I love quilts but this is the first mystery I have read where a quilt is an important clue. It was made by a well liked quilting circle member who dies while posing as a living mannequin at Community Quilt shop during the Fire and Ice town festival. Wow that plot could only happen in the north and most likely in the mid-west, yes it’s set in Wisconsin in January.
The farming community and the crafting communities intertwine in this cozy that also pieces together current trends in agribusiness and GMOs in a very natural way. Family and friends dominate in this plot with quilt shop owner Sammy leading with her sister Ellie and bestie Heidi all in to nosing around when Ellie’s husband becomes the favorite suspect in the murder. Once it hits that close to home its all systems go as the trio follow the clues where they lead and it often leads them into a lot of trouble.
Continue reading “A Crafter Quilts a Crime – A Handcrafted Mystery by Holly Quinn”
The latest book is my favorite in the Victoria Square Mystery series which features the spunky and determined entrepreneur Katie Bonner who runs an indoor crafts market, sort of like Etsy but in a brick and mortar. She is also manager and owner of a tea room, is the organizer for the local Merchants Association and is dating her landlord. So she has her hands full but this a cozy mystery so it’s not too long before there is a fatal accident in which she is a witness and a victim.
This was a ‘new to me’ series and though I am normally wary of knitting and crafting mysteries this one enveloped me like a cozy scarf with its down to earth comfort and sensible-ness. The mystery revolves around two sister, one a traumatized young woman, Rose who suffered severe head injuries in a car accident and her older sister Holly who runs the nursery on their farm which they inherited from their parents. One of the Black Knitters Club members is a godmother to Holly and asks that the club visit them at home to teach the basics of knitting as a calming hobby that is therapeutic.