The Swan Dress Murders
Cozy Craft Mysteries can be read in any order. A funny whodunnit series, full of charming characters and mysteries that will keep you guessing to the very end.
A wedding is a cause for celebration. Not only do dressmakers Penny and Izzy get an invite to the big day but they have an unusual dress commission to complete for one of the guests.
It seems Penny’s only problem is deciding which potential boyfriend to take as her plus-one guest — practical handyman Aubrey or cultured fabric expert Oscar.
But bigger problems arise when the maker of the wedding cake is found dead in the grounds of the stately home where the wedding is to take place.
And when another key individual in the wedding plans is also murdered, it seems like someone has deadly plans to prevent this marriage.
Can Penny and Izzy unravel the mystery and solve this crime before the big day is fatally ruined?
If your ideal book features mystery, friendship, cute romance, crafting and a charming rural setting then this is the book for you.
Purchase Links
Amazon UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BH14X68M
Amazon US – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BH14X68M
My Review
Thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for organising this blog tour and to the authors for sending me a copy of this book.
Izzy goes to an old friend’s hen do; it gets a bit raucous and in the morning a bridesmaid, Cat, is dead. Turns out, no one particularly liked her anyway. Then Gavin the florist is murdered. Gavin is Izzy and Penny’s cousin Olivia’s long term partner. Cat and Gavin were teenage boy/girlfriends and still saw each other regularly. Was someone jealous?
The groom’s sister is Monica, one of the Sufflanders from The Painted Lobster Murders, and she needs a dress for the big day. She goes to Penny and Izzy for help. The ugly duckling becomes a beautiful swan in white DMs.
Aubrey makes a new friend in Dr Denise, another of the hen party, and finds himself in a difficult situation when Penny takes Oscar as her plus one to the wedding.
And in the background there’s the event’s manager. Olivia’s best friend, James, has helped Briony (the bride) make her wedding perfect, but he’s not a memorable person.
What has a teenage party years before got to do with it all? And how will they deal with the snow?
I’ve summarised and left out quite a bit. We meet more of Penny and Izzy’s family and friends in this mystery. The police only appear at the end to take away the killer as the women, Aubrey, and their new friends Monica and Denise, investigate the murders themselves.
Izzy and Marcin’s relationship has become a solid one, as they have a variety of fun dates and she presents him with gloves at the wedding. It’s very serious.
Penny procrastinates until the last minute, chooses one man and finds the other has a date for the wedding anyway. And feels rubbish about wasting time with the one she does choose. I still say she should have taken both of them to the wedding…
There’s a traditional nagging/controlling mother-in-law that every seems to put up with until she tries to attack Monica’s choice of dress, when she’s firmly put in her place by both Monica and Briony. I don’t like the trope of the controlling mother of the bride, it’s so misogynistic, BUT in this case she’s overprotective for good reason and when she’s corrected she tries to be better.
I liked Monica getting more time, her Land Rover obsession is cool, and so is her dress sense.
I guessed who the murderer was from one line before anyone was dead. But that might be because I read a lot of mystery novels and the hints and herrings were entertaining. I started reading this book straight after finishing Sequined Cape and returned to it this afternoon when I was feeling off. I had meant to go to the shop for some fruit squash and cheese, but I got into this book and finished it in less than three hours.
I liked that a wider circle of characters were introduced and some past characters made a return. The relationship developments and regrets felt realistic, painfully so at times. It was a cosy way to spend an early evening.
Books five and six are due out later in the year and I’m looking forward to reading more of Izzy and Penny’s adventures.
Giveaway Prize – The Wonderland Murders, a cross stitch book, a floral notepad, a note writing set and a grass bunny.
https://kingsumo.com/g/h1kxu9/prize-for-cozy-mysteries-blog-tour
Author Bio – Millie Ravensworth writes the Cozy Craft Mystery series of books. Her love of murder mysteries and passion for dressmaking made her want to write books full of quirky characters and unbelievable murders. Millie lives in central England where children and pets are something of a distraction from the serious business of writing, although dog walking is always a good time to plot the next book.
Social Media Links –
https://www.facebook.com/MillieRavensworth
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