Unraveling family secrets can be murder in Suede to Rest... THE FIRST BOOK IN THE ALL-NEW “MATERIAL WITNESS” MYSTERY SERIES With her career as a dress designer in shreds, Polyester Monroe is looking forward to a fresh start. But as it all unfolds, the pattern to a new beginning looks a lot like murder. When Poly Monroe was little, she loved playing in her family’s textile store. But after a fatal family tragedy, Land of A Thousand Fabrics was boarded up and Poly never expected to see the inside again. Now, as inheritor of the long-shuttered shop, she’s ready to restore the family business. However her two new kittens, Pins and Needles, aren’t the ones causing a snag in her plans… Not everyone wants Poly back in San Ladrón, especially a powerful local developer pressuring her to sell—and leave town fast. But even when the threats turn deadly, she’s not ready to bolt. Because Poly is beginning to suspect that the murder behind the shop is tied to a mystery in her family’s unsettled past that she’s determined to solve…before her own life is left hanging by a thread. INCLUDES A CRAFT PROJECT

Suede to Rest (A Material Witness Mystery)

Literature & Fiction

Vallere, Diane

United States

BERKLEY

“Diane Vallere has stitched up an engaging new series.”—Sofie Kelly, New York Times bestselling author of the Magical Cats Mysteries Fabric shop owner Polyester Monroe is back in business—this time getting wrapped up in a diabolical but crafty case of murder. With opening day of Material Girl approaching, Poly is stocking up on lush fabrics, colorful notions, and best of all, a proprietary weave of velvet. But upon delivery, it’s not quite the blend she expected, being ninety-percent silk and ten-percent corpse. Crushed under a dozen bolts of fabric is Phil Girard. His wife, Genevieve, local tea shop owner and close friend of Poly, is the prime suspect. Granted, Phil may not have been the perfect husband, but surely Genevieve had no reason to kill him! There’s just the small matter of Genevieve’s own incriminating confession: I’m afraid I killed my husband. Now, as Material Girl’s grand opening looms, Poly is torn between a friendship pulling apart at the seams—and finding a smooth killer with a velvet touch… INCLUDES A CRAFT PROJECT

Crushed Velvet (A Material Witness Mystery)

Fabric shop owner Polyester Monroe can get tangled up in textiles, but it’s murder that really throws her for a loop in the latest mystery from the national bestselling author of Crushed Velvet. 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...

Silk Stalkings (A Material Witness Mystery)

Genre Fiction

Someone is dressed to kill in the debut Costume Shop Mystery from the national bestselling author of the Material Witness mysteries. No sooner does former magician’s assistant Margo Tamblyn return home to Proper City, Nevada, to run Disguise DeLimit, her family’s costume shop, than she gets her first big order. Wealthy nuisance Blitz Manners needs forty costumes for a detective-themed birthday bash. As for Blitz himself, his Sherlock Holmes is to die for—literally—when, in the middle of the festivities, Margo’s friend and party planner Ebony Welles is caught brandishing a carving knife over a very dead Blitz. For Margo, clearing Ebony’s name is anything but elementary, especially after Ebony flees town. Now Margo is left to play real-life detective in a town full of masked motives, cloaked secrets, and veiled vendettas. But as she soon learns, even a killer disguise can’t hide a murderer in plain sight for long. INCLUDES RECIPES AND COSTUME IDEAS! FIRST IN A NEW SERIES!

A Disguise to Die For (A Costume Shop Mystery)

Halloween brings more tricks than treats for costume shop owner Margo Tamblyn in the second in a new cozy series from the national bestselling author of the Material Witness Mysteries. 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...

Masking for Trouble (A Costume Shop Mystery)

Costume shop owner Margo Tamblyn faces a deadly conspiracy when a small-town festival turns into big-time trouble. 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. INCLUDES RECIPES AND COSTUME IDEAS!

Dressed to Confess (A Costume Shop Mystery)

"The Devil Wears Prada meets Murder She Wrote."--Gretchen Archer, USA Today Bestselling Author of the Davis Way Crime Caper Series 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 unravelling. She trades high fashion for dirty laundry and reveals a cast of designers out for blood: including Nick! Now her job, her love life, and her future are put on hold as she tries to outpace a diabolical designer before getting marked down for murder. Books in the Humorous Samantha Kidd Mystery Series:"Just Kidding" (short story)#1 DESIGNER DIRTY LAUNDRY#2 BUYER, BEWARE#3 THE BRIM REAPER#4 SOME LIKE IT HAUTE#5 GRAND THEFT RETRO#6 PEARLS GONE WILD#7 CEMENT STILETTOS#8 PANTY RAIDSlip on your comfy clothes and binge on the amateur detective who puts the "shoe" in "gumshoe." Or maybe it's the "gum." Either way, Samantha Kidd is on the case!

Designer Dirty Laundry (Style in a Small Town)

Humor & Satire

Polyester Press

Amateur Sleuth Samantha Kidd is in over her head. With no job prospects on the horizon, former fashion buyer Samantha Kidd convinces boyfriend and shoe designer Nick Taylor to give her a job. But when close friend Eddie asks for help with an exhibit of vintage Hollywood costumes, she splits her time between romance and comedy--until a dead man claims all of her attention. Brimming with good intentions, she loops in the cops, but after one too many cloche calls, she's knee-deep in mystery. If she can tear the lid off the investigation, it might mean a feather in her fedora. And if she can't? She might get capped.

The Brim Reaper (Style in a Small Town Mystery)

Tomorrow is yesterday and next week may never come in this new space adventure with notes of Veronica Mars and Lost in Space! Sylvia Stryker is the Moon Unit Corporation's employee of the month. Impressive, since her side gig solving intergalactic mysteries takes up most of her time. But she is put to a new test after her mentor, Neptune, flies through a wormhole to meet with a reclusive scientist about the faulty chip powering their lunar module. The contact has been hiding from accusations of murder on another planet. Even more startling is the identity of the scientist: a family member Sylvia never thought she'd see again. When Neptune's space pod vanishes into a parallel timeline, Sylvia is quick to follow, but a face-to-face with her younger self threatens her reality. She is thrust into a time-bending journey where the unsolved murder becomes central to her mission. With a missing boss, a malfunctioning navigational system, and a family reunion hanging in the balance, Sylvia's race against time just might save the world...or eradicate it from existence. Can Sylvia repair the circuits of time, or will she stay lost in space with a killer?

Warped on a Moon Trek: Time After Time (Sylvia Stryker Series)

Humor & Entertainment

Humor

When a rare five thousand dollar bill arrives in the mail, interior decorator  Madison Night knows it's a message from her past. In happier times, she once  joked that she could be bought for $5000-how could she deny a bill with her  name on it? Suspecting the bill indicates trouble, she consults a numismatist.  They set up a meet, but upon arrival she finds an abandoned office, a scared  dog...and a dead body in the kitchen. The twist? The victim isn't the  numismatist; it's a John Doe. The police, led by Lt. Tex Allen, are on the  case. But before long, Madison uncovers a kidnapping plot, a unique counterfeit  operation, and the true price of her own independence.

That Touch of Ink (Madison Night Mystery, 2)

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Mystery

Dreamscape Media

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Books by Vallere, Diane