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Dewey Pellicano is trying to keep the quilting shop open that she inherited from her mother. Although the store had a successful history, things are changing and other stores are drawing her customers away. Dewey is now taking a chance on having a huge 20th anniversary sale, trying to fill the shop to bursting so that customers will come in for the sale from all corners of the state. Happily the local TV sewing show will be showing a clip on her shop just before the big sale and Dewey is thrilled. What she's not so thrilled about is that her sister in law, Kym, who worked in the store for years, seems to resent everything Dewey is doing and she undermines her every chance she can. With the pressure of relying on the sale to keep the store open, Dewey just doesn't need Kym's working against her. When the dead body of a man is found in the alley next to her shop and the police are being as nasty about the investigation as they can be, Dewey sees that in order to clear the way for a rumor-free, successful sale, she will have to get to the bottom of the murder herself. Unlike most cozies, this one has a lead character with a more than active sex life, and the book goes into great detail about that, but otherwise, this book is typical of cozies that are more chick lit than murder mystery. On top of that, unfortunately, the lead character really doesn't have a gift for investigation. Like too many other rather slip-shod cozies, she tends to think that investigating a murder is a fun hobby where one only has to question everyone she can think of to solve the case. Dewey does have the shop to worry about, but other than that she pretty much has a perfect life with a perfectly handsome hunk of a boyfriend, who is a cop but who isn't bothered too much by his girlfriend acting as if she is a detective, as if there is no training needed to be a cop. Another thing that bothers me is that, for some reason, Dewey doesn't know how to handle her conniving sister-in-law and permits herself to be pushed around and used by that one person while she shows a spine of iron when dealing with everyone else. In all other ways the lead character is smart and brave, and her lack of action towards her sister-in-law just glares as a weak point, just so that there can be a bad guy within its character list. The solution to the murder comes across as weak with the story relying on the lead character simply not paying attention to what is in front of her. The book was more involved in Dewey's sex life and the success of the shop's sale than it was in solving the crime. If you like a murder mystery that's heavy on the chick-lit side and light on the murder mystery investigation, then OLD MAID'S PUZZLE should be your choice for a calm afternoon's read.
Reviewed by A.L. Katz, February 2009
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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