Dead in the Water

By Diane Vallere

Dive into a world of enchantment, danger, and the unexpected as you embark on extraordinary underwater adventures in DEAD IN THE WATER. Meet Zoe, Kyra, and Ava, three spirited mermaid sisters who call the vibrant underwater city of Sirenia their home. But life beneath the waves is about to take a thrilling turn as the sisters find themselves caught in a wave of treacherous mysteries.

 

When a mysterious murder rocks the peaceful depths of their aquatic paradise, the mermaid sleuths refuse to let the secrets remain submerged. Utilizing their unique gifts of intuition, song, and curiosity, Zoe, Kyra, and Ava embark on individual quests to unravel the truth, enlisting the help of wise mermen, clever fish allies, and even a few humans along the way.

 

As they navigate a labyrinth of deep-sea wonders and perilous encounters, the mermaid trio uncovers a hidden world of dark alliances, ancient prophecies, and a sinister plot that could shake Sirenia to its very core. With every clue they unravel, the sisters find themselves diving deeper into the heart of the mysteries, risking their lives to protect their cherished home and those they hold dear.

 

For fans of mermaids, mysteries, and thrilling adventures alike, DEAD IN THE WATER is a trio of spellbinding stories that seamlessly weave together elements of fantasy, suspense, and captivating fiction. Immerse yourself in a richly imagined underwater realm, where the bonds of sisterhood, the allure of the sea, and the power of love collide in a race against time and will leave you longing for more tales from the deep.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Polyester Press
• Release date: May 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9781939197054

Diane Vallere

Diane Vallere is a fashion-industry veteran with a taste for murder. She writes several series, including the Style & Error Mysteries, the Madison Night Mysteries, the Costume Shop Cozy Mysteries, the Material Witness Mysteries, and the Outer Space Mysteries. She started her own detective agency at the age of ten, and she has maintained a passion for shoes, clues, and clothes ever since.

Book preview

Part 1: Zoe

1

Iwas done following the rules. Sure, they may have been written to protect the inhabitants of Sirenia, the mermaid colony ruled by my mother, but those same rules only stifled my curiosity. Maybe it was unseemly for a mermaid to show interest in something from the human world, and maybe the human’s curiosity about us was the reason the rules and regulations had been established in the first place, but just because I was a mermaid didn’t mean I couldn’t be curious about other things.

Exploration was thrilling, and there was definitely something thrilling about the old shipwreck that rested on the ocean floor below me. And now that I’d snuck away for the afternoon, I had a chance to find out what it was. I didn’t care that I was in unchartered waters or that there might be a severe punishment if I were caught. I flipped a spray of water from the ocean with my pearlescent blue tail and dove deeper into the water.

Ever since I was young, I’d been the mermaid who got into trouble. Zoe, leave that alone, they said when I showed interest in something unusual. Back then, it was simple things like waking sleepy barnacles or bringing home trash that someone tossed into the ocean. As I got older, I pestered mermen who patrolled the colony to tell me about the world outside our territory but even they tried to dissuade me. It wasn’t that I looked for trouble, but I couldn’t help myself. Mermaids existed to inspire humans to grand adventures and lofty thoughts. But honestly, I didn’t understand how I could inspire adventures without experiencing some of my own..

I undulated about forty meters below the surface, through the deep blue-green water, passing two schools of fish and a crab. On another day, I might have dallied by the coral or even wrapped my tail in kelp to bring out the natural luster of my scales, but I was already taking a risk by being this far away from my sisters. Kyra would cover for me—she was the baby and always did what I asked—but I wasn’t sure about Ava. She’s my older sister, and the most dependable, which also made her the likeliest to rat me out. If Ava wanted, she could make my life miserable.

I was going to have to make sure Ava had no reason to make my life difficult.

As I approached the shipwreck, I twirled around in the water to slow my forward momentum and then hung back, behind a reef. Like yesterday, when I first snuck away to explore this area, I knew something had changed from the previous times I’d been here. The water was clear and I had no trouble seeing the details: rusted rivets, crumbling metal gashes, and tiny, shimmery, silver fish swimming in and out of the long out-of-use portholes.

But there was something else. Bubbles. Large, oblong bubbles that spilled out of the back of the shipwreck and floated to the surface.

Bubbles could be generated by pulling air from the surface to the water below like I’d done with the flip of my tail. But I was deep enough to know these bubbles didn’t come from the surface. They originated from the far side of the ship. Just like yesterday. A shiver of anxiety climbed my spine like a family of overactive sand crabs. Bubbles meant one thing: I wasn’t alone.

