Book Review: “Riley Thorn and the Dead Guy Next Door” by Lucy Score

Apr 22

Håfa adai! Welcome to my spoiler-free review of Riley Thorn and the Dead Guy Next Door, the first book of the Riley Thorn Series by Lucy Score.

This book review consists of two parts: a brief plot summary and my thoughts of the story. There may be some lightweight spoilers—such as how characters interact with each other and the world around them—but I will not give away any major plot twists or endings. I want to share my opinion of the book and encourage you to purchase a copy of your own.

Click on the tags at the bottom of this post to see all reviews with the same tags in the Romance bookshelf.

Spoiler-Free Plot Summary

Riley Thorn’s life is not exactly where she thought it would be by now. Hitting the reset button after divorce, she is living with a group of elderly roommates when she becomes bombarded with seemingly clairvoyant hallucinations. Riley just wants to rebuild her life in peace, but her tarot-card reading mother urges her to harness and sharpen her psychic abilities. And when one of her hallucinations becomes reality, Riley finds herself at the top of a list of murder suspect when she goes to the police claiming she had a premonition of her neighbor’s murder.

Nick Santiago, former detective turned private investigator, is not a team player. But he’s willing to play well with others when those others are beautiful women like Riley. Viewing her as a damsel in distress, Nick wants to work hard to follow the clues—and perhaps humor her so-called visions—and discover who murdered the guy next door. And hopefully he can keep a certain grudge at bay, and quell his quickly growing attraction to Riley, before the killer strikes again.

My Thoughts on Riley Thorn and the Dead Guy Next Door: 2.5 stars

Lucy Score’s Riley Thorn and the Dead Guy Next Door follows in-between-jobs divorcée Riley Thorn and in-between-bed-partners private investigator Nick Santiago as they work together to solve a murder. Scenes of sex and intimacy in Riley Thorn and the Dead Guy Next Door are graphic, taking a literal and explicit approach to describing the physical act of sex. So this story would be more appropriate to readers above a certain age group and/or for those who are more comfortable with such scenes.

The Dead Guy Next Door utilizes the “enemies to lovers” trope of romance storytelling. Although I could believe that Riley and Nick would view each other as enemies, I was not convinced with their switch to lovers. Riley is recently divorced while Nick is a serial bed-hopper. Their chemistry is lacking in emotional connection so, if anything, they are definitely “in lust,” but are not believably “in love.” Given that this is the first book in the series, it is possible that their emotional chemistry will grow and become more believable in the following books.

I give Riley Thorn and the Dead Guy Next Door 2.5 out of 5 stars. The premier Riley Thorn story introduces the reader to the intersection of crime fiction, paranormal worldbuilding, and erotic romance that form the foundation of this series. Lucy Score uses witty banter and funny prose to create distinct character voices and interesting comedic relief. Ultimately, I am not a fan of the “lovable chauvinist” character type. And I was not buying into the connection between Riley and Nick. For those reasons, I do not recommend Riley Thorn and the Dead Guy Next Door.

Dångkulo' na' saina ma'åse'! Thank you so much for reading my review of Riley Thorn and the Dead Guy Next Door by Lucy Score.

Rating Cheat Sheet

4.75 - 5.00 stars: Everyone should read this book! (If you’re into that sort of thing.)
4.00 - 4.50 stars: I appreciated many aspects of this book. I recommend it!
3.00 - 3.75 stars: I liked some aspects of this book. I won’t revisit it, but someone else might really like it.
2.00 - 2.75 stars: There were some things I appreciated about this book, but I do not recommend it.
0.25 - 1.75 stars: I do not recommend this book. I did not enjoy or appreciate the experience of it.

Post Date: 3 October 2025