Dead Is the New Black (Fashion Avenue Mysteries) [Kindle Edition]

Christine DeMaio-Rice (Author)

Book Description

Fashion designer Jeremy St. James is everything Laura Carnegie could want in a man. He's gorgeous, rich, and talented. The fact that everyone says he's gay doesn't stop her from dreaming of being in her boss's arms. As a matter of fact, she suspects his inaccessibility is part of his charm.

When Jeremy's backer is found dead in his office and he's accused of the crime, he trusts Laura, and only Laura, with the keys to the design room. She wants him back and out of jail, and in the process of exposing a counterfeiting ring and finding the real killer, she uncovers the secretive man under the temperamental artist; a man who is most definitely not gay, and a man who might not be that inaccessible after all.

***Book 2 - Death of a Supermodel is available***

Editorial Reviews

Review

WINNER - Preditors & Editors Best Mystery of 2012

2012 eFestival of Words Winner for best Mystery/suspense.
A Red Adept Select for outstanding book in its genre.

Although this novel is billed as a cozy mystery, it is far more than that. *Dead Is the New Black* is a complex novel, woven with delicate finesse by the author. At it's core is a heroine that underestimates herself on many different levels. But she's smart, talented, and takes it upon herself to get to the bottom of everything.

I will say that I really enjoyed this book. It's been polished to perfection by the author and that really shows. The careful crafting and layering of details made me feel like a part of the novel, and not just a reader. That characters were well developed and the setting (in a design house one week before a big fashion show)is fabulous. It was one of the cleanest books I've read in a while too-- no profanity, adult situations or graphic violence. - *Quirkygurl Media*

About the Author

Christine has worked in the fashion industry since 1990 (obviously starting her career at the tender age of 11), and knows the business like it's her own. She would like to tell you some indelible facts about designers, merchandizers and retailers, but likely that will ruin the plot of a future book.

Product Details

• File Size: 463 KB
• Print Length: 306 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1466338121
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Lolo Productions Inc. (September 9, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005MEG38C
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #32,802 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #7 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Arts & Photography > Graphic Design > Commercial > Fashion Design

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 47 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic read! September 12, 2011

By Bookish Witch

Format:Kindle Edition

I was blown away by this book. Rice has penned a novel that is phenomenally well-written, real to the core, and just damned good. I was immediately sucked in to the plot and the character's life. This novel is full of original witticisms and some killer one-liners. Her description is spot-on and so eloquently put I'm jealous of her skills. The novel is littered with the kind of details one notices in real-life, but that rarely make it into books. It shines with Rice's in-depth knowledge of the fashion industry - I felt smarter after reading it. Dead is the New Black is laugh-out-loud funny. If this author is anything like her wry, witty protagonist, I want to be her friend.

55 of 63 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Where is the mystery?? September 1, 2012

By Angie Chung

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I feel bad for giving it a terrible review, especially since it looks like most peope loved it. I absolutely hated this book, almost didn't finish, but I try not to start something I don't finish.

The main character is so unlikeable, it is difficult to care what she has to say, and boy, does she have a lot to say. I like fashion as much as the next person, but the detailed descriptions on EVERYTHING almost put me to sleep. My lil' sister is a fashion designer, and even she couldn't finish the book. I find Laura very stuck up, a bit racist. Her fantasy about Jeremy and the way she keeps Stu around as the "second best" as she describes it makes it even harder to like her and makes Stu look like a stupid guy pining for someone out of her league, which she thinks she is. Her relationship with her sister is superficial, I wonder why they even "like" each other since she spends a lot of time talking badly about her. I do like her sister better than Laura, with all her flaws and perfection, she just seems like more of an interesting character.

Laura's self righteousness is bugging. Again, sister is in Fashion so I understand how they feel about counterfeits and such, and not to mention the legality of it, but the way she looks down on people who wear fakes makes me want to bury her in fakes.

The mystery aspect of it is boring I would not categorize this book as mystery at all. I guess half way through the book who the killer was and who was involved with what.

I am glad I downloaded this book for free when Amazon listed it under free section. I wouldn't be happy if I had spent $$ on it.

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Refreshing, Witty Read January 15, 2012

By Silver's Reviews

Format:Paperback

A garment show in a week, late hours, working on the weekends, and then a dead body shows up. Oh no.....a very unwelcome setback.

Jeremy was the one who was standing over Gracie when Laura walked into the office that Sunday morning. Could he have killed her or just found her on the floor with a scarf wrapped around her neck? Hmmmmm.....with material fragments on his hands and clothes, and his being the only one in the office, who else could they suspect? No one for now, but Laura couldn't believe Jeremy killed Gracie, and since Laura was in love with him she tried to find out who really did strangle Gracie.

Regardless, the police arrested Jeremy, and their investigation continued while he was in jail. Laura also was conducting her own investigation, but it wasn't going very well for her. She kept trying to figure out who besides Jeremy would have a reason to kill Gracie. Perhaps Carmella killed him and not Jeremy for no other motive than a good old-fashioned garment district reason? Or how about her husband who found out about her affair. Or more likely what about Mario who may have done it out of sheer jealousy. And....there definitely was a lot of jealousy and competition in the office and throughout the entire garment industry from what I could see.

