A Passion for Haunted Fashion

AudioBook Review: Stars: Overall 4 Narration 5 Story 3 So – I’ve had a mix of these titles – from reading to listening – with the last book I encountered being number five in the series. Personally, I love the mix of humor, mystery, fashion and the occasionally pushy and bossy ghosts that mix among the corporeal characters, and Pressey does a wonderful job of keeping the stories interesting, filling in readers on needed backstory information and allowing the story to stand solidly on its own – be you a regular follower of the series or a first-timer. The characters are solidly portrayed (even when mere mist) and the humor is clever while never overtaking or outshining the mystery. In this title, our heroine Cookie has branched out to become the ad-hoc costume designer for a local theatre: one that is reportedly haunted and the scene of a murder. A trunk full of 50’s clothing brings Cookie into contact with Jenny – the ghost in the theatre who is wondering what happened to her – and wants Cookie (with her resident ghost Charlotte and her other helpers) to find out what happened. Of course, we can’t meet a ghost without having something horrible happen, and Cookies BFF Heather is the one who discovers the body (knife still in it) of an actor left on stage. Morris Palmer was a rather new introduction and we didn’t know him well, but everything points to the perpetrator being very much in the shadows and very desperate – things could be dangerous for Cookie if she keeps on investigating. Oh this was fun – as most of these are, and Charlotte and Peggy have some wonderful snark and sass to add to the plot. The mystery was reasonably well-plotted, leaving plenty of ‘side action’ time for the characters to entertain both readers and listeners. And while we do finally get to a discovery of just what happened (and who did it) Cookie’s grandmother in the form of her cat, Wind Song has had plenty of input as well. While this holds solidly in the series, it’s not quite my favorite yet, but the increased snark from Charlotte and the descriptive passages are a delight. Narration for this story is provided by Angie Hickman, and as with the first time I encountered her work, the voices feel appropriate to the characters, and she has a way of allowing nuance and inflection to further a point, or allow the listener to process information. She held my interest throughout, and transitions from character to character were clear and easy to follow. You won’t go wrong with either version of the books in this series – audio or actual read to yourself – and if you like a quirky and clever series with lots of fun tips and descriptions – this is the one for you. I received an AudioBook version of the story via Tantor Audio for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.