Diane Vallere's Dressed To Confess

I read Dressed to Confess by author Diane Vallere this week. This is out now and the third book in the Costume Shop Mystery series.  This series is set in a Nevada town called Proper which is trying to find and stick with an identity to put itself on the map for tourists and townspeople alike.

A town festival spells all kinds of trouble for main character Margo, caught up in another murder mystery in her small town just doesn't sit right with her, when her Dad and his best friend start a conspiracy news paper it seems ever so harmless at first, but is it all tied to the most recent murder in town? This is a fun and slightly implausible story with some humorous highlights and a very complicated mystery. I was surprised with who the killer ended up being and I honestly did not figure it out before the big reveal.    

It’s no secret around Proper City, Nevada, that the Sagebrush Festival, the town’s annual family-friendly event, is the place to be. This year’s theme of board games has everything from Conspiracy to Clue. Margo Tamblyn’s costume shop, Disguise DeLimit, has been tasked with providing costumes for the festival headliner, the Domino Divas. But on the night of the performance, one fallen Domino threatens to bring down the whole show when head dancer Ronnie Cass is found in her dressing room, unmasked, unprepared, and very, very dead.  As the police investigate, Margo learns that Don Digby, her father's best friend, is the prime suspect, tied to the victim by an unsolved robbery connected to Proper City’s past. As conspiracies abound and theories are debunked, Margo seeks to unmask the real killer before her dad's buddy winds up in a costume made with prison stripes.

Dressed to Confess is out now and you can find it on Amazon by clicking here. 

Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and a cozy mystery review. I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com 

On My Table and In My Cup August 19th- 26th

Making my way through Death Overdue a Haunted Library Mystery by Allison Brook this weekend. Makes being mostly couch bound bearable. If you follow my blog or social media you know I have been unwell for more than a month now and I am slowly fighting my way back to health. Spending most of my day couch bound. Lovely to have such amazing books to read and I have even been able to enjoy more of my Murchies Vanilla Tea this week, I also finished my cranberry cream tea I bought earlier this summer, thinking of making the ten hour drive to get more...dreaming really. I have been doing lots of reading, and a bit of visiting, having my Uncle Ross, my dad's brother, drive more than 3,000 miles with his truck stacked full of photos of the family from the 1800's for me to have. Unbelieveable how these photos of many times removed relatives look just like family members alive today! DNA Wow! I can not wait to share some photos with you soon, also a gem was a photo my family took during the second world war of the then Queen of England touring Canada, that will go in a frame for sure!

 I am getting really excited for Buy a Friend A Book Day which is August 31st! This is one of my most favorite days of the year and I am hoping I will be well enough to shop locally, otherwise I may have to do my shopping on line for a few people! Be sure to remember to pick up a book for someone in your life on August 31st! 

I am excited to announce that I am co-hosting an event on October 3rd for the Release day party of author Joyce Tremel's A Room With A Brew on my Beyond The Bookmarks Facebook Page and you are invited! Great prizes, recipes, and so much more, I hope you will join us for an evening of fun and get to know other cozy lovers, we all want to go somewhere where everyone knows your name, come make a new friend and learn about this series! Click here to RSVP to the event! 

I meant to share this last week, something I put together to share a bit about why I love cozy mysteries and one of the lessons I take away from some of my favorites. While I don't have daughters I do love the books about eccentric aunts who do something that guides them and helps them makethe changes that lead to a direction change in their life trajectory!As you can see above I have a few nieces, and what I think is a great goal!

Announced earlier this week over on Lisa Ks Book Review, we have enjoyed so much our Summer Three Amigos reading club that we have decided to expand and continue with our Five Amigos Fall-O-ween Fun Series. Adding My dear Friend Karen Kenyon to my blog here as a guest blogger, and our dear friend Sheryl of Booth Talks Books! We will be sharing our favorite Fall themed cozies and then in October switch to our Halloween themed, or paranormal cozy favorites.

Lisa, Mary, Sheryl, Karen K and I look forward to sharing with you and seeing what each other chooses for our fall selections and our Halloween ones we hope you will join in the fun too! We hope you will welcome our new Amigos and love our new series! This all starts September 4th.

The Witching Hour was my Witchy Wednesday selection for review this week, I enjoyed this book and shared a bit about this October release, I would not mind having this one on my shelf either.

Tonya Kappes has some wonderful books and this is a series I adore, I know you are going to love ax to Grind, do check this one out! I read it in one sitting not wanting to put the book down.

I read and reviewed the up coming release of From Ice To Ashes, this book is going to be out soon as an e-copy for you to enjoy!

Learn more about it at our Beyond The Bookmarks Event on September 24th! Click here to RSVP to this event

I have a review of Dressed to Confess for you tomorrow I hope you will come back and see what I thought of this third book in series.

I made a point of getting my Friday spotlight video made and this weeks video is a spotlight on Ellery Adam's Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery Series. It is up on my Youtube Channel, I invite you to stop by and subscribe!  Click here for the video if it doesn't play above.


