Donna Mumma: The Women of Wynton's

By Kelly Bridgewater

Mid-Century Glam Meets Murder Mayhem

 

Get swept away to the glamor of a 1950's department store where four women's loyalties, vanity, friendship, and detective skills are put to the test.

Audrey Penault once led a glamorous life as a model but now works as devoted secretary to Mr. Wynton. To her fellow employees, she is too vain and uppity.

Mary Jo Johnson, a wife and mother, longs to find her worth in the cosmetics department, but it may take a while for the shy housewife to discover her voice.

Vivian Sheffield owns and runs the bridal salon within Wynton's. She is proud of her accomplishments and won't let anyone take them away.

Gigi Woodard dislikes her job as waitress in the store's lunchroom, but she is determined not to let her secret shortcomings cause her to lose the position.

These four women have much to dislike about each other, but they unanimously agree that Mr. Wynton is the best of employers and must be protected at all costs from someone who seems determined to see him gone for good. When other employee deaths occur, can the women band together to solve the murders, or will they discover it is one of their own bent on destroying Wynton's from within?

 

My Thoughts:

The Women of Wynton's by Donna Mumma is a cozy mystery set in the 1950’s in a widely popular Florida department store. The historical and suspense element drew me into wanting to read this story. Mumm crafts a historically, what I believe, accurate view of the time period. She placed women in the workforce who struggled with leaving their families, colored women, educated women, beautiful women, and an older lady. It is a unique, colorful cast of characters. I loved seeing them interact and develop into reliable, trustworthy friends. Because of the suspense element, it took a while for Mumm to dive into each individual instance to make the mystery occur. Also, the mystery had a little bit of distrust woven in. Gossip. Rumors. Evidence against one of the characters. Not really much spirituality in the novel. I don’t even think it was important to the characters. This would be categorized as a clean read for the general market. Safe. Mystery. Hints of real life in the 1950’s. Overall, The Women of Wyntons by Donna Mumm was a fun historical mystery to read.

I received a complimentary copy of The Women of Wynton's by Donna Mumma from Barbour Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

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