What do you think?
Rate this book
Ghostly Fashionista Mystery #5
Secrets and Sequins: A Ghostly Fashionista Mystery
The masquerade may be over, but a deadly mystery still looms.
Amanda Tucker, a masterful retro fashion designer, jumps at the chance to showcase her skills by designing stunning gowns for an upcoming masquerade ball. Her talented assistant, Zoe, is tasked with creating matching masks for the occasion. However, the festivities are cut short when the caterer is found brutally murdered, and Zoe's mother becomes the prime suspect.
As if that weren't enough, Amanda's Grandpa Dave faces a life-changing decision. He must choose whether to stay in the town he's called home for decades or move across the country with his girlfriend. Meanwhile, Amanda uses her keen fashion sense and sharp attention to detail to unravel a tangled web of secrets and lies that threatens to destroy everything and everyone she holds dear. Will she be able to solve the case and bring the killer to justice, or will the killer strike again?
Amanda Tucker, a masterful retro fashion designer, jumps at the chance to showcase her skills by designing stunning gowns for an upcoming masquerade ball. Her talented assistant, Zoe, is tasked with creating matching masks for the occasion. However, the festivities are cut short when the caterer is found brutally murdered, and Zoe's mother becomes the prime suspect.
As if that weren't enough, Amanda's Grandpa Dave faces a life-changing decision. He must choose whether to stay in the town he's called home for decades or move across the country with his girlfriend. Meanwhile, Amanda uses her keen fashion sense and sharp attention to detail to unravel a tangled web of secrets and lies that threatens to destroy everything and everyone she holds dear. Will she be able to solve the case and bring the killer to justice, or will the killer strike again?
- GenresMysteryCozy Mystery
242 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 25, 2023
15 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
About the author
Gayle Leeson
30 books502 followersGayle Leeson is a pseudonym for Gayle Trent. I also write as Amanda Lee. As Gayle Trent, I write the Daphne Martin Cake Mystery series and the Myrtle Crumb Mystery series. As Amanda Lee, I write the Embroidery Mystery series.
The cake decorating series features a heroine who is starting her life over in Southwest Virginia after a nasty divorce. The heroine, Daphne, has returned to her hometown of Brea Ridge to open a cake baking and decorating business and is wrestling with the question of whether or not one can go home again. She enjoys spending time with her sister, nephew, and niece, but she and her mother have a complicated relationship that isn’t always pleasant. Daphne has also reconnected with her high school sweetheart and is pursuing a rekindled romance while desperately trying to put her past behind her.
Kerry Vincent, Hall of Fame Sugar Artist, Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show Director, and Television Personality says the series is “a must read for cake bakers and anyone who has ever spent creative time in the kitchen!”
Says Dean Koontz, #1 New York Times bestselling author, “One day I found myself happily reading . . . mysteries by Gayle Trent. If she can win me over . . . she’s got a great future.”
The Embroidery Mystery series features a heroine who recently moved to the Oregon coast to open an embroidery specialty shop. Marcy Singer left her home in San Francisco, along with the humiliation of being left at the altar, in order to move to Tallulah Falls and realize her dream of owning her own shop. She takes along her faithful companion, a one-year-old Irish wolfhound named Angus O’Ruff. She makes many new friends in Tallulah Falls, but she also makes a few enemies. Thankfully, her best friend Sadie MacKenzie and her husband Blake run the coffeehouse right down the street from Marcy’s shop, the Seven-Year Stitch; and Detective Ted Nash always has her back.
Publishers Weekly says, “Fans of the genre will take kindly to Marcy, her Irish wolfhound, Angus O’Ruff, and Tallulah Falls. This is a fast, pleasant read with prose full of pop culture references and, of course, sharp needlework puns.”
