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Pretty In Ink: A Tattoo Shop Mystery |  | Author: Karen E. Olson
Publisher: Signet
Category: Book
List Price: $6.99
Buy New: $3.15
as of 7/31/2010 20:37 CDT details
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Seller: booksandstuffbyms
Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 171047
Media: Paperback
Edition: Original
Pages: 320
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 6.6 x 4.1 x 1
ISBN: 0451229622
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780451229625
ASIN: 0451229622
Publication Date: March 2, 2010
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Murder in the city of sin...
Brett Kavanaugh is a tattoo artist and owner of Vegas's hottest tattoo shop, The Painted Lady. And in her spare time, she does some sleuthing. After Brett and company ink Sin City's newest drag queens, they're invited to opening night at the strip's glamorous Nylon and Tattoos show-which ends in disaster when a stranger with a Queen of Hearts tattoo fatally injures Britney Brassieres with a champagne cork. And when another drag queen is found poisoned, it looks like someone's targeting Vegas's fabulous femmes...
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 10
 Champagne corks, drag, politics, tattoos, doctors and drama July 19, 2010
Rachel Kramer Bussel (New York City)
I thought this book was even better than the first in the serious. It starts out with a bang, literally, as a champagne cork is sent flying into the face of a drag queen. Brett is in the audience and has to start unraveling a tangled mix of politics, drag and, of course, the requisite tattoo. She also scores big in one of the casinos and gets drawn deeper into the mystery. There's a romantic element here, too, with a twist (Brett gets to tattoo him!), and Olson keeps us guessing about who the bad guys are extremely well, complete with Facebook and the possibility of tattoo removal.
With one of her staff on the lam and a possible suspect, there is even more incentive for Brett to get to the bottom of it. As other reviewers have said, there is a lot going on here but to me that's what made this such a fast read, and I like that we get a glimpse into the life of a tattoo artist (well, more than one, with her rival tattooist playing a role once again) but also when it comes to solving the mystery. I'm looking forward to the remaining books in the series.
An opening night of litter ends in disaster in this thriller July 16, 2010
Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
Karen E. Olson's PRETTY IN INK provides a fine Tattoo Shop Mystery, telling of the owner of one of Vegas's hottest tattoo shops who sleuths in her spare time. An opening night of litter ends in disaster in this thriller.
 Fluff Mystery June 19, 2010
Butterscotch (USA)
In this second installment of the Tattoo Shop mystery series we follow the main character, Brett Kavanaugh, as she chases down a mystery in Las Vegas. Brett is a woman with an edge - she owns a tattoo shop in the Venetian Casino and spends a lot of her time dating hot guys, giving tattoos, and chasing criminals. The first book introduced us to Brett, her employees and her friends - Bitsy, Ace, Joel, Jeff, and her brother (a cop who is also her roommate). The same characters are all back for this book and the author spends more time on the story/characters and less time 'setting the background scene' about Brett and her life. So, the good news is that this book can stand alone and you needn't read the first one first. The downside is that this book suffers from the same problem as the last one; the mystery involves way too many characters and it's hard for the reader to keep up and keep things clear. There is wordplay with a lot of the character names and, because this book involves drag queens, almost every character has two names. It gets really confusing and if the author could correct one thing for the future it would be to keep it simple - do we really need 10 so-so suspects when 3 or 4 really good ones will do? There was definite advancement of the friendship between Brett and her rival Jeff Coleman - who owns a competing tattoo shop - and their friendship was funny at times and gave the book a much lighter tone. The series is ok - it's fluff, and there are both better and worse series out there. Give it a chance if you haven't before, and if you read the first one and were on the fence about it.. well, you'll still be same after reading this.
Brett's a very busy gal...a little TOO busy at times. May 28, 2010
Aegis Nod (Smalltown, USA)
Brett Kavanaugh, tattooist and amateur sleuth is at it again in the wilds of Las Vegas, NV. This time? Drag queens. A mysterious jeweled pin which ends up revealing a rather scary and deadly connection that not only warrants Homeland Security but one or even two of her staff's direct involvement. An up-and-coming politician with a secret and a nasty cop who has a grudge against the Kavanaughs. Once again, Brett puts her life on the line to solve the case, clear a friend's name and find out what's really going on. And, if possible, to keep herself in one piece, and maybe even find love.
Olson has a rare talent for creating very, almost over the top, complex story with a large cast of characters and several plot threads that all neatly line up, intersect and never pointless. It's never confusing, always lucid and so cleanly written. It's surprise after surprise...after surprise and constant non-stop action. Which was part of the problem after a while. So much is going on, it was, at times, mind-numbing, as scenes tended to repeat slightly tweaked and it wasn't always easy to keep track of everything, though Olson does a great job at reiterating details.
My main problem with Brett is how she allows herself to be manipulated and talked into doing stuff without thinking way too often. She lets herself get pushed around, doesn't resist or fight back when she could, and willingly steps into dangerous situations with little regard until after its all said and done. It got a bit tedious and annoying. This character quirk is, of course, how Brett gets so involved--because she can't resist or say no. But she rarely plays it smart or safe; she is very impulsive on top of that, and she can come off very ADD and so distracted but at the same time, she is smart enough to figure out what's going on and how to get information, which redeems her in some ways. Though seriously, sometimes I wanted to slap some common sense into her. At times, she doesn't stand up for herself, is far too laid back when the scene, and its aftereffect wouldn't have her 'over it' in ten-seconds flat. There is no emotional accountability, they shrug everything off and move on, so the whole thing can feel detached and difficult to fully connect with any of any of the characters. They're enjoyable, each distinct but rendered very superficially. I get this is an action-mystery, and it's not really character driven as plot driven (at lightening speed and whiplash) but a little pause and a little reflection wouldn't be so bad and it'd allow the reader to 'see' Brett the woman and tattooist and artist. I don't mind she's never in her shop since that element is still part of the subtle fabric of the series so far.
There were a couple overlooked and unanswered little things and a rushed ending but overall, I read a good, well developed mystery. Brett is likable and always interesting, though we still know so little about her. Her inner monologues are always clever, whether its deciding what to do or giving commentary, but it can also contradict Brett's actions. The secondary characters are always consistent and they all add to the overall story quite well, including the villains. There are several interesting developments that I look forward too in the third installment, and Olson again delivered on the mystery element from beginning to end, even if it was way over packed and not always easy to keep track of. She has a rare talent for writing in general, and her witty dialogue, amazing timing and sarcasm between the lines is still refreshing.
Great mystery but... May 19, 2010
kritisan
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
This was a good book and I enjoyed reading it BUT a lot of the scenes in the shop and when she is tattooing are horribly incorrect! It would have been nice if the author did a little bit of research into tattoo setup, the average person does not need more misinformation about what goes on in tattoo shops. I wont get into everything but two major things that bothered me were:
1) Tattoo artists should NEVER use latex gloves. Many people have latex allergies and latex breaks down with exposure to anything with petrolium jelly in it (like any sort of ointment that artist might be using while doing the tattoo)
2) Deoderant should never be used to put a stencil on. Yes, it works but think about it. Very unhygienic and pretty much gross unless you use a different deoderant stick for each person.
Other than that this was a good book. Im not trying to bash but it seems that while the author does have some respect for tattoo culture she just needs to get her facts straight.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 10
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