What a great story to get wrapped up in. I love the 1950s setting. 3d characters, women who work at the store, each with different backgrounds, who see each other's gifts and strengths and come together to solve a mystery that has impact on them all. Murder and subterfuge surround them, yet they are all grateful for the store and the support they receive from each other. So hard to put down. The mystery snowballs until you just have to know what happens next, all while rooting for these girls. Another fave story!
I received this book free from the author, publisher and CelebrateLit book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

#TheWomenOfWyntons #DonnaMumma #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout #CelebrateLit #ChristianMystery&Suspense #BarbourFiction

The glamour of the 50s fascinates me, and I love a good suspense book. So I was really looking forward to this one. Unfortunately, I was not the target audience. There was so much detail that while I felt I could see it all, it also seemed bogged down to me. And the naivety of the employees...maybe I'm in the wrong era, but it was so apparent from the beginning who the villain was. I just found it all to be very unbelievable.

I love the premise of this story! Four women are thrown together when attacks seem to be made on their boss, with the intention of ruining the department store they work at. This story covers some of the difficulties with living in the 50's, such as civil rights issues and inequality of pay between genders. I found Audrey a little hard to like at time, but enjoyed the other characters!

“The Women of Wynton’s” drew me in as soon as I saw the cover art. It reminds me of the paper dolls I would cut out of my grandmother’s McCall’s magazines when I was a child.

Aside from the nostalgic cover, I enjoyed the glamor, mystery, and characters of Wynton’s department store. And of course, the spiritual faith element is so satisfying.

Audrey, Mary Jo, Vivian, and Gigi are very different, but such interesting characters in their individual ways. Each share their own points of view, showcased with nostalgic headshots at their chapter headings. I loved witnessing their relationships with each other progress and seeing how the murder mystery unfolded. The writer’s voice makes this an easy read, and quickly transported me to the 1950s!

#CoverLoverBookReview received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions are 100% mine.

Loved loved loved this story!!! I absolutely adored the setting, 1950s centered around a department store and four main gals. Audrey would be the ultimate main character but there are 3 other main gals, Mary Jo, Vivian, and Gigi. They all work at Wynton’s department store and I loved seeing them work in different areas. Murder is afoot and Audrey is being framed for it. I really loved how the women set aside their differences and work together. I loved seeing all their individual lives. The mystery is really well done, I knew who was behind it but that didn’t stop my jaw from literally dropping four times throughout the story, yes I counted. This is the 50s and I appreciated how the author showed a little of how colored people were mistreated while still showing that not everyone treated them bad. Showing the civil rights movement was around the corner. Overall, I just thought this was a great story and I’m so excited there is going to be more! I definitely recommend!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Content:
Multiple murders, some mildly graphic

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the author and netgalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

You are sure to get caught up in the inner workings of Wynton’s Department Store as this multiple point of view moves the story along. I loved the various departments and the women who work there. With murder and mystery occurring wherever Audrey, Mr. Wynton’s secretary, goes, I looked to see who had a personal vendetta against her. With a list of several people you have to be on the lookout for means and motives. There are clues throughout, so it was fun to solve the case.

I voluntarily reviewed this complimentary copy of the book from the publisher through NetGalley and Celebrate Lit. All views are my opinion in which I was not required to write a positive review.

An incredible book with wonderful characters and a beautiful setting. It will keep you guessing until the end.

“But when my life fell apart, Mirette helped me pick up the pieces and glue them back together. Because that is what we southern women do for one another. We pull up our stockings, forgive one another, and hold our friends close no matter what. Understood?”

Welcome back to the 1950s. It is a time of huge department stores, and women are starting to work outside the home. Still, a majority of women are housewives. Segregation is still in effect. The Women of Wynton’s by Donna Mumma brings all these things into sharp focus.

Four very different women are brought together through Wynton’s department store. Audrey is the secretary to Mr. Wynton, the store owner. Having been away from Levy City, FL for many years in NYC, Audrey is back, in a place of authority, and few of the store employees like her. Gigi is rough around the edges, works in the cafeteria, and feels that she doesn’t measure up to those around her. Mary Jo is a housewife and mother who must work because of her husband’s disabling accident. Her dearest wish would be to stay home with her daughters. And lastly, Vivien is an older woman who has a successful wedding salon inside of Wynton’s. Yet, Vivien is feeling like some may want her replaced with a more youthful salon owner.

When we meet Audrey, she is rich, educated, and traveled, but unliked. However, the interactions we see her have with others like Nelson, Mr. Wynton, and Mary Jo do not match the vicious rumors concerning her that fly faster than super sonic jets around the store. All the gossip going around makes me sick. One can see that there are two diametrically opposed sides in this battle- yet some of the workers can’t seem to decide which side of the fence to land on. I wondered why the women aren’t better judges of character- and then realized that real life is so often like that! Sometimes the truth is hard to ferret out. “People aren’t always what they seem when you’re standing too close.”

