I am very happy to see that the cozy mystery world is coming more diverse. I don't think that was such a difficult leap for cozy mystery fans as we are a friendly and welcoming bunch in general, at least in my experience. In this book, A Killing in Costumes by Zac Bissonnette, the two main characters fit in the "diverse" category because they are gay. Jay and Cindy were once married as well as were successful actors and singers. They divorced amicably when they began to question their sexual identity. Their coming out and divorce shattered their show biz careers but their friendship weathered it all. Many years later, Jay and Cindy begin a new venture together. They sell movie memorabilia through their store Hooray for Hollywood. Jay and Cindy are drawn into competition with another agency when elderly movie star Yana Tosh decides to sell her massive costume collection. When the competing agent ends up dead and a police detective pegs Jay and Cindy are prime suspects, the two friends must prove their innocence and save their store. The book is well written, with a twisty plot and likable characters. Although it is one of the first mainstream cozies to feature LGBTQ+ main characters, you need not fear sharing this book with your grandmother. There are no bedroom scenes or shocking displays of affection. Cindy and Jay are not outdated stereotypes but well-developed characters with many facets to their personalities. If reading a book with LGBTQ+ main characters feels a bit out of your comfort zone, A Killing in Costumes could be a good place to start.

Former soap opera stars Jay Allan and Cindy Cooper have opened Hooray for Hollywood, a Hollywood memorabilia store in Palm Springs. But their fledgling store is bleeding red until they learn that 90-year old B-movie star Yana Tosh is interested in selling her vast collection of Hollywood costumes and props. But Jay and Cindy have to beat a mega-auction house competitor to get the commission. To their shock, their rival ends up poisoned to death in his posh Parker Hotel suite shortly after their meeting.

With Palm Springs police detective Simon Fletcher eying them as prime suspects, Jay and Cindy need to find the real killer. This was a fun debut novel with a unique premise, and a set of engaging characters.

I received a digital ARC from Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books. My opinions are my own.

Thank you Net Galley for this ARC!

loved the new approach to the usual cozy mystery formula of this new series, the fresh personalities of the main characters - divorced gay couple - no pets, a new city, different source of income and a unique crime. was not expecting to be entertained and intrigued. i felt the first 25 chapters were slow but it made up with conflict and action in the last 6. Good start!

This book was quite fun! It took me a while to get into it, but once it got going I kept reading. I think one of the things that made it harder to get into at first was the dual narration. It was actually a fun change. The mystery itself was well done and the cast of characters shows promise.

It's always good to start a series from the beginning instead of part way through like I often do! In A Killing in Costumes I got to meet Jay Allan and Cindy Cooper who were big soap stars when they were twenty-two back in the late 1990s, but fell from fame. Now they have a film memorabilia shop in Palm Springs, called Hooray for Hollywood Movie Memorabilia. Cindy is also a financial planner and is married to Esther whilst unmarried Jay has spent the last two decades mostly doing impersonations of Elvis. Jay and Cindy are still very good friends. One day, Ben Sinclair, Yana Tosh's financial advisor enters their shop with a collection of valuable wares to sell. Yana is a ninety-year-old diva and an auction of her collection will take place in the near future. Cindy and Jay will be competing with Dylan Redman who runs the entertainment memorabilia department at Cypress Auctions. Unfortunately, Dylan winds up dead.

I found A Killing in Costumes an entertaining, fun mystery with a great pair of protagonists, and a colourful supporting cast, and it's a fantastic start to a new series.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Crooked Lane via NetGalley and this review is my own unbiased opinion.

What a fantastic cozy series debut! I loved every bit of this story - characters, setting, storytelling and murder mystery.

The story begins with Cindy seeing the accounts in red. Oopsie doo, that's not good for business. And they certainly do not want any kind of bad publicity. But it so happens that Jay and Cindy finds themselves in the middle of a murder investigation - and they are suspects.

Cindy and Jay wonder why Yana's financial advisor is overly enthusiastic and eager to sell her costumes. Meanwhile, Yana Tosh's son is not happy that his mother is selling away her costumes. He wants to open a museum - post Yana's death - so that people will always remember her.

As the story proceeds, we see Jay and Cindy come up with a list of suspects. Dylan's secretary makes it to the list too. After all, she lied to the police saying she heard Jay and Cindy fighting with Dylan in the hotel room - which isn't true.

Apart from the murder mystery, we readers are given a glimpse of Jay and Cindy's lives as soap opera stars. Cindy is still grieving the loss of Esther (Cindy's wife). Though Jay tries to talk to her about it, she walls up, telling him she doesn't want to. It is quite clear that Jay and Cindy still love each other (not in a sexual way) - it was so sweet to see them support each other through tough times.

Then there is Mary - the duo's secretary and now works at the store. Yana Tosh was one interesting character. She's sweet when she wants and throws tantrums when in a mood - typical diva behavior, I suppose.

The mystery kept me guessing till the end. A dash of romance made the story charming. Don't get me started on all the movie and TV references - along with the props used in those sets. Gosh! I was wondering why there isn't a Star Trek reference and boom! Something about Vulcan jewelry. :D Made this Trekkie very happy!

The identity of the murderer and the reason for killing Dylan was totally unexpected and shocking. Gosh! I never thought they were capable of killing someone.

I absolutely adored the writing. The character portrayal was excellent. Setting - Hollywood worthy!

If you are looking for a Hollywood-themed entertaining cozy mystery, you might want to give A Killing in Costumes by Zac Bissonnette a try. Believe me, you will love it to Vegas and back!

I *love* a cozy mystery, especially this time of year and killing in costumes is just that. Cindy and Jay are so fun and likeable as MCs. (LGBTQ rep!) I loved the view into memorabilia and the TV and Movie references. It did take a while to get the POVs correct in the first few chapters. I could not figure out the mystery until the very end. Looking forward to reading the rest in this series!

A Killing in Costumes by Zac Bissonnette is the debut of A Hollywood Treasures Mysteries. We meet Jay Allen and Cindy Cooper who own Hooray for Hollywood a movie memorabilia store in Palm Springs. If their fledgling store does not start making a profit soon, they will have to close the door on their dream. They receive a call from Yana Tosh, a ninety-year-old diva who performed in numerous horror movies back in the day. She is going to sell off her extensive costume collection. Cindy and Jay are competing with the smug Dylan Redman who runs the entertainment memorabilia department at Cypress Auctions. Dylan contacts Jay and Cindy to request a meeting. They meet with Dylan in his hotel room at The Parker who offers them a deal if they back off on the Yana Tosh collection. Later that evening, Detective Simon Fletcher stops by the house to speak with Jay and Cindy. Dylan was found dead in his room, and they are the last two people know to see him alive. After a television report listing them as suspects, people begin canceling their appointments with Hooray for Hollywood. The only way to ensure their freedom and save the store is to find out who killed Dylan. Do these two ex-soap opera actors have the chops to investigate the crime? A Killing in Costumes is a light cozy mystery with two gay protagonists. The point-of-view switches between Jay and Cindy. I wish the point-of-view had alternated chapters instead of switching randomly (I would have preferred third person). It was made more challenging with Cindy telling us how Jay felt about Jay’s attraction to the detective (shouldn’t Jay be telling us how he feels) or Jay telling us that Cindy is getting angry. The characters lacked development. We are given some basic background information. I wanted more details that would bring the characters to life. I did feel that the information we are given on Jay and Cindy does not jive with their age. We get to learn the ins and out of the movie memorabilia business. There are numerous descriptions of movie props, posters, and costuhttps://www.amazon.com/review/R3I4NAPYY54CJW/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8mes. All the descriptions slow down the pacing considerably. The whodunit was straightforward. We have a dead man, several suspects, and a red herring or two. It takes one clue to solve the mystery. The pacing does pick up near the end as Cindy and Jay are discovering the final details they need to solve the crime and have a dramatic reveal. I got tired of being told that Cindy drove a Jurassic Park Explorer and the horror movie table was mentioned nine times. As you can tell, A Killing in Costumes was not my type of book. A Killing in Costumes is a blithe cozy mystery with movie memorabilia, slow sales, a prima donna nonagenarian, a murdered competitor, killer costumes, a lethal envelope, a dispassionate son, a shady assistant, and an iffy financier.

