A Crafter Quilts a Crime (A Handcrafted Mystery #3)

Author:  Holly Quinn
Genre:   Mystery

Hardcover; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781643852904
Crooked Lane Books
[Pages TBA]
$26.99; $12.99 Amazon
February 11, 2020

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Snowcapped pines and glittery dusted sidewalks adorn tranquil Heartsford, Wisconsin, while residents cuddle 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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It's the one night of the Fire and Ice event, and every store in town stays open until midnight, including Samantha "Sammy" Kane's craft store.  She has a unique idea to bring people into her store: she's invited the craftspeople to take part as being live mannequins, for twenty minutes each, and the person with the most votes for best one will get a gift certificate.

Everything seems fine when the first contestant - her cousin Heidi - manages to get through, but the second contestant - Wanda Wadsworth - seems to outdo Heidi.  That is, until Heidi notices Wanda's lips have turned blue and calls an ambulance.

Then no one can reach Wanda's husband Marty, and now the search is on and they're wondering if he killed her, and why.  So Sammy decides that she, her sister Ellie and Heidi - the members of S.H.E. - need to get back together to solve a murder and find a killer...

I have hidden below in a spoiler things that bothered me because I do not wish to ruin the book for those who haven't as yet read it:

I have to be honest and say that I almost didn't read this book all the way through - almost. This is the third book in the series and I'm really getting tired of Sammy saying Heidi dyes her hair blonde. So what? Millions of women dye their hair. It's not novel and it's not a sin. Why does it bother Sammy so much? Is she jealous? Really, no one cares if she dyes her hair or not. I can honestly say I've never met a woman who told me that another woman dyes her hair. It's just never come up as a subject.

The second thing that bothered me is I'm also getting really tired of Heidi's "jazz hands." What adult in their right mind does 'jazz hands' on a regular basis? Seriously? Like she wants everyone to know she's a big deal? Heidi needs someone to give her a reality check.

Then Sammy hadn't seen Detective Liam Nash in a couple of weeks, and he shows up as the paramedics are there and appears not to notice this fact. He's a homicide detective. What is the first thing he says to Sammy? "Have you missed me?" Not, "where's the body?" or even "what happened here?" Then he starts flirting with Sammy and eats a cookie. That's right. Eats. A. Cookie. He mentions how good they are then, and only then, does he ask Sammy questions about the deceased. What kind of detective is he? Meanwhile, he's also playing with jars of jam - he's actually shopping! Okay, I get that he didn't know it was a homicide at that time, but it's as if he didn't care what was going on around him, and any homicide detective's instincts would have kicked in. So yeah, this bothered me. (And the next day Sammy notices Wanda's travel mug of tea and does Nash take it from her as possible evidence? Nooo...he comforts her and totally blows it off; then hears from Sammy's employee about an argument Wanda had the night before and then he decides to take the tea. After. Not right away.) I also thought it was odd that Nash wanted Sammy to answer Wanda's phone and pretend to be her. That's not how it works.

There are also people shopping in her store while all this is going on and she actually has to tell them to put down their merchandise and leave. Really? In a small town, where everyone probably knows everyone else, a person just dies while you're in a store and you continue shopping? What kind of people live in this town?

I also found it sad that Ellie's four-year-old son Tyler doesn't have any friends. He had a birthday party and the only people attending were his parents, Sammy, and Heidi. So he has no friends and his mother won't allow him to even have a pet. Very sad. My own children have always had cats or dogs, even fish and turtles...and friends - lots of friends.

Then came the kicker - someone kidnapped Sammy and left her dog to run outside in the bitter cold and snow. Sorry, but I will NOT love any book that deals with animal cruelty of any kind. This was completely uncalled for. A dog can die in the cold as well as the heat in a matter of minutes, and I don't care how desperate someone is, there is not reason for this at all. I guess I'll never understand why things like this don't bother people when it just makes me angry and I don't like it at all.

However, the mystery itself was written well, I liked the plot, and it seemed that the members of S.H.E. weren't really involved in this one, and it was Sammy alone who happened to come across evidence which was fine with me, as it more or less brought Sammy and Nash to a better understanding of each other.

When the ending comes and the killer is revealed it's rather sad; but the clues were there to follow and that's the main thing.  Although I enjoyed the first two books in the series more, I will read another because of that reason alone.

https://smile.amazon.com/Crafter-Quilts-Crime-Handcrafted-Mystery/dp/1643852906/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2947997730

More on Holly Quinn's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/q/holly-quinn/