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As Chekhov might have said, don’t put Lacey Smithsonian in the opening of your story unless you’re planning for a murder to happen. Well, Armed and Glamorous not only provides us and Lacey a murder-slash-robbery, its mise en scene is a Northern Virginia academy for private investigators whose motto is NO LOADED WEAPONS IN THE CLASSROOM.

Mixed in with the crimes, Byerrum provides a frothy frappe of fashionista fun. In addition to Lacey’s usual sidekicks (blonde attorney Brooke, starlicious Stella, and Damon Newhouse, who’s made paranoia profitable), we are reintroduced to ex-KGB spy Gregor Kepelov and New Orleans psychic Marie Largesse, and meet a classroomful of private investigator wannabees and their teacher.

After society divorcee Cecily Ashton is murdered-slash-robbed, Lacey, Brooke, and Stella take to the shooting range, and form a no-boys-allowed club, the PCC (sorry, you’ll have to read the book for translation of all acronyms). Speaking of acronyms, there are a couple of other new Inside the Beltway (ITB) pearls of acronymous fun waiting to be discovered: PDA (no, not that PDA) and PWIP.

Getting more serious, Armed & Dangerous has a chapter later in the book which explicates Lacey’s internal conflict over being a fashion reporter as well as it has ever been stated. Lacey Smithsonian doesn’t really want to be a fashion reporter, but because she is, murder (with a little help from Our Lady of Fortuitous Coincidence) seems to find her, not only when she’s investigating fashion stories, but also, as we find out in Armed & Glamorous, when she’s engaged in extracurricular activities. Fashion is how Lacey understands a lot of the world around her. She parses Hansen the photographer, to name one character, by means of a thorough analysis of his fashion choices: “His fashion accessories consisted of half a dozen press passes to government buildings, including one for Congress and one for the White House.” We understand Hansen’s psyche as well as we might were a psychoanalyst to psychoanalyze: “If you loved Hansen, it wasn’t for his wardrobe. It was for the inner Hansen.” And in so doing, we come away with an understanding of what makes Lacey tick.

On the food front, Stella and Nigel create the new drink sensation, the Washington Wintry Mix. And Felicity contributes to the baking arts with an almond cake with lemon filling and glaze, topped with whipped cream.

Oh, and before I forget (Department of Local Color): One out of every six people in DC is a spy.

I’m not going to give away the ending. I HATE spoilers. Let’s just say Armed & Glamorous ends on a suitably Chekhovian note.

Rating: 5 / 5

It’s hard to believe that fashion and murder would make a good mix, but in “Armed and Glamorous,” it’s a winning combination. Add to that the fashion-challenged setting of Washington, DC, and this is a book (and series) that is sure to please fans of “cozy” mysteries, and women readers generally.

The fashion columnist sleuth of the story is Lacy Smithsonian, who covers the Washington fashion beat for the local newspaper but longs for more challenging stories. She usually finds them, too, as she is becoming known as a “murder magnet” around the office. In this case, it’s the murder of a well-dressed Washington socialite she’s just interviewed, who is found dead right outside her night school classroom. (Lacey is taking classes to become a private investigator in the hope of improving her journalism skills and move herself into more serious reporting.)

When Cecily Ashton turns up dead in her Jaguar in the parking lot, not only do the instructors and students become prime suspects, there are a host of other possibilities as well. Ashton has an obnoxious ex-husband, a spurned love interest, and plenty of other people who might have reason to do her harm. Add to that a recent burglary and a missing vintage Louis Vuitton makeup case that once belonged to a famous movie star, and the leads point in all directions.

Leave it to Lacey and her Pink Collar Club girlfriends (the “armed and glamorous” of the title) to sort out the clues and bring down the killer. Readers will have great fun reading Lacey’s columns (sprinkled throughout the book) and trying to figure out who the real killer is among so many with motive.

This latest offering from mystery writer Ellen Byerrum is sure to result in more Lacey Smithsonian fans. Byerrum brings to her writing a great knack for spinning a story, whether it’s about fashion, human foibles, or the Washington scene. She combines that ability with an astute talent for laying a great trail of clues to make for an engaging mystery. Whether readers are fashion divas or hopelessly fashion challenged, there’s a lot to like about being “Armed and Glamorous.”

Christine Zibas, Book Pleasures
Rating: 5 / 5

Considering that Lacey Smithsonian has developed a habit of discovering a then solving numerous murders, it seems overdue that she has finally signed herself up for a private investigation certification course. What the Washington D.C. fashion reporter hopes for though is that the class will help her to get out of the glamour ghetto and onto a more serious journalism beat. Despite her reputation for stumbling onto murders, Lacey never expected that she would leave the class only to discover the body of prominent socialite Cecily Ashton in the parking lot. Although the woman was involved in an acrimonious divorce and had hired their instructor to investigate her spouse, Lacey also fears that someone in her class may have had a hand in the crime, especially when a substitute surveillance instructor turns out to be an ex-KGB agent Lacey recently dueled with in Raiders of the Lost Corset.

While her private investigator boyfriend Vic Donovan is off at a conference, Lacey doesn’t lack investigative support in the dubious forms of her best friends, hair stylist Stella Lake, attorney Brooke Barton, and her boyfriend/conspiracy theorist blogger Damon Newhouse. Lacey and her Scooby gang are soon investigating the burglary of Cecily Ashton’s home and its connection with her famous collection of vintage clothing housed in spectacular closets.

Like Lacey Smithsonian, the mysteries by Ellen Byerrum are too often shunted into the fluffy chick-lit category. With a background as a Washington DC reporter and a registered private investigator, Byerrum provides credible details to a surprisingly serious plot lightened by Lacey’s fashion tip columns. Lacey and Vic are a realistic, likable couple and her friends are as entertaining as they are aggravating. Always well-written, Crimes of Fashion mysteries shine and elevate to a level far above your average designer label laden novels.

Rating: 5 / 5