Sunday Salon: Time for Reviews

SHOT THROUGH VELVET by Ellen Byerrum

Fashion reporter Lacey Smithsonian has been one of my favorite protagonist for sometime.

Lacey knows her way around the fashion world and has an uncanny knack for finding dead bodies. She can pull off wearing vintage clothes while tracking down killers.

On her latest assignment Lacey is covering the last day of operation for a failing Virginia velvet factory. She’s on the tour with her hunky boyfriend, Vic Donovan, who will take over the security operations of the factory the next day. In the last vat of dye, the group finds not only a spool of midnight blue velvet but the body of the factory’s manager, nicknamed Blue Devil by the employees.

Workers dub the killer the ‘Velvet Avenger’ since they blame the manager, as well as the factory owners for closing the plant and costing them their jobs. Lacey has her hands full when she learns the newspaper’s publisher is one of the factory owners and appears to be targeted by the killer.

While trying to expose the killer, Lacey is also dealing with the dread of impending doom as she fears the Valentine’s Day curse will strike her again.

Author Ellen Byerrum touches on the economic hard times many are currently facing, but at the same time adds bits of humor to make Lacey’s story a fun read. SHOT THROUGH VELVET is the seventh installment in the Crime of Fashion Mystery series, but is a stand alone book.

Author Ellen Byerrum’s website is http://www.ellenbyerrum.com/

Shot Through Velvet by Ellen Byerrum, A Crime of Fashion Mystery, Obsidian, @2011, ISBN: 978-0-451-23250-2, Paperback, 336 pages

FTC Full Disclosure - This book was sent to me by the publisher in hopes I would review it. However, receiving the complimentary copy did not influence my review.

DÉJÀ VU by Fern Michaels

The Sisterhood, no longer fugitives, can begin to get on with their lives thanks to a presidential pardon.

As the ladies begin to settle in, they still have to deal with the fact that master criminal Hank Jellicoe is still at large. When approached by the Presidents the Sisterhood decides it’s time to bring the cunning mastermind to his knees.

Using their own unique tricks of the trade, the Sisterhood does what it does best - finds justice for those wronged giving the readers a few laughs along the way.
 
Déjà vu is the 19th installment in the Sisterhood Series. The story can be read without having read the previous books, but there will be gaps in the story.

Fern Michaels' website is http://fernmichaels.com/

Déjà vu by Fern Michaels, The Sisterhood Series, Read by Laura Merlington, Brilliance Audio, @2010, ISBN: 1-4418-1896-0, Abridged, 4 Cds, 4 Hours Run Time

FTC Full Disclosure - This audio book was given to me by my best friend who also enjoys the Sisterhood series and was the one who introduced me to this intriguing group of ladies.

Now what have you read (or listened) to this past week?