I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from Great Escapes Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Designs On Murder: A Ghostly Fashionista Mystery
by Gayle Leeson
Series: Ghostly Fashionista Mystery Series #1
Series Rating:
Published by Grace Abraham Publishing on March 26, 2019
Genres: Mystery
Pages: 212
Format: Kindle
Source: Great Escapes Book Tours
Goodreads
BookBub
Get Your Copy at: Amazon
What if you discovered your lively new friend wasn't really...alive?
Amanda Tucker is excited about opening her fashion design studio in Shops On Main, a charming old building in historic Abingdon, Virginia. She didn't realize a ghost came with the property! But soon Maxine "Max" Englebright, a young woman who died in 1930, isn't the only dead person at the retail complex. Mark Tinsley, a web designer with a know-it-all attitude who also rented space at Shops On Main, is shot in his office.
Amanda is afraid that one of her new "friends" and fellow small business owners is his killer, and Max is encouraging her to solve Mark's murder a la Nancy Drew. Easy for Max to want to investigate--the ghostly fashionista can't end up the killer's next victim!
Fashion, Murder, and a Ghost, Oh, My!
Designs on Murder by Gayle Leeson is fantastic. I absolutely adored everything! I was so gone after “the elephant’s eyebrows.” The characters are smart, witty and so funny. The setting is perfect, from the small town atmosphere to the diners, and the Shops On Main.
The Characters
Amanda Tucker
Amanda is so talented, with her designing gown to fit the individual, sewing and creating the finished dresses. She is smart with her degrees and actual use of them. Amanda has that modest beauty, grace, and Southern charm. Oh, her manners. She is just marvelous. Did I mention that she can see ghosts? Well, Amanda has that gift of sight. She is such a wonderfully positive character.
Amanda’s one flaw would be self-confidence. I feel part of that has to do with her mother. But the men in her family make up for that.
Maxine “Max” Englebright
Max is just so pure; she has such sophistication and grace. Yet, she is also a little snarky, and oh, her expressions are to die for. Max seems so tough and worldly, but she has a heart of gold. Amanda is teaching Max how to use technology, but in turn, she is giving Amanda the courage to make her design business shine.
Max’s flaw would be that she is a ghost and can’t leave the house.
I would consider Amanda and Max to both be the sleuths in this mystery as they are both of the curious nature. Max a bit more, but she can’t go around asking questions now can she? I feel like these two will be the best of friends, Amanda since she likes her fashions from the 1920s, 30s, and 40s and Max who is one of the original fighters for women’s rights in the 20s.
Dave Tucker
I felt like he has to be mentioned. Dave also is known as “Grandpa” to Amanda and “Silver Fox” to Max, is such a gracious and loving man. He takes care of his granddaughter, with love and encouragement. Dave cooks, make bookshelves, but most importantly he is there to spend time with Amanda and now Max. Oh, and Dave also has the sight as his grandmother did. So, that trait must skip a generation.
Mystery
The mystery is well plotted with a few red herrings here and there. I enjoyed the dynamics of the recent murder, and the explanation of Max’s death is combined with a little history thrown in was well done.
5 Stars for Designs on Murder by Gayle Leeson
My rating for Designs on Murder by Gayle Leeson is five stars. This story is so wonderfully written and filled with humor, drama, mystery, history, and fashions. I think its lovely and recommend it all the cozy mystery and ghost lovers out there.
Tour Schedule
March 25 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW
March 25 – T’s Stuff – SPOTLIGHT
March 26 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 26 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW
March 27 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY
March 27 – Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
March 28 – Ruff Drafts – GUEST POST
March 29 – Teresa Trent Author Blog – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 29 – Books Direct – GUEST POST
March 30 – Brooke Blogs – CHARACTER GUEST POST
March 30 – MJB Reviewers – REVIEW, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY
March 31 – Mallory Heart’s Cozies – REVIEW
March 31 – Nadaness In Motion – REVIEW, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY
April 1 – Laura`s Interests – REVIEW, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY
April 2 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW
April 3 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
April 4 – Moonlight Rendezvous – REVIEW, GUEST POST
April 4 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT
April 5 – Socrates Book Reviews – REVIEW
April 6 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
April 6 – I’m All About Books – REVIEW
April 6 – Melina’s Book Blog – REVIEW
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Tour Giveaway
Prize: (1) Digital Copy – Designs On Murder: A Ghostly Fashionista Mystery by Gayle Leeson plus $25 Amazon Gift Card
Tour Organized by:
To find all the tour information click the banner at the top of the page.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Designs on Murder by Gayle Leeson. Don’t forget to enter the giveaway.
Did you see the character post with Max Englebright? If, not go HERE.
Until the next time,
Happy Reading!
About Gayle Leeson
Gayle Leeson is a pseudonym for Gayle Trent. Gayle has also written as Amanda Lee and Gayle Trent. As Amanda Lee, she wrote the Embroidery Mystery series, and as Gayle Trent, she writes the Daphne Martin Cake Mystery series and the Myrtle Crumb Mystery series. Going forward, Gayle intends to keep her writing until the Gayle Leeson name. She has a series of women’s fiction novellas set in a shopping mall that has been converted to include micro-apartments (the Kinsey Falls series) and has just begun this new cozy series, the Ghostly Fashionista Mystery series. Another Down South Cafe novel is slated for release in August with book two in the Ghostly Fashionista series scheduled for October.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2019 Cloak and Dagger
- 2019 Craving For Cozies Reading Challenge
- 2019 Cruisin' Thru The Cozies Reading Challenge
- 2019 Goodreads Reading Challenge
- 2019 New Release Challenge
Thank you so much for hosting me on your blog today, Karen, as well as for your fabulous review! I’m thrilled that you loved the characters as much as I do. ????
You are welcome. I can’t wait for the next installment.
Thank you for the giveaway! And a quick question for Karen regarding the blog–what plug-in is used to track your reading challenges over in your side bar? WordPress keeps telling me plug-ins can only be used with the Business version, I’m one below that. Sorry for the random weird question, but I keep forgetting to ask others, thanks if you can help, as I’m guessing yours is a WP blog.
Hi, Tari
I use the plugin Ultimate Book Blogger from Nose Graze with the Reading Challenges Add-on. It makes my life so much easier.
Thank you for your review on “Designs on Murder” by Gayle Leeson and for being part of the book tour. Loved learning more about the characters in the book which just makes me want to read this book all the more. Can’t wait for the opportunity to read this book on my TBR list.
Sounds like a great new series. Looking forward to reading the book.
The book sounds great and I appreciate getting to hear about it. Thank you for sharing!
Great review! Thank you for sharing.