Pat Cooper of RT Book Reviews says, “If her debut here is any indication, Lee’s new series is going to be fun, spunky and educational. She smoothly interweaves plot with her character’s personality and charm, while dropping tantalizing hints of stitching projects and their history. Marcy Singer is young, fun, sharp and likable. Readers will be looking forward to her future adventures.” (RT Book Reviews nominated The Quick and the Thread for a 2010 Book Reviewers’ Choice Award in the Amateur Sleuth category)
I live in Virginia with my family, which includes her own “Angus” who is not an Irish wolfhound but a Great Pyrenees who provides plenty of inspiration for the character of Mr. O’Ruff. I'm having a blast writing this new series!
The cake decorating series features a heroine who is starting her life over in Southwest Virginia after a nasty divorce. The heroine, Daphne, has returned to her hometown of Brea Ridge to open a cake baking and decorating business and is wrestling with the question of whether or not one can go home again. She enjoys spending time with her sister, nephew, and niece, but she and her mother have a complicated relationship that isn’t always pleasant. Daphne has also reconnected with her high school sweetheart and is pursuing a rekindled romance while desperately trying to put her past behind her.
Kerry Vincent, Hall of Fame Sugar Artist, Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show Director, and Television Personality says the series is “a must read for cake bakers and anyone who has ever spent creative time in the kitchen!”
Says Dean Koontz, #1 New York Times bestselling author, “One day I found myself happily reading . . . mysteries by Gayle Trent. If she can win me over . . . she’s got a great future.”
The Embroidery Mystery series features a heroine who recently moved to the Oregon coast to open an embroidery specialty shop. Marcy Singer left her home in San Francisco, along with the humiliation of being left at the altar, in order to move to Tallulah Falls and realize her dream of owning her own shop. She takes along her faithful companion, a one-year-old Irish wolfhound named Angus O’Ruff. She makes many new friends in Tallulah Falls, but she also makes a few enemies. Thankfully, her best friend Sadie MacKenzie and her husband Blake run the coffeehouse right down the street from Marcy’s shop, the Seven-Year Stitch; and Detective Ted Nash always has her back.
Publishers Weekly says, “Fans of the genre will take kindly to Marcy, her Irish wolfhound, Angus O’Ruff, and Tallulah Falls. This is a fast, pleasant read with prose full of pop culture references and, of course, sharp needlework puns.”
Pat Cooper of RT Book Reviews says, “If her debut here is any indication, Lee’s new series is going to be fun, spunky and educational. She smoothly interweaves plot with her character’s personality and charm, while dropping tantalizing hints of stitching projects and their history. Marcy Singer is young, fun, sharp and likable. Readers will be looking forward to her future adventures.” (RT Book Reviews nominated The Quick and the Thread for a 2010 Book Reviewers’ Choice Award in the Amateur Sleuth category)
I live in Virginia with my family, which includes her own “Angus” who is not an Irish wolfhound but a Great Pyrenees who provides plenty of inspiration for the character of Mr. O’Ruff. I'm having a blast writing this new series!
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 29, 2023
Love this series! Max, the ghost, is really fun! I enjoy the protagonists occupation and her cat! I highly recommend to those readers who like ghosts, humor, pets, and vintage clothing.
April 29, 2023
I love this series!! 💜💜💜
April 26, 2023
I love this series!
May 14, 2023
Great fun series.
I'm not normally a reader of paranormal mysteries, but I do like this series. Max is such a fun ghost, and it just makes it more fun that she's a flapper from the 1920s. I also like that Amanda is a dressmaker who features mostly "old" clothing from earlier in the 20th century. She has just finished designing and making several dresses for a big masquerade ball being put on by the historical society. On the big night, everything that could go wrong did, ending with the murder of the despicable chef who was catering the event. He wasn't a very nice guy, so it would be difficult to pick one person who might have wanted him dead. Turns out the police were looking at Zoe's mom, Maggie, as the most likely suspect. Amanda, Max, Zoe, and Grandpa Dave are working together to try to come up with a more likely suspect. On another note, Grandpa Dave is thinking of moving to Nebraska with Monica, the shop owner upstairs, who seems to be more interested in Dave as a meal ticket than anything else. I really like this series. I had just finished several "hard-hitting" murder mysteries, and I was looking for something more light-hearted and fun to read. This was just perfect. Now I can't wait for book six.
