The Lanvin Murders Paperback – June 17, 2014

The Lanvin Murders by Angela M. Sanders is why I read books. I go through a ton of them, all because, every once and a while, I discover a gem like this. The Lanvin Murders is true entertainment and I have to hand it to Ms. Sanders for deftly handling the layering of this story. What I expected it to be a light, fluffy, Cool Whip type of read turned into something much deeper and more complex. A little bit of historical fact thrown in with accurate descriptions of the setting for atmosphere blended with a complex plot and you have a book that will keep you turning those pages. I also fully appreciated the way the red herrings kept me diverted and led down the garden path. This book is sort of the literary equivalent of the Winchester house that was built with doors leading nowhere and crooked pathways that ended up at dead ends. It makes tracking down the clues great fun.Joanna Hayworth is the protagonist. The owner of a vintage clothing store, she’s way more into helping customers find the perfect outfit than figuring out how a customer could have broken into her store and ended up dead. And it would have to be a client that used to sell her marvelous classic dresses that included a certain “to die for” Lanvin coat, but who takes phrases literally? Unfortunately, not the victim Marnie Evans. However, all this is enough to get Joanna’s detective wheels turning, and even a warning from her friend/employee Apple about “bad vibes” doesn’t keep her from becoming involved.The negatives? It doesn’t really have any. While the ending was more protracted and drawn out than I would have liked it to be, I forgave it because it did deliver. And the ending was more befitting a movie or film so perhaps it was done with this in mind since it culminated in quite a visual.What can I say? I loved the storyline, loved the quirky characters and loved the way this story is written. Because of all of the above, I heartily recommend The Lanvin Murders to those looking for an enjoyable, fast, satisfying read!

This is a very original story, using standard structure and interesting characters (who ranged in age from young hipsters to seniors), and a plot that is well crafted for cozy mystery lovers and those whom, like me, appreciate vintage items and clothing.I found the heroine, Joanna, to be mostly well-written and I'd like to know her better.The romantic lead was refreshing, different and sexy. The police characters were not bad or good, but fairly realistic. The senior characters were fascinating, and I think believably written.The plot really drew me in - a mixture of the past and the present, social injustice, which illuminated character flaws, poor choices, regrets and enduring love.Criticisms:It could've been a smoother read, and I found the bad guy's final scene and some of the minor characters' reaction to it far-fetched and rather clumsy.The lack of wrap-up between Joanna and her ex was non-existent, and the end of the climactic scene was too abrupt.I also want to know what happened with the cat and dog!!Joanna needs to be more fleshed out. We know she's rather standoffish, is a good businesswoman, has a great eye for beauty and loves martinis. I know she can be grown in upcoming stories, and I look forward to that. My overall gripes are quite minor, and I only hope they offer good input for the author and that she understands that for, they are minor detractions. She is a talented writer.The details about vintage items were wonderful. They weren't tiresome or annoying, but rather shaped the characters, the setting, illustrated Joanna's character and values and allowed us to connect with the past deftly and gracefully.Since I didn't realize, until I was halfway through the book, that the author is one of my fave perfume reviewers on Now Smell This, I'm twice as thrilled to read The Lanvin Murders. Perfume does play a wonderful supporting role!This was a free download and is a novel I'd happily pay for. I am very much looking forward to books #2 and #3 in the series!