The book allows a glimpse into what goes into the preparation for a garment show and the mindset of the garment industry's men and women. If you are a "fashionista" you will definitely enjoy this book. The clothes sound marvelous. There are also funny scenes...one particular one was when Laura and her sister were trying to get into an upscale restaurant without reservations.

Miss Demaio-Rice is a talented story teller.... She will make you laugh, have you sympathizing with the characters, make you wonder about some of them and what they are thinking, make you believe that you have the mystery solved, and then she throws something in to get you off track.

She will definitely make you want to be part of the craziness and fun going on in her book and make you want to be friends with all of characters or at least work with them.

The book was first-rate in terms of humor, characters, and plot. DEAD IS THE NEW BLACK is a witty, entertaining book you won't want to miss. 5/5 Read more ›

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Convoluted January 19, 2013

By Fran Bishop

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I've read many of these reviews. Some people loved it, not sure why. The "heroine" is a first class whiner, has no security in herself and in general sets herself up for failure in many ways. I know this is a book about the fashion industry but honestly because I have no knowledge of it it was terribly hard to understand much of the dialogue. This is one of those books that if you aren't totally enamored with fashion and want to know all the nuances about it don't bother to read it. After the murder/mystery happened in the very beginning it became an afterthought. I kept reading because I was sure it would get better, it did finally when I read the last word. Now I can move on to a book where the main character isn't so annoying.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Crime January 19, 2012

By G. McCullough

Format:Kindle Edition

Dead is the New Black fulfils all my requirements for a classic detective story.

Set in the New York fashion world, it immediately attracted my attention. Christine DeMaio-Rice knows a lot about her background, and this makes the book especially fascinating and enjoyable to read. The sophisticated atmosphere takes us by the throat from the first page.

Then there are the characters. Laura and her work mates, particularly Jeremy St James, are vividly drawn. Laura, we learn straightaway, is hopelessly attracted to Jeremy. (She wonders herself if she would have dared to allow their relationship to develop if she hadn't believed he was gay - because then there would have been a risk that it might become serious.) So we feel sympathy for her from the start, and at the same time realise that we are in the hands of a writer who can give us characters with depth. Laura's sister Ruby is a bright contrast. Stu becomes more likeable the more we see of him. And Cangemi, the cop, is a much cleverer detective than we are led to expect at the beginning.

The handling of the plot is all we could ask for. The clues are thrust at us in a way we should be able to pick up - but almost certainly won't. The murderer appears in the first few chapters. When Laura arrives at her desk to find coffee waiting for her, she tells us, she knows that Jeremy must be already there, because he is in the habit of buying coffee for them both on his way to work. The coffee, unusually, is spilt - which is not like Jeremy, she thinks. But when she goes to his office, she sees that he is in a state of extreme distress - he has found a dead body there.... Laura spends the next hours ringing the police, talking to the cop who arrives to take over, Cangemi, and assuring other members of the company who turn up for work that Jeremy is not guilty and that work will continue as normal. And I wonder how many of DeMaio-Rice's readers will be able to pick out the important clues, and identify the murderer, from what they have by now been told? The motive, also, has already been trailed before us, even earlier in the action.

The title of this book tells us at once that here is a witty, clever writer, and the cover backs this up. The book is full of amusing one liners and funny situations. As an example of the one liners, when Laura tells Stu, `I'm not pissed off with you,' Stu says, looking at Laura slyly, `You're honesty-challenged right now.' Laura thinks, on hearing that Jeremy is in prison in Rikers, `If Central Park was the city's backyard, Rikers was the haunted house down the block that your mother told you to stay away from.' And Ruby and Laura decide to call their fashion business `Sartorial Sandwich.' How about that?

And as an example of funny situations, the description of the sisters' housing problems, with Ruby always coming out on top compared to Laura, is consistently amusing.

Laura's tangled love life finally works out, just as her career does; and the murder mystery element is solved in a satisfying way which is clearly believable. This is one of a series, I'm told. If the other books are as excellent as this one, I'll look forward to reading them. Read more ›

More About the Author

I moved to Los Angeles to study screenwriting at USC, and even though you couldn't drag me back into the screenwriting business with the promise of money or candy, I love screenplay structure. Use it all the time. It is the crowbar that removes my head from my rectum when such a procedure is required.

I love all types of speculative fiction, and yes I admit to reading vampire books and YA. However, I have not yet met a vampire that inspired me enough to write about him, which is probably the only barrier between myself and a bathtub full of royalty checks.

People (meaning, my friends) have begged me for years to write about the fashion industry, so I'm doing that in the form of a cozy mystery. It's a funny story, which it had to be because the fashion industry can't be taken seriously.

On that, I bid you a fond farewell. Thanks for reading this little bio.