Assault and Beadery by Mollie Cox Bryan

First Line: "How did we let ourselves get involved with this?" Cora Chevalier whispered to best friend and business partner, Jane Starr.

Cora Chevalier isn't happy about being coerced into painting the backdrops for the latest production of the local theatre group, especially since she and best friend Jane Starr have their first-ever Crafty Moms' Escape Weekend coming up. The theater group always seems to be "one more thing" it wants the two women to do for them. But when Stan Herald, the obnoxious director, is found dead and their friend Zee is arrested, Cora knows that there is one more thing she must do before the final curtain comes down: find the real killer.

Author Mollie Cox Bryan has a knack for choosing and describing crafts that makes me want to head for the nearest store to buy up all the necessaries and start to work. After reading Assault and Beadery, I now want to take up beading. 

Aided by two characters from the author's Cumberland Creek cozy series, Cora and Jane have their work cut out for them in a very well-plotted mystery that will keep readers guessing. There are so many people with so many secrets and hidden pasts and agendas that Cora wonders if she should also run background checks on all the people attending their retreats as well as the teachers-- but she's not really serious. However, that passing thought does highlight one of the things I like about this series: Bryan lets readers see the business side of running a small craft retreat.

Like any cozy series worth its salt, the cast of characters is first-rate. Cora Chevalier spent many years running a shelter for the victims of abuse. She's seen more of the dark side of human nature than most people have, and she made the conscious decision to leave that life and do something that would not only help people but bring herself joy. But she cannot deny the very basic part of her nature that wants to help those in need. It's not an accident that her last name is Chevalier, which is French for "knight". Her empathy, her compassion, has made her a knight in shining armor for people in trouble.

To leaven Cora's nature, there are two other characters. Victim of domestic abuse and mother of a small daughter, Jane Starr is the very practical and logical one in the business and friendship. Her life has taught her to be cautious, and this is something that Cora needs during her murder investigations. The third character is the older woman, Ruby, whose son is a lawyer who's proven invaluable in these cases. Ruby is a local and a hard worker, but she's a gossipmonger and is a bit too abrasive for me to like her much-- but who says we have to like everyone?

Good setting, good crafts, good mysteries, good characters. That's what you get in Mollie Cox Bryan's Cora Crafts series. Give it a try!
 

Assault and Beadery by Mollie Cox Bryan

eISBN: 9781496716453

Kensington Books © 2018

eBook, 320 pages

Cozy Mystery, #4 Cora Crafts mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley


 

Macramé Murder by Mollie Cox Bryan

First Line: The bride resembled a mermaid princess in her sparkling white-blue outfit.

Cora Chevalier and her cohorts have taken a break from their own crafting business to teach classes at the Sea Glass Island Craft Retreat in South Carolina. Cora's boyfriend Adrian has also come along, and when she isn't teaching or participating in other crafting classes, she's hoping this time with Adrian will help strengthen their relationship. 

When they arrive, Cora and Adrian encounter a stunning beach wedding and blissful newlyweds, but the next day the bride is found dead, and Cora is in shock-- even more so when Adrian is a suspect in the woman's murder. With locals believing Adrian is the killer, there's only one thing Cora can do-- find the real murderer herself.

I continue to enjoy this mystery series with its emphasis on crafts and murder. Cora is the type of character I really like (even though she suffered from a few too many panic attacks in this book)-- she's smart and compassionate, and the years she spent being in charge of a shelter for abused women gives her a different perspective on the human race. Her former career also taught her not to behave as though she's a trained police officer. Cora is primarily a businesswoman who hires teachers for her craft retreats; she isn't the Martha Stewart type who can run any sort of class she puts her mind to, so I was puzzled when I learned that she was teaching at this South Carolina retreat. When I found out what her class was all about, it made perfect sense-- and I'll let you find out what it was for yourself.

I was happy to see that Cora and her friends were in South Carolina. This avoids the old Cabot Cove Syndrome nicely, and-- let's face it-- if you found out people kept getting bumped off at a craft retreat you were thinking of going to... would you go? Probably not, unless you believe yourself to be Miss Marple reincarnated.

I enjoy the craft retreat setting and the characters, and I also enjoy trying to solve the mysteries. The mystery in Macramé Murder is complex, and I didn't have it all figured out before the reveal, which is always a good thing. Speaking of "good things" (didn't Martha Stewart used to do that?), that sums up Mollie Cox Bryan's cozy series perfectly, and I hope you give it a try.
 

