Cozy mystery? Check. Cute characters? Check.

This book definitely checked all the boxes and the added flair of soap opera stars. It’s a quick, enjoyable read.

I loved the cover of this book! It felt like the perfect fit for the plot. Two soap stars have reinvented themselves, opening up a store specializing in Hollywood collectibles in Palm Springs. I thought this was such a fun debut novel with a cast of colourful characters that you soon won't forget. The setting was perfect and I am very much hoping that the next book in the series will be out soon.

DNF at 20%. Its not that the book is bad or the writing or plot! I was branching into a new genre and its just not for me.

Debut author. Cozy, fun, quirky read. You can't go wrong with a cozy. Left me with all the good feelings. Loved the vibe of the characters. Was rooting for rhem all the way. Looking forward to reading more crazy scenarios with these two.

#AKILLINGINCOSTUMES #ZACBISSONNETTE #NETGALLEY

Jay and Cindy were married and soap opera stars. However, they both realized that they were gay and came out during a time that it was frowned upon. Both lost their jobs as soap stars and started new careers. Years later they came together in business selling movie memorabilia. A big client comes their way, but with it there’s a murder and a person goes missing. Can Jay and Cindy solve the mystery so that they aren’t accused of something they didn’t do?

Cozy mysteries are my go to sometimes and I love them. This one definitely didn’t disappoint.

Thank you #NetGalley for the advance copy

I really loved this book in a new to my series and author. I can't wait to read the next one. The characters and location really add to the plot. This book keeps you guessing until the end

this was such a cute little cozy mystery filled with references readers will eat up! I definitely recommend this one to readers wanting a quick book to curl up with!

A Killing in Costumes, Zac Bissonnette’s first Hollywood Treasures mystery, deftly balances a tightly plotted mystery with glamorous characters and a unique setting in the world of movie memorabilia.

Decades ago, Cindy Cooper and Jay Allan were bona fide celebrities. The married-in-real-life performers starred as a couple in a popular soap opera to great acclaim—until they decided to reveal their true sexual orientations to the world. Jay and Cindy lost their acting careers and ended their marriage but remained close friends.

They now own Hooray for Hollywood, a movie memorabilia store in Palm Springs, California. Business is slow, and they’re in danger of having to close the shop for good until they’re offered a chance to represent retired silver screen legend Yana Tosh in the sale of her personal collection of film costumes and memorabilia. When a vice president of the auction house competing for Yana’s collection is found dead, Jay and Cindy become suspects in the investigation. To clear their names, keep their business afloat and win Yana’s collection, the friends must work together to solve the case—before the killer strikes again.

Bissonnette does an exceptional job constructing A Killing in Costume‘s central whodunit: Each entertaining suspect has believable motives and opportunities, and mystery fans are sure to appreciate his deftly hidden clues. But the heart of the story lies in Cindy and Jay’s close friendship, which has weathered the collapse of their careers, new jobs and relationships, and every success and loss along the way. Both are deeply funny people who are fiercely protective of each other, and their passion for and knowledge of the film industry will delight readers who are also movie buffs. Finally, Cindy’s struggle to find a new normal after the loss of her beloved wife to cancer provides a serious note that is both touching and authentic.

A Killing in Costumes has all the hallmarks of a great cozy: a unique setting, an intriguing cast of characters and an exciting mystery.

I don't read many cozy mysteries, but this may have gotten me in to the genre. This was vey entertaining, and had great characters. I also really love the cover and title. Such a great book for lovers of Hollywood.

This was a great debut, but since I actually read it in Palm Springs, it made it even more fun! It was easy to visualize the shops, spots and mid-century homes the characters visit during the course of the book. Jay and Cindy are former soap opera stars, former spouses and proud owners of a new adventure in Palm Springs, a movie memorabilia shop. The two remained best friends after each came out of the closet while still on the soap and the divorce hit the headlines. Yana Tosh, a true star of the old movies in the 50s and 60s, gives Jay and Cindy a chance to handle the sale of some of her extensive memorabilia collection. All of the characters are great. I loved Mary, their old friend who works at the store. The mystery was twisty and pretty hard to figure out--I didn't realize the end until it kind of happened.

