Lydia is escaping a bad marriage in Atlanta by moving to the mountains in northern Georgia. She takes a job working in a sewing store. Life is good, until her next door neighbor turns up dead. After a date with Lydia. When a second person shows up dead in her place of employment, Lydia is the prime suspect.

I really liked this book. Sometimes, cozy mysteries can get too wrapped up in the interest or occupation of the protagonist. They have endless recipes and other commentary which fail to move the plot forward. While this book had commentary on sewing-related matters, it was kept within reason.

The plot was good. We were kept guessing up until the end of the book. The dialogue was good. Characterizations were well done. All-in-all, this was a good read.

I really loved this book in a new to my series and author. I can't wait to read the next one. The characters and location really add to the plot. This book keeps you guessing until the end

Amateur sleuth, Lydia Barnes, has no choice but to investigate the murder when she finds herself the lead suspect in their death. When all the people around her start to look suspicious, it is up to her to figure out the clues, prove her innocence, and protect the new life she has only just begun.

Seams Deadly is the first in a new series which was so well written I can't wait for the next one. I love sewing themed cozy mysteries, but there are so few of them around. There were so many sewing references throughout this book which really brought me back to my days working in a fabric shop, yet I feel that they were general enough that even a non-sewist would be able to follow along and enjoy the tale. Overall, I would recommend this book for anyone who loves a good crafty mystery where everyone is a suspect.

This was a NetGalley review.

I've been going through my Netgalley approved books. I'm so glad I've gotten this one. It was honestly what I've needed at this time. Huge thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for access to an e arc.

This is Seams Deadly by Maggie Bailey. I won't lie, the cat cover lured me into this. 😅 Though it gives me anxiety too, knowing that Luna end Emi would devour the thread in no time, such items are never lying around in my flat.

The book was a small town mystery but also weirdly cozy. I really liked the characters and the action. We get a female older (in her 40s) character and it's awesome to see such characters as it bothers me a bit that books often have young characters and tend to almost give us the idea that nothing interesting can happen when you're over 20. The main character had some things in her life that made her start over and let her heal from trauma, though with some unexpected events.

My only issue with the book that sometimes hampered my enjoyment is the fact that there were quite a lot of specific terms thrown in, usually regarding sewing but also food etc. I'm a kind of person that won't let go and will Google every such thing so it took me a bit out of the story sometimes. It's not an universal drawback, and in general I like learning new things, but it was a bit too much for me at times, although I can imagine that people interesting in sewing would love that.

It was a great story overall of trying to get through trauma while the world throws extra situations in your way, it felt honestly pretty much relatable to me at the moment. We also have a found family trope, which I love, and a dog AND A CAT. We journey with the MC trying to figure out trust and owning her own mistakes.

Also, the cat's name is Baby Lobster and one of the characters calls her Demon Crab once, and I'm totally stealing that nickname for Luna. 🤣

This book was a great time and a cool palette cleanser. I honestly recommend it a lot!

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Seams Deadly caught my eye as it’s a murder mystery with a sewing theme. As a keen sewist myself I thought it would be right up my street and I wasn’t wrong!

This is a cracking who dun it where almost everyone becomes a suspect. I wasn’t surprised when the killer was revealed, but also hadn’t guessed it was them or their motive. Very easy read and I’m now keen to look up some of the sewing patterns mentioned 😂 Also, this definitely gets the award for best cat name ever 🐈

I enjoyed the setting of the quilt shop and the sewing classes. The community of friends was cozy and enjoyable to read about. I wanted the main character to be a stronger sleuth and be invested in finding the truth of the murder and sharing the murderer's motives with everyone. As a reader of mysteries when the law gets the wrong suspect I look forward to the "I told you so" moment when the real murderer and the motive is revealed and the reaction of those who got it wrong. I will keep reading this series if it continues.

Review.
Seams Deadly (A measure twice sewing mystery #1)
By Maggie Bailey

Cozy Mystery.

Description.
Set in small town in U.S.A.
Murder mystery
Amateur sleuth

Lydia Barnes has moved to small town of Peridot, Georgia to make a fresh start but not long after she settles into the small town that she discovers a dead body and now has to find the killer as she's now the main suspect.

I gave this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Okay I loved the set up and the overall mystery of the book but I found it so hard to connect and sometimes sympathize with the characters. Lydia seemed annoying at times where even I didn’t want anything to do with her, but the writing and wit overshadows that from time to time.