I floated behind some kelp and peeked between the blades. Slowly, I pulled myself along using the plant as leverage, until I was at the end of the shipwreck. The bubbles were meters away. They hadn’t moved since I first noticed them. Whoever—or whatever—was there wasn’t active, but I couldn’t know who—or what—it was without getting closer. The rules of the sea were clear in cases like this. Turn back. Get help. Be safe.

I swam closer.

As I peeked over the side of the shipwreck, I spied a diver. A man! I couldn’t see his features, but his close-fitting wetsuit indicated he was in good shape. His hair swayed in the ocean, fanning around his face, and his mouth was stuffed with a regulator connected to air tanks strapped onto his back. This stretch of the ocean was far beyond the waters that were safe for humans. Ever since the accident caused in the great shrimper/mermaid tragedy, there had been an understanding between humans and mermaids. A charter had been voted into law to keep them from risking their lives (and ours) by diving past the border—the same charter I ignored right now.

The diver was now beyond the border. Quite.

If he saw me, if he learned how close he was to Sirenia, he’d bring others. The merfolk freedom would be compromised. Greedy sailors would hunt us, catch us, and sell us to the highest bidders. At least those were the stories I’d heard at swim camp.

But I’d outgrown scary stories around the same age when I outgrew sleepy barnacles, and besides, I’d never seen an evil sailor up close. Despite the fear, the warnings, and the possibility of capture, I swam closer. Maybe, if I could learn something about the diver, I could report back to Sirenia and tell the others. They would listen to my stories and develop ways to defend themselves. I could be the one to save them!

Pride at the possibility surged through me, and the scales on my tail, which had dulled from the exertion of swimming this distance from home, now glowed a magnificent shade of coral. There would be no hiding amongst the kelp at this rate. I curled my tail to hide the bright color. The movement caught the attention of the diver, who looked directly at me.

I froze.

The diver watched me watching him. He didn’t move. A thin stream of red floated in a cloud from somewhere below him. It was blood. I’d read about it in books from the Library Under the Sea. My pulse pounded through my arms and scales, and I hovered in place, waiting to see what he’d do now that he’d spotted me. He appeared to be considering his options as well because he did nothing.

I wriggled out from behind the kelp and closed the distance between us. When I rounded the corner, I learned why the diver hadn’t approached me. His ankle was caught in a twist of sea kelp, keeping him tethered to the ocean floor. He kicked his foot, but the plant kept him bound. The cloud of blood, however, was unrelated to his current dilemma.

The blood came from the body lying on the ocean floor next to the diver’s foot.

2

Ihad a choice. Save the trapped diver, or swim back home and return with the mermen patrol. (It wasn’t that mermaids couldn’t enforce the charter, but that with our talents, looks, and emotive abilities, we were the royalty of the sea. The brute force required to protect us fell to the mermen. It was a symbiotic relationship, but I sometimes wondered what would happen if we switched roles!) The mermen would take no pity on a diver who’d entered our restricted waters. Plus, if I told the mermen about the shipwreck and the dead body, they’d send me home, back with my sisters, to be a good mermaid while they managed the matter. I’d never know what had happened.

I wasn’t going anywhere.

The diver bent toward his foot and yanked at the kelp twisted around his ankle. I already knew he wasn’t going to be able to release himself. It takes more than human brute force to tear through thick, coarse kelp blades.

Were all humans like him? Did they think they could muscle their way through a crisis?

Air leaked from a tear in the hose that connected the diver’s regulator to his air tanks. It was a thin trickle that was visible only by the tiny bubbles that slowly popped one by one from the hole, but I knew if he waited too long, if the ocean grew fierce, or if the hose tore further, the diver would die.

I swam toward him and pulled his hands away from the plant. I scanned the ocean floor for a helpful crab or jagged piece of broken shell. But the ocean floor was clear. The presence of the two men—the diver and the body—had scared away any of the sea life that called the shipwreck home.

The diver grabbed my arm. My whole body tensed, including my tail, which isn’t the best thing for quick maneuvers and fighting back. This was it. Tricked by a human diver pretending to be tangled up in kelp on the ocean floor by a body. That probably wasn’t even a real body. The stories from swim camp were right. Humans were sneaky!

His grip relaxed and he pointed to the body.

