Basket Case (A Silver Six Mystery, #1)

by Nancy Haddock

First in the Silver Six Crafting Mystery Series!

There isn’t much crime in Lilyvale, Arkansas, but local authorities have their hands full with Ms. Sherry Mae Stanton Cutler and her housemates—a crafty group of retirees who’ve dubbed themselves the Silver Six. But when Sherry Mae’s niece, Nixy, arrives to keep them in line, Lilyvale also plays host to a killer.

When Leslee Stanton “Nixy” Nix gets the latest call from Lilyvale detective Eric Shoar, she knows it means trouble. There’s been another kitchen explosion at her Aunt Sherry’s farmhouse, and the dreamy-voiced detective has had enough. If Nixy doesn’t check on her aunt in person, the Silver Six could become wards of the court. But the trouble Nixy finds in Lilyvale is not at all what she expects.

The seniors are hosting a folk art festival at the farmhouse, featuring Sherry’s hand-woven baskets, when land developer Jill Elsman arrives to bully Nixy’s aunt into selling the property. When Jill is later found dead in the cemetery, Sherry is suspected of weaving a murder plot, and it’s up to Nixy and the Silver Six to untangle the truth.

RECIPES AND CRAFTING TIPS INCLUDED!

• ISBN10: 0425275728
• ISBN13: 9780425275726
• Publish Date: 1 September 2015
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Berkley Publishing Corporation,U.S.
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 304
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780425275726

Reviews

[MurderByDeath]

This came sooo close to being a really excellent cozy, but as is, it's a very good one.    Nixy is called to Lilyvale, Arkansas by the local detective because he's been called out to the home of Nixy's aunt and  her friends one too many times for fires and explosions and there's talk about the courts stepping in and shipping them all off to a nursing home.  When she arrives she finds 6 people that are anything but incompetent and a rather unconventional reason for all the false alarms.  She also finds an unscrupulous developer itching to get her hands on the family land - and everyone else's too.    There are a lot of things to love about this book:  strong, independent senior citizens, a strong, independent, educated main character who never, ever resorts to ditzy behaviour or immature behaviour, and a charming small town setting.  The mystery was better than average too, although the murderer wasn't hard to figure out after the half-way mark.   The only reason I didn't rate it higher was Nixy's declaration that she was 'investigating' the murder and she wouldn't rest until she solved it and cleared her aunt.  That, for me, left a disappointing dent in my enjoyment.  In every other way this mystery was great, it just crossed that line into immaturity when the MC decided she could do the police's job better than they could.   I'm interested in reading the next one, as it was easy to grow fond of the characters and setting.  But its with the hope that future mysteries will be more subtly crafted.  

Your typical cozy mystery. I liked Nixy. And I loved Mrs Gilroy. The love interest, Eric Shoar was okay - had a bit of humour. I wasn't overly enamoured by the Silver Six - they were alright, they just didn't really grab me. They were a bit bland. And it irritated me how they all just stonewalled her and kept to themselves and the aunt didn't stop it. And the drama about hiding her eye condition seemed stupid - especially since at the start Sherry Mae was painted as such a steady, logical headstrong lady. It also irritated me that everyone was so hesitant to talk finances. The mystery was interesting and I enjoyed following as they solved it but I also never really connected to it. Still, I'll pick up the next one at some point and see how it goes. 2.5 stars, rounded up to three for the Kiss the Girl scene.