Book Review: The Pajama Frame by Diane Vallere (Madison Night #5)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Strong characters, entertaining plot

Cons: One aspect of the plot not really resolved

The Bottom Line:

Pajamas, killer

Fast paced and fun mystery

Mid-century edge

Odd Inheritance Leads to Danger

You really have to enjoy some of the oddities of fiction.  Strange things happen to the characters and they take it in stride.  Take, for example, the set up for The Pajama Frame, the fifth Madison Night mystery from Diane Vallere.  Mind you, I’m not complaining since the premise gives us a fun mystery.

If you aren’t familiar with this series, Madison Night in an interior decorator living in Dallas, Texas.  She’s had a lifelong love of all things related to Doris Day, an obsession brought on by her resemblance to the actress, so she specialized in mid-century modern designs for her clients. 

Madison Night is surprised when she finds out what all Alice Sweet has left her in her will.  Alice had promised to leave her the contents of her house, which is filled with items Madison can use in her business.  What she didn’t expect was for Alice to also leave her the factory that Sweet Dreams Pajama Company used to be in.

Alice’s late husband had owned the company until a tragic death inside the factory, at which point he suddenly closed it.  Rumors have circulated in the time since the factory closed about what really happened, and Madison soon finds herself caught between various groups who want to get into the factory and solve the mystery once and for all.  And that’s before Madison stumbles upon a very modern dead body.  Will she figure out what is happening?

Now I will admit that the characters do react to Madison’s surprise inheritance of a pajama factory.  However, they take it in stride much more quickly than I would.  Then again, the book would be rather boring if they reacted to this surprise the way I would in real life, right?  And, as I said, the set up makes for a fun mystery, so I’m not really complaining at all.

As with many ongoing series, you could jump in here if you wanted to.  The focus is on the current mystery surrounding the Sweet Dreams factory.  However, the book is much richer if you read the series in order.  That’s because Madison is constantly growing as a character.  I love seeing that growth and we saw more of it here.  I also enjoy seeing how the relationships with the other regular characters change.  Once again, this book left me wondering exactly where Madison’s life is going to go next.  Good thing I already have the next book.

It's not just the series regulars who are rich.  The new characters we meet here are just as strong and do their job of making us wonder what exactly is happening perfectly.

And the plot is almost masterful.  I was quickly caught up in the action, and there is plenty here to keep the reader hooked.  The further we go into the story, the faster the surprises come.  However, I’m not completely sure that all the pieces were answered at the end of the book.  Yes, we know who the villain is, and most of the story makes perfect sense.  I just feel like one plot point is never really resolved, and it’s one I’d been intrigued by early on.

Additionally, there are a couple of small inconsistencies in the story that a good edit should have cleared up.

Those familiar with Doris Day’s movies will immediately connect this title with her movie musical The Pajama Game.  As usual, I watched the movie before reading the book.  Obviously, the plots of the two are very different, but there are some clever nods to the musical hidden in this book.  Don’t worry, if you haven’t seen the movie, you won’t miss anything by reading this book.  But if you have, hunting for Easter eggs is fun.  I’m sure I missed several myself.

While this isn’t a laugh out loud on every page kind of book, there are plenty of moments where I did laugh.

Overall, The Pajama Frame is another winner from Diane Vallere.  If you are still catching up on this fun series, you’ll enjoy this one.

Here are the rest of the Madison Night Mysteries.