An ambitious literary agent expects her biggest challenge to be managing the publishing world's most impossible client--not solving a murder with him.

Samantha Bay is one of Magnolia Literary Agency's most talented agents, and she's finally within reach of the partnership she's always wanted. But there's one condition: she has to take on a difficult series of clients and get them back on track, starting with bestselling but spiraling cartoonist Henry Withings.

Henry isn't just any client. He's the heir to one of America's most beloved newspaper comic empires--a world of sharp humor, familiar characters, and a legacy that has entertained readers for generations. He's witty, sarcastic, disheveled, and deeply resistant to being managed--especially by a polished literary agent who thinks a well-worded email and a signed contract can solve almost anything.

Samantha is determined to bring Henry in line, protect his career, and prove she deserves her place at the agency. But her carefully ordered plan collapses when a woman turns up dead on Henry's doorstep, followed by a threat from the killer. Soon Samantha and Henry are pulled into a twisty mystery across New York City, all while navigating client chaos, agency politics, comic-strip antics, and a growing attraction neither of them wants to admit.

A witty romantic comedy with a cozy mystery twist, A Likely Story blends bookish workplace humor, enemies-to-lovers tension, and lighthearted suspense into a clever, feel-good story about ambition, self-sacrifice, and the unexpected ways love can redraw the plan.

The line between love and hate is comically thin.