Murder on Sex Island, Jo Firestone
Murder on Sex Island, Jo Firestone
List: $18.00 | Sale: $12.60
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Murder on Sex Island
A Luella van Horn Mystery

Author: Jo Firestone

Narrator: Jo Firestone

Unabridged: 5 hr 54 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/24/2025

Synopsis

A sexy reality show. A missing contestant. A one-of-a-kind detective.

"Bless Jo Firestone's quiet, mad genius . . . Hilarious and completely brilliant, [a] bloodstained love-letter to reality-dating television." —Vulture

When a cast member goes missing from the hit reality show Sex Island, producers hire detective Luella van Horn to go undercover as a contestant and solve the case. What the producers don’t know is that the enigmatic Luella van Horn is actually a woman named Marie Jones, a divorced ex–social worker from Staten Island attempting to lead a double life as a private eye. The local press couldn’t get enough of Luella . . . until she horribly bungled her last case and a murderer went free.

Unable to resist the opportunity to be a part of her favorite trashy TV show, travel to a remote island, and embark on a journey for redemption, Marie-as-Luella takes the case. But the more she learns about Sex Island’s dark underbelly, the harder it gets to make it out alive. She encounters shady producers, sleazy directors, contestants willing to do whatever it takes to win the $100,000 grand prize—and the dead body of the show’s missing fan-favorite in her bathtub.

Will she find the killer? Will she find herself? Will she find . . . love?

Find out now, on Sex Island’s most dramatic season yet.

About The Author

Jo Firestone is a comedian and television writer known for her work on After Midnight with Taylor Tomlinson, ZIWE, and Joe Pera Talks With You. Her most recent comedy special, Good Timing, received a Critics Choice nomination and is available on Peacock. She is the co-author of two card games, Punderdome: A Card Game for Pun Lovers and Fruits. Murder on Sex Island is her debut mystery.

Reviews

Goodreads review by emma on February 01, 2024

things nicolas cage and jo firestone have in common: - national treasure this is funny and if you ever have an opportunity to have jo firestone read aloud a reality tv-show based cozy mystery involving murder, jell-o, and fake teeth, i recommend you take it. even if it doesn't quite stick the landing,......more

Goodreads review by Zoë on August 02, 2025

when I found out that fake British idiot fell into a ditch and that was his 80s romcom/sitcom exit from the book i laughed so hard i choked on my water......more

Goodreads review by John on July 03, 2025

Imagine The Bachelor, Only Murders in the Building, and Scooby-Doo went on a bender, woke up on a tropical island, and tried to solve a murder. That’s roughly the energy of Murder on Sex Island—a purposely absurd, occasionally sharp, but sometimes overcooked satire that knows exactly what kind of bo......more

Goodreads review by JanB on January 23, 2026

Luella van Horn (aka Marie Jones) works as a PI, if you consider finding lost dogs a PI career. When a cast member of the reality show, Sex Island, goes missing, the producer needs to keep it quiet (ratings!), and so hires Luella to go undercover as a cast member to solve the mystery. After all, she......more

Goodreads review by Jillian on August 26, 2025

Ordinary Staten Island woman Marie Jones moonlights as glamorous detective Luella von Horn. With the help of a wig, heavy makeup and false teeth, she morphs into her alter ego. And Luella has just booked her biggest case yet. A contestant has gone missing from the set of Sex Island, reality TV’s ste......more

Quotes

“Once again the incomparable (and unhinged) Jo Firestone proves that she is damn funny.”—Ziwe

“Bless Jo Firestone’s quiet, mad genius. . . . Hilarious and completely brilliant, [a] bloodstained love-letter to reality-dating television.”—Vulture

“A humorous whodunit.”—US Weekly

“A delicious debut mystery . . . Both as sharp social satire on the illusions of so-called ‘reality TV’ and as a wickedly funny bit of entertainment on its own, Firestone’s novel is quick, smart, and silly and a great, if temporary, escape from actual reality.”—The Boston Globe

“Firestone writes comedy for TV [and] it’s hilariously obvious here. Wear protection while reading (sunscreen, I mean).”—Minneapolis Star-Tribune

“A deliciously clever murder mystery drenched in scandal, satire, and sheer fun. Murder on Sex Island is an absolute riot from start to finish. I loved it!”—Joanna Wallace, author of You’d Look Better as a Ghost

“The perfect combination of three incredibly addictive ingredients: murder, reality television, and Jo Firestone’s brilliant comedic mind. Murder on Sex Island is a fun, fast-paced mystery that’s also jam-packed with hard jokes. I laughed out loud so many times reading it. Jo is a genius and my hero—there is truly nothing she cannot do.”—Taylor Tomlinson

“Comedian Firestone’s debut is hilariously absurd and over the top, showcasing Sex Island as a nightmare fantasy world . . . Luella is a fantastic and funny narrator whose can-do attitude frequently places her in bizarre and dangerous situations. With a long list of suntanned suspects, the true identity of the killer remains a mystery right up until Luella puts the pieces together. This silly and surreal cozy mystery is truly unlike anything else.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“A hilarious cozy . . . Firestone scores major points with her outrageous premise, laugh-out-loud one-liners, and fast-paced plot. It’s a tropical blast of sun, sex, and sleuthing.”—Publishers Weekly

“A clever, broadly funny mystery . . . Fast-paced fun that will appeal to fans of Elle Cosimano’s Finlay Donovan and Jesse Q. Sutanto’s Meddelin Chan.”—Library Journal, starred review

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