MY GOODNESS! What did a fired Presley Thurman do when her boss hinted at sex would her do? Of course she returned home from Chicago to her small town where she grew up! When Senator Tom Daniels was murdered she had been the last person that he had talked with while she had interviewed him in hopes of obtaining a job with her friend's magazine. But then EVERYTHING had gone wrong and with her big mouth, she was a good as dead like the Senator!! ( )

In Stilettos & Scoundrels, the first book in The Presley Thurman Mysteries Series, the reader is introduced to Presley Thurman, an ex-HR representative turned freelance journalist and amateur sleuth.

Presley Thurman lost her job in the HR department of a Chicago corporation when she refuses her boss' sexual advances. She hooks up with her friend Trevor, and accepts his offer to be a freelance journalist, and write stories for his online magazine. Her first assignment is to interview a U.S. Senator in her hometown. The day after the interview, the Senator is found murdered, and Presley was the last person to see him alive, and now finds herself a suspect in his murder. To add to the craziness, she discovers that her ex-high school boyfriend Cooper Sands, is in charge of the Senator's security. Presley is determined to clear her name and prove her innocence, so she teams up with Cooper to investigate the Senator's murder and find the real killer.

Author Laina Turner weaves an entertaining cozy mystery with a chick lit twist that follows Presley Thurman as she gets herself embroiled in the Senator's murder investigation. Told in the first person narrative, Presley is a sassy lady with a penchant for fashion (shoes) and snooping. Presley's investigation is filled with enough crazy trials and tribulations that will keep the reader guessing. And if that isn't enough, there are distractions that she has to deal with: being in her hometown has her reminiscing and gossiping with old friends, and working closely with Cooper makes it really hard for her to resist his charms. And even though there is someone who is out to harm Presley because of her investigation, she is determined to find the real killer, even when danger is around the corner.

Stilettos & Scoundrels has a good mixture of humor, mystery, and a touch of romance that will easily keep the reader engaged as they follow Presley's amateur investigative adventures. There is a lot that goes on between the pages of this story, especially with the amount of characters and the variety of crazy situations, but Presley's humorous shenanigans, and the intrigue and suspense behind the mystery of who really killed the Senator will keep you guessing right to the very end!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Chick Lit Plus Blog Tours.

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