Macramé Murder by Mollie Cox Bryan

eISBN: 9781496704696

Kensington Books © 2017

eBook, 352 pages

Cozy Mystery, #3 Cora Crafts mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

No Charm Intended by Mollie Cox Bryan

First Line: I kidnapped her.

Cora Chevalier is very happy to have ended her career being in charge of a women's shelter in the big city. She's finding that running craft retreats in a big old Victorian mansion in small town North Carolina to be supremely satisfying-- especially since she's working with her best friend Jane. 

Her second retreat, which is all about wildcrafting (using items found in nature to create all sorts of things), has barely had time to get started when the local nanny, Gracie Wyke, goes missing. Jane's young daughter is quite upset over Gracie's disappearance, and so is Gracie's boyfriend Paul. The police think Paul is responsible, but Cora believes the young man is in danger. But as Cora and Jane begin uncovering clues and a body turns up in an abandoned amusement park, they begin to question Cora's decision. Not only are they facing the very real possibility that an innocent person could go to jail-- this could put an end to Cora's new business and ruin her reputation.

First off, I want it known that I would love to attend one of Cora's craft retreats. The author makes them sound like so much fun, and I like how Cora can be doing two or three things at the same time yet still plan ahead for future activities like enlarging the kitchen so she can hold baking classes. 

Bryan has skillfully put together a very intriguing mystery. It took me a long time to figure out exactly what was going on, and I love that. 

As good as the mystery is, and as delectable as all the crafts are, it's the cast of characters that makes this series a winner. Even though she's seen more than her fair share of the evil in the world, Cora still has a heart of gold and tends to be too trusting. Her friend Jane, on the other hand, is way too suspicious. I know Jane's suspicion is being used to keep Cora's good intentions in check (or at least to make Cora think twice about them), but I find Jane becoming very annoying. I hope something happens in future books to dial that element of her personality down a notch or two.

Continuing with the characters, I like seeing how some of the people signed up for the retreat join in the crime solving-- and how they all pitch in when someone needs help. Mollie Cox Bryan's Cora Crafts series encourages readers to solve crime and feel good-- all at the same time. Bring on book three!
 

No Charm Intended by Mollie Cox Bryan

eISBN: 9781496704672

Kensington Books © 2017

eBook, 320 pages

Cozy Mystery, #2 Cora Crafts mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley


 

Death Among the Doilies by Mollie Cox Bryan

First Line: Did Jane just say "police station?"

After too many years being a counselor at a women's shelter, blogger Cora Chevalier has come to Indigo Gap, North Carolina to reinvent herself. Pouring her talents and most of her savings into a craft retreat business has been a dream of hers, and she's looking forward to sharing that dream with her best friend (and resident potter) Jane Starr.

It's been a whirlwind of turning her old Victorian mansion into a crafter's paradise, booking people into her first retreat, and babysitting Jane's young daughter, so Cora doesn't have time to listen to the rumors that are spreading about the murder of the local school librarian. She doesn't... until Jane's fingerprints are found at the crime scene. With the behavior of townspeople turning ugly, Cora knows she's not only going to have to save Jane but her own reputation and her brand-new business as well.

I always pick up a book expecting it to be good, but I have to admit that I was very pleasantly surprised by just how good Death Among the Doilies is. Mollie Cox Bryan has created a strong small town setting, given the hero of her tale a wonderful old Victorian mansion to live and work in, and then peopled it with a cast of very interesting characters. Having a good mystery to solve is icing on the cake.

The main character, Cora Chevalier, is a woman that I quickly grew to like. She's a bit of an old soul, sounding as though she's in her late forties when she's actually only thirty-two. Cora has seen much too much of the ugly side of life in that women's shelter, but this is her first experience at being a business owner, and she does make some rookie mistakes.

It's those rookie mistakes that added a great deal of interest to the story for me. I learned more about craft retreats, especially the security aspect, vetting instructors, and how to deal with caterers. It's amazing how details like this can add so much texture to a book. However, if I'm waxing so poetic over the craft retreat angle that you're beginning to think that there's not enough mystery, think again. There's plenty of that. In fact, Bryan's combination of mystery, setting, and character make Death Among the Doilies one of the strongest cozy debuts I've read this year. I can't wait to see what happens next!
     

Death Among the Doilies by Mollie Cox Bryan

eISBN: 9781496704658

Kensington Books © 2016

eBook, 320 pages

Cozy Mystery, #1 Cora Crafts mystery

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley