As vintage clothing store owner Joanna Hayworth blissfully awaits her wedding a week away, her only challenge is to find the right dress. Then she discovers a dead drag queen among the sequined gowns and frothy wigs of the Fille Fantastique pageant. She does her best to help the police maneuver the social minefield of the drag world, until the dead queen's ghost appears, accusing her of the murder.
To clear her name, Joanna must investigate the strangely impassive family running a funeral home; a rival drag queen who's gone AWOL; the obsessive proprietor of the queen's favorite watering hole; and the mole-like man who lives in the cabaret's basement. If Joanna's not careful, her wedding will turn out to be a funeral.
When Joanna Hayworth visits Bradley Stroden, a onetime prot g of legendary costume designer Edith Head, she expects to find closets bulging with drool-worthy gowns to stock her Portland, Oregon, vintage clothing store. Instead, she finds a corpse.
With movie costumes as bait, Joanna investigates why Stroden was murdered. Could it be tied to the tell-all Hollywood memoir he was writing? Or to a midcentury film noir that was mysteriously yanked before it was released? Or to his adoring sister?
At the same time, Joanna stumbles upon a priceless pair of emerald earrings hidden on her laundry shelf. Her houseguest has some explaining to do. Joanna's new marriage--and, possibly, her life itself--depend on figuring out who is acting and who is for real.
Joanna Hayworth is elated to help settle the Parisian estate of Pearl Littlewood, the owner of Parfum d'Antan, a shop specializing in vintage fragrance. But when a mysterious note in the funeral guestbook suggests that Pearl's death was not an accident, Joanna's much needed vacation becomes a hunt for a killer. At the center of the trouble is a rare bottle of perfume, Lys Bleu-the Blue Lily.
Joanna's quest to solve Pearl Littlewood's murder takes her across the City of Light, from the gritty Goutte d'Or, where a collective of Senegalese seamstresses chat about life and love; to a bustling early morning flea market; to a late night rendezvous at a drag club in the catacombs. What secret does the Blue Lily hold, and how many people must die before it's revealed?
In the first of what I hope will be a long-running series, Angela Sanders has resurrected the art of the comic caper, and done so brilliantly. Quirky characters, lots of action, and hairpin plot turns make The Booster Club a must-read and pure gold entertainment. PJ Alderman, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Haunting Jordan, a Port Chatham Cozy Mystery
When it comes to good deeds, the Booster Club proves that crime pays.
Claudine is a fourth generation cat burglar preparing to heist the famous Cabrini jewels when she's drawn into finding a home for four children whose mother died in jail. She joins forces with Ruby--an outspoken hairdresser with a sideline of shoplifting--and Deborah, who can steal the watch off your wrist, but only as her alter ego, Sabine. Together, they're the Booster Club.
The women set about buying the abandoned firehouse where the children have been living, only to discover that a ruthless developer wants the land. With the help of Claudine's father and a retirement home for petty criminals, they must concoct a scheme clever enough to outwit the developer, the uppity Women's League, and at least one shady politician. Who are the crooks now?
The Booster Club is the first in a new series of capers by the author of the Joanna Hayworth Vintage Clothing mysteries. If you like your crime writing quirky and heartwarming, you'll love The Booster Club.
Can you teach an old crook new tricks?
The Booster Club has a plan, and it's about to come unraveled, big time. This ragtag bunch of former petty criminals springs art forger Adele from prison so she can make amends for her past. All the Boosters have to do is steal the forged paintings back. What could go wrong?
A greedy developer bent on revenge, Adele's soured love affair with a starry-eyed ex-prison warden, and a fight over Marie Antoinette's dog bed: that's what. If the Boosters can't get a handle on this out-of-control heist, the whole scheme will topple - taking the Club with it.
Fans of Donald Westlake's Dortmunder series will love the topsy-turvy twists and turns of the Booster Club's heartwarming, comedic caper.