Review of "Sleuthing in Stilettos: A Resale Boutique Mystery" by Debra Sennefelder

 

In this 5th book in the 'Resale Boutique Mystery' series, store owner/amateur sleuth Kelly Quinn investigates the murder of a shoe store proprietor. The book can be read as a standalone, but familiarity with the characters is a bonus.

*****

Twentysomething Kelly Quinn owns an upscale consignment shop called 'The Lucky Cove Resale Boutique' in the town of Lucky Cove on Long Island.



In addition to running the store, Kelly writes a weekly newsletter about fashion and clothing, and leads the 'Shop Small Lucky Cove' campaign. Shop Small takes place between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and encourages consumers to patronize local businesses during the holiday season.



Kelly wants proprieters of local stores to get involved with the Shop Small campaign. This includes Miranda Farrell, the recently arrived owner of a luxury shoe shop called 'Miranda & James.'



Kelly notices that most residents of Lucky Cove are hostile to Miranda, and - being a natural-born nosybody - Kelly wants to know why.



Thus Kelly learns that Miranda lived in Lucky Cove twenty years ago, was married twice, and both her husbands died....after which Miranda left town. Moreover, Miranda's first husband embezzled a large amount of money, and wiped out the retirement funds of numerous Lucky Cove citizens. The locals think Miranda helped steal the moola and made off with it, and they're furious that Miranda came back.

As it happens, Kelly is very taken with a pair of black D'Orsay pumps in Miranda's store....



.....and Kelly takes her friends Breena and Liv to see the pumps.



Shockingly, the women find Miranda's dead body, with Kelly's Uncle Ralph standing over the corpse. Irascible Uncle Ralph has been seen arguing with Miranda in public, and he becomes the number one suspect for her murder.



Kelly wants to prove that her uncle is innocent and sets out to find the real killer, against the explicit instructions of her boyfriend, police detective Nate Barber.



Kelly's method of investigation is to find out who disliked Miranda, and to ask each person, "Where were you on the morning of the murder?" This is a bumbling approach for even the most unskilled amateur detective and it doesn't work.

Meanwhile, Kelly seems to be losing it. She apparently forgets to lock her front door; allows her cat into the boutique, which upsets an allergic customer; messes up a text message to her boyfriend; misplaces her car key; etc. Kelly is pretty sure she didn't do any of this, and tries to suss out what's going on.



In the course of the story Kelly finds another dead body; formulates a number of theories about the murders; navigates numerous red herrings; and finally discovers the real killer....endangering her life along the way.

Cozies usually have a hook in addition to the murder mystery, and for this series it's fashion. Kelly is very clothes-conscious and describes her outfits, and that of other characters, in some detail. For instance, on a cool day Kelly reaches for her camel-colored coatigan, a sweater that could be a coat when it's very chilly;



Then, when Kelly's leaving her boutique one afternoon, she pauses at a mirror to admire her short-sleeved black top tucked into a leopard print wrap skirt;



And a true-crime writer who wants to interview Kelly wears a houndstooth patterned top and black side-vent ankle pants.



Though Kelly's amateur sleuthing is a bit clumsy and aggressive, this is an enjoyable cozy mystery, recommened to fans of the genre.

Thanks to Netgalley, Debra Sennefelder, and Kensington Publishing for a copy of the book.

Rating: 3 stars