The Quick and the Thread by Amanda Lee

An Embroidery Mystery

Release Date August 3, 2010

Obsidian

First in a Brand New Series

Marcy Singer packs up her life in San Francisco, including her Irish Wolfhound, Angus and moves to Tallulah Falls, Oregon, at the urging of her friend Sadie to fulfill her dream of owning a needlework shop called The Seven Year Stitch.  Sadie and her husband Blake own MacKenzies' Mochas down the street from Marcy's store.

A big grand opening is planned and the whole town is invited.  As the party gets going the store's former tenant, who appears to have had way to much to drink, is following Marcy around slurring that he has something very important to tell her.  Other guests keep rescuing her from having any conversation with Mr. Enright.  The party ends and Marcy can't wait until the next day as her business actually opens. People have signed up for all the classes she has offered and she is excited that her dream is finally coming true.

When Marcy and Angus arrive at the store, the dog runs to the storeroom door and starts pawing at it feverishly. Marcy opens the door to see why Angus is causing such a fuss, she screams as she find the former tenant, Mr. Enright on the floor.  At first she thinks he had just passed out there during the party, the smell is awful he must have thrown up, she notices he scratched a message on the floor with a tapestry needle and that the storeroom is quite a mess.  She finally realizes that the man needs help and calls the paramedics.  They arrive and that is when she learns poor Mr. Enright was not just passed out, he was indeed dead.  Her beautiful new shop has become a crime scene and she has become a murder suspect.

Before Marcy finds herself embroidered into a corner at the local jail she has to stitch together all the pieces of this darn mystery and find the real killer.

This was a fun little mystery, I had to refresh my memory about the term "straw buyers", but the plot was very interesting and a little scary as we see how easily identity theft can happen. The characters were well developed but with definitely more for us to learn as the series continues.  I hope Marcy's mother is featured more in future stories, she sounds like a hoot!   The next installment entitled "Stitch Me Deadly" is set for release in February 2010.

About this Author from Amazon.com:

Amanda Lee is the lady next to you in the grocery line or car pool. She has twins: one boy and one girl; she's a baseball fan, she likes to decorate cakes, she rocks at Guitar Hero... Oh, and she likes to think about murder. But it's okay! She only writes about murder...a lot!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Obsidian, a division of Penguin Publishing.  I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. 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.”