I loved this mystery. Tietjen created a compelling sleuth and I love Maple Bishop's introverted, honest-to-a-fault self. I loved the whole miniaturist Frances Lee Glessner aspect as well as the time period as well. I definitely will read the next books in this series - the author has set the stage for more interesting mysteries.

I really enjoyed this book it was very Agatha Christie like . I like and enjoyed the premise, main character and the setting .
It was such a good read
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for letting me read and review this book

Maple Bishop is a war widow following World War II. Although trained as a lawyer, she is unable to find a firm willing to bring her on in the small town she and her husband moved to prior to the war. After getting the insurance payment from his death in the war, she is shocked to find out that he was a better country doctor than he was financial manager. Maple is broke.

She searches for a way to make money. Thankfully, her hobby of making miniature doll houses appears to be able to make some money. But, in delivering a doll house, she comes across a murder. At first, she is a suspect. But she begins providing not-so-welcome advice to the local sheriff.

In her first novel, author Katie Tietjien has created a nice heroine and detective. Her characters are well developed and likeable. Her plot was intriguing. I look for more books from this author.

This was an interesting historical fiction account based on the real life of Frances Glessner Lee. I’d never heard of her or her groundbreaking methods of recreating death scenes. This story features Maple and is set In Vermont during the late 1940’s. Maple is a grief stricken widow having lost not only her husband, but mother and brother. She’s an outsider in a small tight knit community and a woman with a law degree, which in those times was highly unusual. She channels her emotions into constructing miniature scenes from scant scraps. I found calling them dollhouses kinda creepy. They were more akin to moments and scenes Maple was capturing. The post-war era seemed mostly historically accurate. Maple is very observant, picking up on things out of place and suspicious. She manages to earn the ire of the local Sheriff, Sam repeatedly. She is blunt and quite forthcoming with her thoughts and feelings, always trying to tone it down so as not to appear rude or more intelligent than the men. Kenny Is a young officer in training who could become an ally when Maple discovers a body hanging in a barn. Her skills, using the premise of crime solving by recreating the scenes, are dismissed and ignored by the know-it-all men in charge. There are many solidly described and interesting supporting characters. After what I felt was a slow start the pace of investigating, crime solving, and tension amped up. It kept me guessing. I very much enjoyed learning about this slice of obscure history. The author went to great lengths researching Captain Lee.
An advance reader copy of “Death In The Details” by Katherine Tietjen, published by Crooked Lane Books, was provided by NetGalley. These are all my own honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily without any expectation of compensation.

2.25/5

Maple Bishop is not having a good time. Recently widowed after her husband died in combat during World War II, her situation only gets more complicated when she finds out she's penniless. Alone and in need of money she turns her hobby, making extremely detailed dollhouses, into a small business. But things take a turn when one of her first customers winds up dead and Mabel has the dubious honor of finding the body. While dismissed as an "accident" by the authorities, Mabel cannot stop thinking about it and decides to reconstruct the scene in one of her miniatures finding discrepancies that lead her to believe something else is going on and that a killer is out there.

The author was inspired by Frances Lee Glessner, a woman who was instrumental in the development of forensic science in the USA. She created these intricated dioramas of crime scenes that helped teach the importance of processing the scene and observation. I found that story to be more compelling than the plot of this book. Is this bad? No, not really. It was just too boring, lacking a certain spark of <i>something</i>. For a book about miniatures it was missing more descriptions of these little houses and their details. The set up was contrived, Mabel's presence in the story stood out because of how unnatural it felt, an outsider in her own plot. I don't think the crime itself was that interesting, or difficult to put together. The way the characters spoke and interacted felt too modern at times, it was jarring when the story referenced WWII. Speaking of which, it did all the time. Even when it made no sense to mention it.

Where do I think the strenght of this book lies? In its emotional component. I actually really liked Mabel, with all her quirks and issues. She felt like quite the survivor and her distress was palpable. When the book dug deeper into the sense of loss the protagonist, and most of the side characters, was experimenting I did get sucked in. If this had been a drama about mourning and reconnecting with other people and her community it would have been a hit with me. Just remove the murder mystery gimmick and focus on the emotional toll of war and death.

Kate Tietjen has written a really interesting debut mystery novel. Set in a post WWII small town, the main character, Maple, finds herself questioning the local police department’s ruling of a suicide. Armed with her ability to create miniature houses and people, she sets out to prove the authorities wrong by recreating the death scene. I thoroughly enjoyed trying to figure out who might have been responsible for the crime, and was pleasantly surprised that I had not guessed by the end. Always a good sign when reading a murder mystery. I look forward to further adventures of Maple in small town Vermont. Tons of quirky characters that are sure to show up more in future books.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the eArc.

