Clutches and Curses

Mystery & Fun! A Great Combination!

Haley and her best friend, Marcie Hanover, have started a new business. This is a Purse Party business, and in a small amount of time they have turned a small enterprise into a successful handbag business. But, since the business is new, Haley has kept on the job at Holt's Department Store in order to pay the rent. Haley sees a notice in the break room stating that Holt's will be opening a new store in Las Vegas, and they are asking for experienced employees to work there for a month to get the store set up for business. Haley decides not to go, as she has a new boyfriend and does not want to leave him. Perhaps.she should've gone!

While taking care of customers, she ignores one, and said customer puts a curse on her. Haley isn't afraid of curses but, when things start to happen, she takes the store up on their offer and moves to Las Vegas.immediately. The first day of Haley's new job starts off badly: She was late; she was screamed at by the supervisor; and, while heading to the back of the store, she spotted a dark red stain on the carpet outside the dressing rooms. She thought this was just an energy drink called Bolt, but following the trail of red into the dressing room Haley discovers, in the handicapped dressing room, a young woman.dead. The victim turns out to be an old acquaintance and Haley immediately begins to give the curse credence.

Finding and capturing the killer, and also getting rid of the curse, is really taking a toll on Haley. She will have to get to the bottom of this mystery pretty quick, or she'll find herself dressing in stripes for a long time.

This author is a first rate writer. The suspense, the chills, the characters, and the fantastic humor screams bestseller! Being the fourth book in this amazing series, it is so much fun for readers to look forward to Haley's next adventure. Mystery readers, if they haven't yet, will fall in love with Haley.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

You'll love this "Sitcom Between Book Covers"!!

Everything was going along quite uneventful for Haley Randolph. Between tolerating her job at Holt's Dept. Store, trying to understand her relationship with "Official Boyfriend", wealthy Ty Cameron; the fifth generation to own the Holt's Dept. Store chain as well as her boss, and the quest for "The Delicious", the ultimate handbag the fashion conscious only dream about, her life was as full and a bit goofy as ever. That was until an irate customer cast a spell on her! Haley scoffed in disbelief until everything started going wrong, including her romance with Ty and having to escape a spa weekend with her former beauty queen Mother which leads her to volunteer to go to Henderson, Nevada to help ready another Holt's Dept. store for their grand opening. With the help of "BFF" Marcie and with the hope of renewing an old "friendship", Haley "friends" a former classmate on Facebook, Courtney Collins, who resides in Henderson and is about to launch her own accessory line. The curse follows Haley to Henderson and Holt's, where she discovers the dead body of Courtney Collins in the store's ladies' dressing room. With no other witnesses to the discovery, the finger is pointed at Haley as prime suspect. The twists and turns her life takes during the investigation and the cast of characters she encounters, (including the elusive "Madame Cee Cee") make this a most enjoyable, easy read. Who committed the dastardly deed?? Courtney's boyfriend, Tony? Somewhat disreputable Mike Ivan? Valerie Wagner, Mother of Courtney's lost love?? Will Haley decide to move in with Ty? Or will her heartstrings be pulled by hunky Jack Bishop? Or maybe suave Detective Shuman? Will she locate the "Delicious" purse of myth and legend? You'll smile, cheer and chuckle and the end will have you begging for more!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Highly REcommend

I would recommend any Dorothy Howell book as I have loved everyone of them. She also writes as Judith Stacey.

Incredible Read

This is my first Howell novel and I truly have enjoyed it! The details that Howell uses regarding the purses, the scenery (Vegas and the surrounding areas), and the Haley's thoughts and feelings are fantastic. Reading first person (and writing it) is sometimes difficult for me to place myself into the story, but Howell has done an exceptional job pulling me into Haley's self-absorbed life.

I do feel that I would have understood Haley more had I read the previous three novels in this series. She seems a bit selfish and appears to be a 'me' person a majority of the time, but in the end she knows she has to be selfless every now and again. There are three other side characters that I felt could have been developed further, yet once again, had I read the others, I may have known them more. I do look forward to obtaining the three other novels to find out more about Haley and the other characters, and to see what man she does select to live her life 'happily ever after'.

I look forward to adding the previous three novels to my TBR file, as well as other novels by Howell that may come about in the Haley Randolph Mystery series.

The best one yet!!

Dorothy Howell has delivered yet another wonderful story, continuing the Haley Randolph series in Viva Las Vegas! If the ENTIRE book doesn't keep you wanting more, the last page DEFINITELY will! I'm definitely looking forward to #5-- and urge anyone who loves a great story to pick this up!

Funny Little read

I have never read any of the others in this series, but I am not sure that was necessary, there were places which stated something and then said it is a long story which I took to be told in the other books, but did not take away from the storyline in this book. This is very much Stephanie Plum (Janet Evanovich) meets Shopaholic (sophie Kinsella). That twist is different and it was an entertaining story of a very vain woman and the things she gets into. As long as you read it for the fluff and entertainment that it is it is a fine book, if you think too deeply about the book and look for character depth that is not there you may be disappointed. I found it humorous and fast paced.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Dorothy Howell is known for her lighthearted amateur sleuth tales

Haley Randolph feels her life is on track since Ty Cameron, co-owner of Holt's Department Store, is now her official boyfriend. That does not stop him from leaving her at a moment's notice to go to work. She does not depend on him because she knows he might not be there in time to help her. When a customer asks Haley for help, she ignores the woman. Irate the lady places a curse on Haley. Shortly thereafter she is almost killed from plaster falling. Holt's opening a new store in Vegas so Haley leaves town to help get the place operational.

When she enters a dressing room, Haley finds the corpse of former schoolmate Courtney Collins. Haley had contacted Courtney so that they could get together in Vegas, but what she really wants Is first shot of a new bag that a high couture designer created. The police suspect Haley because they know she did not like the victim. Tired of being the one and only suspect, Haley investigates, but her inquiry leads to a second homicide that she believes ties to the first murder. If she figures out that missing link, she will identify the killer.

Dorothy Howell is known for her lighthearted amateur sleuth tales starring an intriguing fashionista who forgets about Ty in times of need. Although she does not believe in curses, she reconsiders as sh*t happens to her so turns to a psychic listed in the Yellow Pages. Although Haley has been a suspect before (see Purses and Poison, and Handbags and Homicides) readers will enjoy her antics to lift the curse that she does not believe exists and find the culprit because pinstripes will not go well with her hair.

Harriet Klausner

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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