Cozy Mysteries THE GLASS BOTTOM HOAX with Diane Vallere

Madison Night has a reputation for excellence in mid-century modern decorating, but when a covert opportunity to expose a crime ring on a cruise ship comes her way, she goes undercover. The job will test her acting skills as much as her investigative prowess: she’s booked as a Doris Day impersonator and police captain Tex Allen is posing as her manager husband. But roleplay and reality blur when the body of the entertainment director is found on the lido deck sometime between shuffleboard and sunset.

The purser was Madison’s lone contact on the cruise ship, which leaves her adrift. Catching crooked employees is one thing, but exposing a murderer in the middle of the ocean is another. It’s bad enough that she’s expected to sing for her supper; her convenient cover story puts her in the center of danger. With a very fake husband and a very real crisis, Madison has to dive deep for answers before the tides turn against her.

Can Madison keep her head above water, or will this case send her overboard?

National bestselling author, Diane Vallere recently sat down with The Big Thrill to discuss her latest cozy mystery, THE GLASS BOTTOM HOAX.

Diane Vallere

Can you pinpoint a moment or incident that sparked the idea for this book?

Books in this series are inspired by Doris Day movies. I’ve wanted to do a nod to The Glass Bottom Boat for a while now, but could never think up a title. As soon as I landed on “Hoax” in place of “Boat,” I knew it would take place on a cruise and that there would be some undercover shenanigans. Planting my protagonist on the cruise as a Doris Day impersonator made the whole plot more meta, and the rest fell into place.

Were there any particular books, movies, or songs that were knocking around in your head while you were writing this one?

In addition to the Doris Day connection, I’ve been slowly going through the Rolling Stones catalog in chronological order. “Get Off of My Cloud” spent some time in my head during this one (there’s a wink at the Stones in here as well).

When you first created your protagonist for this book, did you see an empty space in crime lit that you wanted to fill? What can you share about the inspiration for that character?

The character was born on Doris Day’s birthday and bears a passing resemblance to her, plus she dresses in head-to-toe vintage acquired from the estates she buys out to use in her decorating business. I wanted to show a forty-seven-year-old woman who looks out of place in today’s world (and is often underestimated) and craft a mystery series that was contemporary (with today’s crimes, sometimes not so cozy).

In addition to a great read, what do you hope readers will take away from this story?

There is a lot not to trust in today’s world, but if we’re lucky, we find the people we can trust, the ones who don’t expect anything from us other than us being ourselves. We might not even recognize those people at first, because in life (as too in mysteries) people are not always what they seem.

What can you share about what you’re working on next?

I’m putting the finishing touches on a Hitchcockian Thanksgiving novella in my Material Witness Mystery Series titled Sheer Window. It’s due on November 4, 2024.