Perfect for fans of Betty Hechtman and Maggie Sefton, Holly Quinn’s third Handcrafted mystery aspires to wrap you in its warmth.Community Craft proprietor Sammy Kane must piece together a patchwork of clues when a “live” mannequin ends up stone-cold dead.Snowcapped pines and glittery dusted sidewalks adorn tranquil Heartsford, Wisconsin, while residents cuddle beneath heirloom quilts in front of … beneath heirloom quilts in front of cozy wood fires. But come the next day, the below-zero temperatures won’t keep the locals away from Heartsford’s annual Fire & Ice event. To boost customer traffic at Community Craft’s one-night-only sale, Samantha “Sammy” Kane persuades a few of the craftspeople who sell their wares at the store to participate in a live mannequin window display contest.
Local quilter Wanda Wadsworth emerges as a favorite to win the contest, as she manages to not move a muscle for an unusual amount of time. Onlookers outside the window try everything to get her to crack–tapping on the glass and making funny faces–but nothing disrupts Wanda’s stillness. When the eagle-eyed spectators realize Wanda isn’t breathing, a blanket of grief and fear descends upon the wintry town.
Detective Liam Nash can’t seem to piece the clues together. Fortunately, Sammy’s cousin, Heidi, and her sister, Ellie, are on hand to reconvene their detective team, S.H.E. They set out to solve Wanda’s untimely death before the case grows as icy as a sub-zero Wisconsin winter. But they are all too aware that the killer is too close for comfort.
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this is a will written story, if you like cozy stories than you will want to read the book, I was given a copy by netgalley but this is an honest review. can Sammy find out who killed her friend? can she and the detective work together and find out who did it
Sammy, Heidi, and Ellie (S.H.E.) are at it again when someone dies in Sammy’s store window. The Fire and Ice festival is here and Sammy has the brilliant idea to have a live window display of some of the crafters. However, the first person to be on display, dies in the window. Now the girls are ready to sleuth.
This was fun. Lots of suspects. My only complaint is that the girls do really stupid things, like break the law. They all think they are smarter than anyone else. They don’t share what they learn with the authorities and then get themselves into bad situations. The characters are fun and the mystery kept me turning the pages.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and offer my honest review on this book.
What a great book, so full of mystery and humor and who done it! The perfect book to end the year with! I’m sure I’m going to read many more of Holly’s books, they are just so entertaining! Thanks so very much Holly!
This book had some interesting twists to it. However, I did find it somewhat repetitive. Some facts seemed to conflict with one another. For instance, at one point in the same chapter, it is said that Sammy had an over sized purse. Then a few sentences later, she puts her purse in the glove compartment of her car. Just didn’t make sense to me. I think that one slipped past the editor. I did enjoy how the victim left a clue to her demise. Quilters will enjoy the plot.
romantic, cozy-mystery, amateur-sleuth, women-sleuths, quilting, investigation, murder, small-business, small-town, law-enforcement
Ah, Wisconsin in the depth of winter with celebrations, lots of snow, biting cold, and. ..murder? Two sisters and their cousin get caught up in investigating the death of a friend and the apparent disappearance of her husband. It becomes a real tangle complete with misdirection, red herrings, and romantic issues with a policeman AND the detective! It’s a good story and well worth your time even if I won’t give in to the spoiler temptation.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
The S.H.E.’s are at it again and this time the gals will need to work quickly as it looks like Ellie’s husband is the prime suspect! However, the girls find they are in over their heads when their “investigation” leads to kidnapping, murder, money and family discord! The characters are really starting to flesh out and become more fully realized which along with intriguing and entertaining plot lines that overlap in the book to create a multi-dimensional read that leads to hours of entertainment! The excitement level ramped up a notch in this book not only in the mystery aspect, but also in the personal lives of the characters that leaves you wanting more! I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book!
A Crafter Quilts a Crime” by Holly Quinn the 3rd instalment in the A Handcrafted Mystery series. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Being a crafter I love a mystery that has a crafty theme, and this is what originally drew me to first read this series by Holly Quinn. I haven’t tried quilting but that did not stop me from enjoying this story. I loved the cover too.
I like the Protagonist Samantha “Sammy” Kane and her besties Heidi and Ellie who complete the S.H.E. (Sammy-Heidi-Ellie) “detective agency” from their childhood. The characters are well developed and very likeable, and who doesn’t love a golden retriever named “Bara”. I love the craft group (had my own group of crafty ladies once) and how their relationships/friendships were. True to cozy form there were quirky characters and i loved the small town setting of Heartsford, Wisconsin.
There are plenty of red herrings, twists, turns to keep me wanting to find out what will happen next.
I cant wait for the 4th instalment in this series, I highly recommend this to cozy lovers.
I requested and received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my OWN.
Sammy and crew are at it again after a murder occurs in town. Can they solve the mystery and stay safe?
A fun and fast-faced cozy mystery. I enjoyed it very much.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor.
The town of Heartford is preparing for the annual Fire and Ice Celebration. Sammy Kane wants her store to be a standout during the celebration. She is sponsoring a live window mannequin contest. Wanda on of the crafters is ready to shine with her hand made quilt. When Wanda’s time is up they find that the reason Wanda’s performance as a mannequin was so good is that she is dead. Once the police start to investigate the find out Wanda was murdered. Can Sammy and the other S.H.E. members, Heidi and Ellie, solve the murder before someone else meets the same fate.
This is a fun well-crafted mystery. The characters continue to evolve over the series and have great chemistry. At first, I wasn’t a fan of Sammy and enjoyed Heidi’s and Ellie’s character more, but after three books Sammy has now grown on me. The storyline moves at a steady pace with several twists and turns and well place red herrings to keep the reader guessing. The culprit was a complete surprise to me.
I voluntarily agreed to read a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own and in no way have been influenced by anyone.
This is the first book in the series I read but I didn’t feel lost or unable to follow along. Holly Quinn has a wonderful way of making you feel like you’re right there with the characters and the whole time I read the book I was freezing cold! Sammy can be a little pushy, especially with the police, but I liked her anyway, along with sister Ellie and cousin Heidi. Sammy is also relentless and a little impulsive, which gets her in trouble but she does help work out who did it in the end. The story was interesting and twisty, with lots of red herrings, and kept my interest right to the end. I also liked learning a little about quilting. I’m not a big fan of romance in cozy mysteries (an anomaly, I know) so Sammy’s obsession with Detective Nash was a bit much for me, but most readers probably will eat that right up. Either way, it was a well written book that I enjoyed very much.
I received an advance copy via NetGalley and this is my honest review.
It’s winter in Heartsford, Wisconsin. Our main character, Sammy Kane is preparing for the annual Fire and Ice event with a live mannequin window display contest at her store, Community Craft. When a member of the quilt group dies during the contest, and her husband goes missing, Sammy, her sister Ellie, and her cousin Heidi work together to find the culprit.
I found the premise intriguing, the plot well thought out and executed. Sammy enticed customers and vendors to perform as live mannequins by offering a contest.
The only thing that does irk me at times is that Sammy seems not to think before acting. She puts herself in unnecessary dangerous situations. I have read book number 2 and found this to be even better.
Looking forward to the next one.
I was given an electronic advanced copy of the book by Netgalley and am not required to leave a positive review.