This is a series with a lot of potential, two very interesting MCs, and a lot of info about Hollywood memorabilia.
As it happens with most cozy mysteries we get to know the characters and the setting.
I liked Jay and Cindy. They are a positive representation of LGBT+ people and I liked their relationship.
The mystery is solid and I enjoyed it even if I found the pace a bit uneven. alternating some fast paced to very slow moments.
The solution was a surprise and I liked the storytelling.
I can't wait to read the next story.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Debut mysteries sometimes have a bit of trouble finding their stride. The stage has to be set and the main characters need to be introduced. That takes time and can slow down the pace of the mystery. There were a few things that took me out of the story but not to the point that I was going to say 'enough' and stop reading. I liked it enough to want to read the next in the series. Jay Allan and Cindy Cooper show great promise and the puzzle they had to solve was satisfying.
After a successful Hollywood career that ended in a scandal, Cindy and Jay have turned to Hollywood memorabilia, opening a store in Palm Springs called Hooray For Hollywood. At the moment there isn't to say "hooray" about as business is in the tank and closure is just around the corner. What they need is a lot of new inventory and it may be theirs if 90 year old movie diva Yana Tosh decides to let them sell her collection. The hitch is she has two companies to pick from and the competition is bigger and very well connected. When a killer takes out the VP of the other company the police think Jay and Cindy make the perfect pair of prime suspects. Knocking off the competition to save their business ranks as one of the most popular motives. Not so fast, please. Time for this refreshing pair of older amateur sleuths to investigate. There are enough suspects and a few red herrings to keep the reader guessing to the big reveal. Add their pets named Mae West and Bob Hope and I was hooked. My only issue was the uneven changing of the point of view between Jay and Cindy. It confused me but not enough to make say no to the next mystery they will solve. It may not be an issue with the next book.
My thanks to the publisher Crooked Lane and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Their careers have faded from soap opera fame due to an uproar when their sexual orientations are revealed. Now divorced but still best friends Jay Allan and Cindy Cooper are filling their days as owners of the best movie memorabilia store in Palm Springs, Hooray for Hollywood. But the store has been in a huge slump and may be headed toward financial ruin.

Enter Yana Tosh, an actress from the silver screen and now about 90 years old and ready to part with her own collection of movie memorabilia. She has contacted two companies about the sale, Jay and Cindy, and a huge auction house with ties around the world. Before any contracts can be signed the VP from the auction house is found dead and somehow Cindy and Jay are the prime suspects.

So now while trying to save Hooray for Hollywood they need to catch a killer and save themselves.

I love watching old movies so this book excited me from the start.

It did take me a while though to get engaged by the characters but I blame that partially on the book’s formatting. The point of view goes back and forth between Cindy and Jay and sometimes I was a little confused. That being said, I was very happy to see older protagonists in this story and that while divorced they are best friends and spend most of their waking hours together. I was also pleased by the positive way the LBGTQ+ community was portrayed. Also with pets named Bob Hope and Mae West you can’t go wrong.

The memorabilia store was such a great backdrop for this story. All the movie and music references were great. I enjoyed the description of the few items that were mentioned but I would love to lose myself in the aisles probably for about a week mining out treasure after treasure.

The author plotted out this mystery so well. It was pretty complicated with all the suspects, twists, and turns. I didn’t figure out this Whodunit until everything was spelled out for me. That means the book captivated my thinking so much I didn’t take a single note.

A Killing in Costumes has given this series a strong start and has laid a great foundation for future stories. I am excited to see what Zac Bissonnette has in store for his characters. This was a fun and enjoyable read.

Zac Bissonette enters the mystery scene with A Killing in Costumes, the first in his Hollywood Treasures Mystery Series. Bringing together two formerly married protagonists with a shared history in show business who are now running a memorablia shop focused on everything Hollywood, an aged actress with a large and varied costume collection, and an auction house representative who wants total control over the disposition of the costume collection, the author has created a unique premise and cast of characters for this story. When the auction house representative is found dead from poisoning, the police begin to focus their investigation on Cindy Cooper and Jay Allan, the owners of the memorabilia shop because they had a meeting with him shortly before his untimely death.

Cindy and Jay begin to investigate in order to protect their own interests and freedom but as the clues are revealed and explored, they are taken in several directions designed to confuse the entire case by an excellent mastermind and manipulator. The convoluted twists that are introduced within this story are intriguing and foretell of a very creative puppetmaster who is pulling the strings to enable them to slide under the radar and ultimately get away with their crimes. The revelation of both perpetrator and motive was a unique plot twist that I never saw coming.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books and am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was an interesting and engaging story. I liked the characters and enjoyed the way they interacted with each other. The plot was well written, and I was really surprised at the ending. I highly recommend this book to other mystery readers.

