Backpacks and Betrayals

Haley Randolph #8.5

by Dorothy Howell

A novella in the hilarious Haley Randolph mystery series. Fashionista and event planner Haley Randolph is staging the North Hollywood Art’s District fashion crawl, and everything looks flawless—until one of the models is pushed to her death down a flight of stairs! With celebrities, VIPs, and the fashion world’s most celebrated clothing designers expected to attend, Haley fears the bad publicity could crush the crawl. To save the event, Haley investigates—and she knows she can't be fashionably late finding the killer. Soon she uncovers rivalry, deception, and misplaced loyalty among the models. Plus, everyone at the agency harbors secrets of their own. In the middle of this, Haley also has to plan for a family wedding and knows she’ll never measure up to her overachieving cousins—unless she shows up with the Domino, an exquisite artisan handbag made specifically for her. Problem is, the waiting list is months long. Haley must find a killer and get that handbag— before time runs out!

Genres: Mystery

136 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 21, 2016

About the author

Dorothy Howell writes for two publishing houses, in two genres, under two names. She writes mysteries as Dorothy Howell historical romance novels under the pseudonym Judith Stacy.

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun novella with Haley coordinating a fashion crawl and of course running into murder, mayhem and designer purses. Haley seemed more grown up in this book than in others and I liked that. This was a quick read and I didn't guess who had done it until the final confrontation.

I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.

[Angela Verdenius · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another intriguing, light-hearted mystery involving the self-absorbed, strangely likeable Haley Randolph. Great read for a light mood!

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Dorothy Howell's Haley Randolph books just makes me happy! Howell's writing makes me smile! Haley, her main character, is quirky and things just always seem to happen to her! In this latest installment, Haley is busy at work at LA Confidential when she comes across a dead model at the end of a staircase. She immediately assumes it's murder since she's "been there seen that" as far as investigating a murder goes. And as in every other book, Haley has her eyes on a fabulous new handbag that she must have asap! Many of the other characters that I've come to love, appear in this book, including Haley's Mom and her coworkers at Holt Department Store. I enjoy reading this series because it's one of my favorites. I only wish that this book had been longer. Now I have to patiently wait for the next installment! I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute mystery novella, my only criticism is Haley, the main character’s belief that you couldn’t have an attraction to others if your were in a relationship, the most ass backward thing I’ve ever heard.

[Valerie Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Haley Randolph

Fast paced and fun. Really good characters and storylines. The only drawback is it's over too soon. Look forward to her next adventure.