Designer Dirty Laundry

Diane Vallere kicks off her Samantha Kidd cozy mystery series with Designer Dirty Laundry. Samantha leaves her New York fashion job and moves home to a small Pennsylvania town, only to walk into her first day at a new department store and find a body in the stockroom.

The mystery is solid for a cozy. The clues are placed fairly, the suspects have real motives, and the mid-book twist actually rewards paying attention.

Vallere worked in fashion buying before she started writing, so the industry detail rings true. The clothes get described in real fashion-world terminology, not vague designer-talk, and there’s some pleasure in that for readers who track the field.

For readers who like Joanne Fluke or Jenn McKinlay, this is a comparable cozy mystery. The series has continued for many books, so there’s runway if you get hooked.