Murder in Miniature by Katie Tietjen

 

First Line: January 6, 1947. When the knock came at her door, Maple Bishop was in her living room staring at a tiny family.

Maple Bishop's dollhouse business is thriving, and she even has a second "career" as a crime scene consultant for the local sheriff. When the body of an aspiring firefighter is discovered in a burned cabin, she's called in to help determine if the fire was an accident or arson. This case has even more importance because the dead man was a close friend of Kenny, the sheriff's deputy, and Maple's confidante.

After creating the cabin in miniature, the investigation leads Kenny and Maple to Maple's old Boston neighborhood, so not only must Maple solve the crime, but she must also confront the past she wants to forget.

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Having had mixed reactions to the first Maple Bishop mystery, Death in the Details, I was interested in what the second, Murder in Miniature, had in store. I'm happy to say that all systems are go, and I'm looking forward to the third book.

Watching Maple create the dollhouses that people want, as well as her miniature crime scene models, fascinates me. This is the major reason why I was first intrigued by this series. Still grieving the death of her husband, Maple has made friends in this small town, and being able to help the local sheriff helps satisfy her in other ways. After all, she's a trained lawyer who's had no success in finding a firm that wants to hire a woman, hence her move to Vermont.

When the complicated investigation takes Kenny and Maple to Boston, we learn more about Maple's past, setting her up for a major decision in the next book in the series. I'm looking forward to finding out the choice Maple makes.

Murder in Miniature by Katie Tietjen

eISBN: 9798892421829

Crooked Lane Books © 2025

eBook, 288 pages

Historical Mystery, #2 Maple Bishop

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

Death in the Details by Katie Tietjen

 

First Lines: Wednesday, October 16, 1946. "Twelve dollars and sixty-seven cents?"

 

Maple Bishop is no stranger to death. Her mother died. So did her brother. Now her husband has died in service to his country. But the discovery that her husband left her penniless puts everything into sharp focus for the grieving woman: she must find a way of earning money so she doesn't lose her home in this small Vermont town. 

 

Maple is the first female Boston City Law School graduate, but no one in town wants to hire her. Fortunately, her eye for detail and her skill have led her to craft intricate dollhouses, and she begins selling them. At first, business is going well until Maple delivers a dollhouse to a customer and finds him dead, hanging from a rafter in his barn.

 

Something about the supposed suicide doesn't seem right to Maple, and in an attempt to figure it out, she recreates the death scene in miniature-- what she calls "death in a nutshell." With the help of a rookie police officer, Maple uses her miniature to dig into the town's secrets... and that makes a murderer very unhappy.

 

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With my interest in dollhouses and miniatures and the author finding inspiration in Frances Glessner Lee, the mother of forensic science, Death in the Details was a book I could not resist. For the most part, this is a very promising start to a new historical series.

The mystery is a strong one and used a factor in World War II life on the homefront that I seldom think about.  The cast of characters is also strong. Maple is smart, has a very handy photographic memory, and has a knack for gathering friends around her-- something which she doesn't seem to be completely aware of.

Her best friend Charlotte and Charlotte's husband Hank run the diner in town, and although I do like Charlotte, if she kept walking into my house unannounced, she wouldn't be my friend for long. Ben, a half-Japanese hardware store owner, Ginger Comstock ("Gossip Central"), and rookie police officer Kenny Quirk round out the major players. Oh, I almost forgot one! Sheriff Sam Scott started life as a cardboard lawman, but I am happy to say that he didn't stay that way.

But... as strong as the mystery and the characters are, one thing really annoyed me: slipshod editing. The book takes place in 1946. When the sheriff tells Maple "Don't get your pantyhose in a twist," it stopped me in my tracks. Did they have pantyhose in 1946? I had to stop and do a little investigating. No, they did not. So... when I find an error like that, it makes me suspicious. Yellowjackets that were hereafter referred to as bees didn't help, and then I found myself doing some digging on the subjects of seatbelts and plywood among other things.

Death in the Details is a strong mystery with a good cast of characters. Unfortunately, it is a bit weak in the details. Will I read the next book in the series? Yes, but I won't be in a rush to do so.

 

Death in the Details by Katie Tietjen

eISBN:  9781639107193

Crooked Lane Books © 2024

eBook, 288 pages

 

Historical Mystery, #1 Maple Bishop mystery

Rating: C+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.