From the pictures I’d seen during human anatomy class, I’d say that was a real body.

Next to the body lay a silver tank like the one the diver wore. The regulator had slipped out of his mouth and rested in the sand by the man’s head.

The diver pointed, this time more aggressively, and it seemed more accurate to say he wasn’t pointing at the body, but at the underwater sea knife in the body. And then he put his hand around his throat and convulsed. He needed air.

The excitement made my tail glow even more than it had been. While my sisters were blessed with exotic looks: Ava with striking pink hair and Kyra with white hair and tail, I’d been born with a blue tail that blended in with the depths of the ocean. Changes in my mood brought out a warm coral hue that was impossible to ignore. With one powerful flap of my tail, I propelled myself to the body and yanked the knife out of the dead man’s chest. I turned and swam back to the diver. His eyes were closing, and his body seemed limp. I sliced through the thick kelp and freed his ankle, then grasped his hand and pulled him up to the water’s surface. He didn’t have much time.

When we broke through the euphotic zone I felt the diver’s grip on me tighten. He gasped for air. I guided him to a nearby boat that had the same yellow insignia as the one on the back of his wetsuit and gave him a boost with a kick of my tail. I dove down below the surface and watched his flippered feet disappear over the edge of the boat. I swam about fifty yards from where I’d been and resurfaced. The man sat in the boat, staring into the water.

I’d saved his life but risked my own. Would there be repercussions? I glanced to either side of me, my blue hair fanning out around my head. Nobody had followed me. Nobody knew where I was. If the diver left and never returned, my secret would be safe. No one would ever know I’d broken the rules.

It wasn’t until that moment I realized I was still holding the knife I’d pulled from the dead man.

I’d heard rumors of the kinds of techniques humans used to catch their criminals. Chemicals that revealed fingerprints and blood and something called evidence. Their police had systems in place to figure out when one of them committed a crime. It wasn’t like the sea at all.

But these were unchartered waters. I knew because of the paths I’d taken to reach the sunken ship. The diver and the dead man were beyond the territory protected by the treaty. Would the police risk relations between humans and the merfolk to get justice? Or was the ocean beyond their jurisdiction?

Was that why the man on the ocean floor had been killed this far out from where he belonged?

My tail was still bright coral. If anyone came around looking—for me, for the dead man, or for the trapped, now free diver—I couldn’t hide. The safest thing to do was to go home and leave things as they were. I didn’t know what to expect, but satisfying my curiosity wasn’t worth risking Sirenia.

I released the diving knife and watched it land in the sand next to something that glistened silver. Ava collected sea treasures, and an unusual artifact discovered from the shipwreck might be just the thing to keep her from asking questions about my disappearance. I swam down to the ocean floor and buried the knife, and then raked my fingers through the sand to uncover a small, oblong item attached to a long silver chain. I hung the chain around my neck and swam home, leaving behind my biggest adventure yet.

3

On my way back to Sirenia, I stopped off at the Ebb Tide Emporium. My tail had dulled, but every time I thought about freeing the diver and finding the body, the coral glow returned. There was no way it would return to its natural shade by the time I got home, and the glow would raise questions about where I’d been. I had to cover it up and that meant a trip to see Mad Midge.

Mad Midge was an older mermaid who’d sustained injuries in the shrimper/mermaid tragedy. Her tail had been permanently damaged, her caudal adductor paralyzed on one side (which sometimes made her swim crooked), and she’d lost vision in one eye. She ran the most profitable booth at the weekly Ebb Tide Emporium and parlayed that success into eventually managing the whole shopping market. She was one of the few mermaids to have ongoing contact with humans after the treaty went into effect. Mad Midge argued that her livelihood depended on it, but I secretly believed too many merfolk depended on Mad Midge to procure the specialties they desired to reject her application. Her permit to travel was approved, and her business flourished.

In addition to running her booth, Mad Midge owned and bred electric eels. Eels were a known source of underwater electricity and illumination and were valuable commodities because of that, but their value was reduced by the fact that they couldn’t be turned off. Their presence illuminated the water, which led sailors to occasionally see the underwater life that was supposed to be a secret. Because of this, eels had been banished.

Mad Midge had developed a paste made from pulverized abalone muck and algae that, when slathered on the eels, kept them near invisible. She sold the muck in jars, small and large. Between the sale of the muck and the rental of the eels, she was financially secure. Anything else she sold was extra, though that didn’t stop her from stocking unusual items to attract people to her stand every week to see what was new.

