Shop Till You Drop (Paperback)

by Elaine Viets (Author) "On Wednesday, Helen met a woman who could not frown..." (more)
Key Phrases: invisible pothead, bad eye job, biopolymer injections, South Florida, Dwight Hansel, Detective Grace (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
...fabulous. I fell in love with her dead-on funny Dead-End Job Mysteries and so will you. -- Jerrilyn Farmer, author of Mumbo Gumbo

Elaine Vets has come up with all the ingredients for an irresistible mystery.... I'm looking forward to the next installment... -- Jane Heller, author of The Secret Ingredient and Lucky Stars

Fresh, funny, and fiendishly constructed.... A bright start to an exciting new series. -- Parnell Hall, author of The Puzzle Lady crossword puzzle mysteries

I loved this book.... Tons of fun. ....this book has it all. -- Charlaine Harris, author of Club Dead and the forthcoming Poppy Done to Death

Real landmarks and restaurants are sprinkled throughout, giving a dose of realism to Shop Till You Drop. -- Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, May 11, 2003

Wit, murder and sunshine...it must be Florida. I love this new series by Elaine Viets. -- Nancy Pickard, National Bestselling Author of Ring of Truth

Product Description
Once on the fast track to success, Helen Hawthorne is now going nowhere fast. She traded in her chic life for a shabby one. And now she's on the run, jumping from city to city and dead-end job to dead-end job, trying to stay one step ahead of her past...

After two weeks as the new salesclerk at Juliana's, Fort Lauderdale's ultra-exclusive clothing boutique, Helen still feels out of fashion. And since the only crime likely to be committed around here is being old-or worse, looking old-Helen figures she's safe. Until she discovers the manager has been embezzling money and selling designer drugs along with the designer clothes. Add murder to the mix-and Helen's dead-end job is downright deadly.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Signet (May 6, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451208552
• ISBN-13: 978-0451208552
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #163,211 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 1 in The Dead-End Job Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Dead-End Job" Mystery But Not a Dead-End Series, May 7, 2003

By	Verna Suit (Silver Spring, MD USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Helen Hawthorne has run away from her Missouri home and her husband of 17 years to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she has taken a job selling designer clothes to skinny rich women. When the body of a skinny woman of her acquaintance is found stuffed into a barrel bobbing in the bay, Helen is forced into the role of sleuth.

SHOP TILL YOU DROP is amply populated with South Florida "characters"-some endearing to Helen, some maddening, and some just plain odd. But surprisingly, they all come across as believable. Even Helen's reason for ditching a successful career to work for minimum wage makes sense once the reason is revealed. And her new identity as a lowly shop girl gives her authentic appreciation and insight into the world at the bottom of the heap.

Elaine Viets is a seasoned writer who knows how to tell a story. She kept me reading up to the very satisfying conclusion, when Helen deftly wields the dead-ender's secret weapon. This is the first in a new "dead-end job" series, and I eagerly await Helen Hawthorne's next work adventure.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A unique blend, May 26, 2003

By	A. Lively "self proclaimed girly girl" (usa) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

of shopping in a snooty, upscale Boutique and watching CSI.

The main character, Helen has traded a lavish lifestyle to working in a clothing Boutique named Juliana's in Florida for minimum wage. The door always stays locked and is only opened for the rich and beautiful.

Helen discovers that Christina (Juliana's Manager) has a special relationship with each customer. She refers the best plastic surgeons, knows how to immigrant housekeepers and the perfect hit man.

Things turn sour when Christina is found floating in a barrel in the bay. Her customers are mournful, but more desperate to retrieve their secrets that Christina was holding. It's up to Helen to solve the mystery.

I knew that this would be a great read when I saw that Jane Heller called this book, "Irrestible, a heroin with a sense of humor and a gift for snappy dialogue" since Heller is one of my favorite authors.

If you like Heller's collection, you will love Shop till You Drop.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, May 12, 2003

By A Customer

Great book with great naration style. End is a little bit too 'clear', but it is not the most important part of Elaine's mistery style. Fort Lauderdale in its 'best'. More description of area and REAL life down there would be highly recommended in future installments.