"TV makeover diva gone bad"

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.

Reviewed by Dawn Dowdle
Courtesy Mystery Lovers Corner
Posted May 25, 2006

Summary

Home of the helmet hairdo and congressional comb-over, Washington, D.C. is a hotbed of fashion faux pas. If anyone should know, it's "Crimes of Fashion" columnist Lacey Smithsonian. She dishes out advice to the scandal-scorched and clothing-clueless, doing her part to change this town—one fashion victim at a time...

With a romantic weekend ahead of her, Lacey promises her ...once a cop always a cop... boyfriend that she'll stay out of trouble...but she sashays right into it. She's set up an interview with reality TV makeover success story Amanda Manville. The inside skinny on the supermodel is that Amanda is a prima prima donna. But the daunting diva actually begs for Lacey's help in stopping a deadly stalker. As if Lacey doesn't have enough on her hands with her mother and sister visiting...;But since acting sensible is for ugly shoes, she steps right in—and learns that sometimes makeovers can be murder...

Life is not a dress rehearsal: If you're the star, don't dress like the understudy.