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Length: 304 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0425270592
ASIN: B01839Q47C
Silk Stalkings
By Diane Vallere
A Material Witness Mystery, Book 3
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: August 2,
2016
Genre: Cozy MysteryLength: 304 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0425270592
ASIN: B01839Q47C
About the book:
Fabric shop owner
Polyester Monroe can get tangled up in textiles, but it’s murder that really
throws her for a loop in the latest mystery from the national bestselling
author of Crushed Velvet.
The time has come for San Ladrón, California’s annual Miss Tangorli beauty pageant, and Poly has agreed to use Material Girl’s inventory of shimmery silks to create embellished gowns fit for a crown. But when millionaire Harvey Halliwell—the man who revived the city’s citrus trade with his imported tangorli tree—is found dead days before the pageant contestants are announced, something sour takes over the town.
The time has come for San Ladrón, California’s annual Miss Tangorli beauty pageant, and Poly has agreed to use Material Girl’s inventory of shimmery silks to create embellished gowns fit for a crown. But when millionaire Harvey Halliwell—the man who revived the city’s citrus trade with his imported tangorli tree—is found dead days before the pageant contestants are announced, something sour takes over the town.
To make
matters worse, her friend, mechanic Charlie Brooks, is soon caught up in the
crime, having been seen in the company of the case’s prime suspect. Now Poly’s
on a mission to squeeze out the truth. But as she searches for a pattern, the
killer seems intent on cutting up the evidence…
About The Author
I’m a former
fashion buyer turned mystery writer, trading fashion accessories for
accessories to murder. I was bit by the mystery bug as a kid reading Trixie
Belden, Connie Blair, and The Three Investigators. Now I’m writing three
series: the Style
& Error Mysteries, the Mad
for Mod Mysteries, the Material
Witness Mysteries, and the new Costume
Shop Cozy Mysteries.
The Material
Witness mysteries feature Polyester Monroe, who inherits the fabric shop where
she was born. Books include SUEDE
TO REST and CRUSHED
VELVET. The third, SILK
STALKINGS, will be out in August 2016.
The Style
& Error Series features former fashion buyer turned amateur sleuth Samantha
Kidd. Books in that series include DESIGNER
DIRTY LAUNDRY; BUYER,
BEWARE, THE
BRIM REAPER, and SOME
LIKE IT HAUTE. (A short story, “Just
Kidding,” tells the story of how Samantha first met shoe designer
Nick Taylor). Book 5, GRAND THEFT RETRO, will be out in 2016.
The Madison
Night Mysteries feature a modern day interior decorator who specializes in
midcentury design (studying Doris Day movies to get the look right). Books
are PILLOW
STALK, THAT
TOUCH OF INK, and WITH
VICS YOU GET EGGROLL. A prequel novella, “Midnight Ice,” can be found
in OTHER
PEOPLE’S BAGGAGE.
Author Links
Webpage: http://www.dianevallere.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dianevallere
A millionaire citrus king, a beauty pageant and 20 year old family secrets, take center stage in Silk Stalkings, the third installment in Diane Vallere’s A Material Witness Mystery series. Established characters, an intriguing mystery and a light touch of romance kept me turning the pages right from the start. If you like cozy mysteries or want to give the cozy genre a try, this is a series you want to read.Ms. Vallere does a great job introducing characters, who are well established and developed, right from the start. Even if you haven’t read the first book, and I encourage you to do so because it’s fun and you will get to watch the characters develop, you can jump into this book and read it on its own. I seriously love Polyester “Poly” Monroe, if she was a real person I would make it my mission in life to move to whatever town she lived in just so I could become one of her friends. She’s smart, loyal, fair and a liberated woman without making her “liberation” a burden on the men in her life. I also really like several of the established secondary characters who are really important in Poly’s life; Genevieve (one of her “besties”), the owner of the tea shop in town, Charlie (her other “bestie”), the town’s female mechanic, and Vaughn McMichael, the town’s most eligible bachelor and the romantic interest in Poly’s life.Ms. Vallere also does a good job developing the other secondary characters, especially those who have mostly played a smaller role in the previous stories. We get to learn more about more of the other business owners in San Ladron, we get to see a different side of Giovanni, Poly’s former boss, and we get introduced to two new characters. We meet Harvey Halliwell, the local citrus king who developed the Tangorli Tree, a combination tangerine, orange and lime hybrid, who is quite colorful (everything he wears is a shade of orange) and becomes the murder victim, and we also meet Jun, a local seamstress, who is much more than she first seems.The mystery is well developed and there were plenty of people who could have been the killer. While Harvey was mostly a likeable character, he and the beauty pageant his company sponsored caused plenty of angst and drama. The clues are spread out throughout the story and there are plenty of twists and turns. I have to admit that I was a little surprised when the killer’s identity was revealed and the motive for Harvey’s death. There are also plenty of “family” secrets revealed in this installment of the story; we get more of Charlie’s backstory and get to see another side of “Vic” McMichael, Vaughn’s father. I have to admit that while I really didn’t like his character in the previous two books, this book gave us a much fairer look at some of decisions he's made in the past and it made him more human. The story’s pace is fairly brisk and Ms. Vallere’s voice as an author is well established and enjoyable to read.Will Poly discover who killed Harvey Halliwell before anyone else gets injured? Will she help Charlie face her past and conquer her emotional “demons”? And will her budding romance with Vaughn continue to develop as she solves yet another local murder mystery? You’ll have to read Silk Stalkings to find out. I was really sorry to turn the last page in the story and can’t wait for the next installment. As a bonus, Ms. Vallere provides a freebie “pattern” for beginning or experienced sewing aficionados to make, and I’m thinking of pulling my mom’s sewing machine out of the closet and giving it a try.My Rating: 5 out of 5 Crowns and a Recommended Read!
Can't wait to read "Silk Stalkings". The book sounds like a great addition to the series.
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