Handbags and Homicide is a Haley Randolph Mystery.
If you like Stephanie Plum, you will love Haley Randolph, with a cast of characters as quirky and loveable as the SP books, what's not to love!
I knew this was going to be a good book, when I laughed my way through the first chapter. And, of course, since retail is in my blood, it was even funnier.
Haley Randolph is in trouble, big time. She is a purse aficionado, and she knows her ins and outs of handbags. Her mother has a trust fund, but Haley wants to make it on her own. And it necessitates a lot of cash because she can't resist a good multi-$100 handbag, for every outfit.
First, she gets a job through connections to a tony law firm -- then is let go under suspicion.
At the same time she has a second job working retail at Holt's Department Store, a store whose merchandise she doesn't like. It's a hoot to see how she manages to 'work' in all the areas of the store, not get anything done, yet do more than others who actually work.
Then she finds a dead body in the stock room, and she is a suspect.
It's up to her to clear her name on both counts.
Along the way, she picks up some friends -- and some purses. She helps customers put together outfits that are actually wearable.
Her stream of consciousness is a hoot.
There is very little romance in it, less than in a SP book, but there are similarities in the number of men interested in her. She has an almost-boyfriend.
In my head I kept hearing the voice of Isla Fisher as Rebecca Bloomwood in Confessions of a Shopaholic.
If you want a book to make you laugh, this is it. I give it 5*.
And for those of you who like a good series, the second book is already out:
PURSES AND POISON, the second book in the series, finds Haley still working at Holt’s Department Store. When her sort-of boyfriend Ty Cameron’s ex-lover is poisoned and suspicion falls on both Haley and her mom, Haley launches her own investigation. From the L.A. club scene, to the Fashion District, to the elegant Biltmore Hotel, Haley must find a way to catch a murderer, get the guy, and find the purse of her dreams.
And a third:
Howell also writes historical romance novels under the pen name Judith Stacy. She’s has 23 other books and almost 3 million readers worldwide. So it's a good bet we can expect more from her, in this series too. This is the first book I've read of hers, but it won't be my last.
And good news for Kindle owners: the first two books listed here are available for Kindle. $4.47 and $9.99.
Have you read this one?
If you are a fashionista, don't miss this one -- or if you simply love purses.
Karin
www.savvythinker.com
Originally posted 2010-01-05 20:14:34.
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