Jane Reads: Designer Dirty Laundry by Diane Vallere | #Samanthapalooza! Tour w/ Review & Giveaway

To Celebrate the 5 Year Anniversary of the Samantha Kidd Humorous Mystery Series

by Diane Vallere, Great Escapes Book Tours is hosting #Samanthapalooza!

The Blurb

Meet Samantha Kidd.
Ex-buyer turned Trend Specialist turns amateur sleuth! She designed her future with couture precision, but finding the Fashion Director's corpse on Day One leaves her hanging by a thread. And when the killer fabricates evidence that puts the cops on her hemline, even a chance run-in with hot shoe designer Nick Taylor can't keep her life from unraveling. She trades high fashion for dirty laundry and reveals a cast of designers out for blood. Now her job, her love life, and her future are put on hold as she tries to expose a diabolical designer before getting marked down for murder.

Designer Dirty Laundry by Diane Vallere
Series: A Samantha Kidd Mystery, #1

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Publisher: Polyester Press

Publication Date: June 5, 2012
Paperback: 274 pages
ISBN-10: 0984965300
ISBN-13: 978-0984965304
eBook File Size: 614 KB
ASIN: B0088IEQPQ

The Review

I just read an amazing book, y'all — Designer Dirty Laundry, the first book in the Samantha Kidd Style & Error Mystery series by Diane Vallere. Let me tell you a little about it.

I was hooked from the first sentence

When you wear fishnet stockings to the grocery store, people tend to stare.

and had to read Designer Dirty Laundry in one day, because I couldn't put it down. It's that good!

Samantha is having such a bad day, especially when it was supposed to be such a wonderful day — the first day of her Starting Over Plan. When she arrived at Tradava to start her new job as Trend Specialist, instead of reporting to Patrick (fashion icon, her new boss, and hopefully her future mentor), Samantha and Nick Taylor find Patrick's body in Tradava's elevator.

Then, it gets worse. The body has disappeared by the time the police arrive, and they don't believe she saw anything. And — Patrick told no one else that he had hired Samantha to be Tradava's new Trend Specialist. And then .... (I don't want to reveal any spoilers, so I'd better stop.)

Author Diane Vallere has made Designer Dirty Laundry LOL funny with her humorous dialogue and narrative. Here are just a few examples.

• Samantha, in stilettos, on the 7th floor, being questioned by a detective:

"How did you get to the trend office?"

"I climbed the stairs." He glanced at my feet. "Yes, in these shoes," I added.

"Why?"

"Because they go with the outfit."

"Why did you climb the stairs?" he repeated without missing a beat.

"Because that's where I was supposed to be."

• Samantha, startled by the doorbell:

As I rounded the corner, the doorbell rang. I let out an inhuman sound and hid behind the wall. My mind filled with warnings not to open the door to strangers, and I armed myself with a bread knife.

"Kidd, it's Nick Taylor. I know you're in there, I heard you scream. Will you open the door already?"

.... I opened the door, forgetting I was still grasping the bread knife. He took a step backward. ....

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"May I come in?"

.... "Wait here," I said quickly, jabbing at the air between us like a swashbuckler with the world's smallest sword.

• Samantha, phoning a detective:

I didn't know what to make of it, but it was clear this was more than the minor leagues and Eddie might be right. The cops needed to know about this, although they didn't need to hear it from me. After working up my nerve, I placed an anonymous call to the police station.

"Loncar," he answered.

"I have infor—" I panicked, fearing he'd recognize my voice. I dropped it lower and disguised it. "Invormazon. Deeteective, zhere ist more to ze Patreek case zan designers," I continued, immediately embarrassed. Instead of reporting important information to the police, I sounded like I should be plotting big trouble for Moose and Squirrel.

Samantha is such a fun, likable protagonist. Another character, Eddie, turns out to be Samantha's high school classmate. I really like their backstory, and how it was kismet for Samantha that they reconnected. The mystery, involving a contest for designers with a $100,000 prize, is very good, and kept me guessing. Can you figure it out before Samantha does?

I recommend Designer Dirty Laundry to all cozy mystery fans, especially those who like madcap caper cozies. If you're a fan of Gretchen Archer's Davis Way Crime Caper series or Diane Vallere's other series (Madison Night Mad for Mod Mysteries, Polyester Monroe Material Witness Mysteries, and Margo Tamblyn Costume Shop Mysteries), I think you will particularly enjoy reading about Samantha Kidd in Designer Dirty Laundry.

I absolutely love Designer Dirty Laundry, which has earned our highest rating of Five Kitties!

Five out of five kitties

Note: I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of Designer Dirty Laundry.

All opinions shared are 100% my own.

Follow the #Samanthapalooza! tour!

Stay tuned tomorrow, for my review of Book #2, Buyer, Beware.

The Author

About Diane Vallere

I’m a former fashion buyer turned mystery writer, trading fashion accessories for accessories to murder. I was bit by the mystery bug as a kid reading Trixie Belden, Connie Blair, and The Three Investigators. Now I’m writing four series: the Samantha Kidd Mysteries, the Madison Night Mysteries, the Material Witness Mysteries, and the Costume Shop Mysteries.

The Margo Tamblyn Costume Shop Mysteries debuted with A DISGUISE TO DIE FOR, which introduces Margo Tamblyn, costume shop owner, who helps solve a murder after one of her clients is found dead at his own costume party (dressed as Sherlock!). MASKING FOR TROUBLE, the second in the series, was released in October 2016, just in time for Halloween. DRESSED TO CONFESS, book three, is expected to be released on August 01, 2017.

The Polyester Monroe Material Witness Mysteries feature Polyester Monroe, who inherits the fabric shop where she was born. Books include SUEDE TO REST, CRUSHED VELVET, and SILK STALKINGS. Each one contains a craft project.

The Madison Night Mad for Mod Mysteries feature a modern day interior decorator who specializes in mid-century design (studying Doris Day movies to get the look right). Books are PILLOW STALK, THAT TOUCH OF INK, and WITH VICS YOU GET EGGROLL. The fourth, THE DECORATOR WHO KNEW TOO MUCH, was just released in April 2017. A prequel novella, Midnight Ice, can be found in OTHER PEOPLE’S BAGGAGE.

The Samantha Kidd Style & Error Mysteries feature former fashion buyer turned amateur sleuth Samantha Kidd. Books in that series include DESIGNER DIRTY LAUNDRY; BUYER, BEWARE; THE BRIM REAPER; SOME LIKE IT HAUTE; GRAND THEFT RETRO; and PEARLS GONE WILD. The seventh, CEMENT STILETTOS, will be released in June 2017. (A short story, JUST KIDDING [free download at Amazon, Kobo, and iTunes], tells the story of how Samantha first met shoe designer Nick Taylor.)