A.C.F. Bookens

I'm always afraid to try Amazon freebies, but this one caught my attention because it involved cross stitch. I ended up being pleasantly surprised. Paisley Sutton operates a salvage business. She'd been granted permission by owners George and Berlinda to salvage what she could from an old country store they owned and planned to demolish. When she made her way into the attached house, she discovered a body. Over the course of the book, she and the sheriff become good friends. Paisley is a show more single mother who lives close enough to a good friend Mina and to her father to receive help with childcare when needed. An unexpected bonus for me occurred when Paisley's love for history sent her on a genealogical quest in search of information about the family who owned the store. Although it isn't labeled as Christian fiction, it clearly leans in that direction as one important moment occurs in a church and an ensuing conversation eventually leads towards a reconciliation. I'll likely look for the next in this series in the coming months. show less

The protagonist is a salvage expert who also digs into geneaolgy to discover the history of the items salvaged. The characters are likeable, the setting comfortable and the history informative. Cross stitch plays a minor role as the calming activity for the main character...some discussion of patterns, color blending and charts. This cozy mystery fits the definition to a T. The characters were endearing, but a bit saccharine. Who cares? The murder mystery moved along in a procedural manner show more with all the involvement of a non-law enforcement historian.

I do think the cozy mystery/salvage business aspect was missing from the last few books. The author had topics she wanted to bring forward and did that well, but we lost sight of the character we had know throughout the series. I was interested in the process of genealogical research which was more up front at the end. No complaints-author's choice. show less

I needed a palate cleanser and this did the trick. If I'm totally objective, its probably a 3* book, but when the time is right for light, the time is right. I will go forward with this series for just that reason. Cross stitch plays a minor role as the calming activity for the main character...some discussion of patterns, color blending and charts. This cozy mystery fits the definition to a T. The characters were endearing, but a bit saccharine. Who cares? The murder mystery moved along in show more a procedural manner with all the involvement of a non-law enforcement historian. The protagonist is a historian who salvages old buildings. That part was the most interesting and as far as I could tell was realistic. Fun read overall. show less

Thanks to Amazon Prime and Vinci Books for a digital copy. All comments and opinions are my own.

This is the first in a cozy mystery series with a likeable main character who has an unusual profession. Paisley Sutton is a single mom and 46-year-old historian and salvager of old buildings, who lives in the rural south with her two-year-old son Sawyer and her Maine Coon Beauregard.

The book opens with a murder as Paisley discovers a recently killed woman in the house she is salvaging just show more before it is torn down. Even though the hunky sheriff is more than capable of solving this crime, Paisley becomes involved due to her curiosity and the fact that she was in the building when the woman was murdered, making her a possible target of the murderer.

I liked the way the story unfolds, with the author slowly doling out facts and information about Paisley’s life rather than telling the reader all the details at the beginning. But I was frustrated because I still had questions that should have been answered before the conclusion. I appreciated the subtle allusions to faith throughout. The reference to cross stitching in the title was naturally woven into the story (sorry for that pun) as Paisley often does a cross-stitch project in the evenings to relax.

Despite the good, there were a few things that bothered me about the story. Paisley’s best friend is African American. It seems that every cozy I’ve read lately has a white amateur sleuth with an African American best friend. Secondly, Paisley makes a stupid move late in the book that puts her in danger, just like too many otherwise intelligent women have done in this genre. And thirdly, her two-year-old son was so exuberant and practically uncontrollable it was distracting and over-the-top. Also, the author often mentions how Paisley is on a tight budget and worried about paying her bills. So I wanted to know how she was able to afford to buy her farm.

There were various suspects and red herrings in this easy-to-read novel, with a perilous climax and a budding romantic relationship that opened the door for book number two, though I probably won’t be reading it. show less