The Trouble with a Bad Fit: A Novel of Food, Fashion, and Mystery

By Camilla T. Crespi

Book Overview

New York Fashion Week is only days away and Simona's new client and friend is desperate to finish the collection she hopes will bring her back to fame. Then her fitting model and muse is found murdered in the ladies room. Simona's live-in detective boyfriend, in charge of the case, warns her to stay away, but Simona isn't about to lose a client or let down a friend. Except her boyfriend isn't the only one who wants her off the case. On the way home one evening, Simona is attacked. Dmitri, a Russian cabdriver, arrives on the scene just in time and Simona hires him to be her bodyguard, which doesn't do her much good. Attacked a second time, she ends up in the hospital more determined than ever to find the murderer.

Ambitious new partner, angry tailor, overly-protective sample maker, grateful seamstress, jealous competitor--the suspects are many. Only when Simona delves into the past does she arrive at the truth, but not before risking her life again, this time on the runway of Bryant Park.

Fashion Footnotes and a recipe for Schmatta pasta are included. "A fast-paced thriller with a convincing fashion background and a cast of characters big enough to fill...a Prada bag."
--Suzy Menkes, The New York Times Book Review "This is a clever little novel with lots of insider bits about high fashion and snappy characters."
--Margaret Cannon, Toronto Globe and Mail "Sprightly, sunny and gossipy: a welcome return."
--Kirkus Reviews "Griffo is an engaging personality: determined, charming and willing to go the extra mile. She might be bloody and bruised, but she is unbowed. I met a heroine whose new adventures I'll seek out."
--Roberta Alexander, Contra Costa Times

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0595284418
• ISBN13: 9780595284412
• Release Date: July 2003
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.78 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.0" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

delicious reading

I passed this book around to all my friends and family. Everyone loved it .We all cooked along with the author Camilla. Nana

A book that hooked me & kept me interested.

I could not put the book down. It held my interest & I worked to guess who the killer was. I am a native New Yorker, and familiar with many of the neighborhoods involved and much of how the Garment Center works. The authors appendices at the end were helpful for someone not familiar with the Garment Center and what goes on. The character is fun, the food interesting. The only reason I gave it a nine, was two minor mistakes about New York. Take it to the beach this summer & mangia!

A fun murder mystery

I have been reading mysteries for about two years now, and I have been shocked at how serious most of them are. I realize that murder is a heavy subject, but if I want grim details accompaning medical/criminal facts, I would read the newspaper. Camila T. Crespi offers a refreshing heroine who doesn't take herself too seriously. In fact, Simona Griffo isn't even a professional detective. Rather, she is a working woman who lets her curiosity get her into situations where she doesn't belong. Crespi's characters in Bad Fit are not incredibly complex, but they are interesting. It is fun to be able to unwind the mystery with the heroine which rarely happens in mysteries because the reader isn't often on the same level as the heroine. I reccommend Bad Fit (or any of Crespi's other mysteries) to anyone who wants a quick-paced, interesting, and fun mystery.

She is back and better than ever

Advertising executive and amateur sleuth Simona Griffo, her live-in lover Stan, and his son Willie leave the city for a vacation at the Pyne's Cottage on Long Island. When her two guys leave to go camping in New Hampshire, Simona decides to stay on the island a little longer. A new friend Bud Warren wants Simona to prove that his ex-spouse was murdered instead of committing suicide. Simona, along with her partner, illegal Russian immigrant Dimitri start their investigation only to have their client disappear. ...... At first, it is believed that Bud has purposely vanished because he knew that he was about to be accused of killing his former wife. However, that theory proves false when Bud's corpse is found floating in the lake. The authorities rule suicide, but Simona thinks otherwise. Bud never went rowing without wearing his life jacket, yet the protective device was found in a different locale, a distance from the corpse. The daughter of the two so-called suicide victim hires Simona and Dimitri to investigate both deaths even though she thinks the culprit is someone she dearly loves. The detective duo uncovers numerous suspects, who have means and motives. As they get closer to uncovering the truth, they place their own lives in jeopardy. ....... Camilla T. Crespi has an amazing talent that makes reading her novels seem like eating potato chips. It is impossible to stop reading until you have devoured the entire book. Even then the audience will open up another bag and devour a previous novel in the series. THE TROUBLE WITH A HOT SUMMER has no troubles as it captures the atmosphere of a Long Island summer among the Robin Leach crowd. However, it is Simona's relationship with the various characters that turn this mystery into a delightful novel. Whip up a batch of Simona's cool pesta dish for lunch and enjoy a fulfilling reading experience. .....Harriet Klausner