Dying in Style by Elaine Viets

Dying in Style by Elaine Viets
Copyright 2005
Signet Fiction
268 pages, incl. shopping tips

"What about you, Josie?" Ivy said. "Do you have trouble getting good help?"
Josie studied Ivy's bland, blond face for signs of malice, but didn't see any. The silly twit thought everyone had household help.
"My cleaning lady is so lazy," Josie said. "I ask her to do things, but she always has an excuse why she can't. I'm lucky she runs the vacuum cleaner and dusts. I can't fire her. She's a single mom."
Both Barrington mothers nodded their sypathy.
I'd love to fire me, Josie thought. I sure can't get me to clean the place.

Dying in Style is my first read for the Cozy Challenge hosted by Kris at Not Enough Books. In Dying in Style, professional mystery shopper Josie Marcus goes shopping at the exclusive Danessa stores in order to inform a potential buyer whether or not the investment would be worth their money. She does her job and then finds herself in a big mess when three people are murdered, shortly after Josie is confronted by Danessa. Josie looks guilty, so she must find the murderer in order to get herself off the hook.

I'm not really a big fan of mysteries, these days (I've gone through an awful lot of phases) but I really enjoy Elaine Viets. Her characters have a sense of humor and, as her books are of the "cozy" variety, there are never any overly nasty, graphic descriptions. Dying in Style is light reading, almost chick-littish in style and a nice, escapist read. I believe this particular book is the first in the Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper series. It includes a "Josie's shopping secrets", a brief guide to buying at reasonable prices.

Thumbs Up. Very fun; and I plan to continue reading the series.

Yes, that's my rating. I haven't been feeling much like handing out numbers, lately. We'll see if that lasts.

As usual, I'm in the midst of the mom routine. Here are my pics of the day, so far:

All of the above were just snapped when I dropped off kiddo at the pool. If anyone can tell me of the name of the plant with the red blooms, it would be much appreciated. I need to plant one!! I watched that hummingbird, yesterday, as I was waiting for kiddo, sans camera. He only showed up briefly, while I was watching for him, but it's exciting to find a plant that attracts both hummingbirds and butterflies. I'm still learning where to locate critters to photograph, you know.

*UPDATE* - Jenclair has informed me that the plant in question is Turk's Cap. Thank you, Jenclair!!!

Still reading Garden Spells and Haunted Castles of the World, both of which I'm enjoying. Hope to finish Garden Spells by tomorrow, so that should be my next review.

Just FYI, Elaine Viets recommends totes from Strand Bookstore in her shopping tips. She says Gwyneth Paltrow carries a Strand tote (and they're affordable), so if you want to pretend you're a star, you can find the tote here.

Off to fetch the kiddo. Would someone in a cool climate please send me a breeze? Thank you in advance.

Bookfool, who has completely melted into a book-loving puddle