Three Strikes, You're Dead - Guest Post

Today I'm turning the blog over to Iz. You can find Iz on the pages of the Eddie Shoes Mystery series by Elena Hartwell. THREE STRIKES, YOU'RE DEAD is the third book in the series and was released April 1st.

With A Little Help From Our Friends…

By Elena Hartwell

Hey, Eddie, are you there? It’s me Iz. You know … your best friend! The person always looking out for you. Are you there? I know you like to sit at your desk and listen to callers on your old-fashioned answering machine. Pick up would you? No? Okay. I’ll just leave you a little message.

Don’t get mad when you hear what I have to say. I know you think you’re this tough, lone-wolf private eye. I get it. And I also know you’re holding out hope that something is going to blossom again between you and the oh-so-handsome homicide detective Chance Parker. But unless one of you stops being such a scaredy-cat, it’s never going to happen.

So I did it for you.

I wrote up a personal ad in your name and I’m going to put it on Craig’s List. That’s right, girl, Craig’s List. And I’m including my email, not yours, so I’m going to set you up with someone if you don’t ask Chance out on an honest-to-god date. One way or another, you are getting back out there on the dating scene. Unless you want me sending some poor guy to meet you at your office, you better shape up.

You probably want to know what I wrote for you. I’m so glad you asked. Here’s what it says: “Independent female seeks an independent male for casual fun.” See, that’s not so bad, right? I didn’t say you were out looking for a husband or anything serious. Here’s the rest. “I’m a small business owner and I work hard, but on my down time I like exploring new restaurants, going to movies, and taking walks with my dog.” Like how I worked Franklin in there? I know you won’t date a guy who isn’t a dog lover. Then I said, “I’m up for any adventure.” I put the age range you’re interested in as thirty to fifty and I said you’re open to any race or ethnicity. Lastly, I described you as tall and physically active.

So here’s the deal. You ask Chance out on a date. Not coffee. Not a casual “I-ran-into-him-on-the-street-and-had-a-meal.” You have to actually call him and say “Chance, would you like to have dinner with me?” Or the ad goes live.

Don’t think I’m joking Eddie. This whole moping around after your gorgeous detective has got to stop. He mopes about you, you mope about him. Chava and I decided enough was enough.

Oh …. Oops. I wasn’t supposed to mention Chava. All right, you caught us. This was Chava’s idea. Please don’t tell her I told you that. Your mother is way scarier than you will ever be.

But she’s got your best interests at heart you know. She loves you and she hates seeing you unhappy. I know she’s not the best role model for domestic bliss, a string of divorces and getting married in various Elvis chapels in Las Vegas isn’t exactly a recipe for long lasting love, but I think she sees what the rest of us see, that you and Chance are perfect for each other. Debbie agreed with us completely when we got together at the bookstore to write the ad.

Oh … Oops. Please don’t tell Debbie I said that. You aren’t supposed to know she was in on this too. We had decided to tell you this was all my idea so you would only be mad at one of us … this is why I hate answering machines. I should have waited and told you in person. I wish I knew your code, I’d call back and erase this.

But too late now. Okay, don’t be mad at Debbie. She loves you. You know she thinks of you like one of her kids. She’s been alone a long time herself and she knows how nice it would be to have someone to go out with, even on a casual basis. You know … someone to have dinner with or hang out on a Sunday afternoon. Chava said the same thing.

All right, since I already blew the whole this was all my idea thing, I might as well tell you the whole story. All three of us are putting personal ads out. That’s right. Even me. I know I always seem to have an exciting love life, but it’s not really all that great. It’s so hard to meet people these days. So we got together to write an ad for you and ended up writing ads for ourselves too.

So jump on our bandwagon, Eddie! Either ask Chance out or join us on this crazy online dating scheme. I was joking about Craig’s List. We’re going to go a little bit more upscale. We thought we’d try Match dot com. And we’re signing you up too.

Call me back and let me know what you’re going to do. Chance or Match dot com. But whatever you do, please don’t tell Chava I ratted her out. She’ll kill me.

Just be glad we aren’t signing you up for Tinder.

Gotta run. Love you, Chat soon.

