Showing results by author "Diane Vallere" in All Categories

When Polyester Monroe was young, she loved playing in her family's textile store. But after a fatal tragedy, Land of a Thousand Fabrics was boarded up and Poly never expected to see the inside again. These days her time is spent designing prom dresses from cheap fabrics. When her great uncle passes away and leaves her the fabric store, she sees it as a sign to change her life. But when a man connected to her family's tragedy is found dead in the parking lot behind the store the day after she moves in, her illusions of reopening the glamorous fabric store are shredded.

Fabric shop owner Polyester Monroe is back in business—this time getting wrapped up in a diabolical but crafty case of murder. With the reopening of her fabric shop rapidly approaching, Polyester Monroe is stocking up on lush fabrics, colorful notions, and best of all, a proprietary weave of velvet. But upon delivery, it's not quite the blend she expected, being ninety-percent silk-and ten-percent corpse. Crushed under a dozen bolts of fabric is local business owner Phil Girard. His wife, Genevieve, local tea shop owner and close friend of Poly, is the prime suspect.

The time has come for the annual Miss Tangorli beauty pageant, and Poly Monroe has agreed to use her fabric store's inventory of shimmery silks to create gowns for for a crown. But when the man who revived the city's citrus trade with his imported Tangorli tree is found dead days before the pageant contestants are announced, something sour takes over the town. To make matters worse, Poly's closest friend is caught up in the crime, having been seen in the company of the case's prime suspect.

Ready to redesign her life, style expert Samantha Kidd accepts a job in her Pennsylvania hometown as a trend specialist. But her first day goes completely A-line when she stumbles across her legendary boss dead in the elevator. And after the body disappears, she can't help but pull on the mystery's thread. Supervising her deceased employer's vogue competition, Samantha tries to hem in a sexy shoe designer and countless ego-driven creatives to stitch together the clues. Can Samantha put a killer in the spotlight before she's sewn up for a crime she didn't commit?

When the historic Waverly House is transformed into a wedding venue, the town buzzes with excitement. An out-of-town couple with the loosest of local ties has adopted them as their own. But amidst the celebration, tragedy strikes when a guest is found dead in the chapel before the wedding march plays. Suspicion quickly falls on the bride. Poly's ex-boyfriend, the groom-to-be, needles Poly for help in solving the murder, but things take a complicated turn as the bride points the finger—at him.

Interior decorator Madison Night might look like a throwback to the 60s, but as business owner and landlord, she proves that independent women can have it all. When a killer targets women dressed in her signature style - estate sale vintage to play up her resemblance to fave actress Doris Day - what makes her unique might make her dead. The local detective connects the new crime to a 20-year-old cold case, and Madison's long-trusted contractor emerges as the leading suspect.

With no job prospects on the horizon, former fashion buyer Samantha Kidd convinces boyfriend and shoe designer Nick Taylor to give her a job. But when close friend Eddie asks for help with an exhibit of vintage Hollywood costumes, she splits her time between romance and comedy—until a dead man claims all of her attention. Brimming with good intentions, she leave the investigation to the cops, but the killer keeps Eddie in the crosshairs. If Samantha can tear the lid off the investigation, it might mean a feather in her fedora. And if she can't? Her best friend might get capped.

She needs a paycheck. A murder creates the perfect job. Can she avoid becoming the next victim? Samantha Kidd recently added an unexpected skill to her fashion-heavy resume: Solving a crime. But amateur sleuthing doesn’t pay the bills. A new retailer shows interest in hiring her as their handbag buyer, but there’s one big red flag: The last buyer was killed on the job. Moving back to her old hometown was about leaving that career path behind, but Samantha’s out of options. When another person at the store is murdered, the walls close in like a snug, satin lining.

After a falling out with a friend flips interior decorator Madison Night's world inside out, she's determined to revamp her life. Jane Strong, fellow mid-century modern enthusiast, encouraged Madison's entry in an upcoming design competition, but their rift makes collaboration no longer an option. When Jane is found dead, Madison tops the suspect list. And when anonymous computer hackings interfere with both the investigation and the competition, Jane's murder no longer seems random.

When interior decorator Madison Night's octogenarian friend dies and leaves her Sweet Dreams, the bounty is bittersweet. Once a thriving business, the pajama factory closed decades ago after a tragic accident took the life of a young model - or was that simply a cover up? Between her friend's death and her own stagnant life, Madison is tempted to hide under a blanket of willful ignorance. But when family members and special-interest groups lobby to expose the secrets of the factory, Madison gets caught in a tangle of secrets and lies and discovers that, sometimes, the bed you make is not your own....

When a rare $5,000 bill arrives in the mail, interior decorator Madison Night knows it's a message from her past. In happier times, she once joked that she could be bought for $5,000 - how could she deny a bill with her name on it? Suspecting the bill indicates trouble, she consults a numismatist. They set up a meet, but upon arrival she finds an abandoned office, a scared dog...and a dead body in the kitchen. The twist? The victim isn't the numismatist; it's a John Doe.

Interior Decorator Madison Night has her hands full with a demanding client and a product endorsement, but when the news shifts from reports of recently abducted women to the discovery of a dead body, she can't deny the danger. Evidence from the scene links the flirtatious Lt. Tex Allen to the crime, taking him off the case. As more abductees are either released or killed, Tex struggles with his suspension, on the brink of turning vigilante. Madison's own life is complicated by the return of her hunky handyman, Hudson James.