Haley Randolph finds herself on administrative leave for irregularities at her new accounting job, then suspected of murder at her part-time sales clerk job. She has an unusual passion for handbags that gets her into credit trouble, but helps her solve the murder mystery. She falls for the owner of the department store and nervously makes up stories to cover up what she’s doing. I found myself laughing out loud when she explains her dented car by saying she ran over something, actually a puppy, that she adopted and named Pancake. There are a lot of times Haley Randolph gets carried away with her imagination. You’ll end up smiling or laughing, but sympathizing with her situation. I think the author, Dorothy Howell, created a quirky character with a funny story and a great mystery. I really enjoyed this book. ( )

Haley and Marcie love purses. They are best friends who share the obssession of purse shopping. Haley took a second job at Holt's Department Store to help pay off her credit cards. During the day, she works at the law firm of Pike Warner in accounts payable. Haley doesn't like working at Holt's and spends lots of time chilling in the stockroom...where she finds Richard, the assistant store manager, dead. She then gets put on administrative leave at Pike Warner for irrugularities in her work. Haley has two mysteries to solve...Who murdered Richard? Who framed her for embezzlement at Pike Warner?

Haley is truly a ditzy blond-it is hard to take her seriously. This was a fun read, a good story, and I did laugh a few times throughout the story. However, I did get tired of Haley and her drama. She is just a bit too much for me. She is self-absorbed, thoughtless, and inconsiderate. I did like the book, I just wish it was a bit more believable. ( )

Haley Randolph is a self-obsessed 24 year old concerned with appearances in a big way. She is a designer shopaholic with no self control. Haley is not the usual type of amateur sleuth that cozy readers are used to. She has no common sense but her gossipmongering is what makes her want to find out how and why a murder was committed. She reminds me of Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde.

Although Haley will only wear designer clothing and carry designer purses, her finances and lack of job experience cause her to get a job in Holt's Department Store, a mid market store. She meets a guy in a bar one evening who is an attorney at Pike and Warner, a top L.A. Law firm. He asks her to apply for a job at the firm as an accounts payable clerk which she does because their employees wear designer clothes. She is hired.

During one evening at Holt's, Haley goes into the storage area to find a product for a customer and finds the dead body of the assistant store manager Richard. A few days later, Haley is put on administrative leave at Pike Warner because an audit found irregularities in her work. The rest of the novel takes place at Holt's while Haley tries to clear her name.

Although Haley is the narrator, I felt that there was too much writing about her internal thoughts. It was good in the beginning so that we get to know her character, but it seemed to go on and on and on. Not that the plot wasn't well thought out. However, it was easy to see where the plot was going. All in all, this was a good first. novel. The Haley character will need some serious growth for the series to continue. ( )

If you're into a "Paris Hilton" type heroine without the money, you'll like this. She is a total ditz, self-absorbed and vacuous. ( )

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