There was a time when I was very young that my mom introduced me to embroidery, but I haven't done anything like that in years.

After saying that, you will probably be surprised to hear me say that I found this book to be fascinating. While it is fiction, it does have some non fiction bits and pieces. And I really loved the phrases that were at the beginning of every chapter most of them stitched on samplers. Some were amusing, others thought provoking.

The story was very carefully crafted around a murder mystery. It was well-written with an interesting assortment of characters.

I highly recommend this book to all mystery lovers.

A sweet cozy mystery that I enjoyed and finished in an afternoon. Unlike other cozy's I've read this one leaned more sweeter than others.

Murder mystery, needlepoint and assistant to a private investigator are what this book is all about. Angie Curtis has return to Haven Harbor from Arizona where she had been working as an assistant to a private investigator. Her grandmother is getting married to Reverend Tom and she is the maid of honor.

She is helping her grandmother run her needlepoint business, Mainly Needlepoint. She and her friend, Sarah, have been asked to help Skye West get ready for a lawn sale. Skye has just bought the Gardner house which has been empty for 45 years and the last party held there ended with the death of Jasmine Gardner. As the story unfold, you will learn why Skye believes the death was anything but accidental. She asks Angie to look into the death and find out what really happened.

There are many twists and turns in this book and the ending wraps up this book but leaves it open for a sequel.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

It's hard to imagine anything bad ever happening in picturesque Haven Harbor, Maine--until a famous face rolls into town and unthreads some very dark secrets. . .
Angie Curtis and the Mainely Needlepointers are all too familiar with the Gardener estate. The crumbling Victorian mansion, known as "Aurora," has been sitting vacant for nearly twenty-five years--and some say it's haunted by the ghost of Jasmine Gardener, the teenage girl who died there in 1970 under mysterious circumstances...
Harbor Haven is abuzz with excitement when Hollywood actress Skye West decides to buy Aurora and sell off its furnishings. And Angie is intrigued when Skye asks her to appraise the estate's sizable collection of needlepoint pictures. But the more she examines the pieces, the more they seem to point toward Jasmine's murder--and the murderer--and it's up to her to stitch the clues together. . .

As a mystery story, I have to say I quite liked this book. Lots of cunning twists and turns as we are merrily led down the garden path (so to speak) in search of our culprit. Also really appreciated the dialogue between the characters. Helped to push the plot without dragging out the story with paragraph after paragraph of describing stuff. I did appreciate that. Angela is also a very cool MC - she is certainly a lot more "edgy" (for lack of a better word) than most heroines in cozy mysteries...and that was great!

However, a few things were a let down. Most important was how inept and useless the police are portrayed. I know it is just fiction but they are made to look like fools and I don't think that is a good characterisation, even in a novel. The other thing that annoys me is when the "hints and tips" stuff get in the way of the story. The history of needlepoint at the start of each chapter was a bit much for me.

Overall, a good mystery but not enough for it to be more than 3 stars...


Paul
ARH