Diane Vallere

Someone is dressed to kill in the debut Costume Shop Mystery from the national bestselling author of the Material Witness mysteries.  No sooner does former magician’s assistant Margo Tamblyn return home to Proper City, Nevada, to run Disguise DeLimit, the family-owned costume shop, than she gets her first big order. Wealthy nuisance Blitz Manners needs forty costumes for a detective-themed birthday bash. As for Blitz himself, his Sherlock Holmes is to-die-for—literally—when, in the middle of the festivities, Margo’s friend and party planner Ebony Welles is caught brandishing a bloody carving knife over a very dead Blitz.   For Margo, clearing Ebony’s name is anything but elementary, especially after Ebony flees town. Now Margo is left to play real-life detective in a town full of masked motives, cloaked secrets, and veiled vendettas. But as she soon learns, even a killer disguise can't hide a murderer in plain sight for long.FIRST IN A NEW SERIES!

"Vallere stitches an intrepid heroine together a nicely layered plot that fits well with the fabric imagery. The secret of the velvet makes for a clever surprise. Fans of Jenn McKinlay’s Hat Shop novels may also enjoy this small-town cozy." --Booklist Fabric shop owner Polyester Monroe is back in business--this time getting wrapped up in a diabolical but crafty case of murder. With the reopening of her fabric shop rapidly approaching, Polyester Monroe is stocking up on lush fabrics, colorful notions, and best of all, a proprietary weave of velvet. But upon delivery, it’s not quite the blend she expected, being ninety-percent silk — and ten-percent corpscozy e. Crushed under a dozen bolts of fabric is local business owner Phil Girard. His wife, Genevieve, local tea shop owner and close friend of Poly, is the prime suspect. Granted, Phil may not have been the perfect husband, but surely Genevieve had no reason to kill him! There’s just the small matter of Genevieve’s own incriminating I’m afraid I killed my husband. Now, as the grand opening looms, Poly is torn between a friendship pulling apart at the seams—and finding a smooth killer with a velvet touch… "This entertaining series that began with “Suede to Rest,” continues with yet another fantastic read. In fact, this one may be even better." --Suspense Magazine

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?

All that glitters isn’t gold in Samantha Kidd’s latest mystery…​ When Samantha Kidd’s jewel of a husband, shoe designer Nick Taylor, is named a finalist for Designer of the Year at an industry function, Samantha sponsors a banquet table and invites close friends and family to the celebration. But by the time the night arrives, most of them aren’t on speaking terms. Even romance with Nick suffers thanks to his dad’s move into the couple’s spare bedroom.​ Before the cash bar closes, the toastmaster’s body is found with a gilded knife in her chest. What should have been a golden evening becomes a 24-karat disaster, and brutal weather conditions keep the cops at bay. Locked in a ballroom with two hundred suspects and seven angry tablemates, Samantha’s got just four hours to take a stab at solving the murder…before the murderer stabs again.

Halloween brings more tricks than treats for costume shop owner Margo Tamblyn in the second in a new cozy series from the national bestselling author of the Material Witness Mysteries.   Halloween conjures up big business for Margo Tamblyn’s costume shop, Disguise DeLimit, but this year, the holiday comes knocking with serious trouble. Venture capitalist Paul Haverford plans to rezone historic downtown into a glitzy commercial area which would push out local business. Margo is set on saving her family’s store, especially after a nasty run-in with the chain-store tycoon, but after Haverford’s body is discovered during a spooky party at the derelict Alexandria Hotel, Margo finds herself dressed as the police’s prime suspect.   Anxious to clear her name, Margo begins hunting down anyone who might have wanted Haverford dead. Between all of his malicious maneuverings, the murdered mogul had buckets of people anxious to see him gone. Now, Margo will have to use every trick in the book to find a cloaked killer—before someone else winds up wearing a death shroud...

Cozy with a chance of meatballs...When style expert Samantha Kidd plans a holiday in Italy, she expects scenic piazzas, endless pasta, and maybe a little romance—not a murder mystery older than her passport. Samantha’s idyllic vacation comes to a screeching halt when a favor for her host pulls her into a decades-old mystery and lands her in more hot water than her morning espresso.The case? The murder of Alfredo, the town’s most hated man. The suspect? Pasquale, a mild-mannered cobbler who has spent decades in prison for the crime. The twist? Samantha’s host should have been Pasquale’s alibi—if she hadn't left town that night to start invasive cancer treatments in Switzerland.Armed with her quick wit, a love of gelato, and the undercover help of her shoe designer husband, Samantha will need all the luck she can muster to solve the crime and make it through her getaway alive. Murder Italian Style is a sparkling mystery for anyone who loves their whodunits served with a side of laughter and linguini. Settle in with a glass of Prosecco; this is one vacation you won't forget!

