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Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper #3
Accessory to Murder
Someone has killed Halley Hardwicke, the hot young designer of thousand-dollar Italian silk scarves, in the mall parking lot-and police have their eye on Jake, the husband of Josie's best friend Alyce. The couple lived near the wrap maven, but it seems Halley and Jake were a little too neighborly.
So Josie decides to do what she does best to help out her friend-go undercover and see if she can find some clues. Because this time, there's a lot more at stake than a scarf, even if it's to die for...
So Josie decides to do what she does best to help out her friend-go undercover and see if she can find some clues. Because this time, there's a lot more at stake than a scarf, even if it's to die for...
278 pages, Paperback
First published November 6, 2007
66 people are currently reading
621 people want to read
About the author
Elaine Viets
83 books569 followersAs a young girl, Elaine Viets was taught the virtues of South St. Louis: the importance of hard work, housecleaning, and paying cash. She managed to forget almost everything she learned, which is why she turned to mystery writing.
Living in South Florida has not improved her character. But it has given her the bestselling Dead-End Job series. Like her amateur detective, Helen Hawthorne, Elaine actually works those rotten jobs. Perhaps her early training has given her a lifelong fascination with jobs. She and Helen both know working for a living can be murder.
To research her novels, Elaine has been everything from a salesclerk to a survey taker. Her first book in the series is SHOP TILL YOU DROP, a novel of sex, murder and plastic surgery. It's set at a fashionable dress shop that caters to kept women. Book two, MURDER BETWEEN THE COVERS, takes place at a bookstore. Elaine worked at a Barnes & Noble in Hollywood, Florida, for a year.
For the third, DYING TO CALL YOU, Helen works as a telemarketer. Elaine sold septic tank cleaner and did telephone surveys. She actually asked women if they shaved their armpits. In the fourth Dead-End Job mystery, JUST MURDERED, Elaine and Helen explore big-money matrimony for better or worse. Elaine did her research in Zola Keller’s posh bridal salon in Fort Lauderdale.
For the fifth novel, Elaine and Helen go to the dogs. MURDER UNLEASHED is set at a high-end dog boutique, where people spend two hundred dollars for canine cuisine, women sneak illegal pets into condos using high-priced designer purses, and the dogs at the store have bigger wardrobes than the salesclerks. MURDER UNLEASHED is Elaine's first hardcover mystery. Publishers Weekly calls it “wry social commentary.”
Although Elaine lives in Fort Lauderdale, her heart – and her viewpoint – remain in the Midwest. Like Helen Hawthorne, another transplanted St. Louisan, she observes the outrageously rich Florida culture (and lack thereof) with wide-eyed fascination.
Elaine’s second series takes her back to work in St. Louis. It features Josie Marcus, a mystery shopper and single mom. The debut novel, DYING IN STYLE, tied with Stephen King on the bestseller list for the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.
Elaine won both the Agatha and the Anthony Awards for her short story, "Wedding Knife," in CHESAPEAKE CRIMES.
Some honors don’t come with plaques and award banquets. Elaine was thrilled when her short story, "After the Fall," was featured on the same cover of the Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine as the master, Ed Hoch.
Her short story, "Red Meat," is in BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS, the Mystery Writers of America anthology edited by Lawrence Block. "Blonde Moment" is in the MWA anthology, SHOW BUSINESS IS MURDER, edited by Stuart Kaminsky. "Sex and Bingo" is featured in the HIGH STAKES gambling anthology. And if you've ever wondered about the early life of purple-loving landlady Margery Flax, read "Killer Blonde" in DROP-DEAD BLONDE.
Elaine has served on the national boards of the Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. She lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with her husband, actor Don Crinklaw, where they collect speeding tickets.
Please buy her novels so she can pay her MasterCard.
Series:
* Dead-End Job Mystery
* Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper
* Francesca Vierling Mystery
Living in South Florida has not improved her character. But it has given her the bestselling Dead-End Job series. Like her amateur detective, Helen Hawthorne, Elaine actually works those rotten jobs. Perhaps her early training has given her a lifelong fascination with jobs. She and Helen both know working for a living can be murder.