Thank you to Net Galley and Crooked Lane Books for the chance to read and review this book. the opinions expressed are my own.
A book based on handcrafted dollhouses caught my attention. When Maple Bishop is left destitute after the death of her husband during the war, she decides to try selling these dollhouses to make money. The mystery involves a body hanging in a barn. I found parts of this book interesting, but it did not draw me in. I found it hard to care about any of the characters-I just couldn't get to know them. The mystery wasn't much of a mystery-it was pretty easy to figure out the villains. I am rating this book a three because parts of it appealed to me, and I think there is great potential if this series continues.

4 stars for this gripping but cosy mystery!

My love for World War II-era fiction and murder mysteries made this book an irresistible choice, and it didn't disappoint. While the first section of the story unfolded slowly, it was essential to establish Maple, our protagonist, and her backstory. Once the plot gained momentum, I was completely captivated & devoured the rest of the novel in a single sitting. I particularly loved how things seemed to come full circle at the end.

Two aspects prevented me from giving it a perfect five-star rating: Firstly, the mannerisms and language of certain characters felt too modern & not quite 1946. And secondly, the mystery itself was a little predictable.

Overall, this WW2 cosy mystery is a delightful read, offering a blend of intrigue and historical charm.

Thank you to the author, publisher & NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review.

If you like historical mysteries, especially those inspired by real people, check out Katie Tietjen’s solid debut, Death in the Details. Without spoilers, I can say it’s inspired by the real-life mother of forensic science, Frances Glessner Lee. Tietjen’s amateur sleuth, Maple Bishop, is loosely based on Lee and her “Nutshell studies of unexplained deaths”.

In 1946, Maple Bishop is a war widow, penniless and stuck in a small Vermont town where her husband was the town doctor before he enlisted. Although she’s a lawyer, no one will hire a female, so she turns to her hobby hoping to make enough money to pay the mortgage. She asks Ben Crenshaw, the local hardware store owner, if she can set up a small area in his store to demonstrate the making of her dollhouses and miniature scenes. When a grumpy local farmer and his wife commission a dollhouse, Maple is hopeful.

Maple struggles to deliver the completed dollhouse to the Wallace farm, but, despite an appointment, there’s no one there. She does follow her curiosity to the open barn doors, and finds Elijah Wallace hanging in his barn. She’s shocked when Sheriff Sam Scott shows little feeling at the scene of the apparent suicide. The more Maple stares at the scene, though, the more she begins to suspect the dead man may have been murdered. But, the sheriff shows no inclination to believe a little lady who makes dollhouses.

Maple’s angry and reluctant to admit that her own temper and inclination to blurt our the truth does nothing to encourage the sheriff to listen to her. But, her recreation of the barn and death scene as a nutshell crime scene does interest a young deputy who wants to work with her to find the truth.

I found Tietjen’s debut to be solid and fascinating. While Maple Bishop is difficult to like, it’s hard not to sympathize with a lonely war widow who is desperate to make a living in a town equally determined to reject her. Death in the Details is fascinating in the post-World War II depiction of small-town life. I hope Tietjen and her amateur sleuth will continue to examine death scenes through the nutshell crime scenes.

The premise of this book really drew me in, but sadly did not fulfill my expectations. Set during the late 1940s in a small town, Maple, a war widow faces financial disaster. She turns her idea of selling her doll houses into a mechanism to solve the murder of a neighbor. Of course, the local police chief wants nothing to do with her or her 'nutshell' crime scene.
I found Maple hard to like, the pace of the book slow, the mystery not all that mysterious. There are alot of grumpy, unhappy people inhabiting the pages of this story. It was just okay for me.

This is a mystery set in 1946 Vermont. I've read about Frances Lee Glessner's work of making miniature crime scenes and was intrigued with a sleuth based on her, but making miniatures of crime scenes seems to be the only similarity between them. While the author wove historical details into the story to give it a distinct sense of time and place, she also used several phrases that didn't come into use until after that date. She also mentioned seat belts, but those weren't added to cars until after 1949. Wrong details like this kept me from getting immersed in the story.

The mystery was clue-based, but Maple was so certain that her judgements about others were correct that she couldn't see the obvious. I had most of the whodunit worked out back when the murder was discovered. The crime scene miniature was mostly a way for Maple to demonstrate her theories. Maple wasn't very likable at the beginning and only slowly learned how to get people to listen to her. She was very socially inept, and it didn't help that she assumed the worst about others and didn't hesitate to let a person know that she held them in contempt--which was most people. However, she's devoted to justice, has a photographic memory, is observant, and likes everything to be neatly explained, so she got it solved.

