It’s my stop today on the blog tour for The Painted Lobster Murders by Millie Ravensworth. Many thanks to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for the tour invite.
The Painted Lobster Murders is the second book in Millie Ravensworth’s Cozy Craft Mystery series.
Penny Slipper runs her grandmother’s sewing shop in the beautiful market town of Framlingham with her wild and creative cousin Izzy. A classic car weekend is coming to town and Fliss Starling, one of the richest in the area, wants an outfit that will match her husband’s elegant vintage car. Izzy and Penny are given the task of making the Schiaparelli lobster dress.
When one of Fliss’s house guests is murdered by a masked murder, Penny and Izzy have a mystery to solve. But fingers are soon pointing at Penny and Izzy when the intruder’s mask appears to have come from their own shop! And rival shop owner, Carmella, would be delighted to see them take the blame.
Can Penny and Izzy stitch the pieces of this puzzle together and find the guilty culprit?
Another fun and completely entertaining installment. This is the second book in the series, and I am already a huge fan. Quirky characters, charming setting, a sewing-themed cozy series and a murder mystery to keep one guessing till the end.
The story starts with a corgi (almost) ruining a birthday party at the Cozy Craft sewing store. Penny believes the Corgi is one of the guests’ pets. But turns out it isn’t. Penny left the cake unattended. She came back a few minutes later and found the dog’s mouth green (fondant). Somehow the cake is ‘redecorated’ and the party turns out fine.
The birthday boy’s grandmother, Fliss, wants Izzy and Penny to repair a dress for her. They agree to come over to her house later. At Fliss’s home, they learn the corgi belongs to one of the guests. Fliss has an idea for the cousins – would they be willing to take up a sewing project and recreate a famous lobster dress? Yes, why not? Izzy loves a challenge.
The corgi is safely returned to the owner but it’s back at the sewing store the next day. When Penny goes to return, she learns its owner was murdered last night. There’s another side story here. The victim was murdered by a masked man. Penny and Izzy distributed masks as birthday party return gifts. (Well, they wanted to clear stocks.)
Masked hooligans are creating trouble in town. Children are defacing buildings, creating a menace – thanks to Penny and Izzy’s Jean-Luc Picard and Boris Johnson/Donald Trump masks. Izzy and Penny are once again caught up in the middle of a murder mystery – and as a bonus, they also have to face the masked hooligans.
In my previous review, I mentioned I would love to see some progress in the romance department and here we are. Penny and the handsome painter Aubrey. Well, there’s nothing serious as of now but some development in the right direction.
The mystery behind the murder kept me guessing till the end. We have a classic cars rally going on, masked children creating havoc, a ‘jealous’ rival who believes Izzy and Penny stole her idea (and customers), and much more. This book was a complete entertainment package.
The corgi is called Monty. One of Fliss’s guest’s late husbands was called Monty. The birthday boy is called Monty. Whenever Izzy and Penny discuss about Monty, the corgi thinks they are talking about him. “Not you, Monty!” While it was a micro/mini pig named Arabella in the previous installment, it’s a corgi named Monty in this one. I wonder if Monty and Arabella meet in the near future… (Well, I am not talking about a love story so stop thinking of a pig meets dog and falls in love…)
The Painted Lobster Murders by Millie Ravensworth is a fun, quirky, unique, and completely engrossing and entertaining cozy mystery. I highly recommend this series. This is one of the best and quirkiest series I have ever read.
Additional Reading:
Series in Order: Cozy Craft Mysteries by Millie Ravensworth
Book #1: The Wonderland Murders by Millie Ravensworth
There’s a giveaway for this tour. Giveaway Prize includes a copy of The Wonderland Murders, a cross stitch book, a floral notepad, a note writing set, and a grass bunny. To participate, click here.
The Book Decoder 
This does sound like a charming book.