Customer Reviews

Dying in Style

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Elaine Viets, the author of the Dead-End Jobs mystery series, has penned yet another engaging mystery series, the Josie Marcus mystery series. This series features a young, single mother who has the thankless and grueling job of being a mystery shopper, and who, in this very first installment of the series, finds herself being the prime suspect in the murder of a young socialite.

In spite of the fact that it's a grueling and thankless job, Josie Marcus rather enjoys being a mystery shopper, seeing it as doing her bit to ensure that all shoppers (and not just the rich and famous) get good service. Also, as a single mother who had dropped out of college in order to have her child, there are very few jobs that Josie is qualified for. But even though Josie is used to being cursed and threatened by employees who are not doing their job, Josie is nevertheless shocked when her latest assignment, that of checking out the services at swanky Danessa stores, ends with her being suspected of murder.

Danessa Celedine, a much beloved St. Louis socialite, owns several high-end accessory stores that sell not only her much prized handbags, but also accessories of other, much coveted designers as well. And Danessa's stores are about to be sold to the Creshan Corporation for a great deal of money. However, before the deal goes through, the Creashan Corporation has hired Josie's firm to check out Danessa's operation in order to ensure that they are paying for exactly what they believe they're buying. Josie is thrilled: in the normal course of things, Danessa's expensive stores aren't exactly the kind of stores she'd be able to afford to shop at. But Josie's euphoria soon comes crashing to the ground when her investigations provides her with evidence that Danessa's stores are poorly managed and shoddily run. And while Josie has braced herself for the fallout that her report would generate, the last thing she expected was to have Danessa personally insult her and threaten her with a lawsuit. Could things get any worse? In Josie's case, yes. Especially when Danessa is found strangled in one of her stores the very day after her acrimonious encounter with Josie, and Josie ends up as suspect number one in the murder. Knowing full well that she's innocent, but deeply afraid that she will take the fall for the murder, Josie decides to do some investigating of her own in order to save her own skin...

Whether or not you totally enjoy Elaine Viets' latest offering is going to depend very much on whether or not you enjoy the manner in which she constructs her novels. "Dying in Style" follows set patterns that she usually uses -- a mystery subplot that tends to be a little on the "light" side -- i.e. it's not that suspenseful, and lacks the kind of cunning plot twists that would make it a thrilling page turner, and that focuses, quite often, on the trials and tribulations of the protagonist's life. What I liked about "Dying in Style" was that it was a very pleasing and absorbing read: it possessed gentle humour (I really enjoyed Josie's ruminations about brunch), two engaging characters (plucky Josie and her supportive best friend, Alyse) and had its moments of poignancy (as when the book explores Josie's loving yet troubled relationship with her mother, and when Alyse reveals how unhappy her marriage is). What I didn't like so much was the scant number of clues and how Josie was able to suddenly solve the mystery. However, pacing was even and the prose style smooth and fluid. So that all in all, "Dying in Style" turned out to be a fun 3 1/2 star read.

Josie Marcus shops for a living. She is a single mom and has an exciting job. She goes to different retail and service businesses and checks out their merchandise and service. Sometimes she wears disguises and always seems to have fun.

Josie gets a very interesting top secret assignment. She is to visit a high end handbag store. Based on her report all heck breaks loose. Josie has to solve the mystery to clear her own name and get her life back to normal.

This seems to be an entertaining series. I look forward to reading more.

"Dying in Style" is the first of Elaine Viets' books I've picked up, and while I enjoyed myself enough to try one or two more, I don't think she's going on my auto-buy list yet for a few things.

The characters are lively, the writing moves quickly and smoothly, but...several times times Viets telegraphs what's coming next with lines of "If she'd known three people would die within the next few days, perhaps she would have answered differently" or "Tomorrow, she would meet with betrayal." She's laid in some lovely forshadowing, building tension and leading us toward something bad happening -- then breaks it by holding up a sign that says "Look! Bad things ahead!"

It's a personal quibble, but one that really did affect my rating and keep it from being higher. Aside from that, fun book and worth the time.

This book was 75% an enjoyable read. Unfortunately, Josie's mother is written to be so annoying that you cannot fathom why she would choose to put up with her. Everytime the two interacted I wanted to shake something, very distracting in a read. Otherwise, it was an entertaining mystery with Josie as a likeable lead character. Her relationship with her daughter and best friend were also well written. It was a good book but prepare to be frustrated by any scene involving her mother!

Most women would love to be paid to spend their days shopping; but for Josie Marcus, mystery shopper extraordinaire, it's a full-time job that can be just as exhausting as sitting behind a desk. Sure, schlepping from boutiques to fast-food restaurants, supermarkets to gas stations, and everything in between sounds fun; but it can be downright challenging when you're attempting to raise a nine-year-old daughter, contend with a nagging mother who lives right upstairs, and deal with the unexpected...such as murder.

