Welcome to Cozy Wednesday!
It is my pleasure to feature
Death by Arts and Crafts by Alexis Morgan today.
Death by Arts and Crafts (An Abby McCree Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
6th in Series
Setting – Washington State
Kensington (December 27, 2022)
Paperback : 336 pages
ISBN-10 : 149673968X
ISBN-13 : 978-1496739681
Kindle ASIN : B09YKX39YM
When a killer’s handiwork threatens the Snowberry Creek arts community, Abby McCree starts looking for glues in her own murder investigation . . .
As the newest member of the Snowberry Creek City Council, perpetually overextended Abby McCree is picked to liaise between the council and the new planning committee for the town’s first-ever arts and crafts fair. As far as gigs go, it’s a fun one—Abby’s spending the weekend tooling around Washington State, checking out similar fairs with her two besties, coffee shop owner Bridey Roker, and ceramic artisan Dayna Fisk.
As Abby spreads the word about Snowberry Creek’s fair, recruiting the industry’s biggest movers and makers, the trip feels like a glittering success. But then, someone is found murdered at one of the events and vendors begin disappearing amid suspicious circumstances. Abby’s determined to keep her hands clean until Dayna finds herself stuck at the top of the suspect list. Now, Abby must weave the clues together and clear her friend’s name before the killer claims another victim—maybe even Abby herself . . .
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Abby McCree has become the newest member of the Snowberry Creek City Council and is appointed as the council liaison with a new committee that is planning the city’s first Arts and Crafts fair. To prepare for the upcoming event she along with her friends, ceramic artist, Dayna Fisk, and coffee shop owner Bridey Roker take off on a girl’s weekend to visit some other fairs. Abby takes time to meet with any vendors that are coming to Snowberry Creek’s fair to make sure they are able to provide everything the vendor needs to make the event a success. Dayna also wants to check in at a booth carrying her works of art.
She has one last vendor to meet with but when she returns to his booth it is closed with a sign saying “Sold Out”. She is disappointed but all three ladies are happy to head for home. She later learns the vendor she wanted to see was murdered and another vendor, Dayna’s business partner is missing. Dayna had some terse words with the woman before walking away and the argument was witnessed by many others so the police have Dayna high up on their suspect list. This leaves Abby no choice. She knows Dayna had nothing to do with with the vendor’s demise or the other vendor’s missing status. She needs to get a little crafty and piece together all the clues to save Dayna all while staying under the real guilty parties’ radar.
I always enjoy catching up with the residents of Snowberry Creek. Abby is a favorite throughout the community, she has great organizational skills and is always ready to volunteer wherever needed. Her only problem is that she keeps finding herself involved in all these murder investigations.
Her relationship with Tripp Blackston is moving along nicely but he worries about her staying safe. It’s not uncommon though to see local police chief Gage Logan and homicide detective Ben Earle along with Tripp gathered with Abby around her kitchen table discussing a case, with her dog Zeke nearby waiting for a treat or food to drop. They have grown to trust her and she had connections to so many people involved in this latest case they had no choice but to keep her in the loop while knowing she was going to be involved no matter what. These relationships are entertaining because sometimes tempers flare but they do all work well together. I also enjoyed Abby’s time with her friends and the way they were always there for each other.
We were introduced to a variety of people due to the fair. They were crafty in more ways than one and it made them all very interesting. The one surprise was that there was a fortune teller at the events. Not the first thing I would think to be at an arts and crafts fair.
The mysteries put forth in this book were very intriguing but I did paste together the clues a bit faster than Abby. That did not hinder my enjoyment of this story one bit. In fact, there were a few moments when I thought I had it wrong but that final twist put everything to rights. I loved it. Not one but two exciting events leading up to another wonderful gathering around Abby’s table to clear up any questions anyone may have had and put the case to rest.
The arts and crafts theme was a fun way for the series to continue and I appreciate the way veterans are proudly included in every story.
Death by Arts and Crafts was a great cozy that kept me captivated from start to finish. There was also a little foreshadowing at the end of what we can expect next for these fine characters as the series continues which left me very excited for my next visit to Snowberry Creek.
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About the Author
Alexis Morgan is the USA Today bestselling author of over forty-five novels, novellas, and short stories that span a variety of genres: American West historicals (as Pat Pritchard); paranormal and fantasy romances; contemporary romances; and cozy mysteries. A RITA® Award-finalist, Alexis Morgan is a member of RWA and Sisters in Crime. She lives in Washington State and can be found online at AlexisMorgan.com.
Author Links –Website – Facebook – Twitter – Blog
You can read my review of Death by Committee here
and Death by Jack-o-Lantern here, Death by Auction here,
Death by Intermission here and Death by the Finish Line here.
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Sounds like a book I will enjoy.