Joanna Hayworth owns a vintage clothing store in Portland Oregon. She enjoys a simple, uncomplicated life and loves what she does. Joanna forms a friendship with one of her regular customers, Marnie, and when Marnie turns up dead in Joanna’s shop, Joanna is determined to find justice for Marnie – even if it means putting herself in danger.I liked the idea of this story. I love vintage clothing and I love murder mysteries. Downloading it wasn’t even a question for me. I was all in. Until I became immersed in the story.There’s no denying that the author is intelligent and adept at laying down a compelling plot. It was the execution that I had difficulty with. There were a lot of side elements, branching out every which way. I thought this weighed the story down too much, which made the book seem far longer than just 298 pages.Some of the elements were quite silly. For example, Joanna tells the police that she’s found a mysterious safe deposit box key that might have very well been the reason why Marnie was killed and the detective couldn’t have cared any less. He leaves the key in Joanna’s possession and continues to go bumbling about. I found this far too formulaic – police officers who insist on ignoring what witnesses and victims are telling them – way overdone in too many murder mysteries in my opinion.I kept asking myself, why is Joanna so determined to find the killer of someone she didn’t know all that well. Sure, Marnie was a quirky customer who sold Joanna clothes over a period of what… a year? Yet Joanna can’t let it go, even if it meant she too could be killed. Just seemed too thin to me. And, everyone knew everyone. Even Joanna’s deceased grandmother had known some of the people involved – something that was never explained.This book wasn’t terrible, but I just really didn’t enjoy it nearly as much I thought I would.

Hey, there! Here we are again!I have just finished reading the Lanvin Murders – Book 1 from the Vintage Clothing Mysteries collection, from Angela Sanders.Joanna owns a vintage store in Portland, and her life starts to get upside down after she finds a key in the pocket of a Lanvin coat an old women sells her. This woman is found dead, afterwards, and this is where the “thriller” begins.It is definitely not a deep and dense thriller, that makes you think who the murder is and every time something happens you wonder whether this or that could be the killer. It is a fresh book, very cozy and you cannot stop reading it, and I really enjoyed going through it; the way the author describes all the vintage environment of the store, the way Joanna dresses, it really pleased me. There is also a potential romance-to-be in the air, so it also makes the reading pleasant – I must confess sometimes I was willing to know the end of the romance rather than the end of the case lol.Also, a lot of things seemed not to be explained by the end of the book (Eve's store, what became of Remmick, Andrew, Nina and Troy). I am not sure whether these are answered on the next two books, but anyways I felt like I wanted to know more about the other elements of the story.On Goodreads I read a lot of people criticizing Joanna's personality, but I personally think there was nothing wrong in that sense… Honestly.So, although it is not a deep murder investigation book, as I was not expecting, it is quite a quick read because it really gets your attention. Recommended, but I must warn you it is a “comfort-reading” rather than a real thriller. I would, however, read the sequence undoubtedly.See you on the next trip!Denise

Right from the first chapter the author engages the reader to continue on. The vintage store is described in such a way that I longed to visit it. The characters are real with real people issues. I give this book a 9.5., 10 would mean perfection and life isn't perfect ;)

Joanna Hayworth has a tiny vintage clothing store called Tallulah's Closet. A regular customer, Marnie, turns up one day with a beautiful fur coat by a designer called Lanvin that she wants to sell. Marnie has been coming to the store for about a year and in that time, has told Joanna a bit about her past life. She was a club dancer who had amassed a large collection of designer clothes from her admirers. Now, sadly, she is a painfully thin, chain smoking, wreck of woman who is reduced to selling her clothes to make ends meet. When she turns up in the store dead, covered by the fur coat, Joanna feels compelled to investigate. I was really gripped by the story and the vivid descriptions of the vintage clothes. Whilst not a fan of vintage clothing, there is a growing market for this kind of thing and the descriptions certainly prompted memories of the styles and fabrics of the past few decades. The characters were very well drawn as was the neighbourhood setting and the mystery was an intriguing one. My only reservation was that there were quite a few loose ends left untied at the end of the book. Whilst the references to the police officer who was a little too knowledgeable about the clothes were beautifully done, some of the references to both homosexuality and transexuality were, in places, a little too subtle and I would have liked to know a bit more about the clubs and their staff. There was also clearly some kind of link between Marnie and Joanna that was never fully explained and personally, I hate being expected to read the next book to find out more. Apart from this, it was a good, solid mystery with a fascinating background. A very good read.

Captivating story

A complex storyline that keeps you guessing. I know nothing about antiques or vintage clothing and I still enjoyed it.