Makeup & Murder

Beauty Secrets, Book 1

By: Stephanie Damore

Narrated by: Tonia Blake

Who knew selling lipstick was so deadly?

Beauty consultant Ziva Diaz is a girl boss who doesn't back down from anyone. When she's attacked inside a client's home and wakes to find a dead body, she gives up the safety of selling lipsticks for the dangerous role of detective. With suspects piling up, a killer on the loose, and her own life threatened, Ziva vows to solve the case and digs her high heels in even deeper.

The last thing she expected is finding another dead body - or befriending the murderer!

©2017 Stephanie Damore (P)2018 Stephanie Damore

Light predictable mystery

Nothing special here but it's a fun mystery without a whole lot of mystery about whodunit. My biggest issue was why Ziva decided she was going to try to solve this murder. I mean, she sells makeup and all of a sudden she thinks she's a detective. I know there are plenty of books out there like this and sometimes I can see how they get drawn in to sleuth a little but in this story it makes no sense to me at all. I found this story to be a bit silly more than anything but still, it was worth a listen. I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator.

A Fun Read

This was a really fun ebook to read. And, since I had The Audible, a fun ebook to sit back and listen to. I always use The text to speech for all The ebooks that have it, but I was really happy with The Audible. The narrator, Tonia, was really good at not only portraying the different characters but The different emotions.

The main character, Ziva, a beauty consultant, is very likeable and the different people in her life seem to blend together seamlessly. This cozy mystery has murder as well as other crimes with some romance. Ziva's bff is Aria, a widow with a young son. There is also Mrs. J, a customer of Ziva that seems live vicariously through not only Ziva but the others in her lives. And, of course, Ziva's nemesis is Justine, a rival beauty consultant that has been a thorn in Ziva's side since the fourth grade. Luckily she is only in a few chapters.

The book opens with the summer issue, Beauty Secrets, being delivered to Ziva. This is an issue that all of Ziva's clients look forward to seeing. Ziva starts by delivering the magazine to her Aria, who has a "sweet spot" for nail polish. Next, she goes to Mrs. J, a very interesting character. Next to Ziva's, Mrs. J is my favorite. Mrs. J loves gossip and baking. And Ziva, who has a sweet tooth, loves her cakes, etc.

The third client Ziva is Marion, a married woman that is one of Ziva's best customer. Marion is not home when Ziva comes by, but Ziva and Marion have made arrangements where Ziva was to leave Marion's order if Marion was not home. Ziva let's herself in and when she goes to the kitchen to get a bottle of water, she stumbles, literally, into the murder mystery that dominates the rest of the book.

You have to read the book to find that out the rest of the storyline and find out how Ziva helps the police investigates the murder. I can't wait to read the rest of the books. And there are five at the time of this review.

I had gotten my copy of the ebook late last year from Amazon for free. Last week I got a complimentary Audible of the book to listen to and leave an honest review, which this is. The review is for both the Audible and the ebook. So far this is the only Audible. Hopefully there will be Audible's of the next five books, too.

A fun, entertaining listen.

I really enjoyed this book. It was cute, fun and full of suspense and mystery.
I loved Ziva. She was smart, sassy, down to earth and I loved her attitude to men, exercise and food.
The mystery here was well written. I didn't have a clue who the murderer was. I felt that any of the side characters could have been involved and I was kept guessing until the end.
I was delighted to have found this new series and I can't wait to read more.

I voluntarily reviewed a gifted copy

Fun Cozy Mystery

This was a bit different than most cozy mysteries I usually read. For one, Ziva is not interested in any of the detectives. She had a close encounter with the killer and decided to try to get to the bottom of the murder.

Narration was good and brought the story to life.

There were some twists and turns. I was surprised with the killer. I really did not see it coming. It is a fun book with a bit of romance and enough clues to keep you guessing.

I’m looking forward to reading the next book in this fun cozy mystery series.

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

Great Cozy Mystery

I loved this story. I can't wait to listen to more books in the series.