Dollycas's Thoughts
Disguise is the limit!! This is a soaring debut!
Margo Tamblyn had a very interesting upbringing. She lost her mother at birth and grew up with her father running their costume shop, Disguise DeLimit. From an early age and still today Margo wears costumes or parts of costumes as her everyday attire. She marches to her own drummer and is stronger than she knows. She has been working in Las Vegas as a magician's assistant, but after her father suffers a heart attack she quickly finds a replacement and comes home. She wants to look after her father but knows she has to keep the store open. She is unsure about her father's finances but is sure his recent trip to the hospital left him with some bills to pay. When Blitz Manners enters the store demanding she pull together 40 costumes for his birthday party as soon as possible she is thrilled to do so. It is a detective-themed party so she starts putting costumes together for Sherlock Holmes, Kojak, Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew and more. What she wasn't expecting was the birthday boy to end up dead before the end of the party and her party planning friend Ebony to be accused of his murder. Margo decides she needs to actually become a detective, not just look like she plays one on t.v. Her friend needs her help and she is going to find the real killer.
What a great story!! I have been looking forward to this book since I first saw the cover. Disguise DeLimit is quite a store with every costume imaginable and if they don't have what you want they will custom make it for you. I really like Margo but her father is great person too. He has kept this shop going through thick and thin. His favorite part is traveling to find new costumes for the store. That part has taken a back seat since Margo moved away but he does take a very interesting trip in this book. Ebony, who has a dog named Ivory, that is him on the cover, helped raise Margo and is a mother figure to her. She is a very unique individual with a huge heart. We also meet Tak Hoshiyama but you have to read about him yourself, he starts out as a bit of a mystery and I don't want to spoil that.
The plot and subplots are excellent. The mystery is kind of a closed room mystery but there are so many suspects and they are all in costume so figuring out the real culprit is no easy task. It came together for me after Margo figured it out. There were so many twists and diversions but it all came together perfectly. I was just not puzzling things out well at all :)
There is a Special Preview of the next book in the series, Masking For Trouble, coming in October and great costume ideas and recipes in the back of the book too!
If you are looking for something fun to read this is a perfect choice!
Disguise is the limit!! This is a soaring debut!
Margo Tamblyn had a very interesting upbringing. She lost her mother at birth and grew up with her father running their costume shop, Disguise DeLimit. From an early age and still today Margo wears costumes or parts of costumes as her everyday attire. She marches to her own drummer and is stronger than she knows. She has been working in Las Vegas as a magician's assistant, but after her father suffers a heart attack she quickly finds a replacement and comes home. She wants to look after her father but knows she has to keep the store open. She is unsure about her father's finances but is sure his recent trip to the hospital left him with some bills to pay. When Blitz Manners enters the store demanding she pull together 40 costumes for his birthday party as soon as possible she is thrilled to do so. It is a detective-themed party so she starts putting costumes together for Sherlock Holmes, Kojak, Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew and more. What she wasn't expecting was the birthday boy to end up dead before the end of the party and her party planning friend Ebony to be accused of his murder. Margo decides she needs to actually become a detective, not just look like she plays one on t.v. Her friend needs her help and she is going to find the real killer.
What a great story!! I have been looking forward to this book since I first saw the cover. Disguise DeLimit is quite a store with every costume imaginable and if they don't have what you want they will custom make it for you. I really like Margo but her father is great person too. He has kept this shop going through thick and thin. His favorite part is traveling to find new costumes for the store. That part has taken a back seat since Margo moved away but he does take a very interesting trip in this book. Ebony, who has a dog named Ivory, that is him on the cover, helped raise Margo and is a mother figure to her. She is a very unique individual with a huge heart. We also meet Tak Hoshiyama but you have to read about him yourself, he starts out as a bit of a mystery and I don't want to spoil that.
The plot and subplots are excellent. The mystery is kind of a closed room mystery but there are so many suspects and they are all in costume so figuring out the real culprit is no easy task. It came together for me after Margo figured it out. There were so many twists and diversions but it all came together perfectly. I was just not puzzling things out well at all :)
There is a Special Preview of the next book in the series, Masking For Trouble, coming in October and great costume ideas and recipes in the back of the book too!
If you are looking for something fun to read this is a perfect choice!
Cathy C. (cathyskye) -
I am a huge fan of Vallere's Material Witness cozy series, so I was eager to read this first Costume Shop mystery. This, too, has the earmarks of another enjoyable series. First of all, the name of the shop-- Disguise DeLimit-- is a stroke of genius. Second of all, even if you're not a fan of "dressing up" (like me) I dare you not to be wildly impressed by all the detective-themed costumes Margo puts together. I almost wanted to drive up to Proper City and demand one for myself.
Margo is a caring and creative main character who's still hurting years later from her mother's death. Her penchant for wearing pieces and parts of costumes every day did make me raise an eyebrow, but somehow she manages to pull it off when most of the rest of us would probably be taken in for a psych evaluation. Bobbie, her best friend from high school, runs a local non-profit, and helps anchor Margo during the more hectic parts of this, her first investigation. It also doesn't hurt that there's a mysterious and handsome man called Tak who seems to be keeping an eye on her, too.
For me, the only real weakness in A Disguise to Die For was the character of party planner Ebony Welles (whose bichon frise is named Ivory). Margo tells us how important Ebony is in her life. The woman is the closest thing to a mother she has. But Ebony leaves town and stays hidden for most of the book. This means her character is barely developed, and readers can't feel the emotional bond Margo has with her.
Even though the lack of Ebony was felt, I thought Vallere painted a wonderful portrait of a single father putting everything on hold in order to raise his daughter. Now this was an emotional bond that came to life on the page-- even if the man was a bit cranky about being sidelined.
Diane Vallere has created yet another interesting cast of characters, and I look forward to getting to know them even better in the next book.
Margo is a caring and creative main character who's still hurting years later from her mother's death. Her penchant for wearing pieces and parts of costumes every day did make me raise an eyebrow, but somehow she manages to pull it off when most of the rest of us would probably be taken in for a psych evaluation. Bobbie, her best friend from high school, runs a local non-profit, and helps anchor Margo during the more hectic parts of this, her first investigation. It also doesn't hurt that there's a mysterious and handsome man called Tak who seems to be keeping an eye on her, too.
For me, the only real weakness in A Disguise to Die For was the character of party planner Ebony Welles (whose bichon frise is named Ivory). Margo tells us how important Ebony is in her life. The woman is the closest thing to a mother she has. But Ebony leaves town and stays hidden for most of the book. This means her character is barely developed, and readers can't feel the emotional bond Margo has with her.
Even though the lack of Ebony was felt, I thought Vallere painted a wonderful portrait of a single father putting everything on hold in order to raise his daughter. Now this was an emotional bond that came to life on the page-- even if the man was a bit cranky about being sidelined.
Diane Vallere has created yet another interesting cast of characters, and I look forward to getting to know them even better in the next book.
Good book - I wanted to keep on reading and reading to figure out what was going on. Definitely going to read the next in this series!