To research her novels, Elaine has been everything from a salesclerk to a survey taker. Her first book in the series is SHOP TILL YOU DROP, a novel of sex, murder and plastic surgery. It's set at a fashionable dress shop that caters to kept women. Book two, MURDER BETWEEN THE COVERS, takes place at a bookstore. Elaine worked at a Barnes & Noble in Hollywood, Florida, for a year.
For the third, DYING TO CALL YOU, Helen works as a telemarketer. Elaine sold septic tank cleaner and did telephone surveys. She actually asked women if they shaved their armpits. In the fourth Dead-End Job mystery, JUST MURDERED, Elaine and Helen explore big-money matrimony for better or worse. Elaine did her research in Zola Keller’s posh bridal salon in Fort Lauderdale.
For the fifth novel, Elaine and Helen go to the dogs. MURDER UNLEASHED is set at a high-end dog boutique, where people spend two hundred dollars for canine cuisine, women sneak illegal pets into condos using high-priced designer purses, and the dogs at the store have bigger wardrobes than the salesclerks. MURDER UNLEASHED is Elaine's first hardcover mystery. Publishers Weekly calls it “wry social commentary.”
Although Elaine lives in Fort Lauderdale, her heart – and her viewpoint – remain in the Midwest. Like Helen Hawthorne, another transplanted St. Louisan, she observes the outrageously rich Florida culture (and lack thereof) with wide-eyed fascination.
Elaine’s second series takes her back to work in St. Louis. It features Josie Marcus, a mystery shopper and single mom. The debut novel, DYING IN STYLE, tied with Stephen King on the bestseller list for the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.
Elaine won both the Agatha and the Anthony Awards for her short story, "Wedding Knife," in CHESAPEAKE CRIMES.
Some honors don’t come with plaques and award banquets. Elaine was thrilled when her short story, "After the Fall," was featured on the same cover of the Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine as the master, Ed Hoch.
Her short story, "Red Meat," is in BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS, the Mystery Writers of America anthology edited by Lawrence Block. "Blonde Moment" is in the MWA anthology, SHOW BUSINESS IS MURDER, edited by Stuart Kaminsky. "Sex and Bingo" is featured in the HIGH STAKES gambling anthology. And if you've ever wondered about the early life of purple-loving landlady Margery Flax, read "Killer Blonde" in DROP-DEAD BLONDE.
Elaine has served on the national boards of the Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. She lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with her husband, actor Don Crinklaw, where they collect speeding tickets.
Please buy her novels so she can pay her MasterCard.
Series:
* Dead-End Job Mystery
* Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper
* Francesca Vierling Mystery
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
October 14, 2018
When her best friend's husband is arrested for murder in Saint Louis, Josie Marcus is on the case. Along the way she has to deal with a petty boss, a budding relationship, and her precocious daughter. Pretty good, a solid second tier effort.
May 13, 2011
2 stars is a bit lower than I'd give this book; 2.5 stars would be closer. An Accessory to Murder might please fans of the Mystery Shopper series, but if you made the mistake of picking up this book first, you might have a less pleasant ride. It's an okay read, but the mystery isn't really gripping nor was the murderer well-incorporated into the story so that you get a thrill when you find out who it is. Fashion fans should also be aware that there's very little shopping done at all.
My first impression was a sense of disappointment when I realized the book is totally marketed incorrectly. I was looking for something totally fluffy - both the title of the book and the cover implied a cozy mystery that had a strong fashion angle. I expected a great deal of humour, and possibly a ditzy heroine. I was wrong on all accounts, and the only discovery that didn't disappoint me was the fact that Josie Marcus is far from ditzy. Of course, none of this is the author's fault, but it really didn't help me like the book. We started off on the wrong foot.
Josie's intelligent, but she was also stuffy and judgemental, neither of which are attractive traits. For example, at one point she comments that "Boozers are losers." The irony is that this is said right after she's downed a whole bottle of wine by herself. Not only does she drink this way once; she actually does it several times. I think there was less solving of murders than there were scenes of Josie pigging out at Alyce's house, then mystery shopping greasy burgers/chicken, and then downing bottles of Maalox. Definitely not a good influence for healthy eating. She's also not a particularly good mother; I was absolutely boggling at how much she lets her bratty daughter Amelia get away with. At one point, Amelia sees Josie flirting with Mike, and calls her mother a "slut." I kid you not.
