Blueberry Cove’s annual Lobster Fest is approaching and everyone in town is getting ready for the big event. Iris Buckley and her Grammie are getting their vintage apron and linen shop, Ruffles and Bows, ready for the tourists and visitors when an unexpected phone call entangles them in a mystery involving Eleanor Brady. Eleanor has an attic full of various treasures, leaving them with plenty of questions about Eleanor’s mother and her past. Meanwhile, Eleanor has started renting rooms at Shorehaven Cottage to help with the bills, and her latest guests are working on a seaweed project. Unfortunately, someone from the group winds up dead and now Iris, Grammie, her friends, and her boyfriend, Ian Stewart, are embroiled in another murder investigation in Blueberry Cove.
I never dreamed I would read a book that made seaweed seem both appealing and tasty… and yet Elizabeth Penney manages to accomplish both! I’m still not 100% convinced I would try a seaweed power bar, but the seaweed salad has me curious. The information on aquaculture is fascinating and Elizabeth Penney provides just enough scientific details to keep the storyline entertaining without bogging it down.
And speaking of the storyline… I love the depth of the storyline in THREAD AND DEAD as well as the continued character development. There is romance in the air for several couples, but the romances enhance rather than overwhelm the story. We are getting to know the characters better and I really hope we see more of Eleanor in future books as she’s a hoot!
THREAD AND DEAD is the second book in the Apron Shop series and may be even better than the first book, HEMS AND HOMICIDE! Elizabeth Penney’s phenomenal character development and clever plotline keep the reader engaged. And oh, I can’t forget to mention the hilariously creative lobster bibs or the gorgeous linens and vintage clothing mentioned in THREAD IN DEAD. If only Ruffles and Bows was a real store, I’d be a regular customer! I can’t wait to visit Blueberry Cove again soon as I look forward to the third installment!
Iris Buckley is busier than ever this July, with the town’s annual Lobster Festival fast approaching. In just a matter of days her apron shop Ruffles & Bows, will be jam-packed with tourists--and Iris’s inventory is running low. Then Iris gets a call from Eleanor Brady, a wealthy, reclusive spinster who just happens to have trunks full of vintage fabrics. Would Iris like to come down to Eleanor’s cottage estate Shorehaven and have a look? Before long Iris is on the scene--and on the case. Turns out that Eleanor has rented Shorehaven to the handsome, charismatic environmentalist Dr. Lukas de Wilde and his flock of students. What begins as an apron-scouting endeavor soon morphs into a full-blown murder investigation when Dr. de Wilde’s beautiful young teaching assistant turns up dead. Now it’s up to Iris--along with her partner-in-love-and-crime Ian Stewart--to unravel the mystery before the Blueberry Cove killer strikes again.
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