Some of the characters I just downright despised. Will poetic justice have its way, and the guilty be caught, or will the schemers be successful? One character surprised me! Plot twist! It was a good one!

I appreciated the look at segregation, though it was painful. To realize that some people couldn’t have the same rights as others based on skin color. Yet, others knew that was wrong, but were afraid to make their voice heard and buck the system.

Mumma does a good job of keeping the mystery going until very near the end. While you may figure out who the culprit is, the question quickly becomes one of suspense, will they be caught in time? I was on pins and needles, trying not to bite my fingernails as we closed out the novel.

I received a copy of the book from Celebrate Lit via NetGalley. I also bought my own ecopy. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own. ​

Notable Quotables:

“Sure you made some mistakes in your life, but who cares? God forgives all of us, rich or poor.”

“It’s 1955. Things shouldn’t be that archaic.” “Lotta things not the way they should be right now.”

“Avoiding foolishness doesn’t make it stop.”

This is a fun adventure set in the 1950s. Mumma does a good job of immersing readers in the fashions, perfumes and, unfortunately, the prejudices of the day. The corporate setting of the mystery covers the issues of employee gossip, much of it unfounded, as well as the desire for wealth by the potential business owners. The aspect of the novel that impressed me the most was the prejudice. We forget about the time when some hired to work behind the scenes at a business were forbidden to shop at that very same business.

The murder mystery was entertaining although the villain was no surprise. I thought some of the female support characters were a bit naive but I appreciated how they came to support the heroine when needed. The end might have been a little too neatly brought together but it was a good mystery.

This is a good novel for readers who would like to get an entertaining idea of what life was like for women in the 1950s and how supportive friendships could be formed. There were a few allusions to Christianity but the faith message was not strong.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book through Celebrate Lit. My comments are an independent and honest review.

The Women of Wynton's was such a fun departure from my usual reads. This clean cozy mystery was well written and kept me guessing!

The story follows the lives of four women as they work at Wynton's department store. Audry is a business-degree-holding former fashion model and works as Mr Wynton's secretary. Vivian owns and runs the bridal shop located in the store. Mary Jo is a new hire who only wants to be a housewife and mother but has to find a job after her husband is severely injured at work. Gigi works in the store's cafeteria and struggles with feeings of inadequacy as she longs to be promoted to a better, more glamorous position at Wynton's.

The women clash with each other as they go through the daily drama of the gossip chain, rumor mill, workplace struggles, and their own personal issues. As they eventually band together to try to protect the beloved store owner, Mr. Wynton, from sabotage and murder, dear friendships are formed.

I really enjoyed this book! Each chapter is written from one of the four women's point of view, and I loved how the header for each chapter included an illustration of a woman that suited each character's personality. It was very aesthetically pleasing, a nice touch to help reader "see" the character while also giving a clear indicator that the story was switching its point of view. This was a quick, fun read, and I recommend it! Thank you Barbour Publishing for providing an advanced review copy via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

What a fun story!

Donna Mumma takes readers to Florida in the 1950s, to Wynton’s Department Store where someone is out to destroy Mr. Wynton and the people who work for him.

A slew of characters make this an interesting read, as the story is told from the points of view of several women who work in Wynton’s Department Store - Audrey (Mr. Wynton’s mysterious but trustworthy secretary of whom the whole story surrounds); Mary Jo (a working housewife who wants to stay home, but needs to work to support her invalid husband and children); Miss Vivian (bridal designer and consultant extraordinaire); and Gigi (trying to work her way up to accessories from cafeteria duty).

These unlikely women, in a time of segregation, will strike up an alliance to save Wynton’s Department Store from closing, or being sold to the highest bidder.

There is a full menu of characters with plenty of motive to commit the crimes that are happening at the store. Just when it appears one character is responsible, a crazy twist is thrown at readers. It’s wonderful.

The story was intriguing, the narrative pulling me in from the start. This story has all the feels - you might need some tissue for the ending though. The story gives the reader a sense of time and place, while delivering a well-developed mystery without all the suspense.

A beautiful spiritual thread of hope and forgiveness is sewn throughout the entire novel as characters wrestle with the situations they find themselves in. A refreshing read for those who want a strong spiritual thread in their novels.

There are some topics that may be triggers for some readers: attempted murder, murder, house fire, and abuse.

I received an ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book is a cozy mystery set in the 1950s in a department store in Flordia. It features four women who work at the store: an executive secretary, a wedding dress designer, a waitress, and a new salesperson. The boss has become ill and so the store is being led by his children who have different goals for the store. Dead bodies and accidents begin to happen and the gossip is pointing to Audrey who is the secretary to the boss. Meanwhile, the new store detective is questioning her and she begins investigating on her own.

