Title: A Killing Notion
Author: Melissa Bourbon
Series: A Magical Dressmaking Mystery, #5
Published: April 2014, Signet
Format: ARC e-book, 320 pages
Source: Netgalley via Pump Up Your Book
Harlow Jane Cassidy
is swamped with homecoming couture requests. If only she didn’t have to
help solve a murder, she might get the gowns off the dress forms….Harlow is doing everything she can to expand her dressmaking business,
Buttons & Bows—without letting clients know about her secret charm.
When she has a chance to create homecoming dresses with a local charity
and handmade mums for several high school girls—including Gracie, whose
father, Will, has mended Harlow’s heart—she is ready to use her magical
talents for a great cause.But when Gracie’s date for the
dance is accused of murder, Harlow knows things won’t be back on course
until she helps Gracie clear the football player’s name. If Harlow can’t
patch up this mess before the big game, her business and her love life
might be permanently benched.
My thoughts: I really like this series. I find myself flying through the pages, engulfed in the story and most times I am unable to figure out who-dun-it! This time, there was quite the twist thrown in – a twist that I had guessed might be going on – that added a nice layer to a really good mystery. But unfortunately, I didn’t figure out who the actually killer was…oh well.
I just love the idea of dressmaking and how Melissa Bourbon is able to tie in the different themes to all her books. In this latest installment, the book is centered around homecoming and so Harlow Jane is helping the local high school girls with their dresses and their mums – a tradition of the town. I actually found this to be quite fascinating, how each girl would decorate their mum with bits and pieces of themselves. How I would love to have actually seen a real picture of one!
I love that Harlow Jane’s leading man, Will, has really come to believe in her gifts – not only her “magical” gifts, but also her newly acquired gifts of solving these murders that she happens upon. While he was reluctant at first to have her involved in helping with these cases, now that this case involves her daughter’s boyfriend, he not only wants her to help, he uses “we” when talking about whatever needs to be done! How sweet is that!
I have loved watching their romance blossom in this series and this is why I really like to read series in order – to see the character development happen chronologically. The cases and murders don’t rely on each other from book to book, but the character development surely does! I really can’t wait for the next installment of this series – this is quickly becoming one of my favorite cozy mystery series!!!
Books in this series:
- Pleating for Mercy
- A Fitting End
- Deadly Patterns
- A Custom Fit Crime
- A Killing Notion
A Killing Notion by Melissa Bourbon is on tour with Pump up Your Book Book Tours. Be sure to check out the other tour stops
to read more reviews, guest posts and interviews.
I'm glad you enjoyed this book, Kristin. It sounds like a fun mystery series.
I have as yet to read a cosy mystery, but will read one for a challenge I am doing this year. I have looked through your cosy mystery reviews to help pick my first one. This series sounds good and I agree if you want the full import and impact reading a series in order is usually the best way to go.
This sounds like a series I would enjoy Kristin. The romance sounds sweet and so does the mystery. That cover..the porch looks so inviting. I want to curl up and read there.