There was probably a jar of eel muck at home, but I needed to apply it before getting there. When I arrived at Mad Midge’s topical paste booth, she floated behind her stand, inventorying items in a large blue tub. As I neared, she closed the lid and straightened up.

Hello dere, Zoe-girl, she said. She tacked the word girl on to the end of each of our names, just like she tacked tuna or crab after the names of the fish who frequented the emporium. Din’t expect customers today, no. The emporium doesn’t open for two days. I’m just here waitin’ for a delivery. Got special orders comin’. Her one good eye swept over me from head to tail, and she nodded at the coral glow of my tail. I see you’ve got a bit of a problem, don’tcha now.

There was no point lying about what I wanted. Do have any eel muck in stock? I asked. To be on the safe side, I added, the large size, please.

Mad Midge nodded in a knowing way. Ya found yourself swimmin’ around da dangerous parts of da ocean, didja now? She kept nodding, this time as if agreeing with something she didn’t say aloud. I know what it’s like, swimmin’ out dere in da dark parts of da ocean. I know da secrets da ocean holds, yah.

Nobody knew how old Mad Midge was. She’d been around since before I was born, and aside from my limited contact with her at the market, I only knew of her from the tales other merfolk whispered behind her back.

Ya gotta be careful now, she said. Dere’s dangers in dem waters. Dangers you mermaids have yet to encounter.

Like the humans? I asked cautiously.

Nah, dem humans are okays, she said with a wave of her hand. Dey bring me my supplies and buy da wares I find in da ocean, don’t ya know. I wouldn’t have a shop if not for da humans.

I couldn’t understand how Mad Midge could be so forgiving to the very people who had been responsible for her disfigurement. Why don’t you hate them? I asked, my earlier nerves now traded for curiosity.

The elderly mermaid tipped her head and considered me. The water massaged her choppy hair (she’d recently cut it short; practical reasons, she’d explained to anyone who questioned her decision to go against expected mermaid ideals of beauty), causing it to fan out around her head like a sea shrub. She used colorful hair tonic on it to advertise the effects of the product, and the result left her rainbow-colored. Zoe-girl, she said, why should I hate da humans when they are da link between me and my income?

But they—the shrimpers—what happened— I stammered. I didn’t know anybody who asked Mad Midge about the shrimping accident directly. There must be a reason we only talked about her behind her back!

There are always a few bad ones in every group, she said. Ya can’t expect da world to be a nice place an’ you can’t expect it to be a bad place. You hafta expect a little of both.

I was intrigued by her knowledge and forgot my fears. But they left you blind in one eye and damaged your tail. They left you for dead. How can you trust them?

I said I didn’t hate dem, she countered. I never said I trusted dem. She reached below the booth and pulled out a large clear jar half full of a thick, greenish-gray substance. Now let’s get you settled. You wanted a jar of eel muck?

Yes, please. I looked away. I don’t have money with me. I can barter a song or bring money from my coin jar and pay you when we come to the market this week.

How’s about you use up the end of dis sample. I’ll be needin’ to break out a fresh sample when da market opens. You’d be doin’ me a favor. She pushed the jar toward me.

I looked up at Mad Midge, surprised. I’d never heard of her giving away merchandise that she could sell and I’d never once heard of eel muck going bad.

Go on, now, she prodded. It’s gettin’ late and I’m leavin’ after my special order comes in. Your mother will be worryin’ about ya soon, and I don’t need Mother Mermaid to be thinkin’ I’m a bad influence on you girls. She reached forward and unscrewed the jar with her bony, spotted fingers. I slathered the gelatinous substance on my scales, coating the coral glow that had only gotten stronger since arriving at the booth, thanked Mad Midge, and swam towards home, stopping one more time to barter a batch of mussels from a shellfish vendor and have a plausible excuse for being away so long.

4

By the time I arrived home, forcing a leisurely pace that allowed my tail color to appear closer to normal, the food pantry was empty. I left the mussels in reserve and swam to my room. Kyra and Ava were out. Our coin jar, a receptacle where we collected human money that we found on the ocean floor, was empty, and my fishnet shopping bags were missing from the coral branch where I kept them. A lock of Ava’s bright pink hair waved from the coral. If I hadn’t already suspected, now I knew. Ava was the most comfortable borrowing my things without asking, a fact that never ceased to infuriate me.