I am sad to say that I just did not connect with the characters or this story. I did not feel like the characters were well developed. While I enjoy books that have multiple points of view, the randomness of multiple chapters sharing one point of view and then suddenly the next chapter has another point of view. They just did not flow freely. I doubt I’ll read any further books in this series. But I would encourage you to give to it a try since it may be something you would enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

A very fun cozy mystery with great character development and an interesting story. This is definitely a book you will devour in one sitting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Princess Fuzzypants here: It is fun when you find a book that has a fresh approach and story line. Jay and Cindy, once partnered in both marriage and career, dashed both when they both came out as gay twenty years ago. Jay stayed in the business, becoming a Las Vegas lounge act and Cindy went back to school to become a Financial Advisor and married Esther. Now, after Esther’s death and Cindy’s retirement, they are reunited as friends trying to launch a movie memorabilia business in Palm Springs.

They are struggling to get the business into the black when an aging movie star invites them to bid on the consignment of her million dollars costume collection. Their competition is a slick millennial who works for a corporate behemoth. The star must decide which way to go when the competition is snuffed out. Literally. Immediately after the couple visit the man in his hotel suite, he is poisoned. Naturally, they are suspects and the deceased’s assistant tries her hardest to make sure the suspicion sticks. Here is where one of the twists comes in.

The detective in charge is also gay and the usual cat and mouse that you often have in cozies with the female protagonist crossing rapiers with the hunky male detective.defaults to the two men. Cindy and Jay do everything they can to help solve the murder but the detective, Simon, seems determined to find them guilty. Or does he? There is a really good mystery here with some humdinger twists and the chemistry with the trio is a joy. I really enjoyed the book but then I am a big movie fan. I do hope we have further books because we have a winner here. Five purrs and two paws up.

A Killing in Costumes is a new take on cozy mysteries.... instead of quaint and cozy small towns/villages the setting is Palm Springs, California and is all about celebrating old Hollywood nostalgia. Reading about all the old Hollywood memorabilia that was on display in this book was fun and interesting but frankly, that is all that I loved about the book. It just didn't give out the vibes of a being cozy mystery book and I didn't exactly connect with the characters in the book... I guess a lot of us can easily not connect to living a Hollywood inspired lifestyle no matter how much enamoured we are by it.

My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher Crooked Lane Books and the author for the e-Arc of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the eARC!

A Killing in Costumes is a murder mystery full of historical movie memorabilia, poison, and secrets. I gave this book 3.5 stars because I liked the commitment to having so much detail about old Hollywood, but there were times that I forgot that there was a murder because of everything else going on. There are some spoilers in this review!

There were quite a few things I liked about this book. There was a clear level of dedication to making these characters experts in their fields, each with their own interests and backstories. I can’t imagine how much research must have gone into creating Yana’s collection and all the items in it, and I liked that there was a trait about each character that helped solve the mystery, even down to Dylan’s interest in Agatha Christie.

However, there were a few times where I was taken completely out of the moment. I could believe that maybe the cops wouldn’t arrest Jay and Cindy for interfering in the investigation the first time, or even the first couple of times, but eventually, the lead detective being very buddy-buddy with two murder suspects was unbelievable.

In a similar vein, I also forgot a few times that there was an active murder investigation happening. There was so much else going on with the shop running out of money and trying to sell Yana’s collection, that I got distracted from the fact that someone had died. I don’t think the whole Lenae situation helped this, especially when she jumped from helping Cindy and Jay to being their direct opposition. The plotline with Eydie didn’t at any point make me think she might have done it, even when she was lying to the police, so it just felt like a very clear red herring.

All in all, I would recommend this book if you like old Hollywood, mystery, and Hercule Poirot-style answer reveals. I don’t think this was the book for me, but I had a good time reading it and I’m very glad I picked it up.

