Book Review: Ink Flamingos by Karen E. Olson
Ink Flamingos by Karen E. Olson
Publisher: NAL
Release Date: June 7, 2011
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Dee Carmichael, lead singer of the hot pop sensation that was the Flamingos, is one of Brett’s most dedicated customers – or was. Dee has been discovered dead in her hotel room, surrounded by ink pots and needles. And a tall redhead matching Brett’s description was seen leaving the crime scene. Now Brett has been branded the prime suspect. This can’t be good for business.
Meanwhile, a blog has been showcasing Dee’s deadly tattoo. Things get worse when pictures of Brett start appearing on the site. Turns out, someone isn’t merely following Brett, but impersonating her all over town. Now she must act fast to find out who’s out to get her before the killer puts the dye into dying once again…
My tattoo. I am a bad-ass.
Ink Flamingos is the fourth and last book in the Tattoo Shop Mystery series, a cozy mystery series set in a Las Vegas tattoo shop. I didn’t know when I read it that it was the final book in the series – I didn’t even know it was part of a series! To be honest, the reason I chose this book is because the word “flamingos” is in the title and I love flamingos. I even have a flamingo tattoo myself! A flamingo tattoo is integral to the plot of this book. Anyway, even though Ink Flamingos is part of a series, I had no trouble jumping right in and figuring out who all the characters were. It definitely can stand alone.
When tattoo artist Brett Kavanaugh’s famous client Daisy (Dee) Carmichael turns up dead, Brett takes it upon herself to find her killer. After all, someone is impersonating Brett and making it look like she’s the killer. Brett’s brother Tim is an actual police officer on the case and Brett’s interference into his investigation is frustrating him to no end. I got the sense that this isn’t the first investigation she’s inserted herself into.
This was a well-crafted mystery with several red herrings that kept me guessing up until the end who the killer was. There was also some romance thrown in for good measure. I don’t read a lot of cozies but I liked this one enough that I’ll probably read the other three books in the series – even though they don’t have the word “flamingo” in their titles!
