Welcome to Cozy Wednesday!
I am so excited to have Cate Price visit today!
Lie of the Needle, the 3rd A Deadly Notions Mystery came out last month.
LIE OF THE NEEDLE by Cate Price
Thanks so much for having me here today, Lori!
In Lie of the Needle, Daisy Buchanan has recently purchased some antique samplers for her store, Sometimes a Great Notion. It’s a quirky place where she sells vintage sewing notions and whatever else happens to catch her eye at an estate sale or auction. As she researches the value of the exquisite needlework, she wonders if a clue to the current murder could possibly be found on a family heirloom that was stitched over a hundred years ago.
Originally samplers served as a way for women to store their personal repertoire of stitches. This collection of “samples” of favorite motifs and designs could be rolled up and kept with them as a guide.
In the eighteenth century, the purpose of a sampler gradually changed to become a teaching tool for young girls, not just to learn to sew, but also to practice their alphabet and numerals. A young woman had to have excellent needle skills to be suitable for marriage, as one of her primary responsibilities was to monogram and mend the household linens.
Some of the best examples in the early nineteenth century were made in Pennsylvania, and especially in the Quaker schools. One famous school that currently houses a collection of 130 antique samplers is the Westtown School in Chester County. Quakers had their own designs that extolled the virtues of simplicity and peace, like the bird-in-branch motif, paired doves and floating swans.
It’s amazing to me that this intricate work with tiny stitches was done by such young girls, some as little as seven or eight years old. The verses themselves often seem quite grim considering their age, but many of these children were no strangers to death. They had probably already experienced the loss of at least one of their siblings. A verse extract can go something like this:
When I am dead, laid in my grave
And all my bones gone rotten
When this you see, remember me
That I be not forgotten
Have you ever attempted making a sampler? Do you have any advice for those who might be considering taking on the challenge?
~Cate
About the Author:
Cate Price is a regular sight on the streets of her home town walking her two amazing rescue dogs, and she also enjoys gardening, yard sales, and cooking with friends. Writing the Deadly Notions mysteries proved to be rather an expensive project, because while researching auction houses, she also became addicted to bidding on box lots.
Cate is a member of Romance Writers of America, Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. Visit her at www.cateprice.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/catepriceauthor
Lie of the Needle
(A Deadly Notions Mystery)
3rd in Series
Cozy Mystery
Setting: Pennsylvania
A Berkley Prime Crime Mystery (January 6, 2015)
The Berkley Publishing Group
Published by The Penguin Group
Cover Illustration by Ben Perini
Cover Design by Diana Kolsky
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0425258811
E-Book ASIN: B00KWG5RKK
As the owner of Sometimes a Great Notion, a shop specializing in vintage sewing notions and antique treasures, Daisy Buchanan is a strong advocate of preserving the past. But when a killer strikes, she turns her attention to saving lives…
Talk about a great notion! As a fund-raiser to save a two-hundred-year-old farmhouse and stop an ambitious developer, the ladies of the Historical Society of Millbury, Pennsylvania, are producing a Hunky Men of Millbury calendar. Daisy is delighted to lend her support, and the female population of the village is abuzz with anticipation.
But after Daisy’s close friend Cyril doesn’t show up for his photo shoot and the calendar photographer is found dead, it’s beginning to look like the days may be numbered for the men of Millbury. Can a cryptic verse on an antique sampler help Daisy pin down the killer before another pinup runs out of time?
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Murder and a missing person create mayhem in Millbury. The Historical Society fundraiser – Hunky Men of Millbury Calendar raises a few eyebrows and sounds like fun until Daisy’s friend and Martha’s beau, Cyril goes missing and the photographer is dead. In between running her shop, feeding Cyril’s cat, and worrying about Martha, Daisy is trying to sort out some History Society financial problem, find her friend, and pin down a killer.
The crazy thing is this is not the first book I have read this year that starts out with a naked man and the story build from there. Sure gets you attention right from the first page.
This was one of those books that just pulls you in deeper and deeper and when you think you know where the story is headed the author throws a twist and then another and then a really good one that knocks you back on your heels.
Cyril grabbed my heart in the last story, A Dollhouse to Die For, so I too was concerned about his welfare. Daisy and Joe are a wonderful caring couple. They look out for all of their friends and Daisy jumps right in to help Detective Serrano any time she can.
Cate Price writes a story in such a way that the reader really feels emotionally drawn to her characters and their lives. I wish Daisy and Joe were my neighbors. I think we would be great friends. I love all needlecrafts and my husband and Joe would really hit it off. She also stitches together a great mystery and I think this one tops the first 2 in this series.
This installment also has some great information about samplers, some with quite a history. From the first page to the last you are going to enjoy sampling each and every word. I loved this story!
