Masking for Trouble by Diane Vallere

Masking for Trouble (A Costume Shop Mystery, #2)

by Diane Vallere

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...

Reviewed by layawaydragon on

4 of 5 stars

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The Good
+Liked Margo, her pathology
+Positive therapy rep
+Didn’t see the culprit or ending coming
+Liked the details & intricacies of the relationships, town,
+Unique protag and setting There is a loose end...
+Plan to continue the series

The Bad & The Other
=Lots of em dashes mid-sentence to clarify who Margo was talking about, e.g., “I waited until she left—the waitress, not Bobbie—before resuming the conversation.”
-Info dumps sprinkled throughout for details on the relationships, businesses, and city
- “Didn’t realize we were going for a couple’s costume” MY FAT ASS! Makes 0 sense.
-Ebony and Tak feel like stereotypes


As you can see, I agree with the all the praise listed above and don’t have much to add besides the less than stellar aspects.

It’s exactly what I look for in a cozy mystery. It’s all about the people, the relationships surrounding the crime and Margo’s an amateur snooping around. It doesn’t take over her life since she has to run her shop and there’s reasons why law enforcement isn’t getting it done.

My favorite thing about Margo is her pathology. She has issues and reasons for those issues. It’s a life-long problem that she’s aware of and dealing with. I adore the fact she takes about coping mechanisms and therapy is a positive experience.

Her and her dad are so cute. Hell, cute is a great way to describe most of her relationships. Though her romantic life is messy. And I cannot forget her adorbs kitty, Soot.

I can’t say much about the mystery besides the fact I didn’t see that coming. The villainous exposition was a requirement because of the oh what factor. Unfortunately, there is a loose end that I’d love the answer to. I’m not quite sure how they would’ve pulled it off, TBH.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 6 October, 2016: Finished reading
  • 6 October, 2016: Reviewed