[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
Samantha has been running Community Craft since her best friend, Kate Allen, died in an accident. Her latest event for the store will be a book signing by author and crafter Jane Johnson.
When Jane gets to town, she asks Sammy to meet her to talk about something related to Kate. But Sammy finds Jane dead before she can tell her any more.
Sammy is determined to figure out what Jane wanted to tell her. She wasn’t in Heartsford when Kate died. And when she returned, she was too grief-stricken to find out what happened. While Detective Liam Nash wants Sammy to stay away from this investigation, she has to know what really happened to Kate – and to Jane Johnson.
Review
This is book 2 in the Handcrafted Mystery series. This is the first book I have read in the series. I had no issues following the story or the characters without having read the first book.
I loved the characters in this! Sammy joins forces with her sister and her cousin to talk through the investigation, although Sammy does more of the work on her own. The family pieces – including a visit from Sammy’s parents – were a fun addition to the core mystery to round out the whole story.
The mystery was well done. The interrogation of suspects doesn’t really kick in until near the end, but Sammy does plenty of sleuthing before that. There are some great twists to the story that I really enjoyed.
Readers who enjoy a good amount of description in their books – settings and such – will enjoy this. I am more of a get-to-the-dialogue-and-action reader so I skimmed past a good bit of that to get to the meat of the mystery. Cozy fans should not miss this one. The mystery is well done. The crafting theme is pretty light. Sammy doesn’t do any crafts in this – she sells and markets things made by others. The book does include one recipe, though, and directions for one craft.