Fashionista Kelly has moved back to the small town she grew up in to run her mother’s vintage clothing store after losing her high-powered New York job. Short on money, when she finds a lost dog with a reward of $5,000, she thinks it’s her lucky day. Until she discovers the dog’s owner stabbed to death.
For a cozy mystery, this isn’t much of a mystery. The guilty party is pretty much the most obvious suspect from the beginning, and though the author tries valiantly to throw in a few red herrings, nobody seems to have any motive. And honestly, for a fashionista, Kelly doesn’t seem to have much clue about fashion, particularly the vintage fashion which is supposed to be her passion… I think one brand was namechecked on a pair of boots. If you’re going to write a fashionista story, actually put some focus on the clothes - a ‘chunky navy sweater and a puffer vest with skinny jeans’ sounds like something I, an absolute scruff, would wear, not a former New York fashion buyer!
Oh, and the thing you shouldn’t wear to a graveyard? Spike-heeled boots, as you’re likely to trip in soft earth and almost brain yourself on a headstone. Which should be obvious to anyone with half a brain. You’d think. The scene made Kelly come off as a brainless ditz more concerned about how she looked than common sense, which played into a few too many negative stereotypes for me.
This really didn’t cut it for me. A lot of things were rushed over and there was very little character development. Two stars.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this title via NetGalley.