Button collector Josie Giancola has a sharp eye for detail, and a love for keeping things together. But when a murder interrupts her button business, she’s always ready to snap into action…

As chairwoman of an international conference for button collectors, Josie has plenty to worry about. Between greeting collectors, overseeing the dinner cruise, and attending to the many needs of the guest of honor, Thad Wyant, she barely has time to deal with her gorgeous ex-husband…let alone a dead body.

But when Thad is found dead in a hotel linen closet, Detective Nevin Riley needs Josie to help him solve the case. Mr. Wyant’s historic Geronimo button has gone missing, and considering how many enemies he’s made in the small and peculiar world of button collectors, Josie will have to act fast—before she becomes history herself...

Includes tips on antique button collecting!

Review

Button store owner Josie Giancola is thrilled to be the chairman of an international button collectors’ conference in her hometown of Chicago. She is also proud to have convinced the reclusive Thad Wyant, a renowned expert on Western-themed buttons, to speak at the conference and to display his famous Geronimo button. It doesn’t take long for Josie and everyone else at the conference to find out that even though Thad is reclusive, he’s not shy about making his many demands. Josie, with unexpected help from her ex-husband Kaz, have their hands full trying to keep Thad happy while keeping the conference running smoothly. A lot of little things have been going wrong during the conference, so at first Josie doesn’t panic when Thad is a no-show for his speech. She soon learns there is a very good reason for his absence, but it’s not good news. Now, Josie has more on her plate than ever and with the ultimate complication of murder hanging over the event, it looks like this could be the last conference she ever gets to lead.

Hot Button is the sequel to last year’s excellent debut Button Holed, but unfortunately the second book in the series doesn’t live up to the expectations set by the first one. I love the premise of Josie running a button store and seeing her use her expertise to manage her shop is a highlight of the previous book. I don’t know a lot about buttons, but I enjoy learning more about them from Josie. However, the focus this time is on the convention instead of on the buttons themselves, and that isn’t as fun. Josie was an expert in her store, but at the convention, Josie seems pre-occupied and incompetent, busy with everything except running the conference.  However, her boyfriend Nevin Riley, who is the police officer assigned to the murder investigation, doesn’t seem to be able to make a move in the investigation without Josie’s help. It makes perfect sense that Nevin would rely on Josie’s knowledge of buttons to help with certain aspects of the case, but I couldn’t believe when he asked her to actually go out on a dinner date with a suspect! That is certainly asking a lot of a new girlfriend, especially someone who isn’t a professional detective.

Although I was disappointed in some part of the book, the character of Kaz is much improved from the first book. This time, Kaz seems sincere in his feelings toward Josie and his desire to help her, and comes across as charming instead of smarmy. I have to say that although Josie and Nevin’s romance is sweet, it’s a little boring. I can see why Josie and Kaz divorced, but the chemistry between them is undeniable. It makes me think if he would spend some time at “Gambler’s Anonymous”, Josie could have a much more exciting investigative and romantic partner in Kaz, rather than Nevin.

Some of the investigation gets silly and parts are predictable. However, it eventually gets back on track and everything is resolved with a satisfying conclusion. I like this series, and I hope Josie is back in her shop next time where her intelligence and knowledge about buttons shines and makes a more interesting book. Fans of Laura Childs will appreciate the characters and the style of this cozy mystery.

Reviewed by Christine

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