Sweet Briar is chosen for the setting of a new movie, and everyone is hoping to be cast as an extra-and lucky Tori Sinclair lands the gig. But fame has its price, as the town learns when the film's leading actress is found murdered. When suspicion falls on a member of the sewing circle, Tori must catch the killer to keep the tight-knit group from coming apart at the seams.

Review

For fans of:  Sally Goldenbaum

When hotshot director Warren Shoemaker comes to Sweet Briar, South Carolina to shoot a scene in his new movie and announces he'll be hiring actual townspeople as extras, the members of the Sweet Briar Ladies Society Sewing Circle are beside themselves with excitement.  But while librarian Tori Sinclair is content to linger in the background, friend and fellow sewing-circle member Leona Elkin has grander ambitions:  she wants to be the film's leading lady.  Unfortunately for Leona, however, not only is she decades too old for the role, it's already been filled temperamental Hollywood starlet Anita Belise.  Never one to back down from a fight, Leona starts doing everything she can to worm her way into the spotlight – and that includes trying to seduce Warren Shoemaker.

At first, Tori views Leona's antics as harmless.  Then, however, Anita turns up dead, and Tori's forced to wonder:  just how far would her friend go to get what she wants?  And if the thought's occurred to Tori, how long will it take for it to occur to the Sweet Briar police?

Reap What You Sew is the sixth of Elizabeth Lynn Casey's Southern Sewing Circle mysteries.  It's a sweet, sentimental tale of friends, family, and, to a lesser extent, murder.  The pace is gentle, the stakes are pretty low, there isn’t much drama or tension to be found, and the mystery is light on clues and suspects, but none of that really matters; the plot is strong, and what the book lacks in whiz-bangery it more than makes up for with humor and heart.

As is the norm with Casey’s writing, the characters and their relationships carry the story and form the backbone of the book.  Tori is a caring and compassionate yet determined heroine.  The interactions between grandmotherly Margaret Louise, her man-crazed twin Leona, and their 92-year-old kleptomaniac mother Annabelle lend comic relief but also contribute a surprising poignancy to the tale.  Naïve nanny Beatrice adds an air of innocence, contrarian Rose provides some much-needed conflict, and cantankerous Dixie helps prevent the book from becoming too saccharine.  Each member of the sewing circle has her own distinct personality and each makes an important contribution to the group’s overall dynamic, the end result being a rich, entertaining, and well-developed cast and a town that feels all the more real because of it.

If you’re looking for a plot-driven, action-packed thriller, this isn’t the book for you.  But if you’re on the hunt for something quieter and a little more well-mannered – something flavored with a hefty dose of Southern charm that’s well-suited for sun-filled corners and quiet afternoons, then Reap What You Sew by Elizabeth Lynn Casey should be right up your alley.

Reviewed by Kat

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