"Sleuthing in Stilettos" By Debra Sennefelder: Review/Giveaway

Review by Cynthia Chow

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win an ebook copy of the book and a link to purchase it.

Celebrating her first year as the owner of the Lucky Cove Resale Boutique in her New York hometown, Kelly Quinn is looking forward to planning the town’s Shop Small Saturday holiday that supports local small businesses between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Kelly is also eager to meet Miranda Farrell, owner of the newly opened Miranda & James shoe store. It turns out that Miranda herself is not that new to the town; twenty years ago she left in a wake of bad memories and resentments. It comes to a head in the Lucky Cove Chamber of Commerce meeting, where Kelly’s Uncle Ralph Blake and bookseller Erica Booth are but a few of the notable business owners furious that Miranda is back in town. So when Miranda is found dead with Uncle Ralph standing over her body, accusations fly as rises to the top of the list as the most probable culprit.

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Image Source Lyrical Press

Since first meeting during one of Kelly’s previous involvement with murder, she and the investigating Detective Nate Barber began dating and are speeding towards a committed status. That doesn’t mean that he won’t immediately warn his girlfriend away from his investigation or that Kelly won’t ignore his requests and pursue one of her own. It doesn’t help that her cousin emotionally blackmails Kelly into proving her uncle’s innocence, especially since she so recently mended fences with her family and has finally begun to feel like she is back home. So despite the warnings and without any official status, Kelly begins to look into Miranda’s numerous ex-husbands, the business owners she offended, and even the visiting true crime writer whose next book will be one of Kelly’s last cases.

 In this fifth of the series, Kelly has a not-entirely unearned confidence in her ability to investigate and solve murders. After all, she does have a proven track record of proving her relatives’ and friends’ innocence when unjustly accused of crimes. This doesn’t make her obtrusive and often unwanted interference in official investigations rather eyebrow raising, especially when it is her boyfriend who is the one in charge. Even those she interrogates frequently point out her lack of authority, yet eventually they too seem to bend to the inevitability of her persistent involvement. The added element of fashion and shopping lends a fun element that will appeal to cozy fans and fashionistas, as will Kelly’s own personal style choices. The writing is breezy and readers will be carried along to an entirely unexpected but satisfying conclusion, with Kelly’s future looking even brighter than ever. Now that Kelly has healed from the tragedy that drove her from town and she’s repaired those broken relationships, she should be able to move on and forge a fashion-filled life of fun and adventure.

To enter to win an ebook copy of Sleuthing in Stilettos, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line "sleuthing,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen December 26, 2023. US residents only and you must be 18 or older to enter.  If entering via comment please include your email address so we can contact you. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section in Kings River Life and in our mystery category here on KRL News & Reviews. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. And check out our new mystery podcast which features mystery short stories and first chapters read by local actors! A new Christmas episode went up this week.

You can use this link to purchase the book or click here. If you have adblocker on you may not be able to see the Amazon link:

Cynthia Chow is the branch manager of Kaneohe Public Library on the island of Oahu. She balances a librarian lifestyle of cardigans and hair buns with a passion for motorcycle riding and regrettable tattoos (sorry, Mom).

 Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.