Title: A CRIME OF FASHION – Book 2 in The Wedding Bell Mysteries
Author: Nancy Robards Thompson
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Book Blurb:
When a murder mystery-themed fashion show is struck by a real murder, there are enough suspects to line the runway
Bridal boutique owner and cozy mystery writer Maddie Bell and her daughter, Jenna, are hard at work planning Hemlock, North Carolina’s, annual 4th of July charity fashion show. When the show’s hometown star, bestselling mystery author Kellen Corsi, turns up dead, the mother-daughter pair find themselves playing detective...again.
Kellen’s death, which has been staged to mimic a murder from the book that launched her career, leaves the whole town reeling. The violence feels shockingly personal—Kellen was a founding member of the local writing group, Hemlock Homicide Heroines, before success swept her away to the big city.
Soon, it becomes clear not everyone was thrilled with Kellen’s success. As suspects multiply faster than designer knockoffs, Maddie and Jenna are determined to figure out who was resentful enough to kill over it.
Excerpt:
Chapter One
~ Maddie ~
“This is even more nerve-wracking than meeting an old boyfriend,” says Hailey Rose, who is sitting in the backseat of my SUV next to our friend Fran McDonald.
I’m driving. Mary Jane Stetson, who we call MJ, is riding shotgun, rounding out our quartet of writers. We’re on our way to Asheville, North Carolina, to pick up our friend Kellen Corsi, who is flying in from New York City.
“Why am I so nervous?” Hailey asks.
I glance in the rearview mirror and glimpse her, checking her pretty reflection in a compact mirror, fluffing her light pink curls and reapplying lipstick.
“It’s just Kellen,” I say. “Don’t be nervous. She’s the most nonjudgmental person in the world.”
“At least she used to be,” Fran says. “Who knows how she’s changed now that she’s hit the big time?”
About a decade ago, when I made the decision to move beyond reading cozy mysteries to trying my hand at writing them, I hung a notice in the Hemlock Public Library seeking authors who were interested in forming a mystery-writers support group. Fran, Hailey, MJ, Kellen, another writer named Olivia Knowles, and I turned up.
We hit it off fabulously and dubbed ourselves the Hemlock Homicide Heroines. It was the start of something magical.
“Why do you assume Kellen has changed?” I ask.
“Having your book made into a movie and living in a place like Manhattan can change a person’s sensibilities,” Fran says. “I feel like the country mouse going to pick up my big city friend.”
“Exactly,” Hailey says. “How can a person who has achieved the level of success Kellen has not change? I mean, she’s famous now.”
“Well, no one forced her to come back to Hemlock,” says MJ as she fans herself with a piece of paper. “If Kellen had gotten too far above her raisin’, I suppose she wouldn’t be schlepping it all the way back to North Carolina to walk in a small-town charity fashion show and spend time with a bunch of nobodies like us.”
I bristle at MJ’s referring to us as nobodies, but I swallow my irritation before I speak. “When I talked to her she sounded like the same old Kellen to me. She said she was excited to see us, and it’s generous of her to help the ladies league raise money.”
For the past decade, the Hemlock Ladies’ League, a local volunteer organization that my daughter Jenna and I belong to, has staged its Successful You Fashion Showcase, which supports regional organizations that aid women facing employment and financial challenges. Every year, the show has a different theme—last year it was tropical oasis; another year it was I Love Paris.
In celebration of the tenth annual show, the committee, which I’m chairing this year, chose a murder mystery theme featuring a special celebrity guest star to walk in the show—Hemlock’s very own hometown girl who hit the big time, best-selling mystery author Kellen Corsi.
Kellen’s first thriller not only became an instant number-one best seller, it launched her career and set her on a trajectory for literary superstardom. With one number-one best seller after another, everything she touches seems to turn to gold. Now, her first book is being made into a movie. The production company is shooting in Asheville. That’s one of the reasons she has been able to join us. After the show and our reunion weekend, she’s going to stop by the movie set.
Is it any wonder her success has bruised some egos and stirred up enough professional jealousy to splinter our writers' group? Because of that—or maybe in spite of it, I asked the other founding members of the Hemlock Homicide Heroines to walk in the show, too. Every year, local women are invited to participate—some local celebrities and others who want to help raise money. Since my friends write mysteries, I figured they would be the perfect models for this year’s show. It’s a nice opportunity for us to join about a dozen other women from the community and help a good cause. It also provided a great excuse for a HHH reunion.
“Too bad Olivia can’t join us,” MJ says.
The others make appropriate noises. Even though it is more apt to say Olivia Knowles won’t join us rather than can’t, no one dares utter a word. Not with MJ in the car. Olivia and MJ are close. Or at least they were once. Olivia was also an original member of our writers' group. She declined to participate in the reunion and fashion show after she learned that Kellen would be there.
“I guess it would be awkward for the two to be in the same room.” There’s an undercurrent of snark in MJ’s voice.
A wake of dead silence follows.
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What makes your featured book a must-read?
Fans of Gilmore Girls and Murder She Wrote won't want to miss this suspenseful cozy novel from USA TODAY Bestselling author Nancy Robards Thompson.
A CRIME OF FASHION is book two in The Wedding Bell Mysteries cozy mystery series. It has been optioned for television by Candy Rock Entertainment.
Reader Susan Gorman left this review on Goodreads: “I am loving Nancy Robards Thompson’s Wedding Bell Mysteries! A Crime of Fashion is the second book in the series. The fast-paced novel features bridal boutique owner and mystery writer Maddie Bell and her event planner daughter Jenna. I loved the fun Mother-Daughter vibe in the novel, the hint of romance between Maddie and Jackson and the small town setting in Hemlock, North Carolina.”
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Author Biography:
Award-winning and USA Today Bestselling Author Nancy Robards Thompson has worked as a newspaper reporter, television show stand-in, production and casting assistant for movies, and in fashion and public relations. She started writing fiction seriously in 1997. Five years and four completed manuscripts later, she won the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart award for unpublished writers and sold her first book the following year. Since then, Nancy has sold more than 50 books and found her calling doing what she loves most – writing mysteries, romance, and women’s fiction full-time.
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