It was really fun to read about the glamorous department store and its employees. Each highlighted character was interesting and the I story had many humorous and over-the-top characters and situations. Truly a cozy mystery.

The book is from a Christian publisher but I would say it was clean or G rated fiction. I don’t recall faith mentioned very much in the book.

I hope this is the beginning of a series. I would keep reading

Reading this book is a walk back in time. Get dressed up and let's go shopping in this quintessential 1950's department store. The Women of Wynton's is billed as a classy 1950's mystery, the cover is compelling and the story is good. But to me, the best part was the attention to detail. I felt like I was back working at the hosiery department in Watt and Shand department store. The lunch room was so familiar and I fondly remembered many conversations with friends while on break or clocking in or waving across the floor. Read this book if you like a strong sense of place.

Some of the characters were interesting and I'd hoped to see them developed a bit more. I think they could carry the book if given a chance. Several, however, were caricatures and made the plot a bit unbelievable. There were a few too many murders, a rather loose motive and a pretty predictable outcome. The ending felt rushed somehow, even though we'd been leading up to it for a long time.
That being said, I enjoyed the book and rounded up to four stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Barbour publishing for the ARC of The Women of Wynton's.

This story was hard to get into and if my net galley percentage was better I would probably DNF’d it. There were too many characters and the story felt choppy. That being said I am glad I finished and learned who was behind it all.

Solid 4 stars for this book.

From the red T-bird with white leather interior trimmed in red, the mention of White Shoulders perfume for ladies and English Leather cologne for men, to the wax paper sandwich wrapper and paper fans provided by funeral homes, the 1950s references are abundant. As someone born in the late '50s, with 2 older sisters, I remembered so many of these details of my childhood with pleasure. Not so pleasant, however, were the memories of segregation and horrible treatment of "colored people" (as they are referred to in the book).

The Women of Wynton's is an enjoyable story of 5 disparate women whose lives become closely interwoven in the midst of the destructive, gossip-filled environment of an upscale department store. This page-turner had glamour, intrigue, and mystery.

The mystery was fairly easy to solve, yet there were a few little surprises along the way. I had to deduct 1 star from my rating because of the slightly silly way that "evidence" was shared/handled, and the lack of professionalism by law enforcement.

Although very clean and published by Barbour Fiction, there were almost no faith elements in the story.

I received an advance reader copy of this book from Net Galley. A positive review was not required and the opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

What drew me to this book was the idea of reading a novel set in the 1950s. I loved the quirkiness and mystery aspects of it. The author did a great job incorporating social issues of the time, such as women seeking careers and race. While the book is mostly light-hearted, it didn't make those issues sound less serious. That was great! The book started slowly since we got to know all the characters. However, I found it necessary because it explained many of the characters' actions and motivations later on in the plot. I want to see a sequel! This book would make a great start to a good series!

Thank you, Netgalley and the publisher, for an advanced reader's copy of this book! I'm providing this review voluntarily, and the opinions expressed are my own and unbiased.

What a wonderful world Donna Mumma has created for us! The Women of Wynton's Department Store are smart, elegant, loyal, open-minded, and great at solving the mystery that comes their way. I enjoyed this book so much because of the characters we meet in its pages; I didn't even care that I figured out the mystery well before the end of the book.

This was a quick read for me, which I appreciated, but there were so many characters that I found myself getting confused. I loved the idea of the "girl power" of this group of unlikely allies, but most of the characters felt underdeveloped. I enjoyed the setting and the detailed descriptions of the clothes and the 50s lifestyle.

“...when my life fell apart, Mirette helped me pick up the pieces and glue them back together. Because that is what we southern women do for one another. We pull up our stockings, forgive one another, and hold our friends close no matter what."

I loved this unique mystery tale set in the classy 1950's!

This story features multiple points of view from the ladies who work in Wynton's department located in Levy City, Florida.

These ladies all come from different backgrounds and different store departments, but pull together to make an interesting team of sister sleuths who have each other's backs no matter what the circumstances or enemies they were up against.

The mystery was a complex one that I really enjoyed, and the author’s writing style made it easy to fly through this book.

I can't wait to see what she writes next!

This story was a fun romp of a read that I'd recommend to anyone.

I received a complimentary e-book from Barbour Publishing to review through Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review, and the thoughts above are my own.

Donna Mumma's The Women of Wynton's is a fantastic engrossing read that reminds one of the warmth and charm of Murder She Wrote. Audrey, Mary Jo, Vivian, and Gigi are all so distinct and memorable characters. Mumma's attention to fleshing out each character is very well done. I must also give snaps on the dialogue. While the women are definitely southern ladies of the 1950s they all agree that Mr. Wynton is a great boss and need to find out who is behind the murders. A well done amateur sleuths novel!

Thank you to the publisher and author for the ARC. All opinions are my own.