Seams Deadly

Measure Twice Sewing Mystery, Book 1

De: Maggie Bailey

Narrado por: Allyson Johnson

Duración: 7 h y 12 m

Resumen del Editor

Lydia Barnes is excited for a fresh start when she moves to the quaint mountain town of Peridot, Georgia. Her friend, Fran, offers her a job at the Measure Twice fabric store and even sets her up on a date with the handsome Brandon Ivey, who also happens to be Lydia’s new next-door neighbor. Finally, things are looking up. But after a disaster first date that ends with a fist bump instead of a kiss, Lydia doesn’t think her night can get any worse. She’s soon proven wrong when she later stumbles upon Brandon’s dead body.

Considered the prime suspect by the police, Lydia calls on her friends to help her hunt for the truth and prove her innocence. But when another body is soon found inside the Measure Twice store, Lydia knows that the killer must be close by and that this town has more than its fair share of secrets. Who would want to frame the newest addition to Peridot for these terrible murders—and why?

Lydia may discover that while sewing might have a pattern, killing rarely does. Will she be able to stitch together the clues and clear her own name before the killer strikes again?

©2023 Maggie Bailey (P)2023 Dreamscape Media

Cliche with overblown narration

As a sewist, I wanted to love this book. The pattern references feel clunky and ill-researched — the author suggests pattern modifications that make no sense (cuffs on a shirt with no sleeves?), or has the main character wear size-limited patterns with “no mods!” that wouldn’t fit her 5’5, 200-lb frame in the largest size available. As someone in the military, I found her military details poorly researched. And as someone from a small town, it’s clear the author hasn’t spent much time in one. For the town square to have the number of shops she shoehorned in there, it would have to take up three blocks. And all the tight-knit townspeople apparently have collective amnesia that one character used to be married to their high school sweetheart, a spouse no one knew existed. Finally, one character’s wild swings in demeanor are brushed away with little explanation beyond “stress”.

The narrator makes every character sound like Francis Underwood in House of Cards, a caricature of aristocratic Southern speech.

Overall, unless cozy mysteries are just really your jam, I’d say skip it.

Boring

The characters are flat and the story lackluster and slow moving plot. I couldn't force myself to finish it. Allyson Johnson didn't help. Her soothing voice put me right to sleep.

Expressive vocabulary

Vocabulary and descriptive phrasing was clever. Character building was good. A lite yet compelling story