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| Gorgeous cover! |
February 2016, Berkley Books, 304 pages, Ebook, Review copy
Content: murder, suspense, humour, tissues needed
Summary from Penguin Random House
Someone is dressed to kill in the debut Costume Shop Mystery from the
national bestselling author of the Material Witness mysteries.
No sooner does former magician’s assistant Margo Tamblyn return home to Proper City, Nevada, to run Disguise DeLimit, her family’s costume shop, than she gets her first big order. Wealthy nuisance Blitz Manners needs forty costumes for a detective-themed birthday bash. As for Blitz himself, his Sherlock Holmes is to die for—literally—when, in the middle of the festivities, Margo’s friend and party planner Ebony Welles is caught brandishing a carving knife over a very dead Blitz.
For Margo, clearing Ebony’s name is anything but elementary, especially after Ebony flees town. Now Margo is left to play real-life detective in a town full of masked motives, cloaked secrets, and veiled vendettas. But as she soon learns, even a killer disguise can’t hide a murderer in plain sight for long.
No sooner does former magician’s assistant Margo Tamblyn return home to Proper City, Nevada, to run Disguise DeLimit, her family’s costume shop, than she gets her first big order. Wealthy nuisance Blitz Manners needs forty costumes for a detective-themed birthday bash. As for Blitz himself, his Sherlock Holmes is to die for—literally—when, in the middle of the festivities, Margo’s friend and party planner Ebony Welles is caught brandishing a carving knife over a very dead Blitz.
For Margo, clearing Ebony’s name is anything but elementary, especially after Ebony flees town. Now Margo is left to play real-life detective in a town full of masked motives, cloaked secrets, and veiled vendettas. But as she soon learns, even a killer disguise can’t hide a murderer in plain sight for long.
Nayu's thoughts
The last
line of this fun read had me crying with happiness, and other places had
me tearing up too. I find Margot is very much like me, not that I
wear fancy dress but in the way she is living a life which isn't what
some would term normal, and is enjoying herself. The same can be said
for her teddy bear making friend who I instantly loved and understood
her sentiment about a decision Margot makes.
It's clear how Ebony
both loves and is loved by Margot, who is a likeable soul, unique,
and a joy to read about. The emotions involving incidents with her
father, and how the community reacted to hearing about the incidents
made me well up with tears; Margot's feelings about people's reactions felt like
they were taken straight from my own head. I love how muh fun she has
by wearing costumes, how confident she is in wearing them, and how
they play such a key role to solving the murder.
I love how she has a
cat as I'm a cat owner too, so could understand Sooty's innocent
manner after creating havoc. The murder is full of intrigue, with
people holding inaccurate beliefs which taints their judgement and
behaviour. The sense of danger isn't overly strong as it can be in
some stoeies, but I found that refreshing - there is a great scene at
the end when the drama is so high I'd have jumped a mile if my family
had come to ask me something. I love how in tune I felt with Margot,
which says a lot about Diane's writig skills. Roll on book 2!
Find out more on Diane's website.
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