"Seams Deadly" by Maggie Bailey is a great start to "The Measure Twice Sewing Mystery" series. The author seems very aware of terms and tools used in sewing. However, I was very thrown off by the term "Sewist." The author did kind of explain their reasoning for using this term rather than more traditional terms. However, I feel going into the actual it's a combination of sew+aritist would have helped me wrap my head around it more. Instead, I had to look it up myself because I am a professionally trained costumer and hobby sewer and never heard the term before. Honestly, until I looked it up it really annoyed me that something like this has to have some new hippster term. But, know the sew+artist thing makes sense for some sewers. I would say, what I do for a makes me more of a sewist (unless I'm costuming) but if all I did was quilter (then I'm a quilter), make clothes then I'm a seamstress but, I could see someone wanting a less traditionally female title. We can also start getting over a title being female or male rather than create a new one too

Rant done, I will still continue to check out this series for a fun and cute cozy mystery read.

For the most part, “Seams Deadly” is a nice start to Maggie Bailey’s Measure Twice Sewing cozy mystery series. The main character, Lydia Barnes, is a good one – moving to Peridot Georgia after the breakup of her marriage, and starting a new life working at the Measure Twice fabric store. She cares passionately about sewing and bright colors but less so about her appearance – preferring messy buns and not quite caring if she finishes every sewing project precisely. I liked her mostly as a character – she is still dealing with her husband’s betrayal so it is understandable that she is a little unsure of herself but I hope she grows more of a backbone in future books, especially when dealing with her coworker Heather. The mystery itself is quite good – Lydia finds herself the chief suspect after finding the body of her next door neighbor the same night she’s gone on a first date with him – with a second murder and plenty of suspects for both murders. The ending of the book when the killer was revealed was so good that I ended up staying up past my bed time just to finish the book!

“Seams Deadly” is a nice start to a promising cozy mystery series.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

I discovered this cozy mystery book by a new author and was pleased to find a unique twist - the main character is a sewist. The small-town setting and vivid descriptions added to the charm, but the protagonist's flaws and lack of focus on the mystery left me wanting more.

Despite its flaws, the book was a delightful addition to the genre and I appreciated the opportunity to read it as an advanced copy provided by NetGalley.

For more detailed book reviews, visit my website: www.thejayword.com

A new author for me and the first book in a new series.

Lydia Barnes is trying to start a new life in Peridot, Georgia, after leaving her cheating husband. Things are looking good. She has a place to live, new friends and a job she loves. Sadly there is a murder and she is the number one suspect.

I enjoyed the story, skipped some of the details about sewing and loved every moment with the amazing cat! Lydia herself was a little helpless - no strong woman here at all. The other characters were interesting. The series definitely has promise.

I have mixed feelings about this book, and I'd probably give it a 3.5. I like the set-up, though it's nothing terribly unique. Still, it works. And the plotting overall works. What doesn't quite work for me are the characters. At times, the main character, Lydia, crosses the line into being annoying. I sympathize with Heather's opinions a bit and appreciate the other character who reminds Lydia (kindly) that she's not the only thing in Fran or anyone else's life. But other times I can totally relate to her. She's trying to fit in, build a new life, move forward, but it's really hard! Her sensitivities to those barbs clothed in compliments sure rings true. But everyone feels a bit TOO much. Heather's too cold; Fran's too warm; April's too wishy-washy; Brandon's too awkward, etc. Everyone feels a little extreme. I feel like the identity of the killer is a bit predictable, too.

Enough here works and draws me in that I'll try book #2 when it comes out. But I hope the characters will settle down and feel more 3-D by that point.

Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a bit torn by this book.
I liked the plot and the pace of the story, The conclusion was nicely developed and executed. However, I didn't like the characters much. I can't even point a finger, why that is. They are well written and realistic, but somehow that made them less likable for me. I felt a bit with Heather, when she attacked Lydia and accused her of bad behavior.
Lydia is not so much a sleuth, but rather at the wrong place at the wrong time. So I don't have a feeling about how the series is going to proceed.
Overall, I give it 3.5 Stars (rounded to 4, on sited where I cannot give half stars)

Lydia Barnes leaves Atlanta after finding her husband in a compromising position with her teaching assistant. She lands in Peridot, Georgia, an idyllic little town that caters to sewist tourists such as herself. Though she's perfectly happy to take a little time to get settled into her new life, her friends push her into going on a date with a local bookseller. It's not a love match but when she reaches out later with a consolation prize of treats, she finds out someone else has already given him a much less pleasant consolation.