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Three Strikes, You're Dead (Eddie Shoes Mystery) by Elena Hartwell

About the Book

 

 Three Strikes, You're Dead (Eddie Shoes Mystery)  

Cozy Mystery 3rd in Series  

Camel Press (April 1, 2018) Paperback: 288 pages 

Private investigator Eddie Shoes heads to a resort outside Leavenworth, Washington, for a mother-daughter getaway weekend. Eddie's mother Chava wants to celebrate her new job at a casino by footing the bill for the two of them, and who is Eddie to say no? On the first morning, Eddie goes on an easy solo hike, and a few hours later, stumbles upon a makeshift campsite and a gravely injured man. A forest fire breaks out and she struggles to save him before the flames overcome them both. Before succumbing to his injuries, the man hands her a valuable rosary. He tells her his daughter is missing and begs for her help. Is Eddie now working for a dead man? Barely escaping the fire, Eddie wakes in the hospital to find both her parents have arrived on the scene. Will Eddie's card-counting mother and mob-connected father help or hinder the investigation? The police search in vain for a body. How will Eddie find the missing girl with only Eddie's memory of the man's face and a photo of his daughter to go on?

About the Author

After twenty years in the theater, Elena Hartwell turned her dramatic skills to fiction. Her first novel, One Dead, Two to Go introduces Eddie Shoes, private eye. Called “the most fun detective since Richard Castle stumbled into the 12th precinct,” by author Peter Clines, I’DTale Magazine stated, “this quirky combination of a mother-daughter reunion turned crime-fighting duo will captivate readers.” In addition to her work as a novelist, Elena teaches playwriting at Bellevue College and tours the country to lead writing workshops. When she’s not writing or teaching, her favorite place to be is at the farm with her horses, Jasper and Radar, or at her home, on the middle fork of the Snoqualmie River in North Bend, Washington, with her husband, their dog, Polar, and their trio of cats, Jackson, Coal Train, and Luna, aka, “the other cat upstairs.” Elena holds a B.A. from the University of San Diego, a M.Ed. from the University of Washington, Tacoma, and a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia.  

Website – http://www.elenahartwell.com  
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/ElenaHartwellAuthor/  
Twitter – https://twitter.com/Elena_Hartwell 
Blog – http://www.arcofawriter.com  
GoodReads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3975429.Elena_Hartwell,  
Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/emhartwell/

Purchase Links Amazon B&N 

A Knit Before Dying - A Guest Post, Review, & Giveaway

Today I'm turning my blog over to Sadie Hartwell, who writes the Tangled Web Mystery series. A KNIT BEFORE DYING, the second book in the series, was released August 29th.

Thanks for having me back, Kathy! We’re old friends now, aren’t we?

One of the things readers sometimes wonder about the Tangled Web Mysteries, of which A KNIT BEFORE DYING is book 2, is why Josie owns a yarn shop, but doesn’t knit. Well, I purposely made her a nonknitter, and here’s why.

The story wouldn’t have been as interesting otherwise. Ask any knitter what their dream job is, and “own a yarn shop” is almost certainly in their Top Ten. For sure it’s in mine (maybe Top Two, LOL!). So if Josie had already been a fiber artist, the decision to leave behind her career in the fashion industry for a farm in rural Connecticut would have been a no-brainer. And where’s the conflict in that? Josie needed to make a conscious choice to embark on something new and unknown, even if it secretly scared her—not that she’d ever admit that, except maybe to her cat Coco, who is extremely good at keeping confidences.

In fiction, a character has to grow and change, the same way the mystery and all its loose ends have to be wrapped up, for a story to be satisfying. And it’s the same way in real life. Think about something that comes easily to you, and something that required some effort to master. For me, working as an office drone for more years than I care to admit was the easy thing. I was in my comfort zone. I was making a paycheck. I’d been there so long, I had a ton of time off and great benefits. But it was eight hours a day that didn’t feed my soul.

And so I decided to do something I’d always wanted to do (while I was still in the safe cocoon of that job). For my own self-respect, I needed to tell a story. At the time, I wasn’t even thinking about publishing. I only knew I needed to get from “Chapter One” to “The End” and tell a full story in between. Even if it stunk. There were plenty of self-doubts and plenty of stinky sentences and paragraphs. But I had the support of one friend who was on the same journey, and that made all the difference. We nagged and prodded and encouraged each other until we’d each finished a complete novel.

