Amanda Lee - Stitch Me Deadly

Stitch Me Deadly

Amanda Lee

Obsidian, Feb 1 2011, $6.99

ISBN: 9780451332519

In Tallulah Falls, Oregon, Marcy Singer proudly owns the Seven-Year Stitch, a very popular crochet store. Her best friend Sadie works next door with her husband Blake, who own Mackenzies' Mochas. Sadie persuaded Marcy to move to Oregon after her San Francisco boyfriend dumped her.

Elderly Louisa Ralston comes into Marcy's shop for the first time. She asks her to find ivy, but while waiting she falls down and dies. At first it was assumed she had a heart attack, but the police learn she was murdered by someone who gave her the drug Halumet. The cops come to Marcy's store asking to search the Seven-Year Stitch and her home. She allows them and they find the drug in her home. Marcy insists she never saw it before although her mother swears she left it there. Marcy remains a suspect. Her situation turns dire when she visits Louise's husband and he dies with the same drug in his system that killed his wife. Desperate to clear her name before she gets arrested, Marcy investigates.

As occurred in The Quick and The Thread, the heroine is under suspicion of murder again and as she did then Marcy methodically seeks clues one stitch at a time in search of the real killer. Amanda Lee's deft use of her small-town cast keeps the intelligently crafted story line fresh as Marcy works her inquiry finding one viable suspect after another.

Harriet Klausner