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!
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.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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31 August, 2017:
Finished reading
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31 August, 2017:
Reviewed