The author of Dead Is the New Black also writes under the name C.D. Reiss, and she is well known for her erotic romances. The Fashion Avenue Mysteries contain no erotica and not a lot of romance. As I've come to expect with her other writing, Ms Reiss dives head first into the research and detail behind her characters' lives. Dead is the New Black provided some very interesting detail in the fashion industry including what it would be like to work in a "design house". The rich detail makes the story come alive.I really enjoyed this story. It had sort of 1940s gum-shoe feel to it, and I could envision Humphrey Bogart playing the part of Detective Cangemi. Laura Carnegie is a pattern maker for a relatively new design house, and her world is turned upside down when one of the major investors is found dead.With every plot twist I changed my opinion about who was the murderer, and I was completely surprised in the end. Dead Is the New Black is a fun whodunit that any fashionista or reader who appreciates good writing will enjoy. All told, this was a cute, relatively entertaining read. I highly recommend it for subway reading because the plot is engaging enough for you to actually want to figure out who's responsible for killing Gracie, the financial backer of a fashion designer. The characters unfortunately are not solid or interesting enough on their own to warrant a much higher rating. I wasn't drawn into them enough to necessarily want to read the sequel.
What do You think about Dead Is The New Black (2011)?
Free book on amazon, fun fashion world whodunit keeps you guessing til the end.
—lynnxoxo
Not bad. There was even a twist I did not see coming.
—Haley
