All the Cassidy women possess special gifts. Harlow Jane Cassidy's is creating beautiful dresses. But she's about to discover secrets in her own family and another gift-one that can reach beyond the grave....
When her great-grandmother passes away, Harlow leaves her job as a Manhattan fashion designer and moves back to Bliss, Texas. But soon after she opens Buttons & Bows, a custom dressmaking boutique in the old farmhouse she inherited, Harlow begins to feel an inexplicable presence....
One of her first clients is her old friend Josie, who needs a gown for her upcoming wedding. But when Josie's boss turns up dead, it starts to look as if the bride-to-be may be wearing handcuffs instead of a veil. Suddenly, Josie needs a lot more from Harlow than the perfect dress. Can Harlow find the real killer-with a little help from beyond?
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For fans of: Wendy Lyn Watson and Elizabeth Lynn Casey
When Harlow Jane Cassidy leaves her job as a Manhattan fashion designer to return home and open a dressmaking shop in the farmhouse left to her by her great-grandmother, she isn’t sure what to expect; life in Bliss, Texas has always been pretty quiet, and people there seem to wear an awful lot of polyester. But things get interesting for Harlow in a hurry when the local bridal boutique goes belly-up and a childhood friend tasks her with the chore of designing a wedding party’s worth of dresses – and in just twelve days.
Harlow’s a bit overwhelmed by the assignment, but seems to have a pretty good handle on things – until one of the bridesmaids is found murdered in her yard. The small down is rocked by the woman’s death, but despite the fact that the sheriff’s list of suspects includes both the bride and the groom, the families are determined to go forward with the ceremony. Does Harlow have what it takes to catch a killer, save a wedding, and restore peace to the tiny town she once again calls home?
Pleating for Mercy is the first of Melissa Bourbon’s Magical Dressmaking Mysteries. It’s a charming, whimsical tale that’s also chock full of sex, lies, intrigue, and murder, and it’s one heckuva series debut. Bourbon’s mystery is cleverly plotted and elegantly constructed, with clues, suspects, and red herrings dropped in all the right places. Her prose has an addictive quality to it – a sort of gentle, comforting rhythm (not unlike the lilt of a pleasant southern drawl) that sucks in you and makes you want to keep reading. And she writes about sewing and clothing design with such affection and contagious enthusiasm that even if you’ve never held a needle or thread, you’ll find yourself itching to make a trip to the nearest fabric store.
Harlow is a marvelous heroine. Smart, funny, and full of fire, it’s a joy to spend a book inside her head. Bourbon’s supporting cast is remarkable, as well – a perfect blend of quirk, menace, and heart. Harlow’s family members are larger-than-life (including the ghost of her great-grandmother, who haunts Harlow’s house with a mischievous glee) and would be right at home on the pages of a Donna Andrews’ novel; the image-conscious, richer-than-God Kincaid family could have been plucked straight from an episode of Dallas; and hunky architect-slash-handyman Will Flores and his young daughter Gracie add heat and warmth (respectively) to the story.
Run to your nearest bookstore and snap up a copy of this whimsical take on a supernatural cozy; you just may find me there standing in line to buy the sequel.
~ Kat
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