Life’s a bitch, isn’t it? She had the feeling he wasn’t really complaining. He just wanted to talk to someone who understood what had happened.
Finally, that Sunday night in June, she and Vic were alone on her balcony. The evening was sultry, warm but comfortable. Fireworks were bursting into the air across the Potomac River at National Harbor.
“What’s the occasion?” Vic asked.
“There never is an occasion with them. It seems to be random. But I feel like a celebration tonight. Unfortunately, darling, we’re out of champagne.”
Vic winked and stepped inside to assemble some margaritas, since the Russians had depleted the bubbly supply.
Lacey’s landline rang. She stepped through the French doors, but something made her stop. She didn’t want to answer one more phone call tonight. She let the machine pick up, and she listened as it recorded.
“Lacey Blaine Smithsonian, this is your mother! I called your cell phone but you didn’t answer. Isn’t your cell phone working? Call me. I saw the newspapers. It’s even in the Denver paper.”
Rose had an online subscription to The Eye, much to Lacey’s dismay. Her mother’s voice continued. “What on earth are you up to now, Lacey? Russians? Killers? Theatre people? And you didn’t call me? Your sister and I could have helped you, you know, we could have flown to Washington, we’ve done it before when you needed us. But no, you never call. I’m so disappointed. But that’s not why I’m calling.”
“You could have fooled me,” Lacey said aloud to the answering machine.
“That picture of you in the newspaper: Is that an engagement ring on your finger?!”
Praise for Ellen Byerrum’s Crime of Fashion Mysteries
“Devilishly funny. Lacey is intelligent, insightful and spunky... thoroughly likable.” (The Sun, Bremerton, WA)
“Laced with wicked wit.” (SouthCoastToday.com)
“Fun and witty... with a great female sleuth.” (Fresh Fiction)
“A load of stylish fun.” (Scripps Howard News Service)
“Always well-written, entertaining, and stylish.” (More Than a Review)
“Skewers Washington with style.” (Agatha winner Elaine Viets)
Killer Hair (also a movie)
“Girlfriends you’d love to have, romance you can’t resist, and Beltway-insider insights you’ve got to read. Adds a crazy twist to the concept of capital murder.” (Agatha winner Sarah Strohmeyer)
Designer Knockoff
“Clever wordplay, snappy patter, and intriguing clues make this politics-meets-high-fashion whodunit a cut above the ordinary.” (Romantic Times)
“A very talented writer with an offbeat sense of humor.” (The Best Reviews)
Hostile Makeover (also a movie)
“Byerrum pulls another superlative Crime of Fashion out of her vintage cloche.” (Chick Lit Books)
“As smooth as fine-grade cashmere.” (Publishers Weekly)
“Totally delightful... a fun and witty read.” (Fresh Fiction)
Raiders of the Lost Corset
“I love this series. Lacey is such a wonderful character... The plot has many twists and turns to keep you turning the pages to discover the truth. I highly recommend this book and series.” (Spinetingler Magazine)
“Wow. I loved it! I could not put it down! I loved everything about the book, from the characters to the plot to the fast-paced and witty writing.” (Roundtable Reviews)
Grave Apparel
“A truly intriguing mystery.” (Armchair Reader)
“A likeable, sassy, and savvy heroine, and the Washington, D.C., setting is a plus.” (The Romance Readers Connection)
Armed and Glamorous
“Whether readers are fashion divas or hopelessly fashion-challenged, there’s a lot to like about being Armed and Glamorous.” (BookPleasures.com)
Shot Through Velvet
“First-rate... a serious look at the decline of the U.S. textile and newspaper industries provides much food for thought.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)
“Great fun, with lots of interesting tidbits about the history of the U.S. fashion industry.” (Suspense Magazine)
Death on Heels
“Terrific! A fabulous Crime of Fashion Mystery.” (Genre Go Round Reviews)
“I loved the touch that Lacey was a reporter trying to track down a murderer, but could always be counted on for her fashion-forward thinking as well. If you haven’t yet picked up a Lacey Smithsonian novel, I suggest you do!” (Chick Lit+)
