In SILK STALKINGS, her third Material Witness mystery, Diane Vallere wraps us in the characters we've grown to love in books one and two (SUEDE TO REST and CRUSHED VELVET, respectively) while celebrating a major cultural facet of the town of San Ladrón, the yearly Miss Tangorli Beauty Pageant. When the sponsor of the pageant, Harvey Halliwell dies only days before the pageant begins it rocks the town to its foundation, creating a lovely stew of intrigue.

We are certainly not lacking in suspects this go around, and red herrings or not, the efforts of Polyester Monroe uncover loads of hidden motives while she does her best to fulfill her commitment to a dead man. She has a life many of us would love, reopening a fabric store left to her by her great aunt and uncle while readjusting to life back in the small town where she grew up. A hint of romance threads through the book, but the mystery remains front and center, and more of the past of characters like Charlie and Poly's store-owning neighbors are revealed this time around.

I loved this entry in the series. I enjoyed the first two books plenty, but something about SILK STALKINGS drew me in even more completely. The culmination of the action was tense, exciting and extremely satisfying, and the final page left me wearing a gentle smile. I also enjoyed the sewing pattern she added that ties in with the story. I will definitely be first in line to buy book four when it is released.

In the meantime, I have discovered she has a series I've yet to read, the Costume Shop mysteries. And I can always go back and read the series that introduced me to her work, the Madison Night series (especially wonderful for fans of Doris Day), or the Samantha Kidd series. It's all good!

Book Summary

Fabric shop owner Polyester Monroe can get tangled up in textiles, but it’s murder that really throws her for a loop in the latest mystery from the national bestselling author of Crushed Velvet.

The time has come for San Ladrón, California’s annual Miss Tangorli beauty pageant, and Poly has agreed to use Material Girl’s inventory of shimmery silks to create embellished gowns fit for a crown. But when millionaire Harvey Halliwell—the man who revived the city’s citrus trade with his imported tangorli tree—is found dead days before the pageant contestants are announced, something sour takes over the town.

To make matters worse, her friend, mechanic Charlie Brooks, is soon caught up in the crime, having been seen in the company of the case’s prime suspect. Now Poly’s on a mission to squeeze out the truth. But as she searches for a pattern, the killer seems intent on cutting up the evidence...