Cherry Slice by Jennifer Stone, published by Duckworth Books is volume one in A Cherry PI Mystery Series.
Meet Cherry Hinton. The journalist and undercover something investigates the murderb of Kenny Thorpe. He was murdered live on camera at the reality tv-show Expose.
I will not spoiler here, only so much. I started reading the book and couldn't put it down anymore. The writing is great and the story is a nailbiting pageturner. I loved reading C's story, 4 beautiful stars.

Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Reality TV... Oh, my !

2016, Essex, Kenny Thorpe, contestant on Expose TV’s weight loss reality show Big Blubber gets murdered live on television.

2018, Cherry Hilton is an investigative reporter for the Essex Chronicle. The paper sent her undercover into The Caravan of Love, another Expose TV’s reality show, to expose the possible rigging of votes. Unfortunately, she’s uncovered, booted from the show half naked in front of cameras, humiliated, and disavowed by her paper.

Her career destroyed, along with her self esteem, she takes over her parents’ cake shop on Brentwood street. Until, one day, Kenny Thorpe’s sister enters the shop, asking her to get back to investigating, in order to prove that his brother’s murderer wasn’t the one everybody seen with their own eyes.

This is the start of the mystery. A pretty forward clue-like mystery. Six contestants sequestered in a reality show house.

But, that’s not where the originality of this book resides. See, I don’t think it takes place in our reality. It’s set in a weird parallel reality Essex in which everybody and his neighbor seem to have participated in one of Expose’s wildly outrageous, ridiculous, and hilarious reality shows. An Essex where those who failed to make it in the reality business all open shops on Brentwood street, to the dismay of the mayor. An Essex where Kelsey, Cherry’s airhead best friend, is obsessed by her social media status. Detective Constable Jacob, Cherry’s on-off love interest, is himself constantly followed by a COPS like crew.

It’s Black Mirror by way of Monty Python. I’m pretty sure there is a social commentary in this (and the book sometimes even goes meta on us, evoking The Truman Show), but I was too distracted by bouts of hysterical laughter to really get the gist of it.

The mystery is pretty straightforward, and thanks to the clues gathered by Cherry, keen readers will have figured it out way before the final confrontation. A glorious final confrontation à la Hercule Poirot: all contestants reunited in a room, while a vindicated Cherry reveals her damning conclusions. But, of course, aired live on Expose TV.

This is a light and quick read, and the weird universe created there makes for an hilarious background. What could have been a Stephanie Plum clone becomes, thanks to this, something else entirely. The characters are lovable and, for myself, can’t wait to read what Jennifer Stone has in stock for us next, as this is the first book in a welcome new series.

This is well worth the low price of admission. The mystery might be rather classic, but the setup will bring tears (of laughter) to your eyes.

Thanks to Duckworth Books, Farrago, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for this unbiased review.

When Kenny, a contestant on Big Blubber, a new reality weight-loss programme is murdered on live TV, the investigation seems pretty straight forward. After all, 3 million viewers watched him do it, didn't they?

Cherry Hinton was a reporter for the local paper and went undercover on a dating show called Caravan of Love but was caught and accused of cheating. Whilst in the clutches of another contestant, she was marched off the the show on live TV. The newspaper want nothing to do with Cherry so she has fled back to her childhood home in Brentwood where she takes over the running of her parents cake shop to lick her wounds and to forget all about Expose, the TV channel behind the reality TV shows that are so popular in Essex.

When Kenny's sister asks Cherry to look into the murder, Cherry agrees.
This is a fast moving, funny story. The characters are so believable and if you're British, you'll recognise all of the stereotypes.
If you like Stephanie Plum, you'll enjoy this book.
I really look forward to reading more of Cherry's escapades.

Written in the first-person point of view, this fun murder mystery is a very clever modern interpretation of the classic locked room/remote house traditional mystery.
Instead of a country house, the murder location is a celebrity TV game show called Big Blubbers when a contestant Kenny is found dead on the show. Kenny is a former friend of two Essex girls, Cherry and Kelsey.
Two years later, Cherry is a tabloid-style undercover journalist investigating vote-rigging on popular TV reality shows – until she is sacked and opens an unprofitable novelty cake shop next to Kelsey’s nail bar.
Then Kenny’s sister turns up and begs Cherry to find out more about Kenny’s death – she does not believe that the man sentenced for the murder is guilty – and she will pay her some of the money the TV gave her to shut her up.
Cherry reluctantly agrees. How hard can it be?
Absolutely up to the minute, fun, moving and packed with memorable and very real characters. This may not be a traditional cozy mystery, but it hit all of the cozy mystery story beats, even up to the final denouement by our sleuth – in front of the assembled suspects in front of a live TV audience.
Smart, fun and a real page turner. 5 Stars.
I look forward to reading more from Jennifer Stone.

Grat story about a woman who is a celebrity but faces a lot of problems with taht. Then she decides to become a PI and solves her first murder.

An amusing parody of the seamier and worst type of reality show. I did wonder at first if I would get get along with the book not being a fan of these type of shows and, initially didn't take to the main character Cherry and friend Kelsey who appeared to fall in the stereotype of both contestant and viewer. However, eventually Cherry realises the shallowness of it all with at times, hilarious outcomes. All set round a dodgy TV Channel, Cherry is the archetypal Essex Girl with other characters following suit. Not really my type of book but as a tongue in cheek light read this book is fine.