The last thing Katie Bonner wanted was to become the manager of Artisans Alley. But when her business partner, Ezra Hilton, is found bludgeoned to death, she has no other choice. Business under Ezra has been faltering-but was it enough to provoke someone to murder? Only Kate can find the answer.
A Crafty Killing (Victoria Square Mystery)
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Editorial Reviews
Review
Bartlett combines murder, a touch of romance, and a lot of intrigue in this charming story. With personable characters, and a lively, fast-paced storyline--readers will be enthralled & delighted with this fresh new series. --Fresh Fiction
The red herrings were aplenty, and the killer a complete surprise. Ms. Bartlett has created a crafty tale that must be read. --The Best Reviews --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.
The red herrings were aplenty, and the killer a complete surprise. Ms. Bartlett has created a crafty tale that must be read. --The Best Reviews --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.
About the Author
Lorraine Bartlett has done it all--from drilling holes for NASA to typing scripts in Hollywood. In addition to writing the Victoria Square Mysteries, she also writes the New York Times bestselling (and Agatha-nominated) Booktown Mysteries under the name Lorna Barrett. And she writes the Jeff Resnick Mysteries as L.L. Bartlett. She lives in Rochester, NY with her husband and four crazy kitties.
--This text refers to the
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is a fabulously flamboyant start to a new series!,
This review is from: A Crafty Killing (Victoria Square Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)
Katie Bonner had to admit that a corpse was good for business. Everyone and his brother would come rushing into Artisans Alley to see the spot where Ezra Hilton had been bludgeoned to death. It was a good thing that Mary Elliot had found the old coot because frankly, she didn't have the stomach for that sort of thing even though "Artisans Alley--and Ezra--had ruined her marriage." Her dearly departed hubby, Chad, had invested in this "decaying money pit," and after his death she became Ezra's partner. Every last one of the vendors in Artisans considered themselves to be an undiscovered artist, including Peter Ashby in number sixty-four who dealt in "garden statuary," a quaint euphemism for cemetery statues. The ghouls would love his stuff and that X marks the spot hunk of carpet Detective Davenport, the `thank you, ma'am man,' had ripped up at the bottom of the stairs.After the "Did Mr. Hilton have any enemies?" bit was over Katie had to calm down, pop a peppermint, and get down to business. Things quickly started to hop and bop, including Ida Mitchell's UGH-ly facial wart, one other thing Katie didn't have the stomach for. Ida, who hadn't paid her rent in months, was going to be the first one out the door of Artisans just as soon as she told her boss at Kimper Insurance where to get off. This was business and the very future of Artisans Alley and Victoria Square depended on her. Katie had her eye on a "sumptuous bed-and-breakfast," but a dump that sold objects d'art would have to do. Vance Ingram, Ezra's backup, began to squawk, "You've never shown any interest in this place. What makes you think you can just waltz in her and change everything now?" Try me. Katie didn't know whodunit, but soon she'd have to contend with more nuts than were in the cookies at Mary's "Tea and Tasties." Gerald Hilton, Ezra's greedy nephew (and now partner), had his own ideas about running things. Pizza parlor Andy had a bunch of hoodlums for employees and the vendors were yelling about the "crappy crafters" she was letting in Artisans. Oh, and the `thank you ma'am man' was telling her to mind her own business. Nosy Rose Nash said, "I can tell you about everything, about everybody in this place." La di da, go right ahead because it was starting to look like an inside job until everyone got to Collier's funeral parlor to pay their respects to Ezra when Nona Fiske began to scream. "Trollop! It's your fault Ezra's dead. If you hadn't come to Victoria Square, Ezra would be alive today." This is a fabulously flamboyant start to a new series. For the first book in a series, I was quite impressed at how well Katie's character was developed. She was gutsy, determined, spunky, and capable of getting the job done, including catching a killer. I loved the little touches of humor scattered throughout the book and fell in love with Katie's no nonsense approach to life and the occasional corpse she had to deal with. If you read and enjoyed the Booktown Mystery series, also by the author (Lorna Barrett) you're going to love graduating from one series to the other. It looks like Artisans Alley and Victoria Square are going to be a "high falutin'" hotbed ... for murder! This book (ARC) courtesy of the author.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I loved it!,
By SuzieQ "cozy in pottsville" (Pottsville, PA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Crafty Killing (Victoria Square Mystery) (Kindle Edition)
Katie Bonner is a great new heroine in the cozy mystery genre. The supporting characters are also believable and interact with Katie and each other in a realistic manner. (In some cozies the interaction between characters is a bit off!) It is also refreshing that Katie's romantic interest isn't a policeman, PI, lawyer, etc. Another enjoyable element is the entire setting of the book, the craft cooperative. What a neat idea! I was also totally surprised at the outcome and can't wait until book two. Lorraine Barrett's books never disappoint!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
EXCELLENT READ!!!,
This review is from: A Crafty Killing (Victoria Square Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)
I have to add my 5-star review to all the others and am happy to do so!! As a fan of all this authors books, I must say I am pleased to see that her writing talent is up to a great start on this third series (I HAVE read all but one title of her other series').I enjoyed meeting our new heroine as well as the "characters" surrounding her! I did guess the killer, but not until close to the point of reveal, so that is fine with me. Having been an extremely busy crafter for over a decade (when I was really young), there were many familiar scenes (not the dead body scenes!) and I totally enjoyed my deja vu(s). I do consider this a page-turner for myself and personally am looking forward to next February when the next title will be released.... In the meantime, "Sentenced to Death" is staring at me from my bookshelves, so I must be off to begin a new adventure!!!
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