Sunday, July 5, 2009

Purses and Poison by Dorothy Howell


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At the outset of Howell's sprightly sequel to 2008's Handbags and Homicide, handbag-obsessed 24-year-old Haley Randolph is working part-time at L.A.'s Holt's Department Store, owned by her quasi-boyfriend, Ty Cameron, to pay back the debt she's accumulated—buying designer handbags and clothes, of course. When fashion model Claudia Gray, Ty's former girlfriend, turns up dead in a women's restroom at Holt's, the police soon determine that Claudia ate poisoned fruit from a fruit bouquet from Edible Elegance, Haley's mom's company, sent to the victim. To eliminate her mom as a murder suspect as well as herself, Haley launches her own investigation while dealing with her relationship with Ty and another new boyfriend. While some readers may decide the author ends too many chapters with the exclamation Oh, crap, Howell has concocted a solid mystery sure to appeal to younger, fashion-conscious mystery fans (From Amazon)

3 comments:

Becky LeJeune said...

You know, I've got this one, but not the first in the series. I'm wondering if I'll be totally lost.

Lori's Reading Corner said...

You won't be totally lost, but the first one is fantastic! And it ends in a HUGE cliffhanger you shouldn't miss.

Becky LeJeune said...

Agh! Well, I'll start with this one and then when I have a chance I'll snatch up the other (I have some egc money just trying to stay away from the bookstore at least until after our move).

Thanks!