Dayna is all over the place after retiring from acting. It's fun to see her go from jobless to homoside detective. Her character was refreshing and suprisingly relatable in many aspects. She just needs to sort out her emotional feelings because at one point it felt like a love triangle was developing.

I enjoyed this romp of a crime caper, involving one of my favourite things - vintage clothing!
Out of work actress Danye has a slim motive for turning sleuth, but she chases around Hollywood with loads of energy. Danye's trying to get enough info to earn the reward money for helping to solve the murder of a young saleswoman. Her constant calls to the Crimestoppers phone line are among the funniest pieces in the book!

While I found some of the transitions confusing and a few plot holes, the freshness of Danye and her friends in their pursuit of fashion, fame money and love were very entertaining. Bring on another Hollywood Homicide!

Dayna, deciding to retire from acting is broke and finds out her parents are in foreclosure and her
dad needs financial help. She sees a billboard regarding money for tips leading to the arrest of a
hit and run driver. She realizes she was near this corner at the time, seen the commotion, so she starts investigating with the help of her friends and ex-cop Aubrey S. Adams-Parker.
The plot was fast paced with lots of twists and turns, and had a lot suspense throughout.
It was beautifully written with the closeness of the friends showing through.
An entertaining mystery and I recommend it to anyone looking for a light read.

From the first page to the exhilarating escapades to that last line, this book took me on a fun ride where a simple desire turns into more than just that and took our heroine and friends on an adventure that kept me entertained and engaged in all aspects of this well-executed drama.

The author took great care in telling this story with a nice tempo that set the stage as the visually appealing narrative kept me glued to the pages as Dayna’s search for a killer took me through the hills of Hollywood with Sienna, Emme and Aubrey bringing up the rear. From a hit and run, to murder, to consignment shopping, to finding clues to calling tip lines to car chases to role-playing to solving a murder to all that Hollywood has to offer is what you’ll find in this enticingly frolicking mystery. A kaleidoscope of amusingly energetic antics provided merriment that enhanced the telling of this tale. Boasting a likable cast of characters, friendly banter and Hollywood as the backdrop, this was very enjoyable and I look forward to more exciting adventures with Dayna and her friends.

I could do 4 stars but I think 2 will make more people wonder what was my problem?

So, This book made me think maybe it was time to give up reading altogether. SRSLY!
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If you know me at all, you know that I read daily, compulsively, and review a lot. So this whole "time to give it up" was like a strange out-of-body experience. I eventually had a moment where I realized "it's just really awful timing in a comedy that seems to go in ever-larger circles of crazed ditzy-ness."

I read about Kellye Garrett's background, and she has the most impressive resume of experience. I do forgive her for making me basically "suicidal reader." She did get the plot going better, and I did finish the book.

Will I read future Detective Day books? Oh, I am so not ready to say.

I loved this book! Funny, and entertaining. A good book to reward yourself with after you've slogged through a tough "book-club required" non-fiction tome. A nice break! Main character, Dayna, was very likeable. Jokes were good. Loved the last two sentences, and I liked the joke about Wasilla, Alaska. I liked that she was a "good" girl, not cussing al through the book, that gets so tiresome and is unnecessary. People who liked "Girlfriends" tv show (with Tracee Ellis Ross) or Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books will like this book. I think is should appeal to ALL women aged 30-70. I will definitely be on the lookout for the next in the series from Kellye Garrett. Keep them coming!

Enjoyable not only for the banter with friends, and sometimes poignant events in Dayna's life, the crime she determines to uncover to win the cash for helping the police, is credible, if really peculiar to Hollywood - and that's the other good thing about this novel, it really knows Hollywood and the downside of life there scrambling for auditions, and dealing with misogynistic creeps - or otherwise playing them to your own end. It is as enjoyable for finding out about Hollywood as it is following the crime, and finding out the perpetrators - with lots of twists and last-minute turns - it's worth staying to the end. I hope Dayna has more mysteries to solve.

Review:

I really wanted to adore this book. Instead, I only liked it a lot. (Still keeping my preorder.)

Small dif, right? Maybe.

There is so much to love about this book. The cover is absolutely amazeballs! Seriously, scroll back up and look at that gorgeous cover. In an age when most covers are photo-manipulated, Ms. Garrett’s book merited custom artwork.

Ms. Garrett has voice to worship upon an alter to, really, 3 pages into the book and the MC, Dayna, had me by the throat. It’s that good.

