Can't wait for the next one!!! ( )

Sixteen-year-old Emmy loves romance novels, so much, in fact, that she has been attempting to write her own. However, while working on her latest attempt at Starbucks, she is accosted by an old man with cryptic but dire warnings about danger, not only to her but to her father as well, a man who deserted her mother when she was pregnant. And if that isn’t bad enough, when she tries to leave, he tackles her to the ground and then dies on top of her. Before he does, however, he hides an expensive tablet in her pocket. Suddenly, Emmy finds herself the star of her own romance mystery and it really isn’t as much fun as writing one.

Dial Em for Murder is a YA romance mystery novel by author Marni Bates. There’s some action as well as, of course, romance although mainly in Emmy’s musings about the boy she is crushing on, but, although the murderer is eventually unmasked, in many ways, this book seems more a set-up for future novels than a standalone. We are introduced to a group of rather stock characters including her hacker female BFF, her male BFF/crush, the mysterious wealthy bad boy/possible ally, the seemingly ubiquitous mean girl, the big tough bodyguard/chauffer, etc. The mysteries behind the death of the old man (assuming he is actually dead) as well as who is after Emmy and who her dad really is are all solved in this book. However, we don’t learn who is behind it or why, only that whoever it is won’t stop until he gets what he wants and the murderer identified here is only the first of possibly many would-be assassins.

Overall, I found Dial Em for Murder a fun fast read. If the characters are somewhat clichéd, they are likable. And if the mystery seems often overshadowed by Emmy’s musings about whether her feelings for her crush will forever remain unrequited, there was enough action to keep the story from devolving into a simple teen romance and enough mystery to keep me turning pages. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a light but fun YA mystery. ( )