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Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Cozy Mystery Blog Tour: Author Guest Post, Review & Giveaway: Wicked Stitch (Embroidery Mystery #8) by Amanda Lee

When murder strikes the small town of Tallulah Falls, embroidery shop owner Marcy Singer isn’t afraid of getting into the knitty-gritty to clear her own name…

For most small-business owners in Tallulah Falls, the upcoming Renaissance Faire is a wonderful way to promote their specialty shops. For Marcy’s nemesis, Nellie, and her sister Clara, it’s an opportunity to finally put Marcy and her shop, the Seven-Year Stitch, out of business. Apparently the sisters like to keep their grudges all in the family and have set up a competing booth right next to Marcy’s at the Faire.

When Clara is discovered dead in her own booth—strangled by the scarf she had almost finished knitting—Marcy becomes the prime suspect. Now she has to do whatever it takes to keep her reputation from unraveling and get to the bottom of a most deadly yarn.




A Step Back in Time  -  Amanda Lee
Have you ever been to a Renaissance Faire or a living history museum? I’ve been to both, and I find them fascinating. At the Renaissance Faire I attended with my family many years ago, my son was knighted Sir Scooby of Doo (because he was wearing a Scooby Doo shirt) by the queen. In lieu of a sword, she used a plunger. Minstrels played unusual instruments—one even played crystal water glasses. I talked plays with William Shakespeare, watched a chess match in which the playing pieces were human, and wandered through booth after booth of wares. The costumes were beautiful, fun, or both.

The living history museum we visited was a working farm set in 1791. We learned about eighteenth century cooking tools and techniques in the log cabin’s kitchen. A costumed tour guide spoke of President Washington and asked what we thought of that upstart Andrew Jackson. I said I believed he’d become President one day, and the woman scoffed. We attended demonstrations of weaving, learned about the dye, medicinal, and culinary plants grown in the garden, and saw the Cotswold sheep.

In WICKED STITCH (an RT Top Pick!), embroidery shop owner Marcy Singer is thrilled to be taking part in a two-week Renaissance Faire. Tallulah Falls residents will be able to reside in the time of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The RenFaire’s attractions are centered around the play, even down to Hecate and the three witches who are on hand to divine the future for faire-goers.
Clara, a petty woman who has opened a competing shop next door to Marcy’s shop, the Seven-Year Stitch, has been assigned the booth next to Marcy’s. When Marcy comes to set up her booth, she peeps into Clara’s spot and realizes that something isn’t right. Clara is lying on her side in an overturned rocking chair. She has been strangled to death with the scarf she’d been knitting. Now Marcy has to get to the bottom of this most deadly yarn.


Amanda Lee (also writing as Gayle Trent) writes the Embroidery Mystery series which features a heroine who recently moved to the Oregon coast to open an embroidery specialty shop. Marcy Singer left her home in San Francisco, along with the humiliation of being left at the altar, in order to move to Tallulah Falls and realize her dream of owning her own shop. She takes along her faithful companion, a one-year-old Irish wolfhound named Angus O’Ruff. She makes many new friends in Tallulah Falls, but she also makes a few enemies. Thankfully, her best friend Sadie MacKenzie and her husband Blake run the coffeehouse right down the street from Marcy’s shop, the Seven-Year Stitch; and Detective Ted Nash always has her back.

Publishers Weekly says, “Fans of the genre will take kindly to Marcy, her Irish wolfhound, Angus O’Ruff, and Tallulah Falls. This is a fast, pleasant read with prose full of pop culture references and, of course, sharp needlework puns.”

Ren Faires are one of my favorite things in the whole world! So when I found out that Wicked Stitch was set at one... holy cow, I was sold!  Marcy and her entire town of Tallulah Falls are at the heart of the latest Ren Faire (which lasts two weeks... how cool?!).  And when Marcy's competition at the faire is found strangled to death, she knows she has to find out who's to blame.

It's a fun, unique and fantastic story that had me thinking I knew who the murderer was, only to completely throw me for a loop.  It made me laugh, smile and had me scratching my head.  And of course, there was all of the charm and romanticism of the Renaissance Faire :) 

After Wicked Stitch, I can't wait to see what Marcy will get herself into next!

Rating: 4.5 Stars

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  All conclusions are my own.

Readers please comment below on your experiences in “stepping back in time” for a chance to win a signed copy of WICKED STITCH. International readers will have the chance to win an ebook copy of WICKED STITCH gifted from their retailer of choice.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

2 comments:

Debby said...

I love books about stitchery. I buy old patterns
debby236 at gmail dot com

Embroidery Digitizing Services said...

It looks very interesting and creativity at its peak . Great Post
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