3 Sewing Mysteries to Read this Summer
I love a good mystery series: hardboiled crime fiction, thrillers, and cozy mysteries—I read it all! But I especially love cozy mysteries in the summertime because they’re light, sometimes funny, and you can find them in all kinds of categories, including crafting! I found quite a few set in and around the sewing world, but the following three sewing mysteries intrigue me most, and they’re all the first in a series, which is important to me; the more book in a series, the better!
1. Sew Deadly by Elizabeth Lynn Casey
Sew Deadly is the first of 12 books in the Southern Sewing Circle Series.
Recently relocated from the north to small-town South Carolina, sewist and librarian Tori Sinclair has been the subject of endless gossip. When she finds a dead body at her back door, the town sheriff is determined to put the blame on her. She needs her sewing buddies to help her clear her name.
Not sure what a cozy mystery is? This article by Amanda Khong of Bookish Brews takes a deep dive into the genre.
2. Dire Threads by Janet Bolin
The first book in the Threadville Mystery series, Dire Threads tells the story of a struggling embroidery and sewing shop. There are five books in the series.
Willow Vanderling’s shop is popular with tourists, but it’s struggling with the locals and Willow’s efforts to expand are continually thwarted by the town’s zoning commissioner. After the commissioner turns up dead, Willow becomes the prime suspect. There’s machine embroidery in the mix in this one, and I can’t wait to see how that plays out.
3. Pleating for Mercy by Melissa Bourbon
Pleating for Mercy is the first of seven books in the Magical Dressmaking Mystery series.
Manhatten fashion designer Harlow Jane Cassidy leaves her big-city life behind and moves back to her Texas hometown to open a dressmaking boutique in the farmhouse she recently inherited from her great-grandmother. Her first client is her old friend, who orders a wedding gown. But soon there’s a murder, and to make matters more interesting, Harlow thinks the 1900s farmhouse might be haunted!
3 More to Read
Because I’m bicraftual, I’ve read cozies set in other crafting genres, such as knitting, cooking, and even gardening. My favorite is the Yarn Retreat Mystery Books by Betty Hechtman. They’re set at a small hotel and centered around fiber retreats where murder is always an uninvited guest.
Here are three crafty cozies to get you started:
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Yarn to Go by Betty Hechtman. This is the first book in the Yarn Retreat Mystery series (nine books) that I mentioned above. Baker Casey Feldstein inherits a fiber retreat business, and when she discovers that there’s one last retreat scheduled, she decides to go ahead with it, even though she knows nothing about needle arts. Murder and mayhem ensue, and Casey solves the crime.
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Crossed by Death by ACF Bookens. Stitcher and salvage expert Paisley Sutton discovers a body in an old building. As she works with the townspeople to solve the murder, her cross-stitch helps her focus and relax. This is the first book of five in the Stitches in Crime Series.
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Murder, Plain and Simple by Isabella Alan. Angela Braddock inherits an Amish quilt shop in Ohio, and she and her French bulldog move in and reopen the shop. But before you know it, there’s a murder, and the body is found in her storeroom. This is the first in a series of five.
I hope you’ll dig into some of these sewing mysteries this summer. When I take books like these on vacation and I finish reading them, I always leave them behind for others to enjoy; it’s a great way to pay it forward!
Happy stitchy reading,
Kathleen
P.S. What’s your favorite craft-related beach book? Leave a comment below and let us know.
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