Gilt Trip: A Humorous Fashion History Amateur Sleuth Cozy Mystery

Diane Vallere

Mar 2023 · Killer Fashion Cozy Mysteries Book 14 · Polyester Press

About this ebook

Enjoy this humorous cozy locked room mystery with a fashionable amateur detective and a cast of quirky characters by national bestselling author Diane Vallere…

All that glitters isn’t gold

When Samantha Kidd’s jewel of a husband, shoe designer Nick Taylor, is named a finalist for Designer of the Year at an industry function, Samantha sponsors a banquet table and invites close friends and family to the celebration. But by the time the night arrives, most of them aren’t on speaking terms. Even romance with Nick suffers thanks to his dad’s move into the couple’s spare bedroom.

Before the cash bar closes, the toastmaster’s body is found with a gilded knife in her chest. What should have been a golden evening becomes a 24-karat disaster, and brutal weather conditions keep the cops at bay. Locked in a ballroom with two hundred suspects and seven angry tablemates, Samantha’s got just four hours to take a stab at solving the murder…before the murderer stabs again.

Gilt Trip is the fourteenth humorous Killer Fashion cozy mystery featuring amateur sleuth and fashion expert Samantha Kidd, although each book in the series can be read as a standalone. For fans of Julie Mulhern, Sophie Kinsella, and Leighann Dobbs, if you like tense circumstances, fair-play whodunits, and humorous family dynamics, you’ll love this funny, stranded-in-a-hotel-in-a-snowstorm mystery.

Diane-Fans describe “her vintage Vallere goodness,” and say she is a “great storyteller” with “a way with creating strong female characters and intrigue” who is “a superb and very humorous writer.” Her gift of creating “spunky sleuths in fun settings” take readers to Dallas, Palm Springs, Los Angeles, Pennsylvania, and outer space.

Ratings and reviews

I Wish That I Had Been There! While this book is the 14th in the series, it can be read alone. I think that one would enjoy the series more if they read them in order, but it isn't necessary. Our heroine and her husband attend an awards banquet where hubby is supposed to get the top award. And, as always, things go wrong! The story is quite an adventure and the final denouement is surprising. It is a very good mystery that will keep you intrigued

This Samantha Kidd novel is one of my favorites! It is a locked room mystery (although there are a large number of people locked in,) which is one of my favorite tropes. There is a deep thoughtfulness to this story that makes it especially compelling, as Samantha is forced to face some hard truths about how others perceive her and how she sees her role in their lives. There is more than one mystery to be solved, and an interesting cast of characters to help (or hinder) the investigation. You can absolutely read this alone, but then you will want to go back and read all the ones that you missed! Samantha is hard to resist!

Always wonderful to be back with the great Samantha Kidd. Terrific Series. Love the mystery, the gorgeous Nick and the impulsive Samantha. Read it now!

About the author

National bestselling author Diane Vallere writes funny and fashionable character-based mysteries. After two decades in luxury retailing, she traded fashion accessories for accessories to murder. As past president of the national Sisters in Crime organization, she edited the Agatha-Award-winning essay collection PROMOPHOBIA: Taking the Mystery out of Promoting Crime Fiction. Diane started her own detective agency at age ten and has maintained a passion for shoes, clues, and clothes ever since.