A Crafty Killling - Book Review

I just realized that there have been a number of books that I've read that I've neglected sharing.  Maybe you care, maybe you don't...I do, so here goes.  Plus, this helps me when I'm looking or thinking back about a particular book.  If I've got it listed on one of the book pages, then I know that I've read it.  I'm still working on getting all my books entered into my Library Thing account, so this is working for me now.  Another bonus is that I might just introduce you to a book series and/or author that you fall in love with and that's a good thing.

A Crafty Killing is the first book in Lorraine Bartlett's Victoria Square Mystery series.  Lorraine is already one of my favorite cozy mystery author's under her other name, Lorna Barrett.  I've read all her Booktown Mystery series and knew going into it that I would enjoy this new series. My mother read it first, and then it sat on my bookshelf for a while; it was well worth the wait.

From the back:

The last thing Katie Bonner wanted was to become the manager of Artisans Alley.  But when her business partner, Ezra Hilton, is found lying at the bottom of a staircase, bludgeoned to death, she has no other choice.  A collection of booths for artisans and craft sellers in a renovated apple warehouse, Artisans Alley is the main attraction in the quaint Victoria Square shopping area.  But business under Ezra has been faltering - enough to provoke someone to murder?

Katie has had more than her share of death - her late husband (and Ezra's former partner), Chad, died in a car accident six months ago.  but as she digs deeper into Ezra's murder, her husband's death starts to look suspicious.  While the cops are proceeding by the book, Katie is investigating by the booths - for the answer to the killer's identity lies in the hidden secrets of Artisans Alley itself.

My thoughts - I enjoyed all the quirky personalities that came along with Artisan's Alley and it's variety of shops.  It was someplace that I could see myself wandering through on a Saturday afternoon.  Katie isn't afraid to take charge and that's exactly what she did, first with stepping in and taking over the shop and then in not giving up in the search to find the killer.  The yummy reading recipes were an additional bonus.  I'm looking forward to the next installment in the series; hopefully it won't take me as long to get to!

Happy Reading!
Mandy