Jane Reads: Pearls Gone Wild by Diane Vallere | #Samanthapalooza! Tour w/ Review & Giveaway

Sunday, June 11, 2017

Pearls Gone Wild by Diane Vallere | #Samanthapalooza! Tour w/ Review & Giveaway

The Blurb

Samantha Kidd is strung out.

Amateur sleuth Samantha Kidd’s life is finally on track. It’s her normally cultured friend Cat whose life has lost its luster: eight months pregnant and abandoned by her husband the week before Christmas. She ropes Samantha into helping at her boutique, but a string of jewelry thefts threatens her business. And when Cat’s husband is found strangled with pearls inside the shop, the last thing she’s concerned with is profit. Samantha tries to get a bead on the killer, but when the suspects all clam up, she’s left tangled in knots. Add in an unexpected proposal, a flirtatious friend, and a brand new detective, and this is bound to be Samantha’s wildest adventure yet.

Pearls Gone Wild by Diane Vallere
Series: A Samantha Kidd Mystery, #5

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Publisher: Polyester Press

Publication Date: December 31, 2016
Paperback: 218 pages
ISBN-10: 1939197287
ISBN-13: 978-1939197283
eBook File Size: 507 KB
ASIN: B01MD0U8XS

The Review

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

I think Pearls Gone Wild may be my number one Samantha Kidd Mystery. Samantha's had a real job for six months — a good job, one that she enjoys, with benefits even. Her friend Cat Lestes, one of my favorite characters, is featured more in Pearls Gone Wild than in the rest of the series. There's a new detective who can do "good cop, bad cop" all by himself.

Cat's brother Dante, the "bad boy," is back, to help his sister with her store Catnip. Cat, the grieving widow, is eight months pregnant. Even though Samantha has been dating Nick since May, she still feels a sizzle when she's around Dante.

Some of my favorite scenes are:

When Eddie helps Samantha with her Christmas decorations.
The unexpected proposal Samantha receives. Her response surprised me.
Cat's baby present.
Samantha re-lighting (or attempting to) the furnace pilot light.
At the end, when someone comes just in time to save the day.
When Detective Loncar shows up.
Samantha's Christmas present.

The romance heats up in the romantic parts of Pearls Gone Wild. The mysteries are nicely mysterious. There are plenty of suspects to be suspicious of. I was surprised by whodunit in this fun, fast-paced cozy. I was smiling as I finished reading Pearls Gone Wild.

I recommend Pearls Gone Wild 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 Pearls Gone Wild.

I absolutely love Pearls Gone Wild, which has earned our highest rating of Five Kitties!

Five out of five kitties

Note: I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of Pearls Gone Wild.

All opinions shared are 100% my own.

Follow the #Samanthapalooza! tour!

Stay tuned tomorrow, for my review of Book #7, Cement Stilettos.

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.)