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Hostile Makeover: A Crime of Fashion Mystery [Mass Market Paperback]

Ellen Byerrum (Author)
3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)

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Book Description

Crime of Fashion Mystery August 2, 2005

As makeover madness sweeps the nation's capital, reporter Lacey Smithsonian interviews TV show makeover success story Amanda Manville.  But with Amanda's beauty comes a beast in the form of a stalker with vicious intentions—and Lacey may be the only one who can stop him.


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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

What if a radical plastic surgery makeover changed its subject's personality for the worse? Byerrum asks in her playful third Crime of Fashion mystery. Street-smart D.C. fashion reporter Lacey Smithsonian meets über diva Amanda Manville (a former ugly duckling whose appearance on TV's The Chrysalis Factor made her a supermodel overnight), while covering Amanda's new clothing line for the Eye Street Observer. Amanda's tendencies to slap assistants and take credit for her sister Zoe's designs are no big sin compared to the death threats Amanda receives daily—and she asks Lacey to investigate. After a murder occurs, Lacey's sheltered mother and sister drop in, putting the brakes on Lacey's romantic weekend with protective cop Vic Donovan and making the case a family affair. A revolving door of quirky characters like donut-scarfing "death-and-dismemberment" reporter Harlan Wiedemeyer keep the plot skipping happily along, and inside jokes about Burberry accessories in Washington are snicker-worthy. The unsurprising conclusion is a bit silly, but the read is as smooth as fine-grade cashmere on an autumn day in the Federal City.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Ellen Byerrum is a journalist in Washington, D.C., and a produced and published playwright. She holds a Virginia private investigator’s registration. A Colorado native, she lives in Virginia with her husband. Visit her Web site at www.ellenbyerrum.com.


Product Details

  • Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  • Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Signet (August 2, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0451216164
  • ISBN-13: 978-0451216168
  • Product Dimensions: 7 x 4 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #553,767 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ellen Byerrum writes the popular Crime of Fashion mysteries set in bustling Washington, D.C., The City That Fashion Forgot. The books feature style scribe Lacey Smithsonian, who wears vintage clothing and solves crimes with fashion clues. While she's always looking for a little respect and a better beat, Lacey examines and comments on style snafus in her Crimes of Fashion columns and Fashion Bites, included in the books.

Coming in February 2012, DEATH ON HEELS brings Lacey back to Sagebrush, Colorado, the scruffy hard-luck boom town where she earned her reporter's spurs. When an old boyfriend is accused of murder, she grabs her cowboy boots and heads West to prove he's innocent in the death of three women, all left barefoot on lonely country roads. The trip also tests whether Lacey has resolved her past romantic feelings.

SHOT THROUGH VELVET(February 2011) takes Lacey to a velvet factory in southern Virginia on its last day of operation where she finds a blue corpse in a vat of dye.

Ellen's series started with KILLER HAIR (2003), followed by DESIGNER KNOCKOFF (2004), HOSTILE MAKEOVER (2005), RAIDERS OF THE LOST CORSET (2006), GRAVE APPAREL (2007), AND ARMED AND GLAMOROUS (2008).

Two of Ellen's books, KILLER HAIR and HOSTILE MAKEOVER, were filmed as Crime of Fashion TV movies and aired on the Lifetime Movie Network in June and July 2009. They are available for download on Amazon.

While researching vintage fashions for her mysteries books, Ellen has collected her own assortment of dresses and suits from the 1940s, but laments her lack of closet space. Ellen has worked in Washington as a reporter, and she holds a private investigator's registration in Virginia. She also writes plays under the pen name "Eliot Byerrum." A CHRISTMAS CACTUS and GUMSHOE RENDEZVOUS are published by and available from Samuel French Inc.

You can find more about Ellen and her books on her website at http://www.ellenbyerrum.com/. Her blog is located at http://ellenbyerrum.livejournal.com. You can also follow Ellen on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/EllenByerrum and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/EllenByerrum. Thanks for visiting.