This book has a lot of things I love, a woman starting over again in a new town, following her passion to a new career, and ornery rescue pets. I also love the apartment over the store where Lydia lives. There were a few things that I didn't love. I felt it was a bit rude that Lydia has just started working at Measure Twice and is already trying to change the way they do business by bringing apparel sewing into a quilt shop despite the fact that the owner isn't really supportive of it. I also felt that a lot of the problems Lydia had could have been solved by her just communicating better with the people around her.

Overall this book was a quick read and definitely worth checking out.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

This debut cozy mystery is book one in the Measure Twice Sewing Mystery series. What a treat it was. Great read.

I was excited to find another cozy series set in the north Georgia mountains. As someone who grew up in the state, it's always amusing to see how others view it.

Unfortunately, 𝙎𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙨 𝘿𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙡𝙮 fell flat. In part because the geography felt weird. Set in the foothills (of the foothills), the story kept saying "up to Atlanta", which is lower on the piedmont area. And the town square felt like a movie set when Bailey mentioned quieter streets nearby. Kept pulling me out.

Lydia lives in Peridot sans car. But how did she get there from Atlanta?

We know little about her outside of a messy divorce and general mopiness. Very passive. At 40, she's middle aged, not ancient. All she does is talk down about herself.

Lots of repetitive sentences, sometimes only pages apart. Felt superficial. Two stars for the potential. There were strange caricatures of small town residents.

𝙎𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙨 𝘿𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙡𝙮 just wasn't the book for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for a copy in exchange for an honest review. .

This was a ‘cozy’ read that focused around sewing. I do not sew, so that might have been why I didn’t click as much as the cozies that revolve around a coffee shop :)

The main character was a little… immature? for being 40 years old,..

The author did a good job of keeping us guessing who the killer was

Lydia is a woman who left her husband after she caught him cheating. Having been told what to do most of her life, she's left trying to find herself and her place in this world.
I was completely surprised by who the murderer was, which was great but they didn't talk about the murder all that much so it was hard to piece anything together. I felt that this book was more about Lydia than a mystery.

A small town with interesting characters.
The start of a new life.
Forging new friendships.
Sewing tips and hints.
A dash of murder.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read if you like:
🧶 cozy mysteries
🧶 strong friendships
🧶 small town charm
🧶 quirky and eccentric characters

Lydia Barnes is ready for her fresh start after finding out her husband was cheating on her 😡☠️ and moves to the quaint mountain town of Peridot, Georgia. Her friend Fran offers her a job at her fabric store Measure Twice. Fran even sets her up on a date with a handsome stranger, who just so happens to be her next door neighbour 😜 After the worst first date in the history of the world, the night gets even worse when Lydia stumbles upon a dead body! And then another body is found at Measure Twice. Lydia is quite predictably the prime suspect, and must work fast to clear her name and find the real killer before it’s too late!

My favourite characters were OBVIOUSLY the animals, but I also really liked all the quirky small town characters. I really liked Fran as a best friend, and I really really liked Lydia and all the trouble she got herself in 🤣 Baby Lobster and Charlie 💕💕Cynde just kills me 🤣🤣 I’m assuming that’s like “Cindy” but spelt out that way… it made me laugh everytime I read it. The crazy spelling for names in here was hilarious.
There’s just something about a small town cozy ❤️❤️ I loved all the descriptive scenery (I really felt like I was in Peridot myself 🤪) and I absolutely loved all the small town specialty stores. I wish I had some of these in my real life!
The thing I like most about cozy mysteries is they all have their own little “niche”, ie. bake shop mystery, book store mystery, library mystery etc… This allows them to all be slightly different and that’s why I enjoyed about this one. It was set in a fabric shop, which I have never read a cozy in a fabric shop, so that was very enjoyable and different for me. The premise of cozies are pretty much the same so it’s how the author does those little things to set their work apart, which is what happened here. A very enjoyable read!
I love a good pun! From the title to all the cutely named little shops in town; it made me giggle everytime 😀
I DID NOT SEE THE END COMING! That is my absolute number one requirement in a murder mystery, and this one certainly shocked me!! I really really enjoyed this first in series book and hope there are more books coming!!