Considering how important Alyce is to the plot, it's also astounding that Josie's relationship with Alyce never convinced me that they were really "best friends" as Viets described. Many of their exchanges were instead used to highlight what a wide social gap they had and preach about the differences between the rich and the middle class, which became really tiresome. Given that they were supposed to be best friends, I would've expected them to have dealt with this social barrier ages ago! How could Josie still be shocked and offended at some of the ignorant things Alyce says?
On a related issue, I had a few problems with the stilted conversation between Alyce and Josie. There was a part early on when Josie complains to Alyce that her mother has taken up smoking again, and says:
Firstly, I don't know a single person who'd recite their mother's life story like that to their best friend of many, many years. Not only should Josie's best friend already know these details and not require her to explain, but it had the tone of someone summarizing a person's tragic life. "She needed every penny to raise me, and now she's retired so she has some money, so she starts smoking again..." It sounds incredibly clunky. I've noticed this problem several times, where people are speaking in this short, abrupt manner. Secondly, what kind of person advises their best friend to let her mother smoke because "it's her life"?
There was one other glaring problem that irritated me to no end; the use of "Ohmigod." Josie says this, Alyce says this, even Josie's hot hunk of a plumber boyfriend says it towards the end of the novel. Am I supposed to read this as "Oh my god"? Because when it's typed that way, I imagine it spoken really quickly and in a high-pitched tone, the way the stereotypical, ditzy "cool" gang of high school girls would talk in a TV show. It sounds stupid when Josie and Alyce uses it, but when even Mike uses it, it's absolutely hilarious. And I don't think it was intended to be.
All in all, there were far too many things that bothered me about this book, but on the positive side, it improved dramatically in the last third when Josie stopped pigging out, getting drunk or helping Alyce wallow in her delusions that her husband's a good guy, and started solving the murder. Once the clues began to fall into place, the pace picked up and everything ended on a reasonably good note. Before I walk away from this Mystery Shopper series, I will probably give this another chance and at least try the first book. Hopefully, that will be better.
My first impression was a sense of disappointment when I realized the book is totally marketed incorrectly. I was looking for something totally fluffy - both the title of the book and the cover implied a cozy mystery that had a strong fashion angle. I expected a great deal of humour, and possibly a ditzy heroine. I was wrong on all accounts, and the only discovery that didn't disappoint me was the fact that Josie Marcus is far from ditzy. Of course, none of this is the author's fault, but it really didn't help me like the book. We started off on the wrong foot.
Josie's intelligent, but she was also stuffy and judgemental, neither of which are attractive traits. For example, at one point she comments that "Boozers are losers." The irony is that this is said right after she's downed a whole bottle of wine by herself. Not only does she drink this way once; she actually does it several times. I think there was less solving of murders than there were scenes of Josie pigging out at Alyce's house, then mystery shopping greasy burgers/chicken, and then downing bottles of Maalox. Definitely not a good influence for healthy eating. She's also not a particularly good mother; I was absolutely boggling at how much she lets her bratty daughter Amelia get away with. At one point, Amelia sees Josie flirting with Mike, and calls her mother a "slut." I kid you not.
Considering how important Alyce is to the plot, it's also astounding that Josie's relationship with Alyce never convinced me that they were really "best friends" as Viets described. Many of their exchanges were instead used to highlight what a wide social gap they had and preach about the differences between the rich and the middle class, which became really tiresome. Given that they were supposed to be best friends, I would've expected them to have dealt with this social barrier ages ago! How could Josie still be shocked and offended at some of the ignorant things Alyce says?
On a related issue, I had a few problems with the stilted conversation between Alyce and Josie. There was a part early on when Josie complains to Alyce that her mother has taken up smoking again, and says:
"Jane gave up smoking after my father walked out on us, because she couldn't afford cigarettes. She needed every penny to raise me. Now that she's retired, she has a little spending money. Her friends all smoke, so she started again. She says she's not worried about cancer - she's too old to care."
"She has a point, Josie," Alyce said. "It's her life."