Thank you all for joining me here for what has been on my table, in my cup and on my mind this week. I love having you stop by and I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

On My Table and In My Cup June 17-24th

A very hot Saturday on the menu for today, one last week of school for the kids and the temperature is rising here.  Summer arrived with full force  this week and with it the need for summer reads. We started this week with our 11 week Three Amigos Summer Reading club, I hope you have enjoyed our first three summer suggestions and I can not wait for Monday to reveal the next ones! I was thrilled to receive Judy Volhart's Ice Whine and Irish Cheddar in the mail this week, I read it in one sitting and look forward to sharing my review with you tomorrow. 

I enjoy toast and jam daily so when I was approved to review Toast & Jam I was very delighted!
This book is out August 15th and if you have a foodie in the house this is a book you will need to own! Look for my review later this week.

I had Killer Party on my table this week by Lynn Cahoon. This long running series gets more interesting with each book and I know you will enjoy this one for sure. Out July 18th now is the  time to pre order this one!

Another fun summer read and this one called The Fiesta Burger Murder is a first in series from author Rosie A. Point. While the cover doesn't give the cozy feeling, the book does for sure and the cover makes me hungry! This one is out July 4th and I think you will be pleasantly surprised with this story line and theme.

The Decorator Who Knew Too Much by Diane Vallere was a read I was not expecting to evoke such emotion in me! I enjoyed this delightful mystery and it was a new series for me. This one is out now and a great summer read for sure. The cover is spot on with the series and I love that what you see is what you can expect from this fun vintage loving series. 

Thank you so much for joining me here today for this weekly review. I love having you join me and I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

The Decorator Who Knew Too Much

I would like to apologize to author Diane Vallere and her assistant Liz for not having had this read before now, it was sent to me in February to review. Unfortunately I put it in my read file, not my TBR file and it got overlooked. I spent the last two days reading this wonderful book and I am truly sorry it took me so long to get it read. I did not notice this error on my own and thank Liz for being on top of things! While I am sorry it took so long to read I have to say I am thrilled with the fact that the flowers from my neighbor's garden work perfectly with the cover. 

Can we please talk about how amazing the cover of The Decorator Who Knew Too Much is and how well it looks on my table. I have not read any books in the Mad for Mod Mystery Series, yet reading this one even as a fourth book was easy to get into. I want to tell you how much I enjoyed this story.  I won't presume to know what the other books are like but I will tell you that The Decorator Who Knew Too Much is a really good read. It is set in one of my most favorite and sacred places, Palm Springs. I will tell you that it was very easy for me to picture all the places that author Diane Vallere talks about and even if you have never been to Palm Springs she describes it perfectly, although I will say I have never experienced the level of uneasiness that main Character Madison does! Usually a bustling and busy town I have never felt unsafe while I was there, and while at times I felt defensive of what was happening in the plot, it was completely plausible. I really like Madison, I like her quirky backstory, her complicated past and creative persona. I love her dog, Rock and her sense of style. I did not have this book figured out until the big reveal and I really liked that.  If you are looking for a stylish, retro feeling read, great setting, and a character you can aspire to be like then you should pick up The Decorator Who Knew Too Much

“Vallere has crafted an extremely unique mystery series with an intelligent heroine whose appeal will never go out of style.” – Kings River Life Magazine When Interior Decorator Madison Night accepts an assignment in Palm Springs with handyman Hudson James, she expects designing days and romantic nights. But after spotting a body in the river by the job site, she causes a rift in the team. Add in the strain of recurring nightmares and a growing dependency on sleeping pills, and Madison seeks professional help to deal with her demons. She learns more about the crime than she’d like thanks to girl talk with friends, pillow talk with Hudson, and smack talk with the local bad boys. And after the victim is identified as the very doctor she’s been advised to see, she wonders if what she knows can help catch a killer. An unlikely ally helps navigate the murky waters before her knowledge destroys her, and this time, what she doesn’t know might be the one thing that saves her life. “If you love Doris Day, you’ll love Madison Night, decorator extraordinaire. She specializes in restoring mid-century homes and designs, and her latest project involves abductions, murder and vengeance.” – Books for Avid Readers “Vallere has a wonderful touch, bringing in the design elements and influences of the ’50s and ’60s era many of us hold dear while keeping a strong focus on what it means in modern times to be a woman in business for herself, starting over.” 

The Decorator Who Knew Too Much can be found on Amazon by clicking here.
Learn more about Diane Vallere on her author website by clicking here.

Thank you for joining me here today for a cup of tea and a cozy mystery review. I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Masking For Trouble By Diane Vallere

Last week I read Masking for Trouble by Diane Vallere, this is the second book in her A Costume Shop Mystery series and it was a very fun Halloween Read. I love the idea of a town that goes all out for Halloween, I think I could find myself quite welcome and comfortable there. Costume shop owners daughter/ general manager Margo has her hands full the week before Halloween when a large corporation threatens the daily life of not only her shop at her busiest time of year but also the way of life in Proper City! This was a very enjoyable read and perfect for this time of year!  Masking for Trouble is out October 4th! 

