I love a good cozy mystery! One that incorporates all of my favorite topics (i.e. genealogy, bookstores, libraries, cooking, painting, inn keeping, animals, etc.), throwing in some action-suspense, a who-done-it, interesting characters, and a plot that keeps me guessing, then you’ve got me hooked. I will say, I am one of those people who like to read a series from the beginning, but I often find you don’t have to… either way I highly recommend reading Hanging by a Thread by Dorothy Howell.

*I received a complimentary copy of this novel from NetGalley at my request and this review is my own unbiased opinion.*

I wanted to like this, I really did. But I very much didn’t at all. I kept reading it, hoping that the book would get better and was sorely disappointed. I found Abbey annoying and not overly competent in her “day job,” which led to a pervasive insecurity throughout the narration. I also didn’t think that the community was particularly well done - too many side characters without enough background. I also found the mystery itself to be poorly paced the reveal at the end seemingly came out of nowhere.

Abbey is settling into her new life and business in Hideaway Grove. Some of the small business are struggling among them is Abbey's aunt's bakery. Her business is being threatened by a newcomer who has endless funds. When a murder derails the new bakery, Abbey's aunt is the primary suspect. Abbey has to work to keep her own business afloat and keep her aunt out of jail. This series has room for growth as Abbey's character develops. It is off to a good start, and I look forward to more in this series.

This was an excellent 2nd book in a cozy mystery series, and I look forward to more books by this author!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher

A fun and interesting small-town cozy mystery with a sewing theme. I really enjoy reading as Abbey navigates moving to town, living with her Aunt Sarah, and trying to start a sewing business. Unfortunately, murder keeps getting in the way.
I can't wait to read what happens next.

Many thanks to Kensington Publishing and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor or expectation.

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley

A great new cozy mystery series. I couldn't put it down and the characters were unique.

When it comes to series mysteries this is a very entertaining read. I liked all of the characters and their individual stories. However Abby is too busy and can’t say no. I want her to get a spine. The mystery unfolded well.
Many thanks to Kensington and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Abbey Chandler is finally finding her true calling. With her bags and the pillowcase dresses. She found the killer without realizing she knew who it was without realizing it almost getting herself caught in trouble. This is the second book I read the other one so long ago I had to remember what was going on. Once I remembered everything flowed very nicely and I picked up on all the characters.

The shop owners of Hideaway Grove have been counting on an upcoming women's conference to boost their business. When the owner of a new bakery is found murdered, everyone in town starts to panic. It would be disastrous if the conference was cancelled... If the murder really was a mob execution, maybe everyone is in danger... What's the best way to carry a newly purchased handgun? Abbey's aunt Sarah has more to lose than most since it's her competitor who wound up dead. Now Abbey is trying clear her aunt's name, while also keeping her sewing studio afloat and filming a promotional video for the town and learning to sew poodle skirts in time for the conference luncheon. This is a fast paced, fun mystery that's enjoyable if you don't try to take it too seriously and worry about the practical details.

I would rate this as 3.5 stars, but will round up. I had a hard time getting into the book. This was a cute cozy, but I did get a little tired of Abby and some of the other characters. She lives in a small town and the town is hosting a Women's Conference. Abby lives with her Aunt that runs the bakery. Abby is trying to start a business creating tote bags. A rival bakery is opening up and when one of the owners is killed, the police look to her Aunt, thinking she may have killed the competition. Abby knows they are wrong and sets out to find the real killer.

I didn't fall in love with the characters. Abby seems to be flighty, she has lots of work, but seems to never get around to doing it. She wants to make tote bags, but she doesn't have a business plan or really much of an idea of how to get it started. Other characters just eat and gossip. The story was easy-ot-read and fun. I didn't figure out the killer until just before they revealed them self.

I love a good cozy mystery, blurb on this sounded interesting so I gave it a whirl. I was not disappointed in the least. I love this little town; it is everything you want a small town to be. I felt like I was pulled into the story from the beginning. There are a few really slow places, but all in all it is a great read. Looking forward to the next one.

A classic cozy mystery set in a small town. I am always happy to travel to this place and meet these women who are ingenous and clever.
This is a solid mystery and it kept me read and guessing.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A nice cozy mystery. No cursing, mild romance. nice small town setting. I enjoy picturing the town with small businesses (most of which are owned by woman), streets named for birds, and craftsmen. This particular book was about the murder of the second wife of the town’s most prominent citizen and the effect it has had on the businesses in town.

