Deadly Does It
by Abbi Waxman
DETAILS: Series: A Mason and Mann Mystery, #2 Publisher: Berkley Publication Date: July 21, 2026 Format: Paperback Length: 364 pg. Read Date: August 5-7, 2026
“Prison’s very dull, apart from the all-pervading fear of violence and the occasional bug in the food. Trust me, you’d hate it, not because it’s scary, but because it’s skull-crushingly boring.”
“I have no intention of going to jail.”
Julia laughed. “No one intends to go to jail, Mason, yet there they are.”
What’s Deadly Does It About?
It’s been six months or so since Mason has gone to work as an investigator/assistant to ex-actress turned activist lawyer Julia Mann. They’ve taken some cases to make money, and keep some room handy to take con cases to help people they like (and/or hurt those they don’t).
It’s the latter the comes into play when Mason’s sponsor reveals she’s been getting threatening notes, and someone seems to be following through with them—Alexa is an event planner and two of her recent events have gone spectacularly, headline-makingly bad. The threats promise to do more than just ruin her reputation soon. Julia and Mason assume it has to do with Alexa’s past—back decades ago when she was drinking, doing drugs, and some minor crimes—and was associated with people who were doing some more serious crimes. So they start looking into the past she’s tried to put behind her to uncover who’s trying to make her present unlivable.
Meanwhile, Mason’s father had a minor heart attack and she has to visit home a couple of times, connecting with her semi-estranged family. Also, Julia teams her up with a P.I.* to get some actual training rather than just fumbling around has she has been—it forces Mason to think about her future in a way that I’m not sure she’s done since she got sober, in addition to giving her some tools she needs for this case.
* The similarity between this P.I. (Teddy) and Peter Key’s mentor from Killer Vibes are pretty strong, but Teddy seems like a better guy to hang out. I’m curious if I’ll think the same after one more book featuring each.
Recovery
This book, more than One Death at a Time and similarly to the Assassins Anonymous books, is a tribute to AA and similar programs. Many things—many things near and dear to the characters—will be mocked by characters in the book—but not their sobriety and recovery. Characters will talk about getting to a meeting, their need for one, talks with their sponsor, etc.—and the investigation will stop for them to do so.
There’s even a clear need and justification to investigate people at a certain meeting, and discussion about it is shutdown by Julia so quickly it’ll make your head spin. She might get pushed to it by circumstances, she makes it clear—but it’s going to take a lot for her to go there and things never got there.
Due to the nature of the investigation, almost everyone they talk to is an addict in recovery or has been avoiding it for decades. Either way, Julia and Mason can relate to them, sympathize and empathize with them. This adds a different flavor to their interviews/conversations than you get in most P.I. novels. It endeared me to them even more than I already was.
Why did I pick this up? Why did I keep reading?
Because Abbi Waxman has been an auto-read for me since 2019 and because the fist book in this series was so good that any future books in it would’ve been a reflex pick up as well.
The short version of why I kept reading it is that I have more fun with it than its predecessor. The longer version is that when it comes to heart, humor, convincing mystery, believable characters, and compelling story-telling—this book nailed it all.
What does this book tell us about humanity?
This book is about the capacity for change, and how that capacity (exercised or not) is something we all possess. It may be major changes—like working the 12 Steps—or something relatively minor—like Julia’s cook realizing she’s a cat person and starting to pamper Mason’s cat with cooking better than many people ever get.
Mason’s father has to make some changes due to his health, Mason’s sister and Mother need to acknowledge that Mason’s made some positive changes in her life (whether they do or not, I won’t say). Mason has to make some decisions about changing her life. Many of the characters in this book have made significant lifestyle changes due to substance abuse and addiction. There might even be a couple who haven’t made the changes they need to which creates the mayhem our duo takes on.
Regardless, the opportunity is there for the taking, the possibility is there.
So, what did I think about Deadly Does It?
“I think I can still write by hand, but on the few occasions I have to, it looks like a centipede has done two lines of coke, stepped in a tiny pot of ink and scrambled across the page in a hurry to get to somewhere else. Not exactly legible.”
There was a pause.
“Thanks for the colorful image, Mason,” said Julia, “no sure who would sell a centipede the minuscule amount o¢ drugs they could take, but your rich and vivid imagination will eventually come in handy, I expect.”
The interaction between Julia and Mason—and between Julia’s employees/friends/odd family—is the heart of this novel, in terms of character growth, the plot, and for entertainment. Most of the laughs come from them interacting with each other. It’s in this that the link between Waxman’s earlier novels and this series can be seen.
But the mystery and the investigative work are no slouch. As with One Death at a Time, Waxman shows she knows away around this kind of story. Yes, I was yelling at them (rightly) to pay attention to one character far earlier than they did, and I cottoned on to the motivation to the notes before they did—but it’s only because Waxman laid out the clues so clearly for the reader.
I like these characters—including the new ones and the new layers we saw in our old friends—I thought the main story was really well executed. I think Waxman could’ve done a little more with the arc about Mason’s family, but what was there was great. And the set up for future books is clear and I look forward to seeing what she does with the seeds she planted.
This would work wonderfully as a jumping-on point for the series, but it might resonate a little better with the reader if they go back to the beginning (which isn’t that far)—but either way if you’re looking for a mystery novel with dazzling characters, some genuine humor. great dialogue, and plenty to chew on, Deadly Does It fits the bill.
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