2.5★s

Lydia Barnes was looking forward to the sewing retreat at her friend, Fran's home high up in the mountains. As they all arrived on that Friday afternoon, a storm was on the horizon - one they weren't aware of as yet. Saturday morning, the first of the retreat's lessons began and with an unexpected suddenness, the storm hit. Auden, the house's caretaker, arrived at the door to help them prepare for the storm, and during it all, the first body was discovered. With no power, no phone lines and too much ice and snow to be able to leave the house, everyone settled in to wait, vowing to stay together for safety...

Shocked and horrified, knowing that the murderer was someone within the group there for the retreat, Lydia and Auden worked together to find the killer. But they weren't quick enough and when a second body was discovered, Lydia had a fair idea that she would be next. Would Lydia and Auden enact a plan that would work? Or was Lydia about to lose her life?

Quilty as Charged is the 2nd in A Measure Twice Sewing Mystery by Maggie Bailey and unfortunately I wasn't impressed. Too much dialogue, too many annoying and irritating characters. I eventually skimmed, especially when what happened was repeated, and repeated... I doubt I'll continue the series.

With thanks to NetGalley & Crooked Lane Books for my digital ARC to read and review.

I adored this cozy mystery! The group of characters were fantastic, and I loved the fabric store setting. I enjoyed the plot twists and the mystery. It was well paced and well written!

In an effort to keep her new store afloat, Lydia hosts a sewing retreat at the mountain home of her friend, Fran. The arrival of a winter storm that cuts off communication and closes roads is made worse when a body is discovered and murder is the only explanation. It’s obvious that one of the retreat-goers is a killer, but which one?

The second book in this series left me feeling much the same way I felt about the first book – it was a good story, but some of the characters annoyed me, including Lydia. Who in their right mind plans a retreat in the mountains in the winter? Yes, this is Georgia, but even Georgia gets snow and ice in the winter, so why take a chance? At the end of the last book, I thought she was on her way to overcoming her insecurities, but they’re back and irritated me more in this book than in the first.

This was an obvious locked room mystery, so there were only a handful of possible culprits to consider. They all had similar motives, making it even harder to determine whodunnit, and I eventually gave up trying to figure it out. I was surprised when the killer was revealed, but felt cheated by the motive, as it was only hinted at until the very end of the book.

It’s possible that I’ll read the next book in this series, if there is one, but I won’t be in any hurry to do so.

Good cozy murder mystery. Sewing retreat turns deadly when one of them is murdered and everyone is trapped by an ice storm .

An incredible book with wonderful characters and a beautiful setting. It will keep you guessing until the end.

A locked cabin cozy! Lydia's plan to run a winter sewing retreat at her friend Fran's cabin goes sideways fast when she finds Fran dead! And then an ice storm hits! AND-no spoilers but someone else ends up dead as well. Fans of the genre know that this will become a game of sorting the possible villains and Lydia does so with the help of Auden, the handyman. But should she trust him? This is a nice second installment to the series that will also be fine as a standalone. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I liked that I didn't guess and look forward to the next one.

Lydia Barnes is counting on her first sewing retreat as a way to turn things around for her sewing shop, Measure Twice. The first weekend is a sort of trial run, with friends and regular customers in attendance. She's encouraged them all to leave their devices at home so when the owner of the mountain cabin is found murdered and an unexpected storm knocks out the power and phone lines they're all stranded with a killer.

It took me a while to warm up to this one. There's a lot of sewing jargon, which would be right up my alley if it was the kind of sewing that I do, but I didn't recogize a single pattern or fabric line. They're making quilted jackets, but thankfully they're quilting their own fabric instead of using cutter quilts. (Yes, I would've been upset about fictional characters making fictional projects and destroying quilts that never actually existed. I'm like that.)

Once the murder happened it got a lot more interesting. Everyone seemed to have a possible reason to want the victim dead. The way that Lydia eventually figured out who did was was satisfying. I haven't read the first book in the series, but the resolution left me wanting to visit these characters again.

Crafting Cozy Mystery in which a Georgia sewist and fabric store owner who turns sleuth after her friend's murdered at a sewing retreat and she's trapped with the killer by a storm.