A Killing in Costumes: A Hollywood Treasures Mystery
By Zac Bissonette
Crooked Lane Books
August 2022

Review by Cynthia Chow

Once they were the hottest 90s soap opera couple on television, merging their success as a singing duo into a real life marriage. But when Cindy Cooper and Jay Allan revealed the truth as both came out of the closet, neither Hollywood nor middle-America were prepared to accept them. After divorcing but remaining best friends, Cindy went on to build an LA financial planning career and marry the woman who was the love of her life. Esther’s death led her to sell the business, move to Palm Springs, and join Jay in opening their dream memorabilia shop, appropriately called Hooray for Hollywood Movie Memorabilia. Unfortunately, the business is running dangerously in the red when a lifeline appears in the form of 1950s Old Hollywood femme fatale Yana Tosh. According to her financial advisor, the nonagenarian is interested in possibly selling her vast collection of Old Hollywood movie props, costumes, and other memorabilia. They aren’t the only ones interested in taking her on as a client though, with Dylan Redman of Cypress Auctions presenting not just a mock catalog but an impressive PowerPoint presentation. So when Dylan is found suspiciously dead after their meeting, the very handsome Palm Springs Detective Simon Fletcher arrives on their doorstep with a lot of questions.

As the possibility of going out of the business takes a second seat to the threat of being arrested, Cindy and Jay begin to use all of their Agatha Christie, Columbo, and private-investigator noir knowledge to begin their own tentative investigation. Yana’s abrasive son, Dylan’s ambitious assistant, a gossip maven, Yana’s financial advisor, and even Yana herself top the list of those with motives and means for the murder. In between their negotiations with a Hollywood diva Jay and Cindy tool around town in her Jurassic Park jeep, soothe their tuxedo cat Mae West and Rin Tin descendant German shepherd Bob Hope, and hopefully make a non-lethal killer deal to save their store.

This first in a new series introduces a unique and very charming detective duo. Through chapters that alternate between the third-person viewpoints of Cindy and Jay, readers are given compelling details about these two very likable friends. Cindy is still reeling from the death of her wife, a loss lightened by the unwavering love and support from her ex-husband. Jay’s pessimism about ever finding true love himself has him reluctant to engage with the suspicious detective, which is rather appropriate considering the latter may believe them both guilty of murder. Details abound concerning Golden Age Hollywood sets, props, and the compulsion to collect memorabilia. That movie props are so linked to our fantastical view of celebrities and nostalgic memories make them unique in the collecting field and can quickly lead to obsession. This original exploration of the entertainment business is endlessly fascinating with the potential of leading to many more crimes and intrigue. The realistic depiction of the relationship between Cindy and Jay is one rarely seen in mystery fiction, and readers should look forward to seeing more of their friendship, banter, and collecting adventures.

I finished this book on 7/26/2022.

I love a good warm and cozy who-done-it mystery, and this fit the bill.

Jay and Cindy were married soap opera stars in the '90's. The perfect musical Hollywood duo. Somewhere in that idealistic life they realized that they were both gay. They divorce and Cindy marries the love of her life. With their marriage over their TV career plummet too.

Fast forward to present day. They have remained have good friends and are now living in Palm Springs where they are struggling to keep their movie memorabilia store open.

In walks Yana Tosh, bad girl silver screen star who has collected a huge amount of costumes and props over the years. She is now looking to sell and offer Jay and Cindy a chance to take on that job when the vice-president of their competition is found dead, Jay and Cindy become prime suspects.

I liked the who-done-it aspect, but really enjoyed the tongue-in-cheek style of humor and, of course, a little flirting on the side.

I really enjoyed this book, looking forward to the next chapter!!

I loved so many things about this book but the mystery was my least favorite. I loved the characters and the Palm Spring’s setting. I love Hooray for Hollywood the memorabilia store. The mystery almost felt like an after thought. It felt second to everything else. That being said, I will definitely pick up the next one when it come out do I can go back to Palm Spring’s and old Hollywood.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest opinion. 3.5⭐️

I love a cozy mystery series starter with a lot of promise, and this has that in spades. It's a clever, unique concept (focus on Hollywood memorabilia, with a store owned by queer exes) that brings something new and different to the genre while ticking all the conventional boxes readers want from the genre. I'd absolutely read another in this series.

A delightful cozy mystery and a must read for any fans of old Hollywood. Outed prior soap opera stars opening a memorabilia shop is a fun, different take on a cozy mystery setting. I do hope there is another in the series.