{Review-giveaway}: Trashy Chic by Cathy Lubenski

Trashy Chic
by Cathy Lubenski
Series: A Bertie Mallowan Mystery
Publisher: Vantage Press
Publication date: January 16, 2012
Genre: Mystery
Purchase: Barnes and Noble/Amazon/Book Depository

Reporter Bertie Mallowan has drifted away from hard news stories and into the shallows of "fluff" features, the kind you find buried in the back of the newspaper. Writing about preschool fashion shows and the latest in designer garbage bags bores her so she amuses herself by inventing naughty passwords for her computer and pushing the envelope when it comes to creative lying to management types. When she interviews greedy, nasty Robert Bellingham, the king of must-have luxury items for the rich of Southern California - like monogrammed airbags for "The Crash with Panache" and mink coats pre-streaked with red paint to foil PETA kamikazes. Over the years, his products have become de rigueur for the class that has two of everything and is seeking the one and only of something else. He's made a lot of money and a lot of enemies.  Two days after Bertie's interview, Bellingham's body is found on the floor of the foyer in the family mansion; someone has aerated his skull with the stereotypical blunt object. Thanks to her interview, Bertie has inside information about the life and times of a rich and powerful murder victim and is thrust into a big story again. Bertie is convinced that the family's bizarre emotional ticks make them all uniquely capable of committing murder. A second murder and an attack on Bertie herself brings her face-to-face with the kind of danger she's only ever written about, never experienced first-hand.

Trashy Chic by Cathy Lubenski was a fun and suspenseful murder mystery with a cozy mystery feel. I easily consumed this in a single day and was drawn into the sometimes crazy if not funny world of fluff newspaper reporter Bertie Mallowan. I giggled my way though this and loved the clever twists involving the murder, suspects and other key players.

Things are not looking good at the newspaper where Bertie Mallowan works, but when Robert Bellingham a greedy, nasty millionaire dubbed the “King of Luxury Items" is found murdered in his foyer, things get very interesting. Bertie was the last person to interview the victim, and when her boss asks her to hand her notes over to the lead reporter, she sees a chance to get a front page piece. The tale that unfolds was hilarious, full of suspense and kept me turning the pages at a steady pace.

The protagonist Bertie is a coffee loving, Nancy Drew wanna-be who is snarky, inquisitive and I’d certainly be her friend. I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes over this protagonist and her shenanigans. The things she said and did where downright snarky and mischievous. She is a mix of confidence and self-doubt. She avoids upper management even going so far as to change her route to the water cooler and memorizing the shoes of the female executives who enter the bathroom to avoid them. Shawn the lead reporter was a first class jerk, and I really wanted to smack him. Detective Madison on the other hand was in a word- yum. The author compared his looks to a young Harrison Ford. *swoons* The suspects were well fleshed out and over the top interesting. I adored Bertie’s best friend Kate and loved the mischief they got into. Even secondary characters had their own voice in this and added to the tale.  

I love snarky characters and murder mysteries and Trashy Chic delivered on both fronts. Lubenski offered not only memorable characters but a plot line with delightful twists. The pacing was well done, the characters felt genuine and the humor sprinkled throughout made this stellar. The “who, why and how” was smart and I squealed with delight. I loved how the book wrapped up and laughed aloud as I turned the last page.

I totally recommend Trashy Chic to fans of cozy mysteries and murder mysteries. I am looking forward to reading Snarky Park the next Bertie Mallowan mystery!

I want to thank the author for providing this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

Four and half mystery coffees out of five

Rafflecopter Giveway: one copy of Trashy Chic to US resident 

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Angel Condemned (Beaufort & Company Mystery #5) by Mary Stanton

Angel Condemned
By Mary Stanton
Series: Beaufort & Company Mystery #5
Publication date: November 1, 2011
Adult-fiction/Paranormal Mystery

Buy:Barnes & Noble /Amazon /Book Depository
*clean

Representing her Aunt Cissy's fiancé, museum curator Prosper White, in a case of fraud, attorney and celestial advocate Brianna Winston- Beaufort hopes to settle the matter out of court. But when Prosper is murdered and Cissy's arrested for the crime, Bree will have to solve the mystery of the Cross of Justinian-an artifact of interest in both Prosper's lawsuit and Bree's celestial case-to clear her aunt's name...(Synopsis from Goodreads)

Angel Condemned by Mary Stanton is the fifth in a cozy paranormal mystery series called Beaufort and Company. In this installment we have an ancient artifact that may be a key to one of the gates of hell, a murder and a case that can be linked back to Brianna’s mother Leah. This suspenseful novel was delightful and I loved re-visiting all the unique and colorful characters.

Brianna Winston-Beaufort has recently opened two law firms in Savannah, Georgia. She inherited the practices from her Uncle Frank. The first office is located in a beautiful old office building on Bay Street. She has hired a spunky secretary who works part-time while obtaining her GED. She plans to go to college to become a Para-legal. Here Brianna deals with temporal cases or cases involving living clients. Brianna’s second office is located in a house on Angelus Street. This office is surrounded by a cemetery. Here Brianna’s staff consists of angels. This is her celestial office and she deals with souls who believe they have been wrongly condemned to hell. A lot of times the two cases are connected. Since opening her doors, Brianna and her staff have solved four murders for her temporal office and reduced or eliminated the sentences for four souls. All of this occurs because she and her staff are forced to act as detectives to solve the celestial cases. Because of the nature of her work, she has been provided a lot of heavenly help. She has a loving dog named Sasha who can communicate and warn her. Vicious guard dogs, her staff and an Arch Angel who appears when she is in grave danger.

In this novel, Brianna’s Aunt Cissy wants her to represent her fiance in a lawsuit regarding a magazine. This case is anything but simple, when the fiance is murdered with Aunt Cissy’s kitchen knife. Then an old artifact surfaces with a soul condemned to spend eternity in hell. Brianna has been burning the wick at both ends, and these two cases may be more then she can handle. The tale that unfolds is interesting with twists and turns.

The characters in Stanton’s novel are delightfully southern and each unique. I always enjoy their interactions. Brianna’s family would give me a headache with their meddling ways, but they love Brianna. Stanton does a wonderful job of describing Savannah and the buildings there. The celestial court, Brianna's role and the cases are all fascinating and Stanton's attention to detail is appreciated.  

I recommend Angel Condemned and the Beaufort and Company series to fans of cozy mysteries with a paranormal twist.  While they could be read as a standalone, I do not recommend it. There are a lot of characters and each novel reveals more about the celestial court, how Brianna was chosen for this duty and why. Stanton also has a young adult fantasy series called Unicorns of Balinor.

I gave this novel 3.5 coffee cups out of 5. 

Mary Stanton

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