Firstly, I don't know a single person who'd recite their mother's life story like that to their best friend of many, many years. Not only should Josie's best friend already know these details and not require her to explain, but it had the tone of someone summarizing a person's tragic life. "She needed every penny to raise me, and now she's retired so she has some money, so she starts smoking again..." It sounds incredibly clunky. I've noticed this problem several times, where people are speaking in this short, abrupt manner. Secondly, what kind of person advises their best friend to let her mother smoke because "it's her life"?
There was one other glaring problem that irritated me to no end; the use of "Ohmigod." Josie says this, Alyce says this, even Josie's hot hunk of a plumber boyfriend says it towards the end of the novel. Am I supposed to read this as "Oh my god"? Because when it's typed that way, I imagine it spoken really quickly and in a high-pitched tone, the way the stereotypical, ditzy "cool" gang of high school girls would talk in a TV show. It sounds stupid when Josie and Alyce uses it, but when even Mike uses it, it's absolutely hilarious. And I don't think it was intended to be.
All in all, there were far too many things that bothered me about this book, but on the positive side, it improved dramatically in the last third when Josie stopped pigging out, getting drunk or helping Alyce wallow in her delusions that her husband's a good guy, and started solving the murder. Once the clues began to fall into place, the pace picked up and everything ended on a reasonably good note. Before I walk away from this Mystery Shopper series, I will probably give this another chance and at least try the first book. Hopefully, that will be better.
February 11, 2012
I think I've found my companion to my current favorite cozy mystery writer, Laura Levine:Elaine Viets is funny and warm and a voice to relax to-even if the lyrics are murder! So far I've read one in her dead-end series and loved it and now An Accessory to Murder, #3 in the Mystery Shopper series. Josie Marcus is the single mom of a nine year old girl and lives with her mom. She works as a mystery shopper to give her time to be with her daughter, the result of a passionate love affair with a charmer-who turned out to use his charm to make the disposable income he lavished on Josie. Now Josie lives a simple life-love and memories and greasy food from discount diners. Oh-and an occasional murder to solve.
Hallie Haliday was an ambitious designer who wanted out of St. Louis in the worst way. Well, she got her wish-she got killed. The problem for Josie is that her best friend Alyce's husband Jake is the primary suspect. Alyce has all the affluence Josie does not, as well as a handsome husband and beautiful baby boy. But, at the moment, she needs Josie to save her husband (who, incidentally, Josie doesn't even like) from jail.
Nothing ambitious and nothing terribly surprising but an extremely pleasurable experience: I plan on spending more time with Josie.
The verdict is: guilty of rich dessert reading. But oh-so-high quality sweet it is!
Hallie Haliday was an ambitious designer who wanted out of St. Louis in the worst way. Well, she got her wish-she got killed. The problem for Josie is that her best friend Alyce's husband Jake is the primary suspect. Alyce has all the affluence Josie does not, as well as a handsome husband and beautiful baby boy. But, at the moment, she needs Josie to save her husband (who, incidentally, Josie doesn't even like) from jail.
Nothing ambitious and nothing terribly surprising but an extremely pleasurable experience: I plan on spending more time with Josie.
The verdict is: guilty of rich dessert reading. But oh-so-high quality sweet it is!
December 31, 2017
In Elaine Viets's Accessory to Murder, the third installment in the Josie Marcus Mystery Shopper cozy mystery series, this cozy is so twisted, it would leave you speechless and tied up in knots. For single mother Josie Marcus, she had a terrible boss who assigned her awful places to mystery shop. And when she filed a report on his niece Saber, he would make sure he would put Josie through hell. While she content with her mother's smoking habits and her matchmaking, her best friend Alyce Bohannon needs her help. When they arrest her husband Jake for Halley Hardwicke's murder, she would do anything to help Alyce out to clear her name and whodonit. They talked to her friends and closest neighbors, while the Wood Winds community had shunned her. They look for clues in every nook and cranny to dissect Halley's private and personal life. And when Josie thought she had it made in the shade, they hit a snag and someone charged her card and sent packages to shut her up for snooping. But when that didn't deter her, when Josie dug deeper into the heart of Wood Winds community and to Halley's closest friends, when one of them had more than a bone to pick with her. It would leave Josie scrambling and fighting for her life in the end.
