Iris Buckley is excited about the new store she’s opening with her grandmother, Anne Buckley. Ruffles and Bows will feature a variety of linens, both vintage and current, as well as various craft classes and aprons aplenty. The storefront they’ve just leased is the first step towards their venture moving from online to a storefront. Unfortunately, a grisly discovery from the past casts doubt on everyone and then a more recent murder puts Anne directly in the line of suspicion. Iris is determined to uncover the real murderer and get Ruffles and Bows open on time.
I love cozy mysteries featuring crafts of any sort, but I have to admit that a book featuring an apron shop caught my attention for the sheer novelty of the idea. Elizabeth Penney made me a believer, however, as I love the ideas Iris and Anne, along with Iris’ best friend, Madison Morris, have in store for Ruffles and Bows. I can’t wait to see what happens when Ruffles and Bows opens!
HEMS AND HOMICIDE kicks off the Apron Shop series with an intriguing mystery and fascinating characters. I’m already in love with the setting of Blueberry Cove, Maine, and looking forward to further adventures in the Apron Shop series! Elizabeth Penney does a great job at immediately drawing the reader into the story line. HEMS AND HOMICIDE is the first book in the Apron Shop series, but already it feels like I’ve known the characters and the town for a while. Elizabeth Penney incorporates both the hassles and the pleasures of small- town life into one heck of a good story, making HEMS AND HOMICIDE an instant hit!
Welcome to the first in the Apron Shop mystery series by Elizabeth Penney, set in the quaint village of Blueberry Cove, Maine where an expert seamstress turned amateur sleuth is getting measured for murder. . .
Iris Buckley is sew ready for a change. After the death of her beloved grandfather, Iris decides to stay in her Maine hometown to help out her widowed grandmother, Anne—and bring her online hand-made apron designs to real-time retail life. Her and Anne’s shop, Ruffles & Bows, is set to include all the latest and vintage linen fashions, a studio for sewing groups and classes, and a friendly orange cat. The only thing that they were not planning to have on the property? A skeleton in the basement
Anne recognizes the remains of an old friend, and when a second body shows up in the apron shop—this time their corrupt landlord, whom Anne had been feuding with for decades—she becomes a prime suspect. Now, it’s up to Iris to help clear her name. Enlisting the help of her old high-school crush Ian Stewart who, like certain fabrics, has only gotten better-looking with age and her plucky BFF Madison Morris, Iris must piece together an investigation to find out who the real killer is. . .and find a way to keep her brand-new business from being scrapped in the process.
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