There was a minor amount of bad language. There was no sex. Overall, I'd recommend this novel, but more to historical fiction fans as the story was more about Maple growing as a person than the mystery.

First thank you @NetGalley and @katietietjen for providing me the ARC of this marvellous book..
Oh I am completely blown away.. The story, flow of the book, the way it’s written and the characters are so perfect.
This book actually shows that sometimes you need to look closer and simple minute details hold the biggest secrets.. I completely devoured into this and its unputdownable.. it keeps the reader so engrossed that you can’t keep it aside.. you just need to flow with the story and with each details that it unfolds.

The character are too good! I loved Maple. She is such a strong character and her determination is unmatched. They way she navigates in her situation is incredible. Love to Kenny for the urge to find the truth. Characters of Ginger, the sheriff adds the required touch of excitement and feel that this story needs!!

This story takes place in post-WWII in a small New England town. Add a dash of history with a strong dose of mystery, and the ending of this story is what is not expected.

I received a free copy of the book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This is a well-written historical mystery set in the post-WWII era. The descriptions of the characters and locations are well written.

Thank you to Katie Tietjen, NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the arc of this book.

What an amazing read. I could not put down. Recommend to anyone who loves crime books. Spell binding. I lost sleep so i could read wotjout interruption. Please enjoy.

What a ride! Maple is a war widow who finds herself in a desperate situation after her husband’s affairs are settled. A trained lawyer ahead of her time and therefore unable to find work, she starts selling dollhouses and then uses them to recreate a crime scene she stumbled upon. The dollhouse helps identify inconsistencies with the investigation of the death and Maple finds herself uncovering a more elaborate plot.

The dialogue seems a touch modern at points for 1946, but Maple’s grief and loneliness feels authentic and heartbreaking. I teared up several times as she thought about her brother and husband. The financial devastation of WW2 on families is another element that stuck me over and over.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this good in advance
This was Katie’s first novel and she did an amazing job at it !
It was interesting to know that it was based upon a real life miniature dollhouse maker
Her writing made me feel like I was part of the story; walking the streets seeing the crime scenes
Looking into the little dollhouses and seeing the rooms and figures
Great job.
I will look for more books by this author in the future.

Recently widowed Maple Bishop has a mortgage to pay and no money left. Being the first female graduate of Boston City Law School doesn’t help much when no one's willing to hire a woman as their lawyer. To survive, she decides to turn her hobby, dollhouse making, into a business and is off to a good start.
The last thing Maple expected when delivering her first custom made dollhouse was to find her customer dead. The Sheriff may believe the cause of death to be suicide or even accidental, but Maple thinks otherwise. With the help of a young police officer and thanks to her often under-estimated skills, Maple will prove that there's more to this case than meets the eye.

I have mixed feelings about this book. This is frustrating because I wanted to "love" it : the writing was good, I liked the small town / post WWII setting, I found most characters in the story compelling and nuanced (Maple, Kenny and the Sheriff especially), BUT it took me about 10 days to read it. I found that the first third of the book was very slow-paced, I understand that the author needed to take Maple to wherever she had to be in order to start investigating a murder (I'm talking about her state of mind), and it is actually awesome that the MC didn’t magically have a "21st century feminist mentality" like we've seen in too many recent books and movies, but had to learn to be more assertive and make something of herself without the support and protection of a male relative. And since we're talking about Maple's state of mind, I know that grief comes in waves that sometimes hit you at the most unexpected moment, I also get that healing was an important part of the character's journey, but sorry, the whole thing with Jamie's coat was too repetitive.
Finally, and without revealing too much, I'll just say that part of the mystery was predictable.

This book had potential and tackled interesting topics the right way, I was maybe too impatient (and maybe that messed with my reading experience), I hope that most readers will have a better experience with it than I did.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for giving me access to this e-ARC in exchange of an honest review.

This is a light, but enjoyable, read with a woman, outside her time and outside her sphere, using the skills and talents she has in dollhouse making to help solve crimes. It is historical fiction based on a real-life person, and shows how anyone with a keen eye can unravel mysteries. Compelling enough that I wanted to get to the end and the solution, but not so intense that I couldn't sleep at night! A perfect bedtime read.

Death in the Details is a fun and interesting cosy mystery with a fast paced plot. I loved following along with Maple, especially seeing a woman's perspective in WWII who also gets to investigate murders and continue her hobby. Overall I think this is going to be a big hit with cost mystery lovers and I would love to read more.