But if writing came easily to me—although frankly, I’m not sure that’s the case for anyone—there is no way I would have felt the joy of accomplishment and catharsis when I finally typed “The End.” A weight seemed to lift from me. I’d accomplished a life goal and man, did that feel great. Since then, I’ve published five novels, met a whole lot of amazing people, and I’ve even left that job and embarked on a new one that is absolutely perfect for me and makes a difference in people’s lives in some small way.

So I would encourage you, reader friends, to stretch yourself. Try something that you’ve never tried before but always wanted to. Travel. Start a side business doing something you love. Call a friend or relative you haven’t seen in years and catch up. Dye your hair the colors of the rainbow. Do some writing, if that’s your calling. The point is, step out of your comfort zone. I know you’ll be glad you did.

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Review

A KNIT BEFORE DYING by Sadie Hartwell

The Second Tangled Web Mystery

Josie Blair is adjusting to life in small town Connecticut. A shop owner and new landlady, Josie's happy to see new life coming into the too quiet town. One of her new tenants has just moved in next door and the competition is on between two of her older friends to see who can snag this eligible antiques dealer. There are rumblings of trouble, however. Dougie, mayor and owner of the general store, is cutting corners at the g.s. and Diantha is still spewing venomous hatred at Josie. But everyone is in for a bigger shock when Josie meets her second tenant standing by the very dead body of his partner.

Josie Blair and her friends are back, breathing new life into Dorset Falls. Of course, since this is a mystery series the book also brings new death. In the second book in the Tangled Web Mystery series Sadie Hartwell takes on secrets from the past, combining an old missing persons case, with a new murder. Could they be related? Trouble at the general store, the ongoing feud between her uncle and Mitch's grandfather, and Josie's own inability to knit create a multidimensional story. Hartwell leads readers through a gamut of emotions including curiosity, anger, concern, and joy combined with laughter. I especially love Jethro and the pranks of the two crotchety old men!.

It's great to be back in Dorset Falls. We're given a fine mystery as well as a story about friendship and community. A KNIT BEFORE DYING is a book knitters will love, but you don't have to know how to knit to enjoy this book, heck, even Josie, our protagonist and owner of Miss Marple Knits, doesn't know how to knit. The book is about more than just knitting and yarn. It's about reaching out, trying new things, and creating new relationships.

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Currently Reading...

I'm still reading A Knit Before Dying by Sadie Hartwell. This book is the second in the Tangled Web Mystery series and will be released August 29th.

Before he was murdered, Lyndon gave Josie a box of old doilies. Now, in addition to the murdered antiques dealer, Josie is compelled to look into the mystery of a woman who disappeared years ago; the woman who made those doilies. Could the mayor and his old football cronies been involved with her disappearance all those years ago? Has Eb finally gone too far with his pranks on Roy? Will Josie ever get together with Mitch? And will the horrible duo of Kai and Taylor get out of town, or perhaps, be arrested for murder?

Currently Reading...

I just started reading A Knit Before Dying by Sadie Hartwell. This book is the second in the Tangled Web Mystery series and will be released August 29th.

Josie Blair is adjusting to life in small town Connecticut. A shop owner and new landlady, Josie's happy to see new life coming into the too quiet town. One of her new tenants has just moved in next door and the competition is on between two of her older friends to see who can snag this eligible antiques dealer. There are rumblings of trouble, however. Dougie, mayor and owner of the general store, is cutting corners at the g.s. and Diantha is still spewing venomous hatred at Josie. But everyone is in for a bigger shock when Josie meets her second tenant standing by the very dead body of his partner.

One Dead Two to Go Interview and Giveaway

I'm pleased to welcome Elena Hartwell to the blog today. Elena writes the Eddie Shoes Mystery series. ONE DEAD, TWO TO GO is the first book in the series.

Kathy: Private Investigator Edwina “Eddie Shoes” Schultz has a unique relationship with her adrenaline-junkie mother, Chava. Are their similarities between their relationship and you and your mom?

EH: My mother and Chava are very different people, but there are some similarities to our relationships. I love to travel with my mom and in a lot of ways she is my best friend. We don't bicker like Chava and Eddie sometimes do (and we've never solved a homicide together!) but we love spending time together. My mom is one of my first beta readers, so she's very involved in my process as well. I trust her judgment about issues in my manuscripts, and she knows a lot about human behavior. She's also a great resource for me to ask questions about some specific areas of research I do for my work.


