A DISGUISE TO DIE FOR | Costume Shop Mystery #1
Berkley Prime Crime | Penguin Random House
Coming Feb 2016
Trade paperback ISBN: 9780425278284
FIRST IN THE NEW COSTUME SHOP SERIES
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.
After two decades working for a top luxury retailer, Diane Vallere traded fashion accessories for accessories to murder. A DISGUISE TO DIE FOR, the first Costume Shop Mystery, came out February 2, 2016. Diane is the vice president of Sisters in Crime. She also writes the Madison Night, Style & Error, and Lefty-Nominated Material Witness Mysteries. She started her own detective agency at age ten and has maintained a passion for shoes, clues, and clothes ever since.
Review
I don't read a lot of cozy mysteries, they have to really catch my eye for the cover and the plot. A Disguise to Die For is one that I picked up gladly. A story that takes place in a small town outside of Las Vegas. The main character, Margo Tamblyn comes back to her hometown to help with the family costume shop, Disguise DeLimit. Her father Jerry has had a heart attack and is out of commission for awhile and it is up to Margo to handle the shop.
Not too long after she arrives to help out when a young man, Blitz Manners, comes into the shop demanding that she provided him with costumes for a party. This party is detective themed, he tosses an envelope with $20,000 at her. Even though she tells him that it is impossible to do this at such a short notice. The venue that he had originally booked had some issues and could not do it. With the help of a lifelong family friend, Ebony, they set about compiling a list of characters costumes that they can whip together quickly.
The party kicks off with everyone in their detective costumes such as Sherlock Holmes, Rockford, Columbo and Miss Marple among others. Margo goes into the kitchen of the venue, to find her friend Ebony clutching a knife over the dead body of Blitz Manners. Things don't look too good for Ebony and Margo sets about playing detective becoming more and more embroiled into the mystery. In trying to keep the shop going, playing detective and handling a possible love interest, plus worrying about her father, she finds that this murder is very involved in that there are a lot of possible suspects.
I loved the character of Margo, a quirky costume wearing woman, whose devotion to her father is endless. She also truly believes that Ebony did not commit this murder, but the clues keep stacking up against her. I read this book in a few sittings and I honestly could not figure out who the murderer was until almost the end. I look forward to reading more of this quirky series!
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