A Vintage Death

October 1, 2018

Callie Reed, owner of House of Melody music box store in Keepsake Cove, MD, is eager to be part of the community. She heads up the decorating committee for the fall festival and plans for the visit of author Lyssa Hammond. When she drops off a welcome basket, Lyssa uses Callie's visit as an excuse to get away from the creepy owner of the local B&B. When the man is found dead, stabbed with vintage scissors, suspicion falls on his estranged wife, Dorothy, who owns a vintage sewing shop. Lyssa and Callie team up to find the real killer, but someone hopes to stop them. A wagon full of hay is set on fire and then another body is found, once again stabbed with scissors. This character-driven cozy welcomes readers to a small town where gossip spreads quickly and it's easy for a witch hunt to start when a sympathetic character is accused of murder. VERDICT Hughes follows A Fatal Collection with a satisfying mystery that contains the typical stereotypes of a small-town festival and an amateur sleuth who is run off the road. Suggest for fans of other mysteries set in cute tourist areas, such as Lorna Barrett's "Booktown" mysteries.--Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN

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