April 25, 2013
I had taken a break from Elaine Viets two series, this Mystery Shopper Mystery series and the Dead End Jobs ones. They aren't great works of literature by any means but there are perfect for the beach or, if you are in north woods, this never ending winter. It's good escape reading with easy to love characters. And every book teaches you something, in this case about how to shop for accessories.
October 20, 2015
I'm pretty addicted to this series! Three in a row is unusual for me in any series. When a talented writer combines a great idea with the perfect words......wonderful!!
January 29, 2019
Accessory To Murder by Elaine Viets is a solid 3.5 star cozy mystery. It earns an extra .5/half star for its humor and the quirky female characters.
December 9, 2025
I love this series! I don’t know why I’ve been reading it so slowly, after reading this one I’d like to just binge the entire series. There’s a lot of humor and Josie is a great MC. Alyce is quirky and fun and the perfect unlikely BFF. Great mystery, I completely missed the big clue and didn’t see it coming until the very end.
November 10, 2023
It's a really long time since I read this series. I'm glad I've remembered it exists.
July 27, 2021
I am a HUGE fan of Elaine Viets and her books and I am obsessed with her Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper series. As soon as I open one of these books up I feel like I am right there in Josie's world !!
Accessory to Murder is the third book in this series and I think this is my favorite ....so far. In this book the murder hits close to home....not Josie's home but her best friend Alyce's home. A neighbor of Alyce's in her fancy, gated, rich neighborhood is carjacked at a mall and Alyce's husband Jake is arrested for the murder !
Alyce begs Josie to help clear her husband and find the real murderer. Even though Josie has a lot on her plate being a single mom to her daughter Amelia, dealing with her overpowering mother who lives upstairs, working as a mystery shopper and getting bad places to shop after pissing her boss off, she cannot say no to her best friend. So she agrees to talk to some of the neighbors and look into Halley's death. Unfortunately she quickly learns that not everyone is Alyce's friend and everyone thinks that Jake was having an affair with Halley and killed her. Alyce insists that Jake is innocent and stands by her man.....now Josie has to do everything in her power to help.....
Viets is amazing at telling the reader a captivating story. You cannot help but feel like you are right there along side Josie wherever she goes. You will feel the homey bland feel to Josie's house and love the feeling you get when you are sitting in Alyce's kitchen. And when Josie is out working you will feel her anguish when she's eating the crappy fast food that Harry makes her rate. And readers will also enjoy reading about Josie and her disasterous dating experiences....however, in Accessory to Murder she may have finally found a keeper, she just has to convince her mom he's a catch and not to throw him back.
There is so much to love with this series you won't be sorry. The only thing you will be sorry for is when you get to the end of the book and you have to go grab the next one in the series......
Accessory to Murder is the third book in this series and I think this is my favorite ....so far. In this book the murder hits close to home....not Josie's home but her best friend Alyce's home. A neighbor of Alyce's in her fancy, gated, rich neighborhood is carjacked at a mall and Alyce's husband Jake is arrested for the murder !
Alyce begs Josie to help clear her husband and find the real murderer. Even though Josie has a lot on her plate being a single mom to her daughter Amelia, dealing with her overpowering mother who lives upstairs, working as a mystery shopper and getting bad places to shop after pissing her boss off, she cannot say no to her best friend. So she agrees to talk to some of the neighbors and look into Halley's death. Unfortunately she quickly learns that not everyone is Alyce's friend and everyone thinks that Jake was having an affair with Halley and killed her. Alyce insists that Jake is innocent and stands by her man.....now Josie has to do everything in her power to help.....
Viets is amazing at telling the reader a captivating story. You cannot help but feel like you are right there along side Josie wherever she goes. You will feel the homey bland feel to Josie's house and love the feeling you get when you are sitting in Alyce's kitchen. And when Josie is out working you will feel her anguish when she's eating the crappy fast food that Harry makes her rate. And readers will also enjoy reading about Josie and her disasterous dating experiences....however, in Accessory to Murder she may have finally found a keeper, she just has to convince her mom he's a catch and not to throw him back.
