Genre:

Business is booming at Harlow Jane Cassidy’s custom dressmaking boutique-even with her great-grandmother’s ghost hanging around the shop. But when a local golf pro is found stabbed with dressmaking shears, the new town deputy suspects Harlow. Now she has to clear her name before the next outfit she designs is a prison jumpsuit…

Review

For fans of:  Wendy Lyn Watson

Former NYC fashion designer Harlow Jane Cassidy couldn’t be happier about her recent move back to her tiny hometown of Bliss, Texas; she’s reconnected with her family, made some wonderful new friends, and her dress shop, Buttons & Bows, is doing a brisk business thanks to the upcoming Margaret Moffette Lea Pageant and Ball.

The woman in charge of the ball, Mrs. Zinnia James, has been incredibly supportive of Harlow and is in no small part responsible for Buttons & Bows’ success, so Harlow’s determined to do whatever it takes to help Mrs. James pull off the event.  “Whatever it takes” assumes a whole new meaning, however, when Mrs. James is arrested on suspicion of having murdered the local golf pro.  Now not only must Harlow sew around the clock to try and finish the debutante gowns she’s been hired to make, but she must also take over for Mrs. James as pageant coordinator.  And then there’s the small matter of catching the real killer before her friend and patron can be convicted of a crime Harlow knows she didn’t commit…

A Fitting End is the second in Melissa Bourbon’s Magical Dressmaking Mystery series.  I flat-out adored Bourbon’s debut, Pleating for Mercy, and I’m happy to report that her sophomore effort is every bit as fabulous.  Intricately plotted and beautifully written, A Fitting End is compulsively readable tale that’s sure to keep you guessing until you turn the final page.  Bourbon’s prose and story both are suffused with a quiet Texas charm, bestowing the book with a warm and friendly atmosphere.  And Bliss is blessed with just enough small-town quirkiness to keep things interesting, but not so much as to pull the reader out of the story.

From Harlow’s goat-whispering Nana, to her green-thumbed Mama, to the gleefully mischievous ghost of her great-grandmother Meemaw, to Harlow, herself, you can't help but fall in love with the women of the Cassidy clan.  The whimsy, intelligence, and charisma with which Bourbon writes each and every member of this family is simply wonderful, and I, for one, can’t wait read more of their exploits.

Bourbon’s supporting cast is fantastic and fully realized, as well.  Architect, part-time handyman, and single father Will Flores makes for a compelling love interest.  The innocence and enthusiasm of Will’s young daughter Gracie is both engaging and refreshing.  And the new deputy in town, Gavin McClaine, is equal parts intriguing and infuriating – a winning combination that’s sure to complicate all facets of Harlow’s life for books to come.

I'm a sucker for cozies that have a hint of the supernatural to them, and the Magical Dressmaking Mysteries are no exception.  Bourbon's own particular brand of magic is a bit more complicated than I have the space here to explain, but suffice it to say it's wonderfully fanciful and a hell of a lot of fun.  Buy this book; there’s a darn good chance it’ll make your day.

Reviewed by Kat

READERS COMMENTS