Dollycas's Thoughts

What could go wrong at a friendly scrapbooker's weekend? Well, Private Investigator Bob Roget is trying to catch an identity thief, and Faith agrees to help him. But before they can even check in to the hotel a woman is hit by a car in the parking lot and killed. Good thing Faith brought Steve along to help with the Scrap This Store because he was just in time to pull her out of the way of the speeding car, but sustained a serious injury of his own.

That incident and an abandoned car kick off a whole bunch of crazy events. Events that may have Faith revealing a secret she has been keeping from almost everyone. Events that may cost Faith her life.

_____

Faith Hunter is a strong protagonist with a secret. In Embellished to Death we start to get some details about her life prior to returning to Eden and her grandmothers. Her relationship with Steve is moving along but hits some bumps. He drove the truck and trailer filled with product for the Scrap This booth at the retreat and will be staying to help Faith in any way he can. Faith's grandmothers don't make the trip but Darlene and Gussie are attending the event and will be able to step in to help when needed, and oh boy, are they needed. With Faith helping Bob find the identity thief, Steve being hurt, inept retreat organizers, an upset hotel manager, an "undercover FBI agent" with an ax to grind, and a murderer to catch, Faith doesn't have much time to man the store. I do enjoy the strong friendships that have been built between all the core characters. They all have huge hearts and are there for each other through thick and thin, even when bullets are flying.

The mysteries were complicated. Is the identity thief a murderer or are their two criminals hanging out at the scrapbook retreat? Drama, twists, turns, surprises, and more drama with a little bit of crafting, really kept the pages flying. Faith found herself in so many scary situations. The way the strings of the subplots tangled with the main plot was done with an expert hand because the story had an excellent flow. It was very hard to put the book down when my eyes just wouldn't stay open any longer.

I am mad at myself for getting behind on this fun series. I plan to rectify that in 2024 and read the final three books.

Embellished to Death kept me on my toes. It was so well-written that I was completely entertained. It is a great crafty mystery for cozy readers especially those that enjoy scrapbooking. I do recommend the series be read in order to meet Faith, her grandmas, and their friends from the start.

This was an enjoyable book. I enjoyed the characters. The dialogue set the pacing. The plot was tightly woven to keep me interested in all aspects in the telling of this drama.

During this quarantine period, I have decided to try and clear my kindle of older books as to why not a better time than now when we are in lockdown and can't leave the house. The perfect time for a bookworm like myself. Embellished to Death is one of those cozy mysteries from Henery Press. This book introduces us to Faith Hunter who is one of the workers of Scrap This - a scrapbooking shop in their smalltown of Eden. Faith Hunter is working on trying to be a better person and keep out of trouble as she has a good relationship with Steve but she is keeping her past a secret from Steve as she thinks if he was to find out, he would leave her. On the way to the scrapbooking convention, Faith is checked up from her friend police officer Ted as a car has been found on the side of the road and her information is in the car. It turns out the car belongs to one of the main organizers of the Scrapbooking convention Marsha Smith. This is the first of many incidents and though everything did match up in the end, I found the book quite busy with all it's different twists and turns. At the convention, Faith is about to have the ride of a lifetime with trying to help keep the convention afloat and hunt down an identity theft and a nasty PI who has it out for Faith. In Embellished to Death, we get a bit more of a clearer idea of what happened in Faith's past when she was in the military and married to Adam. I have to admit I did not see the Steve twist coming in the end, that was surprising. If you love scrapbooking and cozy mysteries, then Christina Freeburn's Faith Hunter Scrap This series is the perfect read for you and another great addition to the Henery Press publishing family.