Eternally 21

April 15, 2013
Assured, if occasionally over-the-top, this first in a new amateur sleuth series from Hull (Big Bang) introduces Maddie Michaels, wife of Denver’s Channel Three TV finance personality, “Frank Finance.” Maddie has two jobs: personal assistant to her devoted-to-appearances husband, who lost most of the family’s wealth in a Ponzi scheme, and as “Mrs. Frugalicious,” an online extreme-couponing adviser. When Laila DeSimone, the manager of an apparel store called Eternally 21 falsely identifies Maddie as a shoplifter, Maddie becomes a suspect in Laila’s subsequent murder. Other suspects range from retired clowns Mr. and Mrs. Piggeldy and their monkey to Eternally 21 assistant manager Tara Hu and her techy boyfriend, all of whom disliked the abrasive Laila. Maddie’s fitness regimen, worries over her husband’s possible affair, and interactions with her twin teen sons flesh out a character whom readers will be pleased to follow. Agent: Josh Getzler, HSG Agency.

April 15, 2013
Murder at a local mall disrupts the already harried routine of the wife of a local TV star and author of a savings blog. Maddie Michaels, known to the world as the Mrs. to Mr. Frank Finance, feels buried under her husband's secret. Frank, who plays a financial guru on TV, has lost all the family's savings in a Ponzi scheme. So now Maddie is moonlighting as Mrs. Frugalicious, the author of a bargaining blog. Although Mrs. Frugalicious is loud and proud about her extreme couponing, Maddie has to keep her identity secret, even from her family. Things get all the more awkward when Maddie is mistakenly picked up for shoplifting by malcontent manager Laila DeSimone while bargain-hunting at the trendy teenage store Eternally 21. When Maddie returns for her sale items, Laila shockingly dies right on the sales floor. When she hears that she's on the suspect list for what the police assume is murder--so much for keeping a low profile--Maddie is highly motivated to team up with Griff, the mall cop, to find out who could be behind Laila's death. Since she knows she's not the culprit, Maddie figures it must be one of the mall regulars, all of whom seem to have their reasons for wanting Laila dead and gone, even though they do tend to blend together in her mind. Sprinkling her tale with true, if variably useful tips concerning deals and steals, Hull offers a mystery for the 40-something set with all the drama of the 20-something crowd.

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May 1, 2013
After her financial-newscaster husband loses the family's savings in a Ponzi scheme, Maddie Michaels finds a successful career as Mrs. Frugalicious, anonymous blogger and coupon-clipper extraordinaire. After a trip to the mall, Maddie is accused of shoplifting by the manager of Eternally 21, who later dies in front of Maddie and other shop employees. Main-suspect Maddie now must combine her shopping trips to the mall with amateur sleuthing. Her husband has a chance at a lucrative new television deal, and she tries to keep her problems a secret while helping him. Maddie's coupon-clipping tips are seamlessly incorporated into the well-constructed mystery, which provides a series of stunning twists that will leave readers eager to see what will happen to Maddie in the next installment. Shopping mysteries are a definite trend in the cozy world, and Hull's series plays the theme for all it's worth. Recommend Maddie Michaels' adventures to readers of Elaine Viets Mystery Shopper series and Josie Belle's Good Buy Girls.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)