Seams Deadly is the first book in the A Measure Twice Sewing Mystery by Maggie Bailey.

After divorcing her cheating husband, Lydia moved from Atlanta to Peridot, a town in the mountains of North Georgia. Lydia, who enjoys sewing, is hired by Fran to work in her fabric, yarn shop, and sewing/quilting shop, Measure Twice.

Lydia lives above Mesure Twice in an apartment. Fran sets out to fix Lydia up on a date with Brandon, manager of the local bookstore, who lives in the other apartment above Measure Twice. Lydia isn’t looking to date anyone just yet but decides to go on a date, which is better than arguing with her boss. The date turned out to be not bad but also not that good. After returning from the date, Lydia decides to be neighborly and takes some brownies she had already baked to Brandon. As she crosses the hall to his apartment, she notices his door is ajar; pushing the door open, she sees Brandon’s body lying on the floor. There are scissors from Measure Twice sticking in his chest. The police seem to think they have an open and shut case against Lydia. Lydia will have to begin her own investigation to be able to clear her name. When she finds a second body in Measure Twice, she needs to step up her investigation before she is thrown in jail and they throw away the key.

I found the story to be well-written and plotted. Plenty of twists and turns kept me guessing until the final reveal. I found the characters to be interesting and believable. I would like to learn more about them in future books. I particularly enjoyed the cat that Lydia rescued. When the cat was adopted, it had the moniker of Baby Lobster. Baby Lobster turns out to be a handful when first brought home.

I will be watching for the next book in the series. ( )

“What’s this about a lobster, miss?”

Out of the fire into a bigger fire? All Lydia is looking for is a quiet life in Peridot where she can live in peace and sew. Instead she finds two dead bodies and all of her new friends are acting squirrely. A promising start to a new series set in the Blueridge mountains of northern Georgia. ( )

SEAMS DEADLY begins a new cozy series set in a small town in northern Georgia. Lydia Barnes has fled there after catching her husband in bed with her teaching assistant. She had visited before and enjoyed stopping in at Measure Twice, a quilting store. Now she's been offered a job there and she also rents the upstairs apartment.

When she is coerced into a date with Brandon, a younger man who works in the local bookstore, by her boss, she reluctantly agrees even though she knows she isn't over her cheating husband. The date is a failure since he's determined to talk only about his Great American Novel. After he walks her home and she walks her dog Charlie, she decides to drop off some brownies and discovers him dead at his desk. He was stabbed with a pair of sheers from Measure Twice.

The local police think she killed Brandon which has the effect of making her dissolve into tears and suffer from shock. She's so new in town that she can't think of anyone else who might be a suspect. However, a few conversations indicate that Brandon did have some enemies who are unfortunately all alibied.

When another murder occurs in the classroom of Measure Twice, Lydia is again the prime suspect. She needs to find the real killer in order to keep her place in this small town that really feels like home to her.

There were lots of things I liked about this story. I liked that Lydia rescues a cat named Baby Lobster from the local shelter. Baby Lobster has quite an interesting personality. I also liked the setting of the story. The main thing I didn't like about the story was the main character. She seems totally self-absorbed and very prone to break into tears all the time or go off daydreaming at the most inappropriate times. She was a really unlikeable character for me.

I'm not sure if I will continue with this series because I really didn't like the main character or most of the other characters. I don't think an interesting setting will be enough motivation for me to read more. ( )

amateur-sleuth, state-of-Georgia, cozy-mystery, divorced, new-series, first-in-series, sewing, quilting, small-town, small-business, friends, friendship, murder-investigation, murder, pet-dog****

Excellent portrayal of a woman in shock after finding the body of a recent acquaintance and finding herself the prime suspect. You could think that she was a bit dim unless you've had experience with people who have had too many shocks in their recent past. The sleuthing is pretty good and I think that this series will get better as time moves along. I'm a knitter and fiber freak, so I learned a lot about being a sewist.
I requested and received an EARC from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you! ( )

Lydia’s world collapsed after discovering her husband’s infidelity in their home. Lydia drove on autopilot to Measure Twice, one of the stores in Peridot, where she’s been a customer and enjoyed friendly conversation with the owner Fran. Now Fran has become a friend, employer, and landlord too. Lydia’s happy to enjoy the peace of a small town in North Georgia, away from Atlanta and everything that defined her in marriage to Graham. Fran has even taken it upon herself to set up Lydia on a date. The evening has an unexpected ending, and suddenly Lydia’s new beginning is stitched with suspicion by the police.

A refreshing opening to a new cozy mystery series with a woman’s new beginning without receipt of an inheritance and/or return to her hometown. The sewing theme with fabric, quilts, sewing tools, and notions is appealing and provides added interest with the different ages of the women working together in the store, clientele, and police investigation. I also loved Lydia’s rescues of Charlie and Baby Lobster.

I’m looking forward to future visits to Peridot.

Thank you to Maggie Bailey, Crooked Lane Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an eARC of this book.

#SeamsDeadly #NetGalley ( )