There is so much to love with this series you won't be sorry. The only thing you will be sorry for is when you get to the end of the book and you have to go grab the next one in the series......
July 23, 2017
Josie Marcus is a single mother in suburban St. Louis, raising her nine-year-old daughter Amelia with the help of her mother, Jane. She has a less-than-delightful job doing mystery shopping for her petty, vindictive boss, "Horrible Harry." In her spare time, Josie sometimes finds herself involved in solving murders ...
This time, Josie's best friend's husband, Jake Bohannon, has been accused of killing fashion designer Halley Hardwicke. A lot of the evidence seems to point to Jake, but Alyce (Josie's friend) insists her husband is innocent. And some things just don't add up ...
I must admit the identity of the killer surprised me. I figured it had to be someone living in the Wood Winds subdivision, to have access to Jake's gun, but my suspicions were pointing in an entirely different direction. Good job, Ms. Viets!
This time, Josie's best friend's husband, Jake Bohannon, has been accused of killing fashion designer Halley Hardwicke. A lot of the evidence seems to point to Jake, but Alyce (Josie's friend) insists her husband is innocent. And some things just don't add up ...
I must admit the identity of the killer surprised me. I figured it had to be someone living in the Wood Winds subdivision, to have access to Jake's gun, but my suspicions were pointing in an entirely different direction. Good job, Ms. Viets!
November 23, 2009
This is a classic tale of: Amateur solves crime.
The amateur in this case is Josie Marcus, who does mystery shopping for a living. As we soon learn, this profession can be glamorous, but in most cases it's not, since also Dollar-Stores, Supermarkets and (horrible) Fast Food Chains request mystery shopper.
But it sure is a nice change to have a protagonist have a different kind of job once in a while.
The mystery is not overly dramatic, and somehow the story not really gripping. Meaning I wasn't really thrilled to find out who might be the killer. Creation of suspense didn't work for me. However, it was still nice reading the book.
The amateur in this case is Josie Marcus, who does mystery shopping for a living. As we soon learn, this profession can be glamorous, but in most cases it's not, since also Dollar-Stores, Supermarkets and (horrible) Fast Food Chains request mystery shopper.
But it sure is a nice change to have a protagonist have a different kind of job once in a while.
The mystery is not overly dramatic, and somehow the story not really gripping. Meaning I wasn't really thrilled to find out who might be the killer. Creation of suspense didn't work for me. However, it was still nice reading the book.
September 14, 2011
Here’s a mystery that delivers plenty of fun along with good plotting and exceptionally strong writing. The concept of a sleuth who’s a mystery shopper initially struck me as fluffy, however Josie Marcus is anything but. She’s wry, resilient, and believable as a single mom who endures lousy assignments to provide for herself and her child. Meanwhile her best friend, Alyce, lives a pampered life in a gated community. When Alyce’s husband becomes prime suspect in the murder of an ambitious young designer, Josie attempts to prove his innocence – even though she privately thinks he may be guilty. Shopping bores me, but this mystery didn’t.
September 24, 2008
Josie finds herself smack dab in the middle of a murder yet again! This time her best friend's husband is accused and she must help figure out who really did it or if her friend's husband is guilty.
Josie also manages to piss off her boss (happens every book i think) and gets some bad mystery shopper jobs. One manages to save her life somehow.
enjoyable book, I think my fave is still the Dead End Job series with Helen Hawthorne
Josie also manages to piss off her boss (happens every book i think) and gets some bad mystery shopper jobs. One manages to save her life somehow.
enjoyable book, I think my fave is still the Dead End Job series with Helen Hawthorne
March 28, 2009
This was entertaining like most of Elaine Viets's books, but I found this one spent too much time emphasizing the differences between lifestyles and perceptions in Maplewood vs. West County. Maybe it wouldn't have stood out to me as much if I didn't live in St. Louis. Still, enjoyable, and if you're reading her Mystery Shopper series, a worthwhile read.
April 26, 2019
Another fun cozy featuring Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper.
Alyce is with Josie at Dorchester Mall where they witness shoplifting at a high end store and an armed robbery at a shoe store focused on the new 'gangsta' crowd that the mall has targeted.
Designer Halley Hardwick is murdered and Josie sets out to find out why and who did it.
