A Crafter Quilts a Crime

December 2, 2019
Quinn’s energetic third Handcrafted mystery (after 2019’s A Crafter Hooks a Killer) opens on a January night in Heartsford, Wis., during the annual Fire and Ice event, when all the stores stay open until midnight. This year, Samantha “Sammy” Kane, owner of Community Craft, is holding a live mannequin contest in her shop window, but her plans go seriously awry when her first “mannequin,” Wanda Wadsworth, quietly dies in the display window, holding a quilt in her lap. Det. Liam Nash, the aloof widower whom Sammy really wants to know better, is on the case. But when Sammy, her cousin Heidi, and sister, Ellie, pay a condolence call on Wanda’s brother, Jackson, and notice that the design painted on his barn matches one of the blocks on Wanda’s quilt, they decide this is a case for S.H.E., the detective agency the three women formed in childhood. With a charming small-town setting, recipes, a crosswise romance, plucky amateur sleuths who can’t resist getting involved, and a lovable pooch, this book is just the ticket for lovers of crafting cozies. Agent: Sandy Harding, Spencerhill Assoc.

December 1, 2019
Years after forming S.H.E., a detective club dating back to their high school days, two sisters and a cousin try to solve a very adult murder. Sammy Kane, her married sister, Ellie, and their beautiful cousin, Heidi, succeeded in solving an earlier murder (A Crafter Knits a Clue, 2018). When yoga instructor Wanda Wadsworth dies in the window of Sammy's shop, Community Craft, they decide to revive S.H.E. over the strenuous objections of Heidi's boyfriend, Tim, and Sammy's love interest, Detective Liam Nash. Wanda was a contestant in Sammy's live-mannequin contest when she died while holding a lap quilt she'd made. The death looks suspicious to the coroner, and Wanda's husband, Marty, has disappeared. Ellie's husband, Randy, who'd co-listed Marty and Wanda's house, now finds himself a suspect. During a visit to Wanda's brother, Jackson, on the family farm, the sleuths notice that the quilt block painted on the barn has the same pattern as a quilt in a painting that had been hanging in Wanda's house, which they'd seen in the real estate listing. The quilt blocks painted on many area barns, part of a quilt trail project aiming to attract tourists to the area, may hold further clues to the murder. After the police find Marty's car near the farm, Jackson receives a note demanding $100,000 for his safe return. He begs club members not to inform the police and tells them that a large amount of cash may be hidden in a gun safe at Wanda's house, which the police have sealed. So Sammy suggests that they use the key in the lockbox Randy's left outside the house. They reluctantly go along with Sammy's plan but are caught by Tim. He's furious enough to put his relationship with Heidi on hold, and Liam loses all trust in Sammy. Even though the police now know about the kidnapping, Sammy can't stop sleuthing and dragging her reluctant relatives along with her. More romance than mystery but the elusive means and motive do keep you guessing.

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January 1, 2020
Samantha "Sammy" Kane, owner of Community Craft, a shop that offers locally made handicrafts, plans to decorate her window with live mannequins during the town's Fire & Ice event, holding a contest for the best window. Quilter Wanda Wadsworth seems a shoo-in for the win until Sammy and her cousin realize she is dead. Sammy soon learns that Wanda's husband has disappeared and may not even know about Wanda's death. When Sammy's brother-in-law becomes a suspect, Sammy, sister Ellie, and [their?] cousin Heidi decide they must find Wanda's killer themselves. After the women break into Wanda's house to look for clues and then get caught, Heidi's police-officer boyfriend backs away from her. Even so, Sammy can't let go of her investigation, leading to grave consequences before the trio solves the crime. The quilting frame, along with the beautifully described small-town Wisconsin setting and the affecting portraits of friendship and family relationships, add up to a satisfying cozy, especially for crafters. Recipes and a quilt pattern are included.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)