4/5 stars: This is the second entry in Bailey's Measure Twice Sewing Mystery series which is a Crafting Cozy Mystery that takes place in Georgia and features a seamstress and fabric store owner. In an attempt to boost her store's income she invites several regular customers to a sewing retreat at her friend's mountain home. But things quickly turn, when she finds the host dead and the group find themselves trapped by a winter storm. She'll have to depend on the handsome cabin’s caretaker to help as she turns sleuth to uncover the killer. Bailey has deftly crafted a mystery that balances the suspects, clues and red herrings and will leave you pondering the whodunit until the final reveal. I very much appreciated the isolation trope Bailey employed, nothing better than a winter storm setting for a murder mystery. Additionally, Bailey's writing and character work are excellent; the characters are well-rounded and complex while remaining incredibly likable. It's great to catch up with Lydia, a former junior high teacher and 40 year old recent divorcee, the regulars at her fabric shop, Measure Twice, and the folks of Peridot. I really liked reading about the sewing projects described throughout the book. And let's not forget the Lydia's adorable animal sidekicks: her dog, Charlie, and cat, Baby Lobster. While you could read this as a stand-alone, you'll gain so much more by reading the series from the beginning; so be sure to pick up book one, Seams Deadly.

I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable read by a new to me author. I was quickly engaged by the characters and pacing of the story. Just the right amount of intrigue that kept me turning pages. I can’t wait to read more from the author.

Quilty as Charged is the 2nd book in A Measure Twice Sewing Mystery series. Although this is the second in the series it felt like it was the debut book with the introduction to the characters and their level of friendship or acquaintance.(although I haven't read the first book so that could be why). The book started off slow and it took me awhile to get into it but it got better. Lydia Barnes recently took ownership of Measure Twice, a sewing and fabric store. She is trying to increase revenue and get more people into the store so she closes (yes, closes) for a long weekend and sponsors a sewing retreat for 7 people at her mentor Fran's cabin. Honestly none of the attendees were likable but I guess that makes them better suspects. Fran is discovered dead so the group are the obvious potential culprits. Everyone has secrets! They end up calling the local handyman, Auden Williams. This is where the story gets better. There is a big ice and snowstorm so they don't have power, phones, or heat and can't leave. .Auden is a likable character and he and Lydia trust each other because they were together in the kitchen and they knew neither killed Fran. They work together to find the culprit. Lydia doesn't badger answers out of the suspects but gets her clues from overhearing conversations and invading everyone's privacy. The reveal was good but then the book goes on for another two chapters tying up the case and having Lydia and Auden go on a first date. Overall the book was decent. The series has potential. #QuiltyAsCharged #AMeasureTwiceSewingMystery #NetGalley #CrookedLaneBooks

Very cute story has fun and interesting characters. The storyline kept interesting and made it so that I finished it quickly. Looking forward to seeing what the author was in mind next

The narrative has a quirky optimism to it, but by Jove, the need to explain all of Lydia’s thoughts and the repetitiveness made it a struggle to get through.

At 32% I couldn’t stand it any longer and skipped ahead to 80% to read the lead up to the final reveal. Another disappointment: the murderer was already caught and the last 20% of the story is spent discussing, over and over again, the motive of the murderer. I skimmed through the last 20% and I still found it repetitive!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Maggie Bailey for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Quilty as Charged coming out August 20, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This was definitely a fun cozy mystery. I lowkey love sewing, so I loved the cabin in the woods sewing retreat. Georgia is a beautiful state, so it was easy to picture the landscape. The girls trip away definitely sounds like fun, but of course it can’t all be fun and games. There had to be murder. Lydia was a likable and fun character. I thought her crush on Auden was a little sudden but understandable. The plot was fun and felt like a modern Agatha Christie story. I loved it!

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys sewing cozies!

The writing feels tentative, it’s an interesting story, although the characters are as the story say incomplete. I thought the romance is really cute. #QuiltyasCharged #NetGalley

"Quilty as Charged (A Measure Twice Sewing Mystery)" by Maggie Bailey is a trapped in the house for the weekend with the culprit type mystery. When Lydia decides to try her had at a running a sewing retreat they all get trapped by an ice storm just in time to find the homeowner and their friend done in. Then, not even a day later, an apparent self inflected passing. Or was it?