Kathy: How has working in the theatre influenced your writing?

EH: Spending over twenty years in the theatre has influenced my writing a lot. I have always had a good ear for dialogue, part of why I've been successful as a playwright, but so many years working with actors and scripts has honed that as well. Playscripts are also great tools for understanding story structure. There isn't any room in a play for unnecessary actions or dialogue - so it helps me be concise and stay tight with my scenes. But I think the biggest influence it has had is on my ability to collaborate. Authors who have never worked with anyone else might struggle with editor suggestions or publisher demands for rewrites. I've been working with directors, other playwrights, actors, and producers on new plays for years and collaboration is part of the process. I embrace feedback from my editors and look to them to help make my work the best it can be, rather than seeing it as an adversarial relationship. Even when I don't agree with a note, I trust that there's something not working with that passage and I know I need to figure out what's wrong and fix it one way or another.


Kathy: What first drew you to cozy mysteries?

EH: This is a great question, because I think it speaks to the issue of genre and genre descriptions. Cozies technically use amateur sleuths, so my PI series is an outlier - but my work shares so many characteristics with cozies, I would say I write cross-genre. Cozy/Private Eye. Although my protagonist, Eddie Shoes, is a professional private investigator, her mother Chava is an amateur. Cozies don't have graphic violence or sex. My series doesn't use graphic violence or sex - my murders are offstage and even the gun battles in book one are humorous rather than gritty. I read a wide variety of books in the mystery/thriller category, including works that are very graphic, but I've always loved that you can write mysteries in less violent ways. There is something very satisfying about the "whodunnit" part of the mystery genre that doesn't require skin-crawling, gut-turning specificity. I started out reading the books my granny read - especially Tony Hillerman and Agatha Christie, so that kind of novel has always been on my bookshelf.


Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?

EH: As a playwright, I write for the stage, which doesn't have such specific genre assignments for writers. A playwright might write a comedy followed by a serious drama and no one thinks twice about it. It's only in the literary world that there appears to be this question of whether or not to cross into different genres. I find that very interesting. Currently, I'm only writing in mystery, but we'll see what the future brings. If I write some of the kinds of stories I explore on the stage as novels, it would change my genre.


Kathy: Tell us about your series.

EH: Eddie Shoes is a private investigator. Her mother, Chava, is a card-counting poker player who has been kicked out of Vegas and shows up on Eddie's doorstep. The two join forces, albeit somewhat reluctantly on Eddie's part, and solve homicides. One Dead, Two to Go is out now, Two Heads Are Deader Than One launches April 15, 2017, and Three Strikes, You're Dead comes out April 15, 2018. I'm finishing up the first draft on book three now.


Kathy: Do you have a favorite character? If so, who and why?

EH: I do love Chava, she makes me laugh. I'm also very fond of Debbie Buse, who appears in book two and continues into the rest of the series. She's based on a real person and was part of a donation I did for Serenity Equine Rescue and Rehabilitation in Hobart, Washington. The reason she's in the book and the fun I had creating a fictional character based on a real person makes her very special to me.


Kathy: Did you have a specific inspiration for your series?

EH: My husband and I were on a road trip and out of the blue he came up with the name Eddie Shoes. It was totally random and not connected to anything specific. I thought ... that's a great name for a private investigator. That's where the whole thing started.


Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?

EH: It would never occur to me to write something this complex and not intend to have it published or produced. I might write short pieces on occasion that are just for me, but even shorter things are usually for my blog or with a specific intention. As a professional writer, I don't do this for fun, even though I love doing it, this is my job.


Kathy: If you could have a dinner party and invite 4 authors, living or dead, in any genre, who would you invite?

EH: Tough question! So many to choose from. Probably J.R.R. Tolkien, CS Lewis, Agatha Christie, and Dorothy Parker. That would let us cover the gamut of conversation from religion to philosophy to politics to mystery novels, and also be very witty.


Kathy: What are you currently reading?

EH: Vermilion Drift by William Kent Krueger.


Kathy: Will you share any of your hobbies or interests with us?

EH: Most of my free time is spent with our horses. My hubby and I have two, Jasper, a big Palomino Paint and Radar, a chestnut solid Paint. They are wonderful and I love working with them. I'm also an amateur landscape painter.


Kathy: Name 4 items you always have in your fridge or pantry.