Plot moved quickly and it was a great cozy mystery.
Alyce is with Josie at Dorchester Mall where they witness shoplifting at a high end store and an armed robbery at a shoe store focused on the new 'gangsta' crowd that the mall has targeted.
Designer Halley Hardwick is murdered and Josie sets out to find out why and who did it.
Plot moved quickly and it was a great cozy mystery.
February 19, 2020
I’m not entirely sure why I love these books, but I certainly do. Accessory is the best one so far. Usually Josie accidentally gets involved in murder, and once involved she slips and slides her way into solving it. This time around she has to get involved, she loves Alyse far too much not to. As such her investigation is thoughtful, thorough, and serious. It’s a nice change.
November 5, 2009
Not great but lots of St. Louis landmarks mentioned.
June 9, 2012
The memorable thing about this book is that it is the FIRST free book I have downloaded and read on my Nook!
October 4, 2013
I really enjoyed this mystery. Josie is a lot of fun and I love how she is a real person and you can relate to her. Good ending to the book as well.
August 12, 2022
Ein richtig toller Shopping-Cosy-Krimi
Ein Designer-Leben voller Intrigen
Die Einzelhandelsdetektivin und alleinerziehende Mutter Josie Marcus weiß, dass Mystery Shopping nicht immer glamourös ist - zum Beispiel, wenn sie fettiges Fast Food probieren muss ... oder wenn der Ehemann ihrer besten Freundin, Jake, des Mordes beschuldigt wird. Jemand hat Halley Hardwicke, die attraktive junge Designerin von tausenddollarschweren italienischen Seidenschals, auf dem Parkplatz des Einkaufszentrums umgebracht. Nun verdächtigt die Polizei Jake, der in der Nähe des Hauses der Schalspezialistin wohnt, weil Halley und er ein wenig zu nachbarschaftlich waren. Also beschließt Josie, undercover zu ermitteln, um zu sehen, ob sie ein paar Hinweise finden kann. Und es steht viel mehr auf dem Spiel als ein Schal - auch wenn er zum Sterben schön ist.
Das Cover passt wieder sehr schön zum Buch. Der Schreibstil gefällt mir sehr, er ist wieder schön flüssig. Der 3. Band steht den ersten beiden Büchern in nichts nach. Man erfährt immer mehr über Josies Leben als Testkäuferin und ihr Freunde. Ich hab mich wieder wunderbar unterhalten gefühlt. Eine Story für jeden Cosy-Krimi-Leser und Shopping-Liebhaber. Ich bin schon gespannt auf den 4. Band der Reihe.
Ein Designer-Leben voller Intrigen
Die Einzelhandelsdetektivin und alleinerziehende Mutter Josie Marcus weiß, dass Mystery Shopping nicht immer glamourös ist - zum Beispiel, wenn sie fettiges Fast Food probieren muss ... oder wenn der Ehemann ihrer besten Freundin, Jake, des Mordes beschuldigt wird. Jemand hat Halley Hardwicke, die attraktive junge Designerin von tausenddollarschweren italienischen Seidenschals, auf dem Parkplatz des Einkaufszentrums umgebracht. Nun verdächtigt die Polizei Jake, der in der Nähe des Hauses der Schalspezialistin wohnt, weil Halley und er ein wenig zu nachbarschaftlich waren. Also beschließt Josie, undercover zu ermitteln, um zu sehen, ob sie ein paar Hinweise finden kann. Und es steht viel mehr auf dem Spiel als ein Schal - auch wenn er zum Sterben schön ist.
Das Cover passt wieder sehr schön zum Buch. Der Schreibstil gefällt mir sehr, er ist wieder schön flüssig. Der 3. Band steht den ersten beiden Büchern in nichts nach. Man erfährt immer mehr über Josies Leben als Testkäuferin und ihr Freunde. Ich hab mich wieder wunderbar unterhalten gefühlt. Eine Story für jeden Cosy-Krimi-Leser und Shopping-Liebhaber. Ich bin schon gespannt auf den 4. Band der Reihe.
September 7, 2024
Excellent read! At first I wasn't too crazy about the main character, Josie, but she grew on me and the reveal of the murderer was a big surprise to me. I definitely will be reading more in this series.