I'm not normally a reader of paranormal mysteries, but I do like this series. Max is such a fun ghost, and it just makes it more fun that she's a flapper from the 1920s. I also like that Amanda is a dressmaker who features mostly "old" clothing from earlier in the 20th century. She has just finished designing and making several dresses for a big masquerade ball being put on by the historical society. On the big night, everything that could go wrong did, ending with the murder of the despicable chef who was catering the event. He wasn't a very nice guy, so it would be difficult to pick one person who might have wanted him dead. Turns out the police were looking at Zoe's mom, Maggie, as the most likely suspect. Amanda, Max, Zoe, and Grandpa Dave are working together to try to come up with a more likely suspect. On another note, Grandpa Dave is thinking of moving to Nebraska with Monica, the shop owner upstairs, who seems to be more interested in Dave as a meal ticket than anything else. I really like this series. I had just finished several "hard-hitting" murder mysteries, and I was looking for something more light-hearted and fun to read. This was just perfect. Now I can't wait for book six.
July 8, 2023
This book was great! I couldn’t put it down. I love all the characters, and the story was well crafted. I didn’t guess the killer until they were revealed. I enjoyed following along as Amanda learns more about the victim and who could have murdered him. Also, I loved the inclusion of the restaurant from another one of this author’s series (which I also enjoy). I look forward to the next book in this series.
June 1, 2024
And if we have to rub out Monica, no fingerprints.
Family is family even when one of them is dead or so Maggie finally figures out when she’s suspected of doing away with her creepy boss and has no alternative but to turn to Amanda and Max for help. What follows is a solid mystery with several plausible suspects and a hair raising climax. Truly enjoyable!
Family is family even when one of them is dead or so Maggie finally figures out when she’s suspected of doing away with her creepy boss and has no alternative but to turn to Amanda and Max for help. What follows is a solid mystery with several plausible suspects and a hair raising climax. Truly enjoyable!
July 5, 2024
This was yet another fun episode with Max, Amanda, Zoe, Maggie, Dave, and the whole gang. The characters are all up to their usual tricks and fun, the plot is easily followed and straightforward, and the premise is finding out who killed the new nefarious caterer. Lots of other issues going on as well. I most definitely recommend this book.
July 20, 2023
Secrets and Sequins
Another great Ghostly Fashionista read. I love Max, Amanda and everyone at Shops on Main. Table's stories have a second mystery woven into the first. As always I can't wait for the next book
Another great Ghostly Fashionista read. I love Max, Amanda and everyone at Shops on Main. Table's stories have a second mystery woven into the first. As always I can't wait for the next book
March 28, 2024
Secrets and Sequins
Gayle Lesson is one of my favorite authors. She writes in a way that keeps you guessing who did it .I absolutely love Max in this series. The books will keep you laughing and a bonus is there is no dirty language.
Gayle Lesson is one of my favorite authors. She writes in a way that keeps you guessing who did it .I absolutely love Max in this series. The books will keep you laughing and a bonus is there is no dirty language.
August 9, 2025
Short, sweet, and cozy. On its own, it’s not very substantial, but if you’ve read any of the earlier books, it’s good to revisit those characters. I had to skip a couple in the series because my library didn’t have them. But I don’t think I really missed out on anything.
July 13, 2023
Loved this series
I loved the characters. Loved the story line in all the books. Looking forward to more. Fun read for sure.
I loved the characters. Loved the story line in all the books. Looking forward to more. Fun read for sure.
February 9, 2024
Love the series - would like to read a Book 6.
March 16, 2024
Really about a 3.4. I enjoy Max and there's an interesting set of characters. Reliably good series.
June 28, 2025
Always a fun read
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews