Pleating for Mercy

by Melissa Bourbon

I can’t believe that Pleating for Mercy came out on Tuesday! The very first book in A Magical Dressmaking Mystery series hit bookstores (on the tower in Barnes & Noble, no less!!) and online ebookstores for anybody who loves cozy mysteries, dressmaking, sewing, and/or anything crafty to read.

My love of mysteries started, like most young girls of a certain age–ehem, we don’t need to talk about age, now, do we?–with Nancy Drew. From there I graduated straight to Agatha Christie. I have a distinct memory of going with my mom to our town’s library so she could check out the last Hercule Poirot novel, Curtain. She was crushed that it was to be Poirot’s last, and her love of these book intrigued me enough to start reading them.

I spent almost all of my high school lunches in one classroom or another reading.

Now, I should say that I’m a light-weight when it comes to these things. Horror movies and books are not for me. I threw Silence of the Lambs across the room once or twice while reading it, and I cover my eyes during certain parts of Dexter (though he and the show are morbidly fascinating and I LOVE it).

But I love the deduction.

So, of course, I when my passion for writing grew until it couldn’t be denied, it was no surprise that it manifested itself in the form of mysteries. I began with the Lola Cruz Mystery series, published initially with St. Martin’s Minotaur, and moving soon to a new publisher with the next three books in the series.

Then I wrote two romantic suspenses, which, of course, have strong mystery elements in them. They’re based on Mexican legends and these will be coming out sometime next year.

Finally, my cozies, A Magical Dressmaking Mystery series with NAL, have brought me full circle to the kind of mysteries I love the most. They are small town, feel good who dunnits. They are like comfort food. They just make me want to curl up in front of a fire and escape into the town of Bliss (if only we weren’t on our 20+ day of 100+ degree weather).

Mystery, mystery, mystery. The characters. The communities. The crime. The puzzle. The deductions. The justice. All of makes for such a satisfying read.

“Enchanting! Prepare to be spellbound from page one by this well-written and deftly-plotted cozy. It’s charming, clever and completely captivating! Fantasy, fashion and a foul play—all sewn together by a wise and witty heroine you’ll instantly want as a best friend. Loved it!”~Agatha, Anthony and Macavity Winning Author Hank Phillippi Ryan