 

Customer Reviews

20 Reviews
5 star:
 (7)
4 star:
 (6)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.6 out of 5 stars (20 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Chick lit mystery? I'm a guy. Love the series., October 5, 2005
This review is from: Hostile Makeover: A Crime of Fashion Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)
So they're calling Byerrum's series "chick lit mysteries." Well, I'm a guy and I like chicks, I like lit, and I love this series. Okay? Deal with it. (I even like Washington, DC, believe it or not, and I'm a New Yorker.) Byerrum really gets this place and the whole weird Washington atmosphere of government conspiracies that sound real but turn out to be fantasy, and the stuff that sounds like stand-up comedy but turns out to be real. And she makes it funny and sarcastic and suspenseful too. She writes great funny women characters, at least to me, but then I'm a guy, I only date funny women, what do I know? (Who wouldn't want to date Lacey Smithsonian, she's smart, witty, looks great in a devastating suit, and knows how to use a weapon. What's not to like?) Any guy who's sat through an episode of "Extreme Makeover" will wonder what would happen if the latest made-over reality TV diva turned out to be a killer witch on wheels, and that's where this one takes off. "Killer Hair" was a knockout, "Designer Knockoff" was even better, and "Hostile Makeover" hits it out of the park. This one gets two thumbs up from me. Guys, read the funny parts (there's plenty of 'em) to your girlfriends, this chick-lit mystery will make you a chick magnet.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars TV makeover diva gone bad, April 25, 2006
This review is from: Hostile Makeover: A Crime of Fashion Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)
Lacey Smithsonian is interviewing Amanda Manville, reality TV makeover success story turned model. Apparently all the makeover surgeries turned her sweet personality into that of a diva gone bad. All Amanda wants to talk about is the death threats she's received. She requests Lacey's help in stopping the stalker. Lacy doesn't take much stock in the existence of a stalker. That is until Amanda is killed.

She and her boyfriend Vic Donovan are planning a getaway weekend until Lacey's mother and sister descend upon her. How can she investigate Amanda's murder, survive her relative's visit, and keep Vic from meeting then?

With Amanda's unpopular personality, the list of suspects is quite long. How can Lacey weed out the real killer without putting herself in danger or her family since they keep tagging along?

I really like Lacey. She's so down to earth and fun. I like her vintage clothing, too. Her quirky family and relationship with Vic spice things up as well.

I live not far from DC, and Ms. Byerrum has the fashion tone of Washington down to a T. The tidbits always add to the story.

Lacey's friends and co-workers are great additions to the story as well.

I highly recommend this book and the whole series.

Check out: [...]
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars It's okay, November 20, 2005
This review is from: Hostile Makeover: A Crime of Fashion Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)
This is the third book in the `Crimes of Fashion' series and, in comparison to the first two - Killer Hair and Designer Knockout - was the weakest in terms of storyline and characters. Hostile Makeover puts fashion journalist Lacey Smithsonian on the trail of a killer when a supermodel, Amanda, is shot in her presence and Lacey's car is used in the getaway. This book felt more contrived and less mysterious than the other two in the series. True, these are simple mysteries to begin with, but Lacey Smithsonian was definitely dull in this story, especially in the beginning chapters. The storyline took several chapters to actually begin and, when it did, it seemed completely implausible. Lacey interviews Amanda for a fashion article and, 10 minutes into the interview, Amanda recruits Lacey to find her killer. At this point, Amanda isn't even dead and her attitude is off-putting and insincere. The other problem with this book is with the `romance' between Lacey and her sorta-boyfriend Vic Donovan. Vic has finally relocated to DC from Colorado, but is longer a cop. His job (as a cop) could actually add dimension to the mysteries Lacey encounters but for some reason the author puts Vic in the sidelines and a different career. Plus, the couple is still not `together' which is pretty unusual and ridiculous to read through. This book isn't the best in the series but is still readable.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
It was a sign, all right. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Amanda Manville, Lacey Smithsonian, Caleb Collingwood, Dupont Circle, Broadway Lamont, Tate Penfield, Lethal Feet, John Henry Tyler, New York, Felicity Pickles, Grim Reaper, Krispy Kreme, Harlan Wiedemeyer, Vic Donovan, Brad Powers, Crimes of Fashion, Greg Spaulding, Rose Smithsonian, Bionic Babe, Damon Newhouse, Ellen Byerrum, Geronimo High, Gloria Adams, Zoe Manville, Bette Davis
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