EH: Cheese. Chocolate. Coffee and Cream.


Kathy: Do you have plans for future books either in your current series or a new series?

EH: I'm working (in my head) on books four and five in the Eddie Shoes Mystery Series while I finish book three. I like to be thinking a book or two ahead because I'm sprinkling seeds into the current book.


Kathy: What's your favorite thing about being an author?

EH: I live in my head, so it's nice that can be my day job. I'm always surprised when I discover everyone around me isn't making stories up in their heads 24/7. Plus I get to work in my jammies.


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A Yarned and Dangerous Interview, Review, and Giveaway

I'm pleased to welcome Sadie Hartwell to the blog today. While this visit is technically Sadie's first...it isn't really as Sadie is also known as Susannah Hardy. Susannah was here just last month. You can revisit that post here. Sadie writes the Tangled Web Mystery series, the first of which, Yarned and Dangerous, was released on November 24th.

Kathy: Yarned and Dangerous is the start of a new series which you write under the name Sadie Hartwell. You also write the Greek to Me Mystery series under the name Susannah Hardy. Why the name change?

SH: The Greek to Me Mysteries are published by Berkley Prime Crime. The Tangled Web Mysteries are published by Kensington Publishing. The name change was simply a business decision to keep the two series separate and to fulfill certain terms of my contracts. Susannah Hardy is a pen name, the name of my great-great-great grandmother. When I needed a new nom de plume, I chose one with a similar sound and matching initials. Readers are smart, so I knew they’d be able to make the association between the two names. Thus, Sadie Hartwell was born.


Kathy: The Tangled Web Mystery series features knitters and knitting. Are you a knitter?

SH: I am a knitter, as well as a crocheter, both skills I mostly taught myself as a kid, with some help from my aunt and a family friend. I love the way yarn looks and feels as it goes through my fingers, getting twisted and knotted into something wearable or otherwise usable. And interestingly, doing yarn-work quite often helps me sort out plot problems or character issues with my stories. Not that I think that will surprise other yarn-workers. Something about that repetitive motion of the hands frees up something in the brain. I can’t explain it any further than that, but I know it works!

And I want to let everyone know that I have a new Facebook group where we can talk about crafts, books, or books and crafts. So I hope everyone will join the group and join in the fun. https://goo.gl/BAmf3t


Kathy: Is Miss Marple Knits based on a real knitting shop?

SH: Not any specific shop, yet all of them, if that makes sense. Each shop has its own atmosphere, but there are certain universal aspects: gorgeous yarn in every conceivable color stored in cubbies and baskets; samples of knitted/crocheted projects strategically placed to entice shoppers; owners and sales staff who work there because they love it (I’ve never met a yarn store clerk who wasn’t passionate about her job); and customers browsing with yarn lust in their eyes. In case you can’t tell, I adore yarn shops!


Kathy: Tell us about your series.

SH: The Tangled Web Mysteries is a brand-new series, written under the name Sadie Hartwell. Book 1, YARNED AND DANGEROUS, features Josie Blair, a fashion designer whose dreams never quite came true in New York City. She moves to Dorset Falls in rural Connecticut to shut down her great-aunt’s yarn shop, but when one of the town’s knitters turns up dead in the storeroom, Josie sets out to find the killer, and in the process uncovers some decidedly not-warm-and-fuzzy truths about the town—and about herself. (www.sadiehartwell.com)

The Greek to Me Mysteries are written under the name Susannah Hardy, and are set in a Greek restaurant in a fictional village on the shores of the St. Lawrence River in northern New York State. Georgie Nikolopatos manages the historic Bonaparte House for her soon-to-be-ex-mother-in-law (wow, that’s a lot of hyphens!), while solving murders that threaten her town and her family. FETA ATTRACTION and OLIVE AND LET DIE are both available now. (www.susannahhardy.com)


Kathy: Was there a specific inspiration for this story?

SH: Not for the story itself, which is completely made up. Except for the yarn lust. Watch any avid knitter/crocheter in a yarn shop and you’ll know that’s real. But I can tell you that Josie’s great-uncle, Eben Lloyd, bears an intentional similarity to my own grandfather, who passed away some years ago. Eb’s house and farm are based on my grandparents’ dairy farm in northern New York. My uncle still lives there.