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is well written and the characters are described well. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat from the first page trying to figure out what will happen next and who did it. This is a fast paced cosy mystery. I absolutely adored Jay and Cindy's characters. This has great LGBTQIA representation. It is set in Palm Springs mentioning Las Vegas, Nevada. It is so enjoyable. I absolutely recommend reading this book to anyone and everyone. This book will be in stores on August 9th for $26.99 (USD).

What a great start to a new cozy mystery series! The setup is unique. We have two main characters, Cindy and Jay, who have started a Hollywood memorabilia shop in Palm Springs, California. They used to be married, but then they each realized they were gay/lesbian and they divorced, but remained not only the best of friends but have been business partners, first in entertainment and now in this new retail venture, aptly called Hooray For Hollywood. (Cindy had a separate career as a financial advisor and Jay did shows in Las Vegas.) For their new store, they buy and sell memorabilia such as costumes, props and posters from old movies.

In the book, a former movie actress, Yana Tosh, now 90, approaches them because she wants to sell some of her extensive collection. She also has contacted a large auction house. When the main contact from the auction house, Dylan Redman, is poisoned, of course Cindy and Jay are prime suspects in his murder. The bulk of the book has Cindy and Jay trying to clear their names and save their foundering business.

There were many things I loved about this book: the two main characters represent the LGBTQ community very well; there is a big emphasis on friendship, love and found families; the warmth between the two main characters was wonderful; Cindy and Jay don’t do really dumb stuff, like many amateur sleuths do; and they try to work with the police to solve the case. There were a good number of twists and turns in the plot so it kept me guessing. So many things had me smiling - such as Jay’s fondness for Barry Manilow’s music, and their pets named Mae West and Bob Hope. They really are throw-backs, because I’m guessing they’re in their 40s or 50s, not their 80s.

I can’t wait to see what the author dreams up as Cindy and Jay’s next adventure!

I bounced between the audiobook and the ebook for this title, which was very convenient. The audiobook has two distinct narrators who do a wonderful job, Melanie Carey and Paul Bellatoni. Different chapters are narrated by either Carey or Ballatoni.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook and to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

What a fun start to a new series! Cindy and Jay, former spouses and always business partner, find themselves investigating a murder when one of their competitors for a big consignment of Hollywood memorabilia is = wait for it- poisoned! Know that it helps to have an appreciation, if not vast knowledge, of old Hollywood but don't worry if you don't. These two are, ahem, mature, and they've found their true selves so finding a murderer should be easy but it's not. I liked the Palm Springs setting and the alternating POVs works. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I didn't guess the villain and that made this a super read for me.

📚Release Date: 08/09/22📚


📖My Thoughts📖

Lights! Camera! Action! If you are a Hollywood buff, then you should really consider picking up this first book in A Hollywood Treasures Mystery series. It was a cute, fun, and witty cozy mystery that has a lot of mention of past Hollywood movies, a unique relationship between a divorced couple and let’s not forget the one thing that no cozy mystery is complete without, a murder. I really enjoyed the characters in this book and their witty and charming personalities. I’m eager to see some budding romances grow as well as some sleuthing skills develop. I really got into this book. The storyline is one I haven’t come across yet, so it was something different that kept me intrigued throughout the entire book. There’s even what I would consider, a little Easter Egg in the book, but I won’t spoil it for anyone else.
Thank you Netgalley, Zac Bissonnette and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read and review this book. That’s a wrap! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

I’m torn on how to rate this book because while I didn’t really like it, I can see how others would. My biggest issue is not being able to connect with the characters. I found Cindy overbearing and annoying. Jay is a little better but not by much. There was also so much description about the Hollywood treasures they have amassed, which was interesting but I found it overdone. The story moved very slowly and finally picked up at about 70% where it hit its stride and I became more invested. All in all, it’s probably growing pains. I will probably read the next one to see how it progresses.

Cindy and Jay have gotten themself entangled in the mysterious death of their new client. These two have to put their sleuthing caps on and forget the old Hollywood glamour to stop themselves from being railroad right into jail for a murder they didn’t commit. An entertaining book, but not as enjoyable as I expected.

A Killing in Costumes was a great cozy mystery. What I particularly enjoyed was the setting in a vintage store specialised in Hollywood memorabilia and all its pop culture and movie references. The investigation in itself was fine, with enough red herrings to keep you guessing and a final twist that was worth waiting for.

I hope there’ll be other books in this new series. It was a strong debut novel!