It wasn’t like we didn’t share, but at least Kyra asked permission before helping herself. And here I’d brought Ava a gift! I balled my fist around the silver chain and turned away. Ava didn’t deserve it. I slipped the chain into an empty clamshell, tied a piece of silvery phytoplankton around it, and nestled it under Kyra’s pillow. At least one sister was nice.

When my sisters returned later that night, they were bursting with excitement. You missed it! Kyra said. She swam in a circle, her white hair flying behind her. We were at the Library Under the Sea when a human swam up and asked for help!

My tail began to glow. I tucked it underneath me and held an empty fishnet bag on my lap to cover it. There aren’t supposed to be humans in these waters, I said tentatively.

Ava snatched the second fishnet bag from Kyra and dumped a pile of books onto the counter. I could tell something was wrong with him. He said he was a police officer, but he didn’t have a badge or anything.

A badge. That’s what the shiny thing was I’d found buried in the ocean floor. My stomach clenched, and I fought the urge to turn and look at the gift-wrapped mussel shell I’d left under Kyra’s pillow.

He had trouble breathing, Kyra said. "I was scared for him. Her eyes widened, like they had that day she discovered a tiny sea urchin had taken up residence in her bed. Being the youngest mermaid, she would always be wide-eyed and innocent, and she’d use that to her advantage long after losing the specter of youth.

Reviews for Dead in the Water

[lahochstetler · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

There's a lot of weird stuff happening in Madison Knight's life. This book brings together past secrets, an unidentified body, and a creepy $5000 bill. There's also the local police detective, who ends up being the love interest. Madison runs a mid-century modern design business/store, and she refurbishes peoples' houses to reflect that aesthetic. While I would have no desire to make my house look like the Brady Bunch house, apparently some people like that. Madison is obsessed with Doris Day. Also, very much not my thing, but I still enjoyed this mystery. Counterfeiting is a topic I always enjoy in mysteries, probably because it's a complicated thing to pull off. In general, I found the book well-written and entertaining, and want to read more in the series.

[tldegray-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Who but Madison would get a five thousand dollar bill in the mail and know it's a message? Naturally, instead of going to the police Madison heads out to a local numismatist to find out if the bill is authentic and ends up getting involved in a murder. This one deals with a blast from her past, betrayals of trust, and some scary secrets coming to light. As usual, all the different threads are woven together to give the reader a nice, pat, and sense-making ending.

And how cute are these book covers?

(Provided by publisher)

[cathyskye · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Diane Vallere's Madison Night series continues to be my Find of the Year. Normally I do not let myself read more than one book in a series per year. This works well because there are dozens of series that I follow closely. But when I fall for a series as hard as I did this one, that rule can go out the window. I began by reading the most recent book, The Decorator Who Knew Too Much, then I bought the rest of the books. I've only got one left to be completely caught up, and the question is-- will I be able to hold off reading it until next year? The main reason why I kept ignoring these books is due to the covers, even though they do remind me of all the patterns my grandmother the seamstress had when I was growing up. These covers have a tendency to make the books appear to be-- there's really no nice way to put it-- nothing but fluff. If you go so far as to read the synopses and realize the titles are based on old Doris Day movies and that Doris Day is the main character's role model, you might be excused for shaking your head and walking away. Except-- you're reading this review, and now you know better.Like the other books in the series, That Touch of Ink has a strong mystery, full of twists and turns and suspense galore. They have Style, just like Madison's clothes and interior design business. The cliffhanger from Madison's personal life is resolved from book one (Pillow Stalk), and there are three men attracted to this woman, which may (or may not) shock younger readers because Madison is forty-seven, single, has never been engaged or married, and has a bum knee (so she knows she's not Wonder Woman). I was very pleasantly surprised at how well Doris Day translates into twenty-first-century life. Even if you're not familiar with Doris Day, you're going to like Madison and sympathize with how hard she's had to work to live the life she wants. If you are familiar with the versatile actress/singer, like I am, you just might find yourself watching some of her films. Whether you do or not, the one thing you must do is read these books! They are a delight.

[shetreadssoftly · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

That Touch of Ink by Diane Vallere is the second book in a series featuring Madison Night, a Doris Day wannabee with a Shih Tzu named Rocky. Madison is a mid-century modern interior decorator who owns her own business, Mad for Mod. She's also owner/landlord of her own apartment building. In this outing Madison has an old flame, Brad, send her a $5000 dollar bill, something she knows sends a message specifically for her. Meanwhile Tex, her police detective friend is watching her closely for a number of reasons.

