Customer Reviews

The Fashion Hound Murders: Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper

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

 

 

I have enjoyed all of the previous Josie Marcus mysteries and this one is no exception. The book had a great mixture of romance, humor, and mystery. I found the scenes where Josie dealt with her jealousy toward her best friend, Alice's new dog-obsessed fried to be amusing. The mystery involving the use of puppy mills was very well utilized in educating and sending a message about the abuse of breeding pure dogs, without being overly preachy.

Elaine Viets' THE FASHION HOUND MURDERS tells of a mystery shopper, mother and sleuth who finds danger in the world of canine fashion puppies when she's hired to check out a pet store's involvement with puppy mills. Danger evolves from a seemingly simple investigation. A top pick for any mystery library's paperback section.

I love Viet's books. There is not one I have not enjoyed. Can't wait to read the next one.

This is a very enjoyable author. Have fun with a bit of mystery! Recommend reading all by this author!

Ms. Viets has done her research and puts everything well balanced. There are some funny moments but serious ones as well. She really puts her heart into the story. I was very impressed with how well the story flowed no matter what the mood was. Everything comes alive on the page.

Josie really is doing her best. I am so surprised at the work she does and how difficult it is. Being like every one else isn't easy and she has to blend in without standing out. Alyce is always a helpful friend who helps her to blend in even more. Amelia keeps her level headed. Amelia is also quite the smart mouth kid and keeps things in perspective. Jane, Josie's mom, may have quite the bark to her but in reality it is just a cover for watching over her daughter.

This series keeps getting better. It definitely gets personal. I hope things settle down for Josie. That girl has more ups and downs in her life than a roller coaster sometimes. I also am learning to appreciate the things that secret shoppers do as having experience with them in my personal job. I'm on the edge of my seat just hoping there are more books in this series to come!

I had never read any of Elaine Viets' books before, and this is part of a series, but I got it because it combined my loves of shopping and mysteries. This is a fun, light, easy read and I didn't feel out of the loop because I hadn't read the earlier books. I will definitely get some more in this series and then from her other series as well.

Elaine Viets does it again in this latest Josie Marcus installment. Oh and that scene between Josie and Stan where she gets excited about his surprise (he tells her to dress for a "special" night), PRICELESS! Great read. Great job, as usual, Elaine.

It was so great I read it in three days!
Josie really gets into a bit trouble here. Every mintue is a joy to read.

An entertaining, light read, especially for those who love pets and appreciate whatever people and organizations can do to alleviate the suffering of dogs raised in puppy mills, which is a main portion of the story's plot. It may be unusual to find murder included, but considering how much pedigreed pets cost, it might happen, and adds to the suspense of the story.
The characters are always interesting in Viets' books, but I personally would enjoy more description of the main character's physical appearance. The lead, Josie the Mystery Shopper, is described on the first page as, "small, brown-haired and cute". However, the other characters are well defined - especially the very enjoyable daughter, Amelia, wise and knowledgeable beyond her age, which is about 10.
Some of the details are not always believable - such as Josie not knowing the last name of her employer, or allowing a strange man to walk her home after one coffee date (they met the first time while he was walking his dog in her neighborhood). Another surprise, was agreeing to have dinner with him at his mother's house, WAY out in the country. However, the plot would have suffered had she not taken this risky step.
If you enjoyed Viets' other books, you will love this one too!

Elaine Viets, author of two popular series, brings back Josie Marcus in this fifth entry in the Mystery Shopper series. Josie, a St. Louis "mall moll," is employed by Suttin Services, whose latest assignment brings her to doggie boutiques, a category of stores I am embarrassed to say I didn't know existed. In the process, Josie, and the reader, gets an unwelcome view into the world of puppy mills, an apparently thriving and big-money enterprise catering to those seeking "celebrity dogs," cheap pedigreed [and abused] pups sold for high prices, often providing nothing more than accessories for their owners. No sooner does Josie get information regarding just such a local mill from Edna, an employee of the store she is mystery-shopping, than Edna is run down and killed in a hit-and-run 'accident.' But there seems little doubt that it was no accident. Josie can't help feeling a small measure of guilt: "did her amateur meddling kill an innocent woman?"

Josie describes herself as "not much of a bargain in the marriage market . . . a thirty-one-year-old single mom [with] no money, a lot of debt, and a ten-year-old daughter with a smart mouth." But she is also an endearing protagonist, and her mother, Jane [Josie's landlord and live-in babysitter], her daughter, Amelia, and best friend Alyce no less so. Her relationship with her clueless boyfriend, Stan, is going nowhere, but she is unsure what to do about it. As she observes: "delusions . . . they're the only way to survive dating."

When Josie's mother is attacked by a vicious dog, things take a more personal turn. Suspects in that attack and Edna's death, among others, include 'millers,' as those who run the puppy mills are called, and those with more intimate motives. By the end of the novel, Josie [and the author] become advocates for a stricter puppy mill code and more thorough inspections of breeding facilities, and the reader cannot help but feel strong support for such measures.

The novel is enlightening as well as thoroughly entertaining, and is recommended.