Voice is one of the things I look for, because it can’t be taught. You’re either born with voice or you develop it by reading and trying to write and reading again and then finally throwing up your hands and saying fuck it, I’m going to write what I want. Then (after failing, a lot) thinking about how you write, deciding you don’t know anything and going for it anyway. I’m known as a voice-y writer, I know.

Ms. Garrett has VOICE. (trust me, it’s worth the caps).

and yet…

(^that there^? You caught your breath, maybe a little? Possibly blinked your eyes? You want to know what I have to say next? Voice. Remember, I’m an editor too.)

This book is fantastic, it’s well worth the purchase and the read, I just didn’t connect with the characters as well as I’d hoped.

So here’s why.

I’m not into shopping (like, I have to be forced to shop, and even though I know the names? I wouldn’t buy a pair of Louboutin’s if I had the disposable cash, not that I do, but that’s irrelevant.) Prada shmada. I have 2 designer handbags ’cause my MIL is into fashion and name brand, they’ve been gifts… and? they sit in my closet, unused. Give me a well-made leather pouch big enough for my stuff? I’m happy. Until it disintegrates, leaving minuscule bits of itself everywhere. At which point, I grouse my way into a store to get another one. The character I connected best to in this story is Emme, and there wasn’t enough Emme for me. (That’s a ME thing, not a BOOK thing.)

The heels I love… (the few, the far between, the ones I need help walking in) well, those tend not to be designer either.

So, I couldn’t connect to those parts of the book, and there’s enough of things like it… that ignoring it affected the story. They’re beautifully described and voice-y parts, no doubt. Gorgeous, but… not a ‘me’ thing.

I found it incredibly interesting to get-what feels like-an insider peek into Hollywood or acting. Especially as I’ve only done stage acting. It was real enough that I wondered about the author’s background. (and then I read the author blurb, and no wonder it felt so real!)

I’ve also been an in real life criminal forensic technician. It’s not like you see on TV. I’ve worked with cops, and met a few PIs. (I’ve worked with many FBI special agents in my time, they tend to like to drink… IME.)

so… the retired cop character came off a bit flat and unrealistic for me.

A lot of the parts involving the investigation read to me… with my experience, more like a tv show than the real thing, so it didn’t work as well as it could’ve ‘for ME.’ It’s well written, very, and probably will be an incredibly entertaining read for a lot of people.

The one thing I can say in regards to the investigation? It’s so perfectly in character for Dayna that it’s beautiful. Do you have any idea how hard it is to do that? To separate the ‘what you as the author knows’ from ‘what the character as she’s written CAN know?’ It’s nigh impossible at times, I’ll leave it there because it’s incredibly well done.

This book has one of those really well-fleshed out characters, you know the ones, the ones that make it feel like you’re walking around in their skin.

It’s a fantastic book, just not a *me* book. (I figured it would be, because I love mystery, which is why I asked for it from Netgalley.)

Remember, please. Reading is subjective. I found the writing excellent, the MC interesting, the world believable. I just didn’t connect with this story. Which is not even close to a problem with the story itself.

Scores:

Readability: 4/5 Characters are well-rounded, real and they have relatable flaws! I loved that Dayna gets mouthy when she’s anxious. It’s awesome, cause that’s one of my own flaws. The book is fast paced and well written.

Arcs: 5/5 Dayna’s arc is well defined, I’d love to see more backstory and even shorts regarding her room-mate, love interest, and their friend.

Craft: 3/5 Here, it’s getting a lower score. I hope it’s only because this book is at ARC stage, (or that maybe these mistakes are intentional for piracy tracking purposes, they ARE repetitive, so it’s possible this is the case) but I caught many problems within the text. If the mistakes are formatting mistakes (also possible) I really hope there’s more editing that will happen with this book before it hits shelves or that these mistakes are intentional. (As they ARE repetitive, always in the same place, I’m hazarding they may be either on purpose or formatting) and it’s still getting a good craft score because there aren’t many fillers/filters, the author doesn’t ramble, and it’s all very tightly written.

Would I buy it for a friend? I’m keeping my pre-ordered copy, even though I have an ARC, and yes, I’d buy it for a friend, if they liked shoes.

I loved this book!!! I will definitely recommend this book to my students. The writing made the story fast paced and practical to a YA's mind. They will be able to get involved in a story that reels the reader in by allowing its settings and characters to create a vivid scene for one's imagination. The main characters become friends as the story evolves and you are quickly involved in trying to figure out who the culprit was. After reading, I wanted to know if the author had experiences in Hollywood and I was proven right. Her knowledge of the details showed through her writjng and helped the story. I am looking forward to reading her followup in the series.