50 Book Reviews Reviews Published

Friday, October 20, 2017

Crafting Murder Triple Review





This is three reviews in one since I read two of the books back to back with the 3rd being an early release courtesy of  Kensington Books and NetGalley.com


Death Among the Doilies
Meet Cora Chevalier and her friend/business partner Jane Starr.  Crafter/blogger extraordinaire and now craft retreat guru.  Cora and Jane have relocated from the city to the quiet mountain town of Indigo Gap, North Carolina to turn a historic house into a crafters retreat inn.  The first retreat is always the most challenging from the guests to the guest teachers and it doesn't help when the local librarian turns up dead and Jane's fingerprints are found at the scene. It was the small town feel that lured the ladies to Indigo Gap but that same small town is full of whispers and locals who want justice served and an outsider is always the first to be blamed.  Cora needs to organize more than just scrapbooking if she is to save the fledgling business and her best friend. Included with the stories are crafting tips.

No Charm Intended
Having learned many lessons from their first retreat, the crafty ladies are back to work with clay and a new batch of retreat guests.  Having become friendlier with the townsfolk, Jane often uses Gracie Wyke, local nanny/law student to watch over her daughter while working a retreat class.  Gracie's boyfriend Paul shows up on their doorstep distraught over the disappearance of Gracie who seems to have disappeared down the yellow brick road and is no longer in Indigo Gap.  Paul insists that Gracie would never run off and leave him even though the authorities insist there are not clues. It's up to Cora to balance it all while keeping her anxiety at a low and her energy up high as she charms her way through this latest mystery.


Macramé Murder
Mollie Cox Bryan does not disappoint.  This third installment takes the crafters to a retreat away from home and to the coast.  Who ever said that a bad day at the beach is better than a good day at home would usually be right.  After all, Cora is getting a chance to spend quality time with Adrian, her new boyfriend.  At least until he is put under house arrest for being the number one suspect in the murder of a well to do mermaid folklore writing islander who not only is found dead on her wedding night but is also an old flame of Adrian's.  Cora must quell her fears and handle her anxiety attacks while still being the excellent blog teacher she is known to be while getting to the bottom of this fishy situation at the Big Island Craft Retreat filled with mermaids, murder, and macramé.

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Move Over Uber, Here Comes Lime Bike

 I've noticed this Lime Bike around the office over the last few weeks and was intrigued. Why would someone just leave a bike unattended and not in a bike rack.  As you can see it is essentially in the middle of Halifax Mall hanging out.
Lime Bike is the new way to get around in the urban sprawl, which is going to be quicker than by foot or with the traffic crawl.
These bikes can be found in only three states and I am pleasantly surprised that North Carolina is one of them.  This reminds me of the Zipp Car idea, use an app take a drive, pay for service.  The Lime Bike is the same way, use the app, take a ride, pay for service.  The bike has a special locking mechanism that will become freed up when using the app and a QR code reader.  Becoming increasingly popular on college campuses, I can only deduce that this was at State and the biker made their way to the downtown area.  The website states that the first ride is free so perhaps instead of a lunch time run, I'll try the Lime Bike on these rolling hills and go for a spin.