🔎 Amateur sleuths

Themes
🔍 Reinvention & second chances
🏡 Found community
🫶 Trust & vulnerability
💸 Starting over
💓 Unexpected connection

DEFINITELY MAYBE NOT A DETECTIVE by Sarah Fox, feel-good mystery romance about rebuilding your life, trusting the unexpected, and finding connection in the middle of complete chaos. Perfect for readers who love cozy mystery energy, quirky communities, and romances with equal parts charm, chaos, and chemistry.

❓ QOTD: If you had to solve a mystery with a stranger, would you trust your instincts… or keep everyone at arm’s length?

Book Info:

Publication: Published: January 6, 2026 | Bantam | The Wyatt Investigations Mysteries

Emersyn Gray is definitely not a detective.

Really, she’s an unemployed twenty-eight-year-old raising her beloved niece in the only place she can afford after her ex-boyfriend ran off with her life savings: a run-down, seniors-only apartment complex that was desperate for tenants. But never fear—her wild best friend has the perfect plan to get Emersyn back on her feet and stick it to her thieving ex: scare him into returning her money by hiring a private investigator to prove he stole it. Only, there won’t be an actual detective, just a fabricated business card from Wyatt Investigations . . . and a ridiculously hot stranger, who steps in to play the part—a stranger whose name is, coincidentally, Wyatt.

Emersyn can’t help but notice the real-life Wyatt is capital H-O-T hot, even though she’s wary of his intentions. But her ex does seem flustered, and if she can get her money back and regain control of her life, maybe it’ll finally prove to her parents that she can be a responsible caregiver to her niece.

But the day after they set their plan in motion, the superintendent of Emersyn’s apartment building winds up dead, and her neighbors turn to her fake detective agency for help after finding one of the phony business cards. With so many eyes on them—or maybe just their eyes on each other—Emersyn and Wyatt agree to take on the case. Now the question is, Can they solve the murder without getting tangled up in their own fictions—or each other?