The owner of the Button Box, Josie Giancola, is invited by
artist Forbis Parmenter to the opening of his latest
exhibit, which has been inspired by voodoo. The centerpiece
of the exhibit is completely covered in buttons, and his
grand plan is to place the last button, which he's purchased
from Josie, on the statue during the exhibit. The big moment
arrives, Josie hands Forbis the button, he gets a panicked
look on his face and he runs out of the building!
He's known for being quite eccentric, so people aren't sure
if this is another one of his attention-getting stunts or if
he's truly frightened by something.
The answer comes soon enough when Josie has the misfortune
of finding Forbis's body in a statue with buttons over his
eyes and mouth. Known for having played an instrumental part
in solving murders before, Josie can't help but want to try
to investigate. She and her boyfriend Nev, who is a
detective on the local police force, usually join forces,
but things between them are tense as Josie has recently
discovered new information about Nev -- namely that he was
engaged to Evangeline, an expert in vudon, who will likely
now be consulting on this case.
Josie is mostly left to her own devices, but figuring out
the culprit is going to be tricky when Forbis was not an
easy person to like. He had alienated many people in both
his personal and professional life, which isn't making
Josie's life any easier. However, while Josie has lost an
ally in Nev, she gains one in Gabriel, a journalist who
covers the art beat. While suspicious of him at first,
Gabriel gains Josie's trust over time as they begin to work
together to piece together viable suspects.
This is hands-down my favourite book in the Button Box
Mystery series. They mystery itself is superbly done,
balancing a mix of suspects with a topic that most readers
won't know anything about. I enjoyed that Josie is forced to
think on her own, independent of assistance from both her
boyfriend and the resources of the local police. I also like
the tension between Josie and Nev; it stricks just the right
note of romantic tension, but it didn't overtake the
mystery. As always, BUTTONED UP educates about buttons
without being boring, and Josie is as plucky and humourous
as ever.
For Josie Giancola, owner of the Button Box shop, every
button is a tiny work of art with its own story to tell—a
story that just might end in murder…
Artist Forbis Parmenter has invited Josie to the opening of
his latest exhibit of voodoo-inspired works. He plans to
make a show of completing the centerpiece—a button-
encrusted statue—when Josie arrives with the final button.
But just as the big moment comes, Forbis bolts out of the
gallery in panic. Is it another of his publicity stunts, or
is something more sinister afoot?
Josie gets her answer when the eccentric artist is found
dead—his lifeless body in the arms of a statue and his eyes
and lips sealed with buttons. Now she’s using her expert eye
to solve the mystery before a crafty killer slips through
her fingers.
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