Genre: Mystery
Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9780425258897
Berkley Publishing
281 Pages
$7.45; $2.99 Amazon
August 6, 2013
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Not only is Scarlett Parker's love life in the loo - as her British cousin Vivian Tremont would say - it's also gone viral with an embarrassing video. So when Viv suggests Scarlett leave Florida to lay low in London, she hops on the next plane across the pond. Viv is the proprietor of Mim's Whims, a ladies' hat shop on Portobello Road bequeathed to both cousins by their beloved grandmother, and she wants Scarlett to finally join her in the millinery business.
But a few surprises await Scarlett in London. First, she is met at the airport not by Viv, but by her handsome business manager, Harrison Wentworth. Second, Viv -- who has some whims of her own - seems to be missing. No one is too concerned about the unpredictable Viv until one of her posh clients is found dead wearing the cloche hat Viv made for her -- and nothing else. Is Scarlett's cousin in trouble? Or is she in hiding?
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Scarlett Parker has just arrived in London -- mostly to escape her home in Florida. It seems that a video of her has gone viral, and not a good one. So, since she's half-owner in her late grandmother's hat shop, her cousin Vivian Tremont has convinced her that this is where she needs to be right now. But when she arrives, she's met at the airport by Viv's business manager, Harrison Wentworth. There's no sign of Viv, and Harrison assures her that she's disappeared before (which Scarlett knows) and it's nothing to worry about.
But Scarlett knows nothing about running a hat shop, although she does have help from Viv's employee, Fee. Still, it;s not enough when she's visited by Lady Ellis, who insists she have the hat Viv made for her, but Scarlett can't find it. Lady Ellis is naturally upset, and Scarlett does find a beautiful hat that's been closeted away, and Lady Ellis tells her that that's the hat. Unfortunately, but this time, she's also promised Lady Ellis that they'll use her as a model in a photo for their shop, and the woman leaves, looking smug.
It's also quite of a coincidence that while out walking she notices a shop nearby that's about to open, and it happens that the man she meets, Andre, is a photographer. It doesn't take much to convince him that she should be the one to photograph Lady Ellis. So all is done, and they set out the following Friday morning to do so. When they arrive at the manor, the housekeeper goes to inform the woman, but they hear her shriek, and Scarlett soon discovers that she's been murdered -- and is wearing only the cloche she gave her.
Then things begin to get sticky -- it seems that Lord Ellis has been in love with Viv forever; Viv still can't be found; and there's a break-in at the shop. Now Scarlett, with the help of Harrison, is in a hurry to find Viv and find out who wanted the woman dead. But it seems Lady Ellis might have been the first victim, but Scarlett will be the next, if she doesn't keep on her toes...
This is the first book in the Hat Shop Mysteries, and it's a very good beginning. While it doesn't 'grab' you at the first, it does keep you interested enough to keep going, and I'm glad I did. I've never visited a milliner (they really aren't a big thing here in the states), but I would like to visit Vivian and Scarlett's shop, only because the description of the hats seem so lovely. I'd probably even wind up purchasing more than I could afford!
The characters are definitely something else - Scarlett seems out of her depth, but trying very hard to leave her past behind (not going to happen right now); Harrison is more than he seems at first, and Andre and Nick are perfect in this series - I love their sense of humor and Nick is a complete hoot. I'm still on the fence about Vivian: she might be a brilliant hatmaker, but just disappearing on a whim seems awfully selfish to me. I don't care about the reason; it's annoying. So I will have to see in the next one how things progress with her.
The mystery was done nicely. While there weren't a lot of suspects, it also made it easier to sift through them, and I do like that it wasn't extremely easy to figure out who the killer might be. When the murderer was discovered, you couldn't help feeling a bit sorry for them and understand the reason they were driven to it, while still knowing that it also made them unhinged at the last. Still, murder isn't condoned in any way.
When all is said and done, I enjoyed this book immensely. I loved the ending and the teaser that gives us something to look forward to in the next book. Recommended.
https://www.amazon.com/Cloche-Dagger-Hat-Shop-Mystery/dp/0425258890/ref=
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3220318481
More on Jenn McKinlay's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/m/jenn-mckinlay/
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