Thanks to the people at Penguin I have 2 copies to give away!
Contest is open to anyone over 18 years old
with a US or Canadian mailing address.
Duplicate entries will be deleted. Void where prohibited.
You do not have to be a follower to enter but I hope you will find
something you like here and become a follower.
Followers Will Receive 2 Bonus Entries For Each Way They Follow.
Plus 2 Bonus Entries For Liking My Facebook Fan Page.
Following the new Google+ Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book Fan Page
will earn you 3 Bonus Entries.
Leave a comment for Cate for 5 Bonus Entries.
Pin this giveaway to Pinterest for 3 Bonus Entries.
If you publicize the giveaway on Twitter or Facebook or anywhere you will receive
5 Bonus Entries For Each Link.
Contest Will End March 4, 2015 at 11:59 PM CST
Winners Will Be Chosen By Random.org
Winners Will Be Notified By Email
and Will Be Posted Here In The Sidebar.
CLICK HERE FOR ENTRY FORM
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
This sounds very interesting!
Great series. Thanks for the giveaway.
Lie of the Needle sounds intriguing. I need to check out A Deadly Notions Mystery series. Thank you for the giveaway.
Starting out with a naked man, you’ve definitely got my attention! The rest of the book sounds good too. I just have to add this one to my TBR list.Thanks for the chance to win a copy.
Congratulations on the new release! Sounds good and I will be checking it out!
Sounds like a fun and interesting read. – I’m putting it on my t-b-r list.
looks so good, hope to get a chance to read it 🙂
I love your cover. The cover is the first thing that draws me into purchasing and reading a book. Then comes the plot content. Thanks for this opportunity to become familiar with Cate Price and her new release.
This book sounds unique and captivating. What a great series. Thanks.
Great interview! Am adding this series to my pile of TBR’s! Thanks!
Reading the review made me think of the old needlework that I have on some handkerchiefs that I have had since I was a child. I’d love to read this book.
I love books that grab your attention right away! This sounds like it did and does 🙂 Thanks!
Love these types of mysteries. Will definitely check out the first two books. Thanks!
Sounds like a great series.
This series sound like it would be a great read. I love finding new authors of cozy mysteries. Thank you for the giveaway.
Great cover. Love to have it in my hands. Thanks for the giveaway.
Samplers have always been interesting to me, especially the old ones. Thanks for the giveaway.
I’ve done some counted cross stitch, but never attempted anything freehand.
the book sounds good.thanks for the chance
I already have “Lie of the Needle”…just need to read it. I’ve read both the other books, in the series, and enjoyed them both.
Sounds like a great read! Thanks for the chance!
Thanks for the giveaway! The book sounds great!
Such amazing fine motor skills!
I used to do a lot of needlework but never a sampler like this. The book sounds terrific!
I think that I’m behind on this series…. Thanks for contest
Oops….. Thanks for the contest.
Looking forward to reading this one.
Thank you Lori…great interview. And thank you as well Kate for the “background” on samplers. I have been hand embroidering since I was four years old and yes, I have made a sampler which I gave to a friend as a gift. I’ve read Going Through the Notions and loved it! Waiting to receive my copy of A Dollhouse To Die For. Yes! I’d love to win this 3rd installment in your series. Thanks for the chance.
Love reading your books. Looking forward to this one.
We seem to have a lot in common, yard sales, rescue dogs and gardening and Buchanan is also the Scottish clan for my family. I have never made a sampler and was interested to learn how those came about. Looking forward to reading your cozy mysteries.
Ann
This sounds like a book I would enjoy reading!
Sounds like a good addition to a fun series. Thank you for sharing.
This book sounds perfect for me.
GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR BOOK AND THANKS FOR THE GIVEAWAY!
I love all things vintage. While my budget doesn’t allow for larger purchases, I do prowl for smaller ones, like kitchen utensils, and lace and such. This sounds like a fun mystery and I’d love to read about her shop.
What a great cover and premise. Of course, I am a bit curious about all these book (ok, two) that Dolly’s seems to be reading that begin with naked men! Thanks for the chance to win!
This seems like the type of mystery novel I would like to pick up and check out.
Samplers especially old ones I would collect if I could afford them. Love the plot.
Marilyn Watson ewatvess@yahoo.com
Your cover is so inviting. Thank you for the interview/review.
This does look good…thanks for the giveaway!
I would love to read this book. It looks very interesting.
This sounds like a good read. I have not really done a sampler but do a lot of other stitching.
Looks like a Great Book & I like the setting in Pa
Also Shared on Facebook & Twitter
https://twitter.com/LindaMoffitt02/status/571776304061792257
https://www.facebook.com/linda.buzardmoffitt/posts/913567008673923