The big hook on this series is the connection to old Doris Day movies. From Madison's job to every little thing she wears, aficionados and fans of Doris Day movies will recognize the many references and picture her various outfits, modeled after clothes Doris Day wore in her movies. The question really becomes twofold: is the Doris Day connection a help or hindrance to propel the series forward; and is the plot strong enough to overcome the forced connections?

I love Doris Day movies. I am already a fan. I own almost every movie she was in, so I get this part of the hook.
I am also a fan of mysteries. There is something about a good mystery that leaves you breathless, trying to not bite your nails, as you read as fast as you can trying to follow the clues and wondering what will happen next.

So, seemingly this should have been a great fit, but, alas, it wasn't. The Doris Day connection rang false and kind of got a little weird for me. After all, she is a well known woman beyond her acting career and is much more than a star of comedies. Her care and compassion for animals is well-known, as is the fact that she would consider herself a tomboy. I grew very weary of reading about what outfit Madison was changing into or what set of period silk pajamas Madison would don next. Madison was starting to annoy me.

Well, did the mystery part of the novel pan out? It did. It was good. There was plenty of madcap action, a few twists and turns, and a satisfying conclusion.

In the end, this is a satisfying mystery novel. For some readers the Doris Day movie connection is going to be a fun addition and will add to their enjoyment of solving the mystery. Recommended


Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Polyester Press via Netgalley for review purposes.

[katsmiao · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I very much enjoy this series. I love the characters, even though the love triangle (or square) can be frustrating. Who is Madison really interested in? There's something with Hudson, with Tex and with Brad. And BTW, is Brad the good guy or the bad guy?

So many questions, so many twists and turns. This book is even better than the first one. Very cute and so much fun to read. Can't wait for the next one.

[murderbydeath · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received this book as an arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This is the second book in the Mad for Mod series, and I was quite pleased to see it scheduled for publishing so soon after the first one, Pillow Stalk, and I wanted to read more about Madison Night. I wanted to see if the character evolved from that almost bitter woman to someone more relaxed and approachable. Nope, not much. But then, she has cause in this book. As foreshadowed at the end of Pillow Stalk, the love of her life, Brad Turlington - also the man who announced to Madison he was married and had no intention of leaving his wife - comes to Dallas looking for Mad. As we learned in the last book, he wasn't married (never had been) but he was up to his eyeballs in shady dealings and told Mad the one thing he knew would make her walk away. Or, as the case may be, ski away down a mountain and into a tree, blowing out her knee. Whatever works. In Pillow Stalk, which takes place a year and a bit after this confrontation, Mad does even more damage to her knee and That Touch of Ink picks up several months afterward, with Mad recovering from more knee surgery, and glory be! she's using a cane. Sometimes. Not often. I think the author finds this bad knee to be more of a pain than Mad does, as she sort of forgets about it when throwing Mad into adventures. A $5000 dollar note arrives in the mail as a portent to Brad's re-appearance in Mad's life. She ignores the message inherent in the receipt of this note; Brad's collecting on a comment she made years ago, that she could be bought for $5000 - because her name is on the note (James Madison being the man in the portrait). But then the discovery of a fragment of another $5000 note found by a couple of kids makes the news and Madison knows something isn't kosher. These notes have been out of circulation for decades and there are only a few hundred known to exist. She drops everything to go have the bill appraised, only to find the numismatist dead on the floor of his home. But is it really him? And should she let Brad back into her life? And we're off on a rousing ride to find the truth about who was killed, who is killing and why there are suddenly such a plethora of $5000 notes everywhere Madison looks. The most important question of all to Madison: how deeply is Brad involved? I was hoping Madison would have softened more in this book, but having to face Brad all over again keeps her from really letting go of her rage and truly moving on. That Touch of Ink has her working her stuff out and I did see evidence of growth in her personality throughout. I'm also tentatively relieved to see that the author doesn't intend to string out a love triangle (or square) in this series; it appears to be resolving itself in ways both sweet and dramatic. I like Tex quite a bit; he's showing flashes of unexpected depth and strength, although there are times when I just think he's acting like a horse's ass, "just doing his job" or not. Those moments, I think, could have been handled with more subtlety. Hudson doesn't play a large role in this book, but he does have a few scenes and they are written well; you can almost feel the level of comfort he provides to Mad. All in all, I still have some of the same issues with the MC - I feel like she's reactive while pretending to be proactive. I also still had issues with the editing, but I'm not going to expound on that here as the copy I had was an arc, and I expect those issues to be resolved before final publication. (I certainly hope they are, cuz there are some doozies!) These two factors did cost the story 1/2 star in my final reckoning, however. But I couldn't put the story down. It hooked me, in spite of my MC issues, my complete lack of interest in 50's/60's culture (I'm more of a 30's/40's girl myself) and my apathy towards Doris Day's life and career. I still really wanted to know what happened at the end. And I really want to see what happens next.