Kathy: When it comes to writing I understand there are 2 general camps-plotters, who diligently plot their stories, and pansters, who fly by the seat of their pants. Are you a plotter, a panster, or do you fall somewhere in between?

SH: My first book, FETA ATTRACTION, was written entirely by the seat of my pants. As I was putting fingers to keyboard, I literally did not know what was going to happen in the next paragraph. But it turned out well enough to get me an agent and get me published. Now that I have contracts for multiple books, I do need to provide my publishers with brief outlines of what happens, so they can do their work and know I’m not going completely off the rails. And since I’m writing series, I do have to make sure I keep characters consistent from one book to the next. Now I pants it, let my subconscious work on the setup, for about the first half of the book. I take a brief break, then go back and reread what I’ve done so I can figure out how everything I’ve set up in the first half is going to get resolved in the second half. So now I’m a plotser!


Kathy: Will you share any other upcoming books?

SH: You bet! Book 3 of the Greek to Me series, as yet untitled, will come out in November, 2016. It is a standalone mystery, but it does complete a large story arc for Georgie and her family from books 1 and 2. Book 2 of the Tangled Web Mysteries, which has a title that I can’t release just yet, features Josie settling into life in Dorset Falls—until a new business owner ends up dead before he can even get his shop open. That will also be a late 2016 release.

*****

Yarned and Dangerous Book Description:

Josie Blair left Dorset Falls twelve years ago in hopes of making it big in New York City. But after earning an overpriced master’s degree and getting fired by a temperamental designer, she finds herself heading back to her hometown. Her great-uncle was injured in a car accident, and newly unemployed Josie is the only person available to take care of him. Uncle Eb’s wife didn’t survive the crash, so Josie is also tasked with selling the contents of her Aunt Cora’s yarn shop. But the needling ladies of the Charity Knitters Association pose a far bigger challenge than a shop full of scattered skeins. And when one of the town’s most persnickety knitters turns up dead in a pile of cashmere yarn, Josie realizes there’s something truly twisted lurking beneath the town’s decaying façade…

Includes original knitting patterns!

Links:

Yarned and Dangerous: goo.gl/0DX7bJ

Website: www.sadiehartwell.com

Facebook: https://goo.gl/vcfpRb

Sadie Hartwell’s Yarned and Dangerous Gang: https://goo.gl/BAmf3t

Twitter: https://goo.gl/8Y3qU5, @sadiehartwell

Bio: Sadie Hartwell grew up near the Canadian border in northern New York State, where it’s cold, dark, and snowy almost half the year—a perfect environment for nurturing a simultaneous love of mystery fiction, cooking, and needlework. She attended St. Lawrence University, graduating with a degree in history, and has worked as a waitress, handbag designer/manufacturer, office person, and copy editor before turning to writing full time. Now she gets to play with recipes and yarn and make up stories whenever she wants, and wishes everyone had a job as much fun as hers.

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Review

Yarned and Dangerous by Sadie Hartwell
The First Tangled Web Mystery

Working in the fashion industry is hard. Working for an egocentric womanizing male designer makes it more difficult. When said womanizing designer puts the moves on Josie Blair, she quits, instead of just taking some vacation time to help her recuperating uncle. Josie has been commandeered to help her curmudgeonly uncle who suffered a broken leg as well as being left a widower after a car crash. With her mom on a cruise, Josie's the only one left to help her uncle around the house as well as close his new wife's yarn store. Begrudgingly, Josie leaves New York City and heads to the wilds of Connecticut. Although Josie and Cora had never met, Josie feels the warm draw of Cora's shop. Intending to close it, she's faced with several yarn crazed ladies who want to buy the stock. When one is later found murdered in the locked shop, Josie realizes there's a lot more going on in this depressed town than she thought!

This series is off to a great start with Yarned and Dangerous! Great characters emerge from the yarn lust filled eyes of the knitters, the senior ladies trying to snare a newly available man, and the nasty mother and daughter in law. A neighborly feud and mysterious goings on create some trust issues-for Josie and us, the readers. Josie is a likeable protagonist while Uncle Eb gives a gruff no nonsense exterior. There's more than meets the eye to many of the characters providing depth as well as increasing our interest in the story.

Hartwell writes with both humor and grit providing us a well rounded mystery filled with interesting characters in a town meant for a comeback. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to the next entry in the Tangled Web Mystery series.

Knitting patterns included.

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