Okay, now I have another great cozy mystery series to add to my list of favorites! I really enjoyed this first book in the series and thankfully, have the next two all ready to read. The author writes about characters that you just feel like you know (or want to know) by the end of the book. The southern charm adds a wonderful background. 5 stars!

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Born and raised in a small town in Mississippi, I could relate to each and every character in this book. I enjoyed it so much that I went and purchased the second book in the series before I even finished the first. I have seen the book before, but put off reading it because I have never been interesting in "sewing" and I thought that it may bore me. I was truly wrong! I now feel that I have a "new circle of friends."

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Very quick and easy read. Follows a young woman who leaves a bad romance and the big city for a small southern town and career opportunity. What follows is a classic new girl in a small town story with a little mystery and romance thrown in for good measure.

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I loved this book, clean, wonder characters and a couple of twists. Good friendships building and it doesn't hurt that this protagonist is a librarian, like I was. Also had a bookstore which is proper for my type of person. Read and entice kids to read. With a 5 year old grandson, I'm back in the teaching reading again. Wonderful story, I hope many more people enjoy it as much as I did. I'm really looking forward to the next in the series. Not complicated and not so many people you can't keep track of them. Makes for a good story, at least for me. Good mystery and she didn't go off on her own at the end to confront the killer. Not a bunch of silliness.

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Since I am an avid sewer and like reading mysterys, I thought this would be a good combination. Although I enjoyed the book, I found the story did not develop well. The characters seemed a bit contrived. I never got a true sense of each character except for the crabby librarian the town discarded for a new, young one. I had hoped there would be more sewing scenes, but thoroughly enjoyed reading about the sewing circle. All in all, if you want a quick read while sitting on the beach or doing time on the treadmill, Sew Deadly will be a good fit.

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I was eager to read this book, but was very disappointed. Being a Southerner, I found the stereotypes (North & South) to be very simplistic and annoying - I mean who in the South doesn't understand the word "dibs" and how often do you really hear someone use the terms "by a country mile" and "youngin" or"knee-baby" repeatedly? And if the town is so isolated that basic terms like "pumped" are not understood, why would the bakery sell black & white cookies - which really are a Northern item? I felt like the author got a dictionary of Southernisms and just stuck them in for "authenticity".

I also got the feeling the author is not a seamstress because while other similar mysytery series - like Laura Childs' tea shop mysteries (which, while light reading, have better developed characters and do feel Southern) - evoke a real feeling for tea/food/catering, there was nothing about sewing that seemed real to me. The costumes made by the sewing circle could have been a great time to throw in some descriptive info that would not have bored non-sewers, but could have made those sections much more interesting.

A few other annoying things: why does the main African American character call her boss "Miss Sinclair" while the boss calls her by her first name? It's like the author watched a re-run of 'Heat of the Night' and took it to be authentic. And an emphasis is placed on the friendships formed (in a mere three weeks), but the "friends" refuse to call Tori by her preferred name, instead sticking to the full name "because that's the way it's done in the South". How long would you stay friends with a whole group of women who call you by a name you do not use? Weird.

So, those are the main reasons I could not wait to finish this book and will not read others in the series. My suggestion is to try Laura Childs or even the Ann B. Ross "Miss Julia" books for a true flavor of the South (in the quick-read, light genre).

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"Ever since she moved to Sweet Briar, South Carolina, Yankee librarian Tori Sinclair has been the talk of the tiny town. But she's been so busy at work, winning over the sewing circle, and trying to forget her cheating ex that she hasn't even had time to baste together a pillow, let alone mind local gossip. Then she finds the hometown sweetheart dead at her back door...Everyone believes the police investigator, who's just fixin' to link Tori to the murder in a love triangle gone bad. To clear her name, Tori will have to rely on her new sewing sisters and stitch together the truth- or be darned."

"Sew Deadly" was a pure delight from beginning to end. It even made me cry a couple of time. The true essence of "Southern-ness" from the sweet tea right down to the "bless your hearts" is captured wonderfully. This is such a comfortable novel that readers will feel right at home on Tori's front porch, if she can ever find a bulb for the light. And the gorgeous artwork on the cover is taken right from the description of Tori's living room - just perfect. A GREAT read and looking forward to more in the series!

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This was the kind of cozy that I enjoy - interesting, diverse and believable characters, a real sense of place, and a combination of two of my loves, sewing and books. I am now hoping to add the rest of the series to my personal library.

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