Panic Button - Kylie Logan

Panic Button

A Button Box Mystery
Kylie Logan
Berkley Prime Crime
 
Mystery
 
Generations ago, girls used to create charm strings.  A charm string is a string of buttons with no two buttons like.  Tradition has is that Mr. Right will arrive along with button number one thousand.  A competing tradition says that bad luck will arrive with that button.  Angela Morningside believes in the tradition of the curse.  Ever since she inherited an antique charm string from her aunt, she’s had bad luck.  There was a break-in and a kitchen fire, just to start.  The only good thing to come along recently is her new boyfriend.

Josie Giancola, owner of the Button Box, doesn’t believe in curses, previous marriage notwithstanding.  She believes in buttons.  This charm string is the find of a lifetime, and she’d love to take it off Angela’s hands.  Angela, though, has decided to donate the charm string to her local historical museum after Josie appraises its value.  The night Angela comes to the store to collect her charm string, it’s clear that something is seriously wrong with her.  She’s distraught and disheveled.  The next morning, Josie is horrified to discover Angela’s body near her shop, strangled with the charm string she believed was cursed.

The tradition of the charm string is old and intriguing.  It’s easy to imagine young girls collecting souvenir buttons, making sure no two are like, and hoping to reach the magic number one thousand.  This is the third installment in this entertaining series, following BUTTON HOLED and HOT BUTTON, and it’s a solid entry.  It makes sense that Josie would become involved, since buttons are clearly at the center of the crime.  There are some scenes late in the book that I won’t spoil, but are truly imaginative and fun.  The author does a great job of transporting Josie (and the reader) to an unexpected place and an entertaining solution to the mystery.
 
Rating: 7 ½
January 2013
ISBN# 978-0-425-25183-6 (paperback)