“Lacey is a character that I instantly fell in love with.” (Turning the Pages)
Veiled Revenge
“An intriguing plot, fun but never too insane characters, and a likable and admirable heroine all combine to create a charming and well-crafted mystery.” (Kings River Life Magazine)
“Like fine wine that gets better with age, Veiled Revenge is the best book yet in this fabulous series.” (Dru’s Book Musings)
Lethal Black Dress
“Only a fashion reporter with a nose for vintage dresses could sniff out the clues in this brilliantly conceived murder mystery.” (Nancy J. Cohen, author of the Bad Hair Day mysteries)
Praise for The Woman in the Dollhouse
“AN INGENIOUSLY CRAFTED psychological thriller that bewitches on page one and continues to mesmerize until its shocking conclusion... we can’t imagine a better read. Byerrum has deftly structured a compelling narrative that never lets go. You won’t either, by the way. This is one book you’re practically guaranteed to finish in record time.” (Best Thrillers.com)
“Reminiscent of the best of gothic suspense fiction, readers will be thoroughly entertained by Tennyson. Her strong will and even sharper wit ensure that readers will be cheering for Tennyson to break free and discover the truth. That the book starts with such a vulnerable beginning only makes the crafty conclusion all the more satisfying.” (Kings River Life Magazine)
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Did you love The Masque of the Red Dress? Then you should read The Woman in the Dollhouse by Ellen Byerrum!
If you lost your memories,
would you lose your soul?
“In my memories, my eyes are always green.”
A young woman finds herself recovering from a devastating accident in a memory research facility near Washington, D.C., in this new psychological suspense thriller. Her eyes are brown, not green as she remembers; her memories are broken. Years of her life are blank, yet she remembers being two very different women, one called Tennyson, the other Marissa. If she can’t trust her memories or her own eyes, who can she trust? To save her sanity and her life, Tennyson begins a secret journal between the lines of Homer’s Odyssey—and her own harrowing odyssey into madness and murder. Lost among her shattered memories, can she find her true self?
Read more at Ellen Byerrum’s site.
Also by Ellen Byerrum
The Crime of Fashion Mysteries
Killer Hair
Designer Knockoff
Hostile Makeover
Raiders of the Lost Corset
Grave Apparel
Lethal Black Dress
The Masque of the Red Dress
Standalone
The Children Didn't See Anything
The Woman in the Dollhouse
Watch for more at Ellen Byerrum’s site.
About the Author
Ellen Byerrum is a novelist, a playwright, a reporter, a former Washington, D.C., journalist, and a graduate of private investigator school in Virginia. Her Crime of Fashion mystery series stars a savvy, stylish female sleuth named Lacey Smithsonian. Lacey is a reluctant fashion reporter in Washington D.C., which she lovingly refers to as "The City Fashion Forgot.�
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Two of Byerrum’s Crime of Fashion novels, Killer Hair and Hostile Makeover, have been filmed for the Lifetime Movie Network.
The Woman in the Dollhouse is Byerrum’s first suspense thriller. It introduces us to a young woman, Tennyson Claxton, whose mind seems to hold the mingled memories of two very different women. Her past is full of questions, her present is filled with deception and danger, and her future is a blank page—unless she can discover who she really is. Byerrum anticipates exploring Tennyson’s continuing odyssey in a future novel.
Byerrum has also penned a middle-grade mystery, The Children Didn’t See Anything, the first in a projected series starring the precocious twelve-year-old Bresette twins.
Under her pen name Eliot Byerrum, she has published two plays with Samuel French, A Christmas Cactus and Gumshoe Rendezvous.
Follow Ellen Byerrum on her website at www.ellenbyerrum.com and on Facebook and Twitter.
Author photo (c) Joe Hensen
Read more at Ellen Byerrum’s site.
About the Publisher
Lethal Black Dress Press is the publishing imprint that publishes the Crime of Fashion Mysteries.
The Masque of the Red Dress Page 39