Set phasers to cozy! Sylvia Stryker has no business being on the next Moon Unit Cruise Line, unless you count aspirations and dreams. The career that once felt within her reach—Intergalactic Cruise Ship Security—disappeared the day her dad was arrested for collusion with space pirates. Since then she’s begrudgingly been running the ice mine for her aging mother, the two of them social pariahs amongst their fellow Plunians. Everything changes when the uniform lieutenant position on Moon Unit 5 opens up days before departure. Sylvia immediately puts her hacking skills to use, uploading bogus credentials onto the crew manifest. Now to just lay low, do her job, and impress the new boss. Her plan goes off without a hitch until a non-celestial body falls from the uniform inventory closet after departure. Reporting it means drawing attention, the very opposite of laying low. When the head of security shows up to investigate and throws her into the spaceship holding cell, her onboard status shifts from staff to prisoner. If Sylvia can’t expose the killer herself, she’ll be bunking with her dad at the local space prison. Previously published as FLY ME TO THE MOON.

"There's a new material girl in town...[A} resourceful and gutsy sleuth." -Krista Davis, New York Times bestselling author of the Domestic Diva Mysteries Unraveling family secrets can be murder... When Polyester Monroe was young, she loved playing in her family's textile store. But after a fatal tragedy, Land of a Thousand Fabrics was boarded up and Poly never expected to see the inside again. These days her time is spent designing prom dresses from cheap fabrics and covering the flaws with a glue gun. When her great uncle passes away and leaves her the fabric store, she sees it as a sign to change her life. But when a man connected to her family's tragedy is found dead in the parking lot behind the store the day after she moves in, her illusions of reopening the glamorous fabric store are shredded. Poly pulls at threads to unravel the truth, but can she keep herself out of the fray? Suede to Rest is the first charming Material Witness cozy mystery. If you like small-town settings, killer textiles, and crafty killers, then you'll love Diane Vallere's fun, fabric-themed series.

Boldly going where no cozy mystery has gone before! National bestselling author Diane Vallere gives a space academy dropout a chance to fit in . . . but it's what makes her different that changes everything.Book #1: FLY ME TO THE MOONWhen space academy dropout Sylvia Stryker hacks her way into the position of Uniform Inventory Manager aboard Moon Unit 5, she jumps at the chance to leave her small planet behind. Besides, who will find out she faked the results of her physical? But when the ship's second navigation officer is found dead in the uniform closet shortly after departure, Sylvia's problems become bigger than falsified test results. And when her supervisor places her on probation for her own uniform infraction, she's at risk of being dropped off at the nearest substation. Juggling red shirts, white lies, and little green men, Sylvia has to expose a killer before Moon Unit 5 becomes space dust.Book #2: I'M YOUR VENUSWhen Sylvia Stryker boards Moon Unit 6 as the uniform lieutenant, it's with an eye on the future. After space pirates destroyed her life, the trek to Venus provides a fresh start. But when the winner of the promotional contest designed to hype the trip is found dead outside the uniform ward, sleuthing takes top priority.The amorous effect of Venus on the already frisky passengers threaten to compromise the investigation--not to mention the victim's secret relationship with Sylvia's boss. Forward thinking, back channels, and distractions on the side lead Sylvia on a pulse-pounding probe that exposes a murderer along with the surprising truth about her past.Book #3: SATURN NIGHT FEVERWhen amateur space sleuth Sylvia Stryker discovers details of her defense instructor's murder hidden inside her robot cat, she sets off on a new adventure that puts her on the wrong side of the rules. Good thing Neptune, the head of security for Moon Unit Corporation, is on her side this time! With his help she hijacks a space ship, assembles a crew and takes on space pirates. But there’s more to this trek than expected and Sylvia’s focus on solving her friend’s murder might lead her into a trap. Between the truth and the lies is a galaxy of questions that culminate in an unexpected answer. Buy this box set and blast off into mysteries that are out of this world!

Polyester Monroe, quirky amateur sleuth and proud owner of Material Girl, the most colorful fabric store in San Ladrón, California, unravels the threads of a new mystery in TULLE DEATH DO US PART… When the historic Waverly House is transformed into a wedding venue, the town buzzes with excitement. An out-of-town couple with the loosest of local ties has adopted them as their own. But amidst the celebration, tragedy strikes as a guest is found dead in the chapel before the wedding march plays. Suspicion quickly falls on the bride. Poly's ex-boyfriend, the groom-to-be, needles Poly for her help in solving the murder, but things take a complicated turn when the bride-to-be points the finger—at him. Poly dives headfirst into a web of secrets and hidden agendas. From the eccentric wedding planner to the envious bridesmaids, she must untangle the clues while navigating the chaos of wedding season at her fabric shop. As the investigation unfolds, Poly has a choice: her familiar past or a potential future with the town’s most eligible bachelor. With puns as sharp as tailor's shears and her knack for finding trouble, Poly is determined to expose the real culprit before the bride’s “I do” becomes doing life. TULLE DEATH DO US PART is a hilarious roller coaster ride filled with quirky characters, unexpected twists, and a patchwork of romantic notions. Grab a cup of tea, cozy up in your favorite chair, and enjoy this captivating fabric-filled adventure!