Tough Luxe: A Samantha Kidd Mystery

Wow,! Don’t blink or you will miss something . Had to keep reading this one- She doesn’t write a lot of pages, but every one is a page turner. Couldn’t stop reading it.. I’m going to start the last book tonight- but am already feeling the loss of being in Samantha’s life.

Author Diane Vallere says Tough Luxe, the 11th book in the Samantha Kidd Mystery series, is about the 4 P’s: prison, pretzels, problem solving, and personal growth. There are also a couple more P’s: practically and perfect. If you’ve been hanging with Samantha from the start, sit back and enjoy another fast-paced, exciting mystery. If this is your first adventure with her, you are in for a wild ride!

Things have changed a lot for Samantha in the last couple of years: her exit from Tradava came with an anonymous gift of $250,000, so day-to-day money worries are a thing of the past, she and shoe designer Nick (of the root beer barrel brown sexy eyes) are now married and contemplating if there will be a Little Samantha or a Little Nick one of these days, and during the Christmas holidays she spent a couple of weeks as a temporary social media influencer which of course involved solving a crime and rescuing a co-worker.

Every time we meet Samantha again, she’s settled down a bit, grown a bit, learned a little more about herself, become a more complex person, but some things haven’t changed. She’s still loyal and fearless, resourceful and clever and determined, but she’s also impulsive, a tad immature at times, and a bit of a hero-worshipper who prides herself on always taking care of herself and others, figuring things out, solving the crime. And when an old high school classmate contacts her from prison and asks for help Samantha begins to wonder if this pride thing might have gotten out of hand. Does she like it better when she decides who and how to help? Does she help people because it makes HER feel good? It’s harder to give help only when asked, and only give the help that is requested rather than thinking you know better what they need.

All the gang is back and it’s great. Nick – I admit it, I loved him the minute Samantha met him - gets her, is always there for her and lets her do her thing. Maybe it’s time she returned the favor. There’s Eddie, her BFF who doesn’t pull any punches and keeps her centered. And there’s good old Detective Loncar, now retired and a private detective. Their relationship is still a little spiky, or keeping with the P theme maybe I should say prickly. But they are on the same track, except when the pride thing shows up again – “I can figure everything out better and quicker than you, and I know just what help you need.”

Tough Luxe is a great story. Samantha still has her fashion sense, terrific if at times quirky wardrobe, and wonderful adventurous nature. Her job at the newspaper is new and interesting. And as always we’ve got an action-packed plot with lots of twists and turns that kept me guessing and guessing and guessing. I didn’t know if Suzy was sincere, innocent or guilty, and where Samantha’s digging would lead. I did know, however, that she would keep digging until she got answers, no matter the danger or secrets that might be revealed. Totally enjoyable mystery, well-written, full of fashion, intrigue, obscure references to things we can relate to – like Kolchak the Night Stalker – and a totally, absolutely, completely stupid idea about how she can make Nick’s sneaker company a household name. So will Samantha solve the crime, figure out why she’s such a helper, make any personality changes stick? Read Tough Luxe to find out. You’ll love it like I did and be ready to go on Samantha’s next adventure with her, wherever it takes her.

Thanks to author Diane Vallere for providing an advance copy of this book for my reading pleasure and honest review I recommend it without hesitation. All opinions are my own.