Josie Giancola, one of the country’s leading experts on antique, vintage and collectible buttons recently opened her own store in Chicago called, “The Button Box” and is now the lead chairperson for this year's conference of the International Society of Antique and Vintage Button Collectors. This is Josie’s first year as conference chairperson and she never anticipated that her expertise as a button collector and conference chair would have her solving multiple murders and conference misadventures. A few of my favorite supporting cast of characters (e.g. Stan, next-door neighbor, retired cop and 'assistant' at Josie's store; Kaz, ex-husband; and Nevin Riley, Chicago Detective) bring a unique blend of intelligence and comedy. This selection also brought fond memories of attending international conferences minus any murder investigation participation.

No single character could ever replace the lively and enchanting characters created by Jenn McKinlay in the Hat Shop Mystery series - Milliner Vivian Tremont and her American cousin and partner, Scarlett Parker, in their beloved Mims’s Whims, a ladies’ hat shop on Portobello Road, London, bequeathed to both cousins by their beloved grandmother. However, as Jenn McKinlay’s series has ended, I found the Button Box Mystery series starring Josie to be a charming companion in the cozy mystery genre.
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I like this series - great characters (although her ex annoys me) and just a bit of romantic tension between Josie and the detective Nev. I love Chicago and it's fun to read about an area that I can easily picture in my minds eye. This particular book I didn't enjoy as much as the first although it was good - and while I was sure I knew who was responsible for some of the crimes, it turned out that while I had the players right, I had the crimes wrong. So, a nice surprise at the end. The backdrop for this story is a button convention, so the entire story takes place in a hotel. It's clear that other than Kaz, Josie and Nev, these characters are all disposable, so it's hard to really care about any of them, and I think that was the only detraction for me.

A book I'd recommend to cozy mystery lovers as a light, fun read. I'll definitely be looking for the next book. ( )

Synopsis: Josie is hosting and chairing an international button convention; stressful, but rewarding until small things start to go wrong. Then the guest speaker is murdered and his famous Geronimo button is stolen. Kaz shows up and is almost too helpful. Nev asks Josie to help him solve the murder and thefts.
Review: Unlike most females in cozy mysteries, Josie doesn't want to butt into the police investigation. At some points this is refreshing; at others it's tedious. On the whole this was an interesting plot; I had ideas about the theft and the sabotage of the conference early on but didn't know who the murderer was until the last couple of chapters. ( )

Hot Button is the second book in A Button Box Mystery series. A very good follow up to Button Holed.

Button collector Josie Giancola is busy getting ready for the International Society of Antique Button Collectors annual meeting, for which she is the chairperson. She is meeting Thad Wyant, who is the Guest of Honor, at O'Hare Airport. He is a bit of a recluse and is the owner of a historic Geronimo button. Out of the blue Josie ex-husband, Kaz, shows up to provide a limo to go to the hotel in. Kaz only shows up when he needs something and this is bad time as Josie is dealing with a high maintenance guest speaker. That evening at opening event of meeting, a boat ride to view the skyline of Chicago. The cruise is underway and Josie is walking around talking with the guests and hears a loud discussion going on between Thad and a lady. Then Thad makes a big deal about the meat he is about to be served and Josie is wondering what else can go wrong.

The next day, just as time is getting near to introduce Thad and his Geronimo button,Josie is asked by the head of security to come down to the laundry room. When she gets there, she find that Thad has been stabbed in the throat with an awl similar to those sold by one the vendors at the show. Josie has quite a few suspects to sort through before she can help the police to narrow the search and apprehend the murderer.

The enjoyable cast of characters from the first book are back once again. Kaz is behaving himself in this book and actually of some help to Josie. On Josie's home front, Nev, her maybe boyfriend is back, too.

Looking forward to the next book in the series.

Not a lot of talk about buttons, so don't pass up this series if you haven't lost yours. ( )