As the leaves begin to fall in idyllic Dappled Hills, someone puts too fine a point on a local ladies’ man. Fortunately, the detective skills of quilter Beatrice Coleman are a cut above the rest….
The Village Quilters of Dappled Hills, North Carolina, are desperate to finish their quilts before an upcoming show. To help, fellow member Posy has opened the back room of her shop, the Patchwork Cottage, for everyone to use. But the ladies are less than thrilled when Phyllis Stitt and Martha Helmsley—members of their rival quilting guild, the Cut-Ups—ask to join them.
Phyllis is hoping to leave the Cut-Ups and join up with the Village Quilters now that Martha’s dating her ex-fiancé, Jason Gore. She’s not pleased when he visits the shop and even more upset when her new shears disappear. After offering to search for them, Beatrice discovers Jason with the shears buried in his unfaithful heart. Now she must sharpen her sleuthing skills to find a killer before someone else’s life is cut short.…
INCLUDES QUILTING TIPS!
Beatrice Coleman enjoys quilting, but the best part of being a member of the Village Quilters is the camaraderie of working with the other quilters. As a favor to fellow group member Posy, Beatrice and her friend Meadow reluctantly agree to allow members from a rival quilting group to join them in working together on projects for an upcoming quilt show. Since it’s for a good cause, the Village Quilters try to be welcoming to the “Cut-Ups”, Phyllis and Martha, but the newcomers aren’t making it easy. They’re unpleasant to each other and to their adopted quilting group. Beatrice learns the resentment between the two women is mostly due to the fact that Martha is currently dating Phyllis’s ex-fiancé Jason Gore, and it’s obvious Phyllis is ready to let him go. Beatrice ends up in the middle of the dispute between the quilters as well as a murder investigation when she discovers the dead body of Jason.
I enjoy the small town atmosphere of the book, and like most of the main characters. This installment of the Southern Quilting mysteries does a good job of introducing two new characters into the mix of old favorites Beatrice, Meadow, and the rest of the Village Quilters. Martha, especially, is a complex character that I could see fitting into future adventures in Dappled Hills, North Carolina along with Beatrice and Meadow, even though she is from a rival quilting club. Beatrice and Meadow are as likeable as ever. They are very different from each other, but have a wonderful friendship. Beatrice is more calm and rationale, and Meadow is a bit more flighty and emotional. Together, they make a great team for quilting as well as sleuthing. The two friends ask a lot of questions to get to the bottom of Jason Gore’s murder and readers are left guessing as to the identity of the murderer and the motive.
In a crucial part of the plot, elderly quilter Miss Sissy saves the day. It’s nice seeing the older woman help solve the case, but as I did in previous books in the series, I still find her to be a strange character. Her one word proclamations of “Evil!” and “Wicked!” grow tiresome, but luckily I enjoy the other characters in the book.
Everything wraps up in an unexpected and satisfying way in this enjoyable Southern cozy. I am not a quilter, but there is a page of interesting quilting tips at the end of the book. There are also a few recipes included and the one for “Easy, Corny Corn Bread” that looks easy to follow and sounds delicious. Shear Trouble will appeal to fans of Elizabeth Lynn Casey.
Reviewed by Christine
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