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CLUTCHES AND CURSES by Dorothy Howell

CLUTCHES AND CURSES

by Dorothy Howell

Pub Date: June 1st, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7582-5330-9
Publisher: Kensington

For a vacuous valley girl, what happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas. Haley Randolph would never leave sunny California.

It’s got all her best buds and the greatest shopping ever. When Holt’s, the downscale department chain Haley works for, asks seasoned employees to head out to Vegas to help open a new store, Haley says no. Her sort-of boyfriend Ty Cameron’s family owns Holt’s, so she can’t be forced to go, and anyway, she’s this close to finding her new obsession: the Delicious bag. So when Haley’s former beauty-queen mother demands Haley’s presence at a hellacious spa week, Haley’s as surprised as anyone to find herself suddenly demanding to go to Vegas. Setting up the new store sounds way boring to Haley, so BFF Marcie Hanover arranges for Haley to meet old friend Courtney Collins via Facebook. Courtney’s apparently working on a handbag business, so Haley agrees to hang out with her, but when Haley gets to Holt’s, she discovers Courtney’s body in the fitting room. Now Haley’s a suspect in another murder, a stranger in a big city, and she still can’t find the bag of her dreams. What’s a girl to do? As much as she tries to stay out of trouble, Haley is a magnet for all things mysterious. Luckily she can count on her new Vegas BFF Maya to have her back while she tries to sort out everything else. Can our girl stay out of trouble long enough to get in one good shopping trip?

Howell’s voice almost comes off as a satire of herself (Purses and Poison, 2009, etc.)–a little more compassion would make this series a lot more fun.