A Passion for Haunted Fashion
A Passion for Haunted Fashion by Rose Pressey Kensington Books Mystery & Thrillers Pub Date 29 May 2018
Review
I have mixed feelings about A Passion for Haunted Fashion. Cookie Chanel’s haphazard and somewhat neurotic approach to investigating is painful to watch and funny simultaneously. The nonstop chatter of her ghosts, Charlotte and Peggy, is more of a hindrance than a help, and is often distracting. It is easy to understand why Cookie isn’t completely “with it”. At the same time she does things so profoundly stupid that they are difficult to accept. Still, it is easy to like Cookie.
When I started A Passion for Haunted Fashion, I at first thought I was missing a chapter. The novel begins with Cookie exploring the basement of the theatre, finding a ghost (Peggy) and hearing a scream. The scream turns out to be Heather standing over a dead body, blood on her hands. There was no introduction to the victim, no hint of what led to his murder - unusual for a cozy mystery. Heather is the top suspect, but there is no connection between her and the dead man, and no motive for her to kill him. Cookie intends to clear Heather’s name.
A Passion for Haunted Fashion is entertaining. Cookie is not a skilled investigator, but she is lucky enough to find important information. Rose Pressey tries a bit too hard to be funny- with very mixed results. The novel makes for a pleasant afternoon escape, but is otherwise unexceptional.
3 / 5
I received a copy of A Passion for Haunted Fashion from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
— Crittermom
Description
When Cookie Chanel moonlights as a costume designer for a local theater, murder takes center stage . . . Folks say the Sugar Creek Theater is haunted. But that doesn’t scare off Cookie Chanel, owner of Georgia’s chicest vintage clothing store, It’s Vintage Y’All—especially since Cookie talks to the ghost of her grandmother every day through her cat Wind Song. Still, after she agrees to be in charge of costumes for a production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, she’s surprised to find the specter of a young woman in the theater, keeping watch over a trunk of 1950s dresses. And when Cookie's best friend Heather is found standing over a stabbed actor, she has two mysteries to solve. This is not a dress rehearsal. A desperate killer is waiting in the wings. If Cookie doesn't tread the boards lightly, it'll be curtains for her as well . . . Don’t Miss Cookie Chanel’s Shopping Tips
