Makeup & Murder (Beauty Secrets Book 1)

Love,Mystery and a spin of humor
As a student majoring in Creative Writing over the past few years, I have been learning how to create a successful story. The key to this is engaging the readers and keeping them engaged.That is what Stephanie Damore has done with Makeup &Murder. One major aspect of creating a successful story is creating characters that are credible and relatable. A great story draws the reader in through engaging dialogue, settings that feed on all the senses and a plot that is fresh and unexpected. In all honesty, No-one truly wants to know who did it or what will happen next. Although this is technically the first story in this genre that I have ever read and I can guarantee that it will not be the last. I knew from the beginning that this story would be filled with mystery, romance, and a bit of humor, but I never expected to find myself relating to the main character Ziva as much as I did. Laughing at some of her quirky comments and being not only impressed by her choice in words and catch phrases, but also feeling young and carefree. Finding that I could relate more to this story because of words such as beef stick and he who cannot be named or must not be named. What I really loved about this story was how successfully Ms. Damore mixed the pull at the heartstrings love element, the mystery element, and added just enough humor to keep the story flowing and light. I love a good story that is unexpected throughout. One that I can’t analyze. A story that’s sole purpose is to relax the reader and leave them wanting more. The characters were real and believable. People that either you would know personally or someone you know knows or knew someone like one or all of the characters. I am excited to see what Ms. Damore has in store for Ziva and her friends in the next book.

An enjoyable cozy mystery
This was a really fun ebook to read. And, since I had The Audible, a fun ebook to sit back and listen to. I always use The text to speech for all The ebooks that have it, but I was really happy with The Audible. The narrator, Tonia, was really good at not only portraying the different characters but The different emotions.The main character, Ziva, a beauty consultant, is very likeable and the different people in her life seem to blend together seamlessly. This cozy mystery has murder as well as other crimes with some romance. Ziva’s bff is Aria, a widow with a young son. There is also Mrs. J, a customer of Ziva that seems live vicariously through not only Ziva but the others in her lives. And, of course, Ziva’s nemesis is Justine, a rival beauty consultant that has been a thorn in Ziva’s side since the fourth grade. Luckily she is only in a few chapters.The book opens with the summer issue, Beauty Secrets, being delivered to Ziva. This is an issue that all of Ziva’s clients look forward to seeing. Ziva starts by delivering the magazine to her Aria, who has a “sweet spot” for nail polish. Next, she goes to Mrs. J, a very interesting character. Next to Ziva’s, Mrs. J is my favorite. Mrs. J loves gossip and baking. And Ziva, who has a sweet tooth, loves her cakes, etc.The third client Ziva is Marion, a married woman that is one of Ziva’s best customer. Marion is not home when Ziva comes by, but Ziva and Marion have made arrangements where Ziva was to leave Marion’s order if Marion was not home. Ziva let’s herself in and when she goes to the kitchen to get a bottle of water, she stumbles, literally, into the murder mystery that dominates the rest of the book.You have to read the book to find that out the rest of the storyline and find out how Ziva helps the police investigates the murder. I can’t wait to read the rest of the books. And there are five at the time of this review.I had gotten my copy of the ebook late last year from Amazon for free. Last week I got a complimentary Audible of the book to listen to and leave an honest review, which this is. The review is for both the Audible and the ebook. So far this is the only Audible. Hopefully there will be Audible’s of the next five books, too.

This book captured my interest from the first page. Ziva is a spunky girl who deals in makeup and murder – okay the latter one not really voluntary but she manage also that with wit and aplome.A thoroughly enjoyable book.

I am great at guessing who the bad guy is and although I did, the author kept me guessing until the end. Great book and I can’t wait to read more from her.