March 14, 2025
I'd read book in Viets' other series, but hadn't read a Josie. I enjoyed it thoroughly and Josie is a delight. I love her take on things and the book rather reminded me of another favorite author, Jill Churchill. I am definitely going to read more in this series.
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November 24, 2023Rereading
December 10, 2023
I’m a huge fan of Elaine Viets.
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May 17, 2024I didn’t like this one. It was too dark to be part of this cozy mystery series. I won’t be keeping this one to read again.
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August 22, 2024loved it
July 9, 2022
I have a boxed set of 5 of the books in this series and I feel almost obligated to get through them even as my dislike rises it’s each book. With the first 2 I thought Josie was kind of an idiot. Poor decision after poor decision, a ridiculous excuse for a romance that she says broke her heart because she was so in love (which was totally unbelievable), totally judgmental about a woman she continually calls a slut, and an incredibly irritating relationship with her intolerable mother. For the first two books I was able to overlook this because I still liked them for some reason. But the 3rd book annoyed me from the very beginning. I’ve come to expect no characters of color in cozies unless they’re servants or criminals but it still irritates me every single time nd this one was no exception. Josie and Alyce go to a mall as part of Josie’s secret shopper job and of course it’s in the “bad” part of town and there is now a store that caters to undesirables- aka people of color. Naturally that set up only exists to explain why there is a character of color that allegedly commits a murder because what other way would those two women ever run into someone like that? They live in a white washed world. Josie and Alyce escape their privileged existence and the book never really improved for me. Alyce is a fool for believing her husband but reminds me of many women I know in similar positions. The numerous and useless descriptions of Josie’s meals and her excessive drinking are just dull filler. Her mother Jane is a manipulative pain in the keister and her daughter is a brat. I hope to get through book 4 out of the 5 I have but it’s 50-50 I’m giving up on this series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 7, 2021
#3 in the Mystery Shopper series.
In this one, Josie tries to help her best friend Alyce when Alyce's husband Jake is accused of murdering a neighbor, Halley. Halley is a successful fashion designer, designing beautiful scarves (which cost about a cool grand). Halley appears to have had an affair with Jake, and it also appears as though Jake's lawyer type dealings have been a bit suspect. Between mystery shopping and handling her tween daughter, Josie vows to help Alyce figure out the truth - even if it hurts.
This one had an intricate plot. The evidence against Jake appears to be ironclad. The neighbors turn on Alyce given she is married to a 'killer'. I thought that part of the book to be sad, but unfortunately, most probably true to form. Jake isn't painted as a likeable character, which makes it all to easy to assume his guilt.
There are side stories going on here as well. Besides the murder of Halley and all that entails, there's the mystery shopping, Josie's dating life, her mom and almost a teenager daughter. And then, someone swipes Josie's credit card numbers and chaos happens. That part of the book was very interesting...and funny. So, quite a few threads in the book, but there's closure on everything at the end.
I was familiar with the other series that Viets writes, but not this one. I actually think I like this series better. I will certainly continue with the series.
In this one, Josie tries to help her best friend Alyce when Alyce's husband Jake is accused of murdering a neighbor, Halley. Halley is a successful fashion designer, designing beautiful scarves (which cost about a cool grand). Halley appears to have had an affair with Jake, and it also appears as though Jake's lawyer type dealings have been a bit suspect. Between mystery shopping and handling her tween daughter, Josie vows to help Alyce figure out the truth - even if it hurts.
This one had an intricate plot. The evidence against Jake appears to be ironclad. The neighbors turn on Alyce given she is married to a 'killer'. I thought that part of the book to be sad, but unfortunately, most probably true to form. Jake isn't painted as a likeable character, which makes it all to easy to assume his guilt.
There are side stories going on here as well. Besides the murder of Halley and all that entails, there's the mystery shopping, Josie's dating life, her mom and almost a teenager daughter. And then, someone swipes Josie's credit card numbers and chaos happens. That part of the book was very interesting...and funny. So, quite a few threads in the book, but there's closure on everything at the end.
I was familiar with the other series that Viets writes, but not this one. I actually think I like this series better. I will certainly continue with the series.
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