Raiders of the Lost Corset: A Crime of Fashion Mystery: 4 (Crime of Fashion Mysteries)

Die Charaktere um Lacey Smithsonian sind schon sehr speziell, aber auch sehr liebenswert. In diesem 4. Band schickt die Autorin ihre Heldin auf eine Schnitzeljagd nach einem verschollenen Korsett, welches Romanov-Juwelen enthalten soll. Dabei sind Schauplätze wie Paris und New Orleans als Erweiterung zu Washington gedacht. Die Handlung ist stimmig, die Hinweise spärlich gesäht. Alles in Allem etwas ernster als die Vorgänger, doch nicht weniger unterhaltsam. Lediglich die Auflösung war mir etwas zu platt. Aber dennoch sehr lesenswert, mit guter Recherche.

ワシントンD.C.の新聞社でファッションコラムを書いているレィシー・スミソニアンは、年上のコルセット職人の友人とパリを訪れることになっていて、初めてのパリにわくわくしていたが、その友人が殺されてしまう。実はパリ行きは、ロマノフ王朝の王女が身につけてたコルセット--それには宝石が縫い込んであるらしい--を探し求めるためだった。殺人はロマノフ王朝の財宝に関連しているのか？　結局弁護士の友人とパリに赴いたレィシーは、イギリス人の宝石泥棒やロシアのスパイとの活劇を繰り広げる．．．　パリやニューオーリンズでの観光シーンの風景描写が丁寧で旅行している気分のコメディー・ミステリ。「コージーミステリとしては」それほど英語がやさしくない。ドラマになったら一層楽しそう。

This series has been very enjoyable. I like the main character although sometimes Lacey acts too arrogant and silly for a mature career woman. Independence is nice, but when you need help, it's best to admit it and get over the "I have to do this all by myself syndrome." The supporting characters, especially Stella and Brooke are a nice mix. Sometimes the mystery takes a back seat to fashion, and the author has a problem with her narrative voice now and then, but these are minor quibbles. I love the trunk idea, and Lacy going into it when she's down and depressed is a fun way to get the history of her lovely clothes and find out more about her family. I'm not too fond of her boyfriend, Vic, he doesn't ring true to me, so let's dump the guy and start over with someone more "real". All in all this has been an enjoyable and pleasant series and I hope the author will continue to develop the character of Lacey.

The reviews below provide great plot summaries. This review will focus on Byerrum's writing. "Raiders of the Lost Corset," which has the requisite cast of engaging heroine and hero surrounded by a gang of wacky supporting players, suffers from an exceptionally annoying narrative device: just as the implausible plot is galloping along a pace that lets readers overlook its impossibilities, a highly intrusive narrative voice intrudes with explanatory exposition. There too too much of it, in a tone that is inappropiately didactic for this kind of fluff. It seems to me that rule #1 for potboilers is to let the characters and the plot tell the story. Not here. My other quibble here has to do with the tortured machinations of character to advance the plot. A concierge that divulges the destination/location of hotel guests to any and all? Please...if this happened once it would strain credulity; here (well, Paris. I guess it's a quaint French custom) it happens repeatedly, and neither Lacey nor her lawyer friend Brooke ever think to suggest to M. Blabbermouth that he keep his trap shut. The villians in pursuit of Lacey as she chases the corset? They keep popping up like cardboard cutouts in a fun house, behavior that at least has the lame explanation of the chatty hotel clerk in Paris, but by the time the action shifts to New Orleans, not even the know-it-all narrative voice bothers to explain how characters who lack the information that only Lacey possesses manage to find their way to her. Byerrum's earlier mysteries were better--Lacey's an interesting and engaging character, but this outing falls short.

I especially love this book because it was written differently. It was a mystery to find the corset, the murder wasn't the main focus, finding the corset was. Anyone that loves mysteries "The Crimes of Fashion" series is definitely worth it. If you start at book one and read them in order it's even better.