SHE WORE A DONNA KARAN MARKED FOR REPOSSESSIONSince Kat Waters’s father took a trip to the slammer on what she’s sure are trumped-up racketeering charges, life’s been tough. All their assets are frozen, and she’s down to the last few pairs of Jimmy Choos she can swap for rent. To keep her family out of the homeless shelter, the former socialite took a job at the local morgue—a job she’s about to … morgue—a job she’s about to lose when the body of a murder victim goes missing on her watch.
HE WORE A CAPTIVATING SMILE
While Kat’s processing the latest victim in the prostitute serial killings, ex-Special Forces soldier Burns McPhee strolls in with an air of confidence, expecting access to the Jane Doe. While Burns tries to flirt his way into examining the latest victim, whom he thinks is connected to the death of his best friend, someone else steals the body right out from under them.
THE CORPSE WORE STILETTOS
Dodging questions from the cops and kidnapping attempts from a body-snatching psycho, Kat and Burns forge a deal. He’ll clear her name and keep her safe if she gets him information on her peculiar coworkers, one of whom he’s certain is involved with the body heist. But digging up secrets can lead to a lower life expectancy. The unlikely team will need all their talents not to end up as the morgue’s next clients while they hunt for a murderer, the missing corpse, and a pair of diamond-studded stilettos.
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A quirky mystery with fun characters. I loved DC and Kat. It held my interest until the end, but I was a little disappointed that it ended with a cliffhanger. Otherwise, it’s a fun read that keeps you guessing.
Kat works at the morgue after her father is arrested for racketeering and her family loses everything. When a body is stolen from the morgue, and Kat is framed, she gets involved with Burns, a retired military man who owns a security company. Together with him and his team, along with Kat’s friend and co-worker, DC, they uncover most, but not all, of what is going on and how the mob figures into some of this mess. And Kat’s Grandma, who she calls Grand, helps out a lot too. I absolutely love Grand! She’s so funny and really gives the story the comic relief it needs. Sherlock look out, Grand and her scrapbooks are on the case! I cannot wait for the next book! There’s a bit of a cliff hanger and I need answers!!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Donna Karen dresses and Jimmy Choo shoes, isn’t that what everyone who works in the morgue wears? Kat Water’s life has taken a turn for the worse. Her father is in the slammer for racketeering charges, their assets are frozen and to keep her family out of the homeless shelter, she takes a job at the local morgue. Then the body of a murder victim goes missing on her watch…
A delightful cozy mystery to read. Great story line, well developed characters and a great story line. A definite fun read that will entertain you.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is my first book by this author and it didn’t disappoint. It has a ton of action and suspense and I really liked the characters. Can’t wait for the next book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Kat seems to be caught in a flood of hard to understand mysteries. Why are on earth is her father jailed on suspicion of money laundering? Who at her new job at the morgue dislikes her enough to try to frame her for body snatching? Will her shoe collection be large and grand enough to keep paying for Alzheimer’s meds for her Grand?
Strange business is afoot, and Kat and her wacky cohorts stumble across too much of it.
Irony, adventure and introspection. A great read!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Good nook. I enjoyed the story thoroughly from the beginning to the end
This was a fun book with quirky characters and a fresh take on the typical cozy mystery formula. Kat and her family are discovering life after frozen assets and are understandably upset when a stolen body threatens her job and embroils her in a murder mystery. She teams up with Burns McPhee, who is investigating the death of his friend, in a madcap adventure to clear her name and get him answers. I am looking forward to more Kat Waters books!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A fall from her privileged position in society finds Kat in a job at the morgue. A figure in black rolls a corpse right out of the hospital amid chaos. With the help of Gran, DC, and the inscrutable Burns, she must sift through the confusing clues to find out who stole the body, who has been on a murder spree, and how this is all connected to the misunderstanding her father’s in prison for. The Corpse Wore Stilettos is an enjoyable and entertaining mystery which I recommend.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I just finished MJ O’Neill’s, “The Corpse Wore Stilettos” This was my introduction Ms O’Neill and to the first book in what I see as a long series. We are introduced to Kat Waters, a graduate in Art History from Harvard with prestigious job at a Boston Art Gallery.
That’s when her father is indicted for racketeering and possible money laundering for the Mob; her fiancé breaks off their engagement; her mother is kicked out of their home as part of the money laundering/racketeering investigation and her grandmother is kicked out of her senior living residence because all of the family assets have been frozen.
Kat gives up her job in Boston and moves back home to take care of her now homeless family. Due to the investigation into her family, the only job Kat can find is as a morgue technician with a salary barely enough to pay the rent and feed her family. What else can go wrong? Well, how about a corpse stolen from the morgue when Kat is the only one working, then an anonymous tip that Kat is the one responsible for the corpse theft. Think Stephanie Plum, and you will have the theme here. There are lots of laughs a minute as Kat tries to keep her head above water and out of jail.
Definitely a book I recommend to all mystery lovers. Five stars for keeping me entertained and laughing out loud.
I am so looking forward to the next book . . . after all, dear old dad’s still in the “Hoosegow”.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I cannot stress enough how much fun this book was to read. I loved every bit of it! Poor Katherine Waters is in a bit of a pickle. Her dear old dad is in the slammer for what she believes are trumped up charges related to the Russian Mafia. All of the family assets have been frozen, and they have been forced to live in a cramped apartment in a seedy part of town. In effort to keep the family afloat, Katherine puts her beauty skills to work… at the local mortuary. All is going well (as well as it can, in those circumstances, that is) until the day she is left alone at the mortuary. The lead mortician gives her the heads up that a body is coming in and he is running late. Katherine is to get started on the body as this is supposedly a high profile case.