Most everyone has known each and are regulars at Lydia's fabric/craft store. However, Lydia is finally getting called out a bit on her space case self absorption that she was completely oblivious to. I hope she continues to grow out of this as she is so spaced out she misses whole conversations and other characters get frustrated with her.

Despite all that she does manage to work out what really happened. She actually makes a safe plan to catch the culprit and just in time for the power to turn on. There is a lot of recapping and what feels like a bit of epilogue to the end of the book, but the story was entertaining.

Lydia, the new owner of the Measure Twice fabric store in Peridot, Georgia, organizes a sewing retreat to boost business and keep her store afloat. She invites her loyal customers to spend a weekend at a mountain home owned by Fran, her friend, and the store’s previous owner. To fully immerse themselves in the experience, they disconnect from the outside world by leaving their phones behind.

However, shortly after arriving, an unexpected ice storm strikes, leaving them without electricity and making it too dangerous to leave. The situation takes a deadly turn when their host is found murdered, revealing that the real threat may be within the house.

As they anxiously wait for the storm to pass and for a chance to call for help, Lydia takes it upon herself to uncover if there is a murderer among them.

This new cozy mystery series had some good twists and turns. I wasn't completely sold on all the characters but cozy mystery fans especially those who love to sew, will enjoy this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

Such a fun newish cozy series. I love the eclectic cast of characters. Super fun and enjoyable read.

This book had a good storyline but was cluttered with disjointed chatter and imaginative thoughts. Lydia sometimes acts like an airhead and wonders in her mind too much. When chaos ensued with the murder of her friend, a snowstorm, and a blackout, things became scary for the group. It was a mild cozy mystery, with mild intrigue and excitement.

This is a new series and author for me. Although it was the second book in the series, I was interested in the premise, a fabric/sewing shop, the location in the South, a slightly older than normal (40) MC starting over. I will be honest. This was almost the first DNF I would have done since I started reviewing books. I figure, if I ask for a book, I owe the author and publisher the courtesy of at least giving the book a read. The beginning is so disjointed, Lydia has the maturity of a fifteen year old, not a 40 year old business owner, and she has basically left the organization of her Sew Relaxing Retreat to her mentor, the woman she bought Measure Twice from. She is disorganized, distracted, and a pushover, facing nothing head-on. It is so annoying. The biggest problem for me, however, is that there is only one likeable character in this whole mess, besides the fur babies, and he doesn't even enter the book until about a third way in. I have never read a book with so many annoying, obnoxious, and self-absorbed characters. I am all for quirky characters, but these people are not quirky, just awful folks whose stories I couldn't get invested in. Thus, I didn't care about solving the mystery. With the addition of Auden, the handyman and Lydia finally used a little bit of the brain she was given. The second half picked up a little. I would not be interested enough to pick up anything else in this series. Thanks to #NetGalley and #CrookedLaneBooks for the opportunity to explore this series.

Quilty as Charged by Maggie Bailey is about a mountain sewing retreat.

Will Lydia find the killer and keep everyone going in this storm?

Lydia Barnes
It’s been six months since the last book, as we are in February, and Lydia decided to host a sewing retreat at Fran’s mountain home during the winter. Well, it all seemed dandy to Lydia until the retreat started, and now, it’s not so much. Lydia is still the crazy, colorful character from the first book and wants to solve the mystery especially after everything is said and done with her finding Fran’s dead body and not knowing what to do during a winter storm that knocks the power out.

The Mystery
Lydia finds Fran’s dead body in Fran’s room, and then shortly after that, the winter storm majorly hits the mountains, and they lose power. She puts it into her head that she needs to figure out who had the motive to kill Fran. Her options are someone in the house killed her or that it was some stranger who came into the house and left the house without any of them knowing. Lydia wasn’t sure what to think about what was happening.

I guessed who did it and the motive as well. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure that I was right until it was revealed.

Four Stars
My rating for Quilty as Charged by Maggie Bailey is four stars, and I recommend it. Ms. Bailey has done a great job introducing a character who is very into sewing and other creative hobbies. It’s a great book.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Quilty as Charged by Maggie Bailey.

Until the next time,
Karen the Baroness

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