SEAMS DEADLY

A newbie in town goes on a blind date and ends up a murder suspect.

Moving to the little mountain hamlet of Peridot, Georgia, has felt like coming home for Lydia Barnes, who never realized how great fitting in could feel. A large part of her contentment comes via Fran, her new boss, friend, and landlady, whose sewing store, Measure Twice, is Lydia’s happy place. Her joy at making a friend like Fran gives Lydia confidence in all of Fran’s suggestions, so when Fran suggests that she try going on a date—her first since her divorce—Lydia wonders if Fran knows something she doesn’t. Fran’s match for Lydia is Brandon Ivey, of the Turn the Page bookstore, and even listening to Brandon tell her over dinner that he's working on the next Great American Novel isn’t enough to dampen her interest. When she gets home from their date, she decides to bring Brandon some brownies in hopes of furthering their connection, but instead she finds that he’s been killed sometime between their dinner and her visit. Lydia understands when the police think the culprit in Brandon’s killing is obvious, and she knows she’ll go down for the death unless she can produce a more likely suspect. Now the townspeople Lydia’s come to love are also her lineup of suspects as she tries to figure out who among her new neighbors could possibly be a killer. With backup from rescue dog Charlie and her newest pet, the essentially feral cat Baby Lobster, Lydia bumbles her way through the investigation, though not before the killer strikes again.

Distinguished from similar cozies by a heroine who’s more than a bit hopeless.