[ethel55_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was completely engrossed in Vallere’s follow up to Madison Night’s debut, Pillow Stalk. In That Touch of Ink, Madison has had a few months to recover from the excitement a dead body and a snippet of film with a message from her ex, brought to her life. When she receives a $5000 bill in the mail, a whole new mystery emerges from Madison’s past. I liked the more tightly written story this time, we already know about Madison’s retro business and bum knee and don’t have to go over that ground as much as in the first novel. However, I still appreciated Vallere’s clever nods to the Doris Day movies Madison loves so much, tucked into the names of characters and the planning of an atomic kitchen for new clients that have become some of the new friends Madison sorely needs in Dallas. Madison proves to be a very strong heroine. That makes the series exceed the parameters of a regular cozy and into a very complex story that involves a mystery and how one woman is able to truly begin again. I am looking forward to the next Madison Night novel!

[rhonda1111 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

4 STARS That Touch of Ink is the second book of A Mad for Mod Mystery. It picks up 6 months after Pillow Stalk ended. A new mystery starts when Madison receives a $5,000 dollar bill in the mail. Then her old boyfriend Brad shows up after 2 years wants to get back together. He is the one who sent her the bill. I like Madison Night. She is a strong fun character. She dresses like Doris Day of films and her hole business is to decorate from that age. Madison has a hard time trusting people since her breakup from Brad. Plus the things that happened in Pillow Stalk. Madison calls on a place of business so she can find out about the $5000 dollar bill. She that things are not right inside and a dog is acting really weird. So Madison breaks into rescue dog and finds a dead guy. Madison calls Tex the police detective she met in Pillow stalk. Brad is a decorator and Madison's old boyfriend two years ago. He told her that he was married and would not leave his wife for her. Madison quit her job and moved to Dallas to start over. Brad had lied about being married. He did it so she would break it off from him and would be safe from his bad friends. Now he sent her the $5000 bill to let her know he was in trouble and now he wants to get back with her. Tex is a police detective and a playboy. After Pillow stalk case was solved he disappeared from Madison's life. When she calls about finding the dead guy he shows back into her life. Now he is showing up all the time again. The $5,000 bill is really rare. Now they are showing up in Dallas. Three have come to Madison's attention. She wonders if they are fake. Madison is not sure she can trust Brad. She wonders what he is up too now and what was the trouble he was in before? Did they follow him. That Touch of Ink is a good clean cozy mystery. I keep hoping for Madison and Hudson get closer. I enjoyed this book and will continue to read Diane Vallere's books. I was given this ebook to read and in return agreed to give honest review of it by Harlequin and Henrey Press

[c.archer · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

That Touch of Ink is a fun and quite well written murder mystery. Counterfeiting, a Doris Day look-a-like, multiple suitors, and a dog named after Rock Hudson, are all parts of what make this a rollicking fun mystery. It perhaps is a lighter version of detective tale, but this book still has a storyline that will keep you guessing until the very end. I found it to be enjoyable and entertaining. It is recommended for people who don't take their mysteries too seriously. I thank the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read and review this title.

[mrsbaty · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is fun! It's a quick, fun read with a likeable heroine and a cast of interesting characters. It's the best kind of chick lit/mystery combination.

Madison has left a troubled past to start her mid-century modern decorating business in Dallas but her past comes back to haunt her. Just when her new life seems to be going really well, a past boyfriend shows up to wreak havoc on that new life. Murder and mayhem! The story has a lot of twists and turns and action. Quite satisfying.

As a huge fan of mid-century modern styles, this book is a real treat. I love the descriptions of the furniture and styles. I also love the descriptions of the vintage clothes that Madison wears.

While I read this without having read the first one in the series, I think it would probably be easier to follow if one read them in order. Anyway you read it, it's a really fun book.

I received this as a ARC from Netgalley and I appreciated the opportunity to read and review it.