Hanging by a Thread is the second book in the A Sewing Studio Mystery, but the first I’ve read by Dorothy Howell. Abbey runs the Sewing Studio and hopes to make a go of making and selling totes on a grander scale than she’s currently doing and for the upcoming women’s conference to be held in their small town. She’s also been tasked with many other duties surrounding it, and we see her in action in her many different roles. But will it happen, or is it on the verge of being canceled, as many fear?

This cozy mystery is set in a small town where many small businesses are being run. I loved the types of shops and all their names. The characters who owned them all had unique personalities. Many seemed to have a half-glass-empty disposition, always thinking the worst was about to happen, especially after a murder was committed. Abbey seems better at gathering clues and creating a list of suspects than the police, much to the chagrin of Zack, her friend or romantic interest, who happens to be on the force. Which is he really?

There are many twists and turns to the story, along with several stories being threaded together. There is a fairly good flow to the story, and the suspected murderer became clear to me sooner than anyone else, it seems. There is some romance and many activities and details about the women’s conference. There are hopes and dreams dependent on it. There are family and friends, anger, fear, lots of sweets created at Abbey’s aunt’s bakery, which I could taste, beautiful descriptions, and, of course, crimes to solve.

The murder wasn’t always at the forefront, and neither were the thefts that only Abbey and the doll’s owner seemed to know about. There is a cliffhanger ending, but also some loose ends of storylines not being brought to their conclusion—at least not yet. It makes me want to read the next book in the series once it’s released. The cover is colorful and has a lot of essential elements to the story depicted.

Hanging By a Thread is a cozy mystery set in a small town with lots of shopkeepers, beautiful descriptions, and a murder to solve. It’s just what I needed during these colder autumn nights.

I can't sew worth a darn but I do enjoy mysteries about sewing and embroidery. This one takes place in a small town in California. A rival bakery is opening and Abby's aunt is concerned there isn't enough business for two. Unfortunately, the new bakery owner is soon found dead and Abby's aunt is the prime suspect.

I enjoyed this cozy mystery, though I have not read the first in the series. I would definitely consider reading another.

Hanging by a Thread by Dorothy Howell is the second installment in A Sawing Studio Mystery series.
I chose this book thinking that it was a first in the series and I believe that I would have probably liked it more had I read the first book.
I would really appreciate it if it is stated which book in the series the books on this site are. It would eliminate potential confusion, even though I always check before choosing a book, especially cozy mysteries, since they lean heavily on character development and I simply like to start at the beginning, at times mistakes happen.

I liked both the main heroine as well as side characters. They are relatable and realistic and I like how many different trades and shops were presented. That said I also feel that there were too many characters and people involved and even though I tried I simply couldn't keep up with all of them.
The story started well and it showed real promise but soon my attention seemed to wane. There was some repetitivness and it was unnecessary in my opinion.
The mystery itself was solid.

Dollycas's Thoughts

Sarah's Sweets is going to have some competition when a new bakery opens up in town. Abbey's aunt was already worried about making ends meet and the new bakery has all the money it needs thanks to the owner's rich husband. Sarah is hoping the upcoming women's conference will give her business a bit of a cushion until she finds new ways to help the bakery be more profitable. The whole town really needs the event to be a big success. Abbey is hoping the tote bags she has been making in the sewing studio sell well too so that she can make some additions to the studio and grow that into a business of her own.

But the murder of the owner of the new bakery may tear everything apart at the seams. Aunt Sarah becomes the prime suspect. Can they really believe she would literally kill her competition? The town's merchants are worried not only about a murderer in their midst but also that the conference will be canceled because of the crime. Abbey is juggling quite a few things but her number one priority is clearing her aunt's name and then making sure the conference goes on as planned. She is going to need a little help from her friends because she still has to take care of her commitments for the women's conference, of which she has many.

