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CHICK LIT/CRIME/
HUMOR MYSTERY
DESIGNER KNOCKOFF
Haute couture heats up the City that Fashion Forgot
 
Skeptical fashion reporter and stylish sleuth Lacey Smithsonian returns in the second volume in the Crime of Fashion series. This time she becomes entangled in a fabric of deceit and death when high fashion collides with low dealings in very unstylish Washington, D.C.  A missing Congressional intern's scandalous secret, a New York fashion dynasty's closetful of skeletons, a young designer's unsolved disappearance, and a long-lost scrap of black market silk from World War Two--it's a pattern custom-tailored for murder. And what on earth does her beloved Aunt Mimi's trunk full of memories and long-forgotten dress patterns have to do with the faceless but well-dressed body in the swamp? Lacey and her motley crew of friends and conspirators race to unravel the truth behind two disappearances sixty years apart and unmask the killer behind a dress to die for.
Read A Review:

Lacey Smithsonian is a fashion columnist. Her column “Crimes of fashion” gives fashion advice to unfashionable D.C. She didn’t choose to be a fashion columnist, it was chosen for her by her boss.

She learns that a new fashion museum will soon open in D.C. Designer Hugh Bentley spots her at one of the events. He tries to get her vintage Hugh Bentley suit, but Lacey won’t swap. The suit was her aunt Mimi’s, along with many other vintage clothes and patterns she left behind.

Lacey is a reporter at heart. An intern that she knows goes missing and she is hot on the story. She is also working to get the scoop on Bentley and his past. In doing so she uncovers a mystery that’s never been solved about a missing Bentley employee, Gloria Adams. Lacey finds letters from Gloria to Mimi as well as some from Mimi to Gloria. These letters help give her a sense of what might have happened and some more background on Bentley.

Lacey begins to try to put the pieces together about both disappearances and see if there is any connection, as well as any connection to Bentley. In doing so, she finds herself in many sticky situations and puts herself and others in danger more than once.

I love this series. Lacey is such a fun character. I had trouble putting this book down. Make sure you read where you can laugh out loud.

Lacey’s best friend and hairdresser Stella and Miguel who worked for the Bentley’s are terrific characters as well. They add a lot of fun to this story.

Ms. Byerrum has a real handle on fashion in D.C. Lacey’s columns are right on the mark!

If you like cozies, you will love this book. I highly recommend it Killer Hair, the first in this series.

Dawn Dowdle