Hey guys, Every now and then I do book reviews here on the blog- they're usually non fiction, craft book reviews, but today I've got something a little different. Still a crafty book, but fiction!
I've read all of the books in Laura Child's Scrapbooking Mystery series, so when I was offered the chance to review an advanced readers copy of her newest book, Parchment and Old Lace, how could I say no?
These books are about a woman named Carmela, who lives in New Orleans, owns a scrapbooking store by day and solves crimes by night.
Here's a bit about this book from the publisher:
Carmela couldn’t imagine a finer evening than dinner at Commander’s Palace with her beau, Detective Edgar Babcock. The food and the company are equally divine—with the exception of Isabelle Black stopping by to brag about her upcoming wedding. Resuming the romance with a walk in the evening air, the couple is interrupted once again—this time by a terrifying scream from inside the cemetery.
I don't read mysteries too often, usually sticking to scifi and YA dystopian, but every now and then I love a good mystery, so it's fun to read scrapbooking themed mysteries.
Having just seen Isabelle, Carmela and Edgar now find her lying across an aboveground tomb, strangled to death with a piece of vintage lace. Carmela would rather leave the investigating to Edgar, but she can’t say no to Isabelle’s sister Ellie, the tarot card reader at Juju Voodoo, when she asks her to help. As she untangles the enemies of Isabelle’s past, Carmela hopes she can draw out the killer before someone else gets cold feet.
Things I liked about this book:
- The fact that it is scrapbooking themed.
- It includes scrapbooking tips (and recipes) in the back of the book.
- I honestly had no idea who the killer was until the end.
Things I didn't care for:
- This book was a bit slow for me. The murder happened really quick, but then things got a little boring in my opinion. I finished it because I did want to know what happened, but I admittedly skimmed over a few sections to get to the end quicker.
Overall it was a pretty good addition to the scrapbooking series, but now I think I need another scifi in my to read stack. ;)
You can find this book on GoodReads here.
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Have you read any of Laura Child's scrapbooking series?
*I was given an Advanced Readers Copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to Nancy Nally for providing it.