Mystery shopper Josie Marcus is used to people getting upset with the reports that she writes about their customer service. She has seen it all, from tantrums to tears, but, over the years, she has built a tough exterior, and knows that, no matter what, her original thoughts and words will never waver. Even when she receives threats. When she's given the assignment to shop the Danessa stores, however, Josie's mother is furious. Danessa Celedine is a celebrity that everyone in St. Louis adores. And just about anyone with money craves to carry an exclusive Danessa Celdine handbag. Unfortunately, after a few trips to the store, Josie can't help but report that there are fingerprints everywhere, and the merchandise is very low quality. It's the truth, but it sends Danessa into an uproar that leaves Josie clinging to her job by mere strings, and on the receiving end of a possible lawsuit. Josie, however, is sticking to her guns. But when Danessa turns up dead, having been strangled by a snakeskin belt from her own line, which just happens to cost thousands of dollars and have Josie's fingerprints all over it, Josie knows that it's time to put her thinking cap on. She'll have to catch the killer herself, or find herself locked up behind bars, adorned in an orange polyester jailhouse outfit that will ruin her for good. But fingering the killer proves harder than she thought once she finds herself struggling to locate an MIA person, while evading the police, spending quality time with her daughter, and trying to keep her job. With so much on her plate, Josie wonders if succumbing to prison would be more practical, but refuses to go down without a fight - and a killer pair of shoes.

I have had DYING IN STYLE sitting on my bookshelf since it was first released, but never had the opportunity to read it. Once I picked it up, however, I couldn't put it down. Elaine Viets is amazing at character development, and creating scenarios that readers can truly relate to. Josie is an endearing character whose devotion to her daughter and mother illustrates her soft side; while her refusal to take the fall for a crime that she didn't commit, and not back down when she knows that she's in the right shows just how feisty she can be. The romance sprinkled throughout the story is a nice backdrop that proves to raise a few questions that will, hopefully, be answered in future installments; and the inclusion of the character of Alyce makes for a delightful addition to the story. In fact, Alyce could easily become the star of her very own mystery series - that's how lovable she is. And, of course, it doesn't hurt that Viets also tossed in a few shopping tips that will leave all readers running for the mall. The perfect accessory to any outfit!

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

In the 1st book in the Mystery Shopping Mystery series, we meet Josie Marcus, a single-mom with a career in the mystery shopping field. As a mystery shopper, Josie is sent to visit many types of businesses, and then rates their service without the store knowing that she is rating them. She goes to restaurants, discount stores, and high-end retailers to evaluate the courtesy of the sales-staff, the cleanliness of the store & restrooms, and to make sure that certain products are in-stock. Normally, she is able to stay undercover with the use of various disguises, and she is able to submit her reports anonymously. This all changes the day that she is assigned to visit the very posh stores of Danessa Celedine. Danessa designs and sells her own upscale handbags, and her stores are in the process of being sold to Creshan Corporation for millions. Creshan hires Josie's mystery shopping company to shop the stores, and Josie must visit each of the three locations twice over two days. When she gives them a poor rating, she knows that a bad report could prevent the sale of the chain to Creshan. However, she always gives a fair, honest report, and is shocked when she is confronted by Danessa herself the day after the reports are submitted. Threatening a lawsuit, Danessa demands that Josie be terminated for filing a fraudulently negative report. When Danessa and her boyfriend, Serge, are found dead the next day, Josie becomes the prime suspect. Josie works hard to solve the case before she is thrown into jail, or even worse, loses the family and the job she loves.

This book offered an interesting premise. I read a lot of cozy mysteries, and I happily picked up this book when I saw that the main character was a mystery shopper. Having been a mystery shopper myself for several years, I was interested to see how the author would handle this unique job. I thought that the mystery shopping aspects of the book were pretty accurate (although most shoppers do not dress in disguises, to my knowledge), and the job offers several possibilities for upcoming books in the series. I do agree with several other reviewers, however, in the fact that a lot of the dialogue and the information in the book seemed excessive, and not completely relevant to this story. At times, the mystery and story seemed to bog down a bit, and I found myself skipping a page here and there. However, I like the concept and the characters enough that I will read future books in the series to see how it develops.

The next book in the series is called "High Heels are Murder". Enjoy!

This is my first book that I've read by this author. Overall, the book was good with twists to the plot. However, the book fizzled for me near the end when Josie was attending the memorial service. That is when she had her "AHA" moment about who the killer was. I didn't understand why all of a sudden it hit her, but then again I figured out the killer's identity about half way through. After the killer confessed, I just read through the next pages just to finish the book. By this time, I was just really bored. Needless to say, I will read the next installment of the series. I've heard good things about this author, so may be I'll read her other books as well.

A book set in the world of upscale shopping malls holds a certain glamour and appeal for this shopaholic reader who like the main character, can only dream of owning such luxury items! The story and mystery-solving process was rather over-the-top at times, but that's what made this such a fun book to read.

I'm not sure why Elaine Viets keeps starting up new series -- just when I start to really like one, she stops writing it and moves onto another one. I'm still not over the end of the Francesca Vierling series, although I really enjoy the Dead-End Job series -- now only three books into that one, we're already onto a new series, while the other one is still good. I just don't get why she doesn't at least stick with a series until it's run its course and gotten stale.

That being said, I did enjoy this first installment of her latest series. Josie is fairly realistic and the mystery was light but fun. The only thing I didn't much care for was the way Josie just suddenly figured out the murderer out of the clear blue sky while sitting at the victims' funeral. And I'm still a bit confused on the relationship with the coffee guy -- if this is going to be Josie's romantic interest in this series, you would think the author would've built it up a little more than she did. But, then again, that was my biggest complaint with the Dead-End Job series -- how fast Helen's relationship with Phil developed.

I enjoyed this book for a quick read. I love humor by an author! This was not heavy reading, but brought me a smile and pleasure. I wish Josie would konk her mom, though. Amelia was "sweet" to quote her. I could identify with the main character. My life is much like hers. Sometimes the slick, smart, svelt, heroin is not like real folks. I want to read more of her books.