The Bottom Line: A stylish, sexy and smart crime thriller with an amateur sleuth that readers will fall in love with.
Bexley Squires has made a name for herself as a top investigative journalist, but her critical success hasn’t yet translated into a cash windfall. Living in a Brooklyn loft, she finds herself brilliant and beautiful, but also broke. The pitiful state of her bank account is the only thing holding her back from spending all her time solving the mystery of her sister’s disappearance.
Everything changes when Bexley gets an offer she can’t refuse. Hollywood sex symbol Dean Halliwell is accused of murder, and pledges $50,000 for Bexley to start digging into the investigation. If she finds the real killer, she’ll earn another $500,000. While Bexley digs on behalf of Dean Halliwell, she hires a PI named J.J. Stronghold to find her sister.
While both investigations are intriguing enough to demand rapt attention, it’s Bexley herself that stands out in a crowded field of amateur sleuths. Author Quinn Avery has created a heroine that is both accessible and complex. While Bexley didn’t grow up in the lap of luxury, her NYU education and street smarts have prepared her to navigate well-to-do social circles in ways that an undercover law enforcement agent never could. At home, she’s a master of creating a boho chic look on a tight budget, and it’s these little touches that will endear her to readers.
Don’t let the book’s cheeky title fool you – The Dead Girl’s Stilettos isn’t a cozy mystery. Author Quinn Avery seems on the verge of creating her own sub-genre of crime fiction, delivering a clever protagonist with serious emotional heft that does her best work amongst the playgrounds of the super rich and famous. Fans of Willow Rose will love this novel, but Avery is an original.
