39. Faux Finished (An Interior Design Mystery, 1) - Peg Marberg, Berkley Prime Crime Mystery, February 2007, ISBN: 9780425214282, 210p.
Featuring: Jean Hastings
Synopsis:
First in the new Interior Design mystery series-design tips included!
Seville, Indiana, has five traffic lights and one interior design firm-Designer Jeans, cofounded by Jean Hastings and her daughter, Jean Jr. Lately they're finding that the keen eyes needed for plotting color schemes and tracking down flea market treasures also come in handy for interpreting more sinister designs.
Comments:
This book caused me a lot of frustration. I picked it up expecing a fun cozy mystery...the first in a new series that I could really get into. That isn't what I found. First, I started musing about why the authhor felt she needed to provide so much history and background for fictional characters and places that weren't even a large part of the story. Then I started to wonder if this was really a first in series (it talks about Jean being a 'sleuth' and she had been involved in a murder mystery before...huh?). I checked four different sources (www.cozy-mystery.com, www.berkleysignetmysteries.com, www.paperbackswap.com, and www.fantasticfiction.com) to make sure this actually was the first book in the series. I read a couple pages more and felt compelled to come back to teh computer and check www.amazon.com. There I found some poor reviews that mentioned many of the same feelings I was having about the book. I did finish, it did somewhat improve, I didn't feel Jean was a horrible a character as some reviews mention (although, I was not at all happy when she harped on her friend Mary for her weight and eating habits). Overall, though, I was disappointed. There are some art deco tips (a little over 3 pages) in the back that some might enjoy (I didn't read them, but the reviews did sound positive about that part. 
) Oh, I thought I should add, there are some positive reviews on amazon and one on www.bn.com. Not everybody's reading tastes are the same.
Jo
