Designer Dirty Laundry

A Samantha Kidd Mystery, Volume 1

By: Diane Vallere

Narrated by: Melissa Strom

Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's Summary

She expected the fashion industry to be ruthless. She wasn't prepared for it to turn deadly. 

Ready to redesign her life, style expert Samantha Kidd accepts a job in her Pennsylvania hometown as a trend specialist. But her first day goes completely A-line when she stumbles across her legendary boss dead in the elevator. And after the body disappears, she can't help but pull on the mystery's thread and unravel an entire wardrobe of suspects.

Supervising her deceased employer's vogue competition, Samantha tries to hem in a sexy shoe designer and countless ego-driven creatives to stitch together the clues. But when her own name appears on the police's suspect list, the sleuthing fashionista's days on the catwalk could be numbered.

Can Samantha put a killer in the spotlight before she's sewn up for a crime she didn't commit?

Designer Dirty Laundry is the first book in the feel-good Samantha Kidd mystery series. If you like witty protagonists, clever dialogue, and fashion-forward drama, then you'll love Diane Vallere's chic story.

©2014 Diane Vallere (P)2022 Diane Vallere

New Kind of Cozy Mystery for Me

I started reading this on my Kindle App and found out I could get Prime Reading with Audible for a much lower price as long as I had the ebook. I enjoyed listening to this story while I drove to the stores and the gym.
Samantha Kidd, ex-buyer turned Trend Specialist, when her so called new boss, the Fashion Director meets her in private. Later in the day Samantha finds the Fashion Director's and quickly the corpse disappears under questionable circumstances. No one believes Samantha's story and she is being investigated for the murder. This has suspense, comedy and twists and turns.

horrible reader

the reader is terrible..sometimes using inflection when it should be the middle or end of a sentence..like ahe hadn't read it before. and the voices for characters were nauseating. I couldn't listen. more than 15 minutes

Fashion Fatality

I sort of felt as if I were listening to Lucille Ball madcap her way through the story. Our heroine, Samantha Kidd, did eventually figure everything out with her scattered approach, but not until the body count had mounted. Of course that wouldn't be her fault because she wasn't even involved until after the fact, but once fingers started pointing at her as the culprit, she had to do what she could to clear her name! Humor, romance, and sleuthing. What more could a girl want in life? Well, fashion, of course, which is the key to the whole thing. Melissa Strom's narration brought Samantha to life.

Wonderful Narration of a Wonderful Book!

This is a terrific cozy mystery from one of my favorite authors. The protagonist is so relatable & the story terrific. The narrator is exactly perfect! Highly recommend!

Makes you hungry...

I truly enjoyed this tale... except for one feature..... the description of everything she ate.... COME ON... a MEATBALL SUB should come with every copy!!!!!! I look forward to riding along on Kid's misadventures, though I am SERIOUSLY SORRY about her fashion sense. Having worked in the fashion scene in NY & CA, I get it... but I don't really GET IT. I was Edith Head in a Vegas world. Anyhow... look forward to the next installment, guess I will just have to set the diet aside for a few hours.

Enjoyable first listen

Designer Dirty Laundry (Style and Error Mystery Series, #1), my first read from author Diane Vallere. Well-written & enjoyable, another cute, clean cozy mystery, the first in this new series. I was been given an Audible copy of this book & am voluntarily reading & reviewing it. Melissa Strom’s talented narration adds to the book's enjoyment. I look forward to reading more in this series. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).

Great start to a new series

Great start to a new cozy mystery series! This is a fun cozy mystery set in the fashion industry. As expected of this author, the writing is top-notch, the plot is tight and multi-layered, and the characters are well drawn and believable. I’m looking forward to future books.

Not worth it

I couldn't finish this book. The Samantha Kidd is a complete idiot who constantly makes idiotic decisions. I finally couldn't stand it anymore so I skipped to the end of the book. The reason for the murder didn't make sense. I returned the book and will not get another book in this series.

A classy mystery

I enjoyed this book. I read the book when it first came and remember enjoying it then because it was so different to the normal cozy mystery, so I jumped at the chance to listen to it as well. Glad I did because even though I remembered some parts it was still a good listen. The mystery was good and it kept me guessing. I liked the characters and found the situations the main character seemed to get herself into highly amusing. I can't wait for the next book to become available.
Samantha has given up her high powered job in New York to return to her home town and a quieter life. The first day as a trend specialist doesn't go as planned and she stumbles over a dead body. The dead body of her new boss. As if that wasn't bad enough but nobody knows she is the newest employee and the only one who can confirm she does work there is dead and his body has gone missing. Nobody believes the famous fashion designer is dead, especially when he is in the process of organizing a competition to find the next top designer. Samantha has always been good at problem solving but can she solve this problem and with no job can she also keep a roof over her head at the same time? Things get a lot worse when the body does turn up because someone is going to great lengths to frame Samantha for the murder.
I liked the narrator and thought she brought a classy style to the characters in the book as she brought them to life.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.