The Daphne Project
by Jacqui Lents

Amazon / B&N / BB / LT

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A fresh start, a budding romance, and a small-town mystery—Bridget Jones meets Nancy Drew.

Daphne Patterson hasn’t just hit rock bottom—she’s faceplanted. At thirty, she’s an unemployed librarian, betrayed by her fiancé, and stuck living with her overbearing mother. To say she needs a fresh start is an understatement. When she unexpectedly inherits a house from her long-lost great-aunt Florence in the quaint town of Cobb, Maine, she sees her chance. The plan? Settle the will, sell the house, and rebuild her life—far away from her family.

But Cobb has other ideas. As Daphne settles into Florence’s home, memories of the one summer they spent together resurface—books, to-do lists, and crackling vinyl records. The more she uncovers, the more she realizes how little she knew about her great-aunt, especially when a mysterious clue makes her question Florence’s supposed suicide.

Between eccentric townsfolk, unexpected discoveries, and a mystery she can’t ignore, Daphne’s plans take an unforeseen turn. With the help of new friends, plenty of coffee, and a few surprises, she just might find the belonging she’s been searching for. But if she stays lost in stories instead of writing her own, she might miss out on the real-life happy ending waiting for her in Cobb.

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

What kind of jerk keeps his high school “game bat” around in his adult apartment? He had a glorious moment when he won the regional championship at age eighteen. The egomaniac was thirty- two.

Auntie Flo’s speech tended more toward biting sarcasm, with quips like, “An apple a day keeps anyone away if you throw it hard enough.”

She pressed her lips together hard to prevent blubbering like a toddler who’d noticed their sibling had two more marshmallows in their cup of hot chocolate.

She is a terror on dating apps. I don’t know that she will ever get married. I think she enjoys torturing men too much.

My Review:

I giggle-snorted, smirked, and nodded my way through this amusing and perceptively penned tale. Having had an excessively controlling and OCD mother, the storylines resonated with me, and I fell headlong into a pleasantly entertaining vortex. The writing style was crisp, engaging, easy to follow, well-paced, and humorously parsed, while also insightful and well-detailed, conjuring delightfully amusing visuals that danced through my gray matter throughout perusal. I was stunned to notice this was the author’s only listing on Goodreads. I have added her name to the top of my list for ones to watch, as I am greedy for more of her clever arrangements of words.

About the Author

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Jacqui Lents was born and raised in her beloved Michigan, where her life has meandered more like a lazy river than a high-speed expressway. Before focusing on her writing and hosting her award-winning podcast, Jacqui Just Chatters, she was a high school social studies teacher, earning the title of Outstanding Teacher of the Year. Before being Queen of the Classroom, she dabbled in at least fifteen different jobs—some more unusual than others.

She has worked as an apartment leasing consultant, a night receptionist at her Michigan State University dorm, and even as a janitor (where she mastered the fine art of cleaning windows). Her résumé also includes a brief stint working for an American football team in Scotland—because why not?

When she’s not reinventing herself, Jacqui can be found throwing axes (responsibly), attempting to conquer her TBR pile, swimming in her loch, or spending time with her husband of over twenty years, who has yet to flee despite her ever-evolving hobbies.