I was pointed to this book as a bit of light relief after finishing The Tenderness of Wolves (Stef Penney) - which i won't review here, as it has already been so popular, won loads of awards and was on Radio 4 last week (I will put up a link for you though).  Must drop that back in to 'her up the road' as there is a waiting list for it. . . .ANYWAY, back to the plot.

 

Girl opens card shop - girl gets gets phone call - hears a murder happen - goes off to solve it.

 

This book is promoted as 'A Card-Making Mystery', 'includes card-making tips', written in a pseudonym of a national best-selling mystery author.  So, I just could not wait to see what on earth they could do with that little lot!

 

Jennifer opens a craft card shop - you love her because she's a crafter and you feel akin - and you SOOO hate her - because that's what you want to do.  She has only been open a couple of days - no customers - when she gets THE PHONE CALL and over-hears a murder.  Luckily her brother is the sheriff so she has an inside track as to how to go about investigating the mystery.  And that is where the rub starts.  This is an all American, sticky sweet, candy floss world, where they say grace before they sit down to a dinner of meat loaf (freshly made, of course) followed by banana fritters; much more Murder She Wrote than cutting edge intrigue.  Jennifer and her 'crazy' (but lovable) aunt set off to solve the mystery.  They bumble along eating (food is HUGE in this book!), making cards and inventing reasons to talk to their suspects.  No - I did not work out who it was before it was revealed (and no - I am not going to tell you 'who done it').

 

There are a lot of card making scenes - as you would expect with a book that is promoted for crafters - and some are very detailed - but the methods and techniques described do seem a little dated.  Even in 2005 America was way ahead of us in the crafting scene, and I would have expected more 'cutting' edge techniques  It did all seem a bit vague and amateurish.

 

The craft tips are at the end of some of some of the chapters.  They appear in a highlighted text box and seem to bear no relation to the previous text - even if that included a craft scene.  At one point we are interrupted at a fairly tense moment for a tip for no other reason than there is a bit of spare page to fill!  Again these tips are very basic, so don't look for a new insight here.

 

Having said all that - this is a very readable book.  It is warm and friendly, the characters are likable and you really do want Jennifer to succeed.  The plot is clear and believable, and the characters are well crafted (excuse me!).  It is very easy on the brain - just the thing for a sick afternoon in bed, a train/plane journey or a long boring hospital wait.

 

Will I recommend it?  You know - I think I will - take it for what it is - silly fun.

Will I buy any of the follow ups?  I might just at that - for a cold,dark, snowy afternoon when you want to do is snuggle up by the fire and pass the time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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