So Katherine gets started, noting the beautiful woman (despite her bruised up face) with the upscale hair, the hooker clothes, and extremely expensive stilettos. And that’s when it happens. She hears someone talking and next thing she knows two men appear and steal the body. A pursuit takes place, but the men get away. Next thing Katherine knows, she is being framed for being part of the heist.
Now, I’m not going to spill the beans on how this turns out, but I will tell you that the situations are downright comical. I mean, I was busting a gut with this book. It’s hard to make death humorous, but MJ O’Neill has done a terrific job with this book.
I received an Advance Readers Copy of this book, and this is my honest to goodness opinion. I rate this book 6 out of 5 stars, and give it high recommendation.
Wealthy Kat Waters’s father is being charged with racketeering and she finds herself moving back home. With all the family assets frozen, Kat finds a job working at the local morgue to support her mom and grandma. They all have moved into a tiny apartment and she finds herself selling off her shoe collection to the local drag queens to help pay for grandma’s medicine and the rent. While processing a body in the morgue, Kat meets Burns McPhee who is trying desperately to get into the morgue to see the Jane Doe. During their brief meeting, someone steals the body and now Kat finds herself on probation.
This madcap adventure just keeps on going as Kat finds herself trying to absolve herself from the charges, attempting to discover what is going on at the morgue, forging a deal with Burns to work together, and keep her family from living in a homeless shelter. This is a hilarious cozy mystery filled with quirky characters, lots of mystery and action, a possible serial killer, the mob, and tons of twists and turns.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A funny and witty mystery by Ms. O’Neill. The dialog kept me laughing while I followed along with the exploits of Katherine “Kat” Waters. Kat’s father was arrested for fraud and money laundering which has greatly reduced the family resources…to almost zero. Kat has found work in the county morgue and thankfully her minor degree in biology has finally paid off. One night when she receives the body of a young woman, three men break in to the morgue; two who want to see the body and one who steals the body. How could the police possibly believe that she had something to do with the theft? Kat is smarter than people give her credit for and with the help of former Special Forces Burns McPhee (he only wanted to see the body) he will keep Kat safe. From her laugh out loud explanations, her pet pig and her Mom and Grand, this was a delightful read. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)
Not the best writing but good for the beach or just to relieve boredom. It got better once I got further in.
As I said I have never found a cozy mystery book that I didn’t enjoy.
I loved this book. I did not want it to end I hope there’s another book after this that continues the story. This was great
An interesting mystery. Looking forward to the next.
Great book.
Socialite Kat Waters lands a job in the county morgue…which is a far cry from curating art at the museum in Boston after she moves home to help support her mother and Grand. Kat gets swept up in murder and mayhem after the CORPSE wearing stilettos is highjacked on her watch. Kat and her ragtag bunch team up with a top-notch security consultant to find the missing body and a missing laptop. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and hope MS Waters has many more adventures.
Book source ~ ARC. My review is voluntary and honest.
Kat Waters was one of the rich and privileged until her dad was arrested for racketeering. With assets frozen and the house seized she and her mother had to find a place to live. Also, Kat has had to get a job to support them both and her grandmother since they could no longer afford her pricey retirement home fees. In order to keep a roof over their head, fed, and buy medicine for her Grand, Kat supplements her income by selling her designer shoes, of which she has a lot. Well, less now. In a stroke of good luck, her Grand’s boyfriend has also been helping them. He got Kat a job at the county morgue and found them an apartment in a small house to rent. But Claude can only do so much, so it’s up to Kat to keep them afloat until the misunderstanding with her dad is straightened out. And then a body is stolen right out from under her nose. When it looks like she’s going to lose her job over it, Kat goes on the offensive to find out who stole the poor murdered woman and clear her name in the process. That’s when the fun begins. Well, fun for us. Not so much for Kat.
If you’re looking for a light-hearted cozy mystery to pleasantly pass an afternoon then this is the one for you. Kat is quite an interesting character and I like her a lot. Secondary characters shine and the world is interesting. The only problem I had is that it is, at times, a bit too cartoony. If that’s even the right word. But don’t let that stop you. I enjoyed it and I’m really hoping to see more of Kat and her group of eclectic friends. With the way things ended, I’m pretty sure that’s a given. Bring it on!
Life has taken a downw turn for Kate Waters when her father went to jail for racketeering charges. Kate believes in his innocence. In order to pay the mortgage she has taken a job as a morgue assistant which she feels is somewhat similar to her previous job as art curator only with a lot less pay. In addition her boyfriend has ended their relationship. She gets a call that a murder victim is coming in and is he begins the outward exam only to be interrupted by McPhee and Flynn. As the are talking someone steels the body. Great, now what?
Funny, witty, new cozy mystery series with quirky characters and lots of action make this a great start to a new series. The well crafted characters are what make this mystery come alive for the reader. The complex mystery keeps you guessing from beginning to the surprise ending. There is a lot going on in the book but that’s what makes it so interesting and hard to put down. If you like witty cozy mysteries full of action, interesting character interactions and good murder mysteries where it is hard to guess who-done-it, then give this new series a chance.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.