Murder Wears a Little Black Dress

Written by Debra Sennefelder

Narrated by Amy Melissa Bentley

Every woman would kill for one . . .

Manhattan fashionista Kelly Quinn thought she'd left her upstate New York town far behind . . . until the Seventh Avenue expat returns home to revamp her grandmother's consignment shop into an upscale boutique-and unwittingly sets a trend for murder . . .

After her rising career as a Manhattan buyer is derailed, Kelly has mixed feelings about relocating back to Lucky Cove, in spite of her big plans for the soon-to-be-renamed Curated by Kelly Resale Boutique. What's left of her luck starts running out when a customer puts on a black lace dress that triggers visions of someone being murdered. As if the haunted “Murder Dress” isn't enough to kill business, the psychic's doppelganger cousin has just been found bludgeoned to death.

Was Maxine LeMoyne the real target or was it a case of mistaken murder? With some creepy pre-Halloween bargain hunters walking the night and Kelly suddenly a person of interest, a second murder rocks the close-knit town. Now Kelly could be the one who ends up talking to dead people when she's stalked by a killer determined to take her out in high style . . .

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Jan 22, 2019
• ISBN: 9781977333087

Debra Sennefelder

Debra Sennefelder is an author of cozy mysteries, including the Food Blogger Mystery series and the Resale Boutique Mystery series. When she’s not writing, she’s either baking or reading. She lives with her family and slightly spoiled Shih Tzu in Connecticut.

Reviews for Murder Wears a Little Black Dress

[gpangel_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Murder Wears a Little Black Dress by Debra Sennefelder is a 2019 Lyrical Underground publication.Cute, fun and zany!With her dream job as a Manhattan buyer circling the drain, Kelly Quinn relocates to Lucky Cove to take over her grandmother’s consignment shop. Her plans for the shop are in jeopardy, however, when a customer tries on a ‘little black dress’ and claims the dress triggered visions of a murder.Desperate to salvage the shop’s reputation, Kelly is determined to find out what is going on- but things turn deadly serious when the psychic’s look alike cousin is found dead, and Kelly becomes a suspect. But it also looks like Kelly might be in the killer’s line of fire…A fast-paced cozy mystery, with a mild paranormal element, presented with a chick-lit format is a winning combination for this first in a series novel.This is a very light, easy, quick read- and a very nice way to de-stress, and have a little fun while you are reading!

[kris_anderson-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

murder wears a little black dressMurders Wears a Little Black Dress by Debra Sennefelder takes readers on a journey to Lucky Cove, New York. Kelly Quinn has inherited her grandmother’s consignment shop, Lucky Cove consignment Shop much to her Uncle Ralph’s disappointment. Kelly has big plans to make the shop profitable and change it into an upscale boutique. She is having a three day sale to help clear out the unwanted items. Bernadette Rydell, the local psychic, comes in and tries on a little black dress. While wearing the dress, Bernadette has a vision of a man being murdered. The shop quickly clears of customers while rumors of the “haunted dress” swirl about town keeping shoppers at bay. Kelly needs to get her sale back on track and starts by visiting the dresses consignee. She then gets a call from Bernadette asking her to stop by right away. Kelly arrives at Bernadette’s cottage and finds her dead on the floor. She is shocked when Bernadette walks through the door. The victim is Maxine Lemoyne, Bernadette’s cousin, who could pass for her twin sister. Which cousin was the intended target? Detective Nora Wolman is on the case, and she has Kelly at the top of her suspect list. The situation at her shop deteriorates when Valerie Leigh holds an impromptu séance and claims a chair is haunted which results in a customer filing a lawsuit. Kelly is determined to clear her name and the shop’s. However, someone is not happy with her sleuthing and tries to discourage her. When a second person connected to the case is murdered, Kelly knows she must be getting close to the truth. Kelly needs to work quickly, or she could end up the subject of the séance.Murder Wears a Little Black Dress is the debut novel in A Resale Boutique Mystery series. Kelly Quinn has inherited her grandmother’s consignment boutique and she is determined to make it work. Kelly lost her job as an assistant buyer in New York and her old boss has had her blackballed in the fashion industry. She wants to make changes to the shop to feature clothing and accessories only (getting rid of furniture and tchotchkes). Pepper Donovan, her grandmother’s friend and employee does not like the changes Kelly plans to make to the shop (I want to know how a shop making no profit can afford an employee). I thought Murder Wears a Little Black Dress was a quick, easy to read cozy mystery. It is fashion oriented with detailed clothing descriptions. The mystery was straightforward and avid mystery readers will find it a piece of cake pinpointing the killer. I wish the author had provided more details on Kelly’s past. Some information is imparted throughout the book and details on how she lost her job is slowly revealed. Kelly has tension with Ariel Barnes over an incident that occurred back in high school. Again, the information is slowly provided as the story progresses (very drawn out). To me it should have been an emotional part of the story, but the feelings were not there. There is a smidgeon of paranormal in the story and a hint of romance. Murder Wears a Little Black Dress is a lively cozy mystery with fashionable clothes, personable characters, murder, mystical forces, and mayhem.

[carlathelibrarian · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

4.5 stars rounded up. This is the first book in the new Resale Boutique Mysteries. I really enjoyed reading this smart, sassy, fast-paced mystery. Kelly Quinn has returned to her hometown of Lucky Cover after losing her job in New York City, attending her granny's funeral and finding out that her granny left her the consignment shop that was her pride and joy. Kelly, who has a degree in fashion, plans to take the rundown shop and revamp it into her own fashion boutique. All does not go as planned when a local psychic has a vision after trying on a Black Lace Dress and blacking out. Business dies off, Kelly stumbles on a dead body, she is being sued and is now a suspect in at least one murder. With her uncle hounding her to sell him the store, is she going to leave town with her tail between her legs or stick it out and try to find the murderer?

I enjoyed this book, the characters, the plot and the various side stories. The setting is different from any of the other cozy series that I read, so that was also very appealing. Pepper, her granny's friend and her employee is her mother figure. She tries to keep her on the straight and narrow and does not mince words when she thinks Kelly needs to hear them. There are a lot of interesting secondary characters, many with a past involving Kelly that I hope we learn more about. She and her family are estranged, so again, I hope there is more to come in future additions to the series. As Kelly begins to piece clues together and figure out how the black dress was involved in a murder, I followed along trying to solve the mystery. I figured out some of what was going on, but the ending was fantastic. There were plenty of suspects, many clues and some red herrings that all added to the entertainment value of this clever cozy mystery. I recommend this one to lovers of cozy mysteries with a bit of a chick-lit feel. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book to read upon request. The rating, ideas and opinions shared are my own.