Bøger i Crime of Fashion Mysteries serien

LACEY SMITHSONIAN PROMISES her new guy, Vic, she'll try to stay out of trouble. Long enough for a big romantic weekend getaway, at least. But on Lacey's crazy Washington DC fashion beat, trouble follows her like static cling on a silk skirt. First she scores a hot interview: reality TV star Amanda Manville, whose miracle surgical makeover has morphed her into a Supermodel Diva From Hell. Amanda has enemies, secrets, stalkers, and death threats, and she begs Lacey to find out who's trying to kill her. More trouble! Lacey's mother and sister land in DC, plotting an "extreme makeover" on her entire life. And worse: Vic's ex is in town too, and she wants him back-bad. What's a sensible fashion reporter to do?! Stride stylishly into harm's way! To save the day, Lacey must dodge screaming divas, drive-by shootings, a speeding stolen car (her own!), grumpy homicide cops, and even the newspaper's infamous office jinx. And she might discover that makeovers really can be murder.

Originally published: New York: Signet, 2004.

"Fashion scribe Lacey Smithsonian has never seen such a gown. This dress is crimson, flowing, fabulous, and infamous. The actress who first wore it on stage died on closing night--playing Death in 'The Masque of the Red Death' at a Russian aemigrae theatre. Is the notorious red dress cursed with bad luck? Or is the truth even stranger? It's up to Lacey and her so-called ExtraFashionary Perception to find out once and for all. If the Red Dress of Death doesn't get her first..."--Back cover.

"FIND THE CORSET!" A dying corset maker's last words send Lacey Smithsonian across the sea on a high-stakes scavenger hunt-and a race against the old woman's killer.Magda Rousseau's dark family secret: Her grandfather had stolen the jewel-filled corset of a dead Romanov princess. Who wouldn't kill for it? The fabled lost corset would be the find-and the fashion story-of the century. For Lacey this treasure hunt also means a trip to Paris, the City of Light, and a break from her romantic woes."Bloody thread, knock 'em dead!" Magda's favorite saying, a theatre costumer's good-luck wish. If the seamstress pricks her finger sewing a costume, her drop of blood ensures the play's success. But murder ends Magda's luck, and her dream of finding the legendary corset.Lacey must follow a twisted thread of clues across two continents, tangling with jewel thieves, spies, and her fellow treasure hunters. But will Magda's "bloody thread" finally lead her to the fabulous lost corset? Or bring her face to face with a killer?

Why is Lacey Smithsonian Ruining Christmas? EVERYTHING GOES WRONG for fashion reporter Lacey Smithsonian this Christmas season. She tangles with "Sweatergate," a newsroom feud over garish holiday sweaters. The food editor refuses to bake the usual seasonal treats. The office Grinch is brutally assaulted with a giant candy cane, and Lacey's only witness is a homeless child in a stolen shepherd's robe. And who's getting blamed for "ruining Christmas"? Lacey, of course. Christmas in Washington, D.C., is a glitzy season of celebration. But Lacey's encounter with the little lost shepherd sends her on a quest that reveals a tragic side of the holidays: There's no room at the inn for the cold, the hungry, and the homeless. Lacey must search the snowy back alleys of D.C. on an urgent mission to rescue a homeless child - and to keep a killer from ruining Christmas.