#AmReading – A Crafter Quilts A Crime

A Crafter Quilts A Crime by Holly Quinn (2020) (Crooked Lane Books) – It’s the middle of winter in a small town in Wisconsin. Sammy Kane is looking for a way for her local craft shop to stand out during the annual Heartsford Fire and Ice event. So she invites friends to be store window mannequins for a contest. Customers vote for the winner, and the best “mannequin”wins a prize. It all seemed like a great idea, until one of her friends is found dead in that window. Sammy follows the clues, despite being warned off by the local police and the FBI, searching for the answers.

This is part of a series of mysteries based in the little town of Heartsford and centered on Community Craft. It brings all of the small town warmth readers would expect. Like Jan Karon’s Mitford stories, there isn’t pulse pounding action. Life in a small town tends toward a slower tempo, even when murder is involved. Everyone knows everyone, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t secrets lurking. Professional secrets in one man’s life result in death, and the challenge lands right on Sammy Kane’s doorstep. Sammy runs the local crafts shop. Along with her sister Elli, and her cousin Heidi, she also solves local mysteries. The Heartsford police, especially the good looking detective Liam Nash, aren’t always enthused but she just can’t resist a mystery.

The characters bring a likability, and the story carries along just fine. The mystery behind the murder has enough twists to keep you guessing along the way. All the usual aspects show up as well, a bit of romance, some local flavor (life in farm country in the upper Midwest, especially in the depths of winter), which results in a nice, light mystery read.

For my tastes, the book is a bit over-written. Fans of the genre (call this one romantic mystery) probably won’t have the same issue. The other issue has to do with the dialogue. It never felt like Quinn catches a natural flow here. So it always feels a little awkward. Never enough to make me put the book down, but enough that it was a nagging, if minor, irritant.

If you’re looking for a little light reading, with a murder mystery that won’t keep you up at night worried about the images from the book, you’ll enjoy this one.

“A Crafter Quilts A Crime” hits the bookshelves in February.

Rating: *** Worth A Look

This review was done from an Advance Reader’s Copy provided by the publisher, and is consistent with our Review Policy.