Halloween conjures up big business for Margo Tamblyn’s costume shop, Disguise DeLimit, but this year, the holiday comes knocking with serious trouble. Venture capitalist Paul Haverford plans to rezone historic downtown into a glitzy commercial area which would push out local business. Margo is set on saving her family’s store, especially after a nasty run-in with the chain-store tycoon, but after Haverford’s body is discovered during a spooky party at the derelict Alexandria Hotel, Margo finds herself dressed as the police’s prime suspect. Anxious to clear her name, Margo begins hunting down anyone who might have wanted Haverford dead. Between all of his malicious maneuverings, the murdered mogul had buckets of people anxious to see him gone. Now, Margo will have to use every trick in the book to find a cloaked killer—before someone else winds up wearing a death shroud...

To order your own copy of Masking for Trouble from The Book Depository please click here.
Amazon please click here.
Learn more about Diane Vallere by clicking here.
Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and a cozy mystery I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

On My Table And In My Cup September 17-24th

This week has been a busy one and I am afraid I have not has as much time to dedicate to reading as I should but I am absolutely delighted to have Heather Blake's The Witch and The Dead on my table this weekend. I have been a long time fan of this series and I still pre order it. I am thrilled that I got an advanced reading copy of this book! This is one of my most favorite cozy mystery series and I am thrilled to have it this rainy weekend.

Also on my table this week some fantastic walkers shortbread cookies brought to me from England, I may have eaten half the box while reading Masking for Trouble by Diane Vallere, this was a new to me series and a good mystery, review coming up next week.

I also new to my table this week Tangled Up in Brew by Joyce Tremel, fun idea, this series is!

Having Joyce and Jim Lavene's books on my table has long been a treat now it is an honor to have the third book in the retired witches series on my table. I miss my daily chats with Joyce... I find it truly amazing to be able to spend time reading their amazing work, feeling as though they have not really left us at all.

New to me tea on the table this week from For Tea's Sake's Shades of Earl Grey a nice classic earl grey that is not overly floral. 

The winner of Dead To The Last Drop is Doward T. Wilson! Congratulations and thank you to all who took the time to enter! Doward your book is being sent to you from the publisher. 

I am so thankful to have you join me today for a cup of tea and a cozy review! I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com 

On My Table and In My Cup September 10th-17th

Another week has gone by and this was such a fun one for my family and I. Last Saturday morning we left for a very quick and very far trip to the very West Coast of Vancouver Island for a Surf Camp Weekend for our boys put on by Rip Curl and SUPA (Surfs Up For Autism) and we had a blast. I got to read a bit on the trip and discover a lovely tea shop too! Thay Tea in Ucluete (You-Q-let) BC was a tea lovers oasis in a very picturesque location. Such a delight to visit them and I am looking forward to seeing them at the Vancouver tea festival in November.

I picked up a lovely Double Cream Earl Grey, which I am absolutely loving. It was a lovely weekend and a beautiful view with my morning  tea.  I finished Night of the Living Deed while in Ucluete and absolutely loved it, I can not wait to read the entire series.

Penny Warner's The Code Busters Club, A book I ordered for my 8 year old son arrived on Tuesday and even though he and I are reading it together, I could not help but finish reading the entire book that night. I will be sharing my review with you all tomorrow and I have already ordered book number 2.

I have also been enjoying the Miss Marple Complete Short Stories this week another book I received for Buy A Friend A Book Day! Such a great book to have on hand and in my purse for afternoon school pick up time!

Also on my table mid week A Charming Voodoo by Tonya Kappes, some mornings you just need a little magic!

Last night I finished Old Haunts by E.J. Copperman, a book I checked out of my wonderful library who stock the most wonderful cozies, after last weekends read I knew I wanted to read the entire series! Review to follow next week.

Friday morning a delivery at my door had me jumping for joy! I can not wait to share the October Releases with you all soon!
Thank you so much for joining me for a cup of tea and a cozy week in review. I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Silk Stalkings by Diane Vallere

I was sent Silk Stalkings the third book in the Material Witness Mystery Series by Diane Vallere to review.  In this mystery main character Poly (her name is actually Polyester Monroe!) gets roped into helping with the towns pageant.  I loved the names in this series and the cats in the book Pins and Needles are such fitting names! When one of the towns most important citizens winds up dead just days before the pageant contestants are announced Poly finds herself busy with not only the pageant contestants and sewing but also defending her friend Charlie. Poly has to work smart and fast in this cozy mystery fans of the series are going to love.  I also enjoyed the instructions on how to make a garment bag provided in the back of the book!

The time has come for San Ladrón, California’s annual Miss Tangorli beauty pageant, and Poly has agreed to use Material Girl’s inventory of shimmery silks to create embellished gowns fit for a crown. But when millionaire Harvey Halliwell—the man who revived the city’s citrus trade with his imported tangorli tree—is found dead days before the pageant contestants are announced, something sour takes over the town.  To make matters worse, her friend, mechanic Charlie Brooks, is soon caught up in the crime, having been seen in the company of the case’s prime suspect. Now Poly’s on a mission to squeeze out the truth. But as she searches for a pattern, the killer seems intent on cutting up the evidence...

To order Silk Stalkings from Amazon please click here.
Learn more about this series and Diane Vallere please click here.
Thank you for joining me here for a cup of tea and a cozy review. I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com