_____

I do like the characters of this series, but I had the same problem with Abbey that I had in the first book, Seams Like Murder. Projects are just thrust upon her, and she can't say no. She was also very weak with an order placed for her tote bags. The conference committee wanted a tote bag that would be given out to all attendees and each and every design they provided was worse than the last, yet she made a sample of each one for them to approve which they didn't. She knew the designs were bad but she had no initiative to tell the committee that and offer suggestions until her friend Caitlin stepped in and offered to come up with the perfect design. By then, it was hard to believe Abbey had enough time to make all those tote bags and some of her own in time for the conference with only one machine. She also had to make poodle skirts for the servers at the conference to wear with no idea how to make them. Thankfully, again Connie, the fabric shop owner saved the day with an easy pattern and some pointers but she still needed to make a variety of sizes. She also had to track down pillowcases to make pillowcase dresses for a fashion show at the conference. She did have help with those but that is still a ton of projects so she didn't have much time to sleuth out a killer.

There are several supporting characters within the story. I wish Aunt Sarah had a larger role because she was definitely worried about something but she held it in for most of the book. I also am troubled by Caitlin's engagement, that subplot is going to blow up soon, I hope. A different subplot deals with another shop owner and a problem she asked Abbey to help with. I was very happy to have it contained within this story and that it had a positive ending.

The main mystery, the murder, unfolded slowly. Sheriff Grumman still continues to distress me. He jumps to conclusions with no evidence or he tries to make the evidence prove what he has preconceived. I am glad he has Deputy Zach McKenna to help him out. He has a good head on his shoulders and he has a budding romance with Abbey, although he is a little clueless in that department. Unlike the sheriff, I did focus in on the right guilty party but I needed just a few more clues for everything to fall into place. I knew the showdown was coming and it was exciting. It did happen before the women's conference so we have that to look forward to or at least how it may affect Abbey's Sewing Studio and Sarah's Sweets.

Hanging by a Thread is an entertaining cozy mystery and I am looking forward to the third installment of the Sewing Studio Mystery Series very much. Abbey has shown us how strong she can be in the face of danger. I need more of that strength to come out in her interactions with people who ask her to do things. I want her business to succeed and it can't be if she lets people walk all over her. She is a good person with a big heart but she is smart too, smart enough to stand up for herself and her time.

Hanging by a Thread by Dorothy Howell takes us back to Hideaway Cove where Abbey Chandler is still busy sewing pillowcase dresses. Abbey is slowly decorating her sewing studio at her aunt’s bakery. I admit that I am still baffled as to why Abbey is starting a sewing business when she can barely sew. It would make more sense for Abbey to be the publicist for the town since she was a marketing executive in Los Angeles. But that is neither here nor there. Abbey, despite working as a corporate executive, cannot seem to say no. She has too many projects and not enough time. She gets roped into sewing the poodle skirts for servers at the upcoming women’s convention and, naturally, Abbey has no clue how to sew them. Abbey is also embroidering the tote bags for the women’s conference. Each design she receives is worse than the last, but Abbey does not say a word. By the time a design is approved, I do not see how Abbey’s one embroidery machine can get all the totes done before the convention. Abbey finds herself with two mysteries to solve. The woman who owns the local toy store finds vintage dolls disappearing from her back room. She asks Abbey to identify the culprit (even though the woman is positive she knows who is the thief). The case of the lost dolls becomes an afterthought. I thought it was a silly storyline. The murder mystery is okay. It was obvious who would die. Abbey gets involved when the local sheriff zeros in on Aunt Sarah as a suspect. There is one item that I knew would be important to the whodunit because it is mentioned multiple times. There is a tense reveal where lingering questions are answered. The author needs to make a decision regarding Abbey. Is she business savvy (to match her business background), scattered, or will she continually make stupid decisions? I wonder if Abbey will learn to say no and quit taking on too many projects. I am also curious about the quality of her stitching. While I found Hanging by a Thread easy to read there are repetitive details. There are so many characters and many of them are not needed (some were annoying). Hanging by a Thread is the second A Sewing Studio Mystery. It does help to read Seams Like Murder. I gave A Sewing Studio Mysteries a second chance, but it is not my cup of tea (I ended up rolling my eyes too many times).

I enjoyed the mystery and the characters. I look forward to another in the series.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Solid addition to the series but the number of projects that Abby gets strong-armed into is tiring. Learn to say no! The setting is cute, the characters (and there are A LOT of them) are likeable, and the mystery kept me guessing. I’m not sure what it is but something is missing for me in this. Maybe because of the many characters and the many projects – there’s just so much going on that it’s hard to focus on one thing and go with it. Hoping the issues are worked out in the next one.