Stilettos and Scoundrels by Laina Turner-Molaski

Title: Stilettos and Scoundrels
Author: Laina Turner-Molaski
Genre: Mystery, cozy, chick-lit, adult
Publication: 2010
Source: For review, Pump Up Your Book

Note: I wrote a short feature on this novel a few weeks ago, but am now doing my full review.

Summary: Presley Thurman, a shopping and Starbucks addict, has just been fired from her HR job in Chicago. Now, she's taken a job writing a column for her friend's online magazine. Her first article, a feature on local senator Tom Daniels, has brought her back home to a small Illinois town to interview him. Shortly after their interview, the womanizing gambler winds up murdered! Despite being embroiled in lots of drama from being home again for the first time in years... Presley's determined to find out whodunnit... even if it means putting herself in danger.

My Thoughts: This was a light, fun mystery featuring a hilarious, fun-loving, and sassy heroine, Presley (named after Elvis). It's nice, fun chick-lit, with a light mystery twist. My favorite part of the story was the character Presley, herself, because she was strong-willed, determined, and stubborn, refusing to give up on solving the case, even though she had no right to do so. It made for a funny character making a lot of enemies.

What I didn't like about the story was that the romance aspect seemed forced to me. What I mean is... I didn't see any real chemistry or zing there so I had a hard time going along with it. The writing was also a bit awkward at times, such as this sentence from the back of the book: "Presley was betting her favorite pair of Manolo's she will find the killer... but will time run out!" To me, the tenses don't seem correct with the "was" and "will," and the sentence should also end with a question mark. Small errors such as this one appeared frequently throughout the book, but it's definitely not something that can't be fixed with some good editing. Plus, I am a stickler about these kinds of things, so maybe it's just me that it bothers slightly (I am an English major).

If you can look past the slight flaws in the writing, you will find an enjoyable story with a hard to solve mystery, and a fun character I'd enjoy revisiting in future books. I'd recommend this one to fans of cozy mysteries and chick-lit; this book is a good marriage of the two.

My Rating: 3/5