Weekend Review: Crafting an Alibi

 

Crafting an Alibi / Barbara Emodi
Lafayette, CA: C&T, c2025
224 p.

This is Book 5 in the entertaining Gasper's Cove mystery series. We meet many of the same characters we've seen over the last few books, but see them from new angles. And there are some new characters added too, perhaps ones we will see again. 

As this story begins, Valerie is invited into a big secret held by a group of senior ladies, now resident at the Seaview Manor. She is asked to find some valuable fabric hidden decades ago, but before she can do it, the hiding place is burned to the ground. Unfortunately for Valerie, it was her family cottage and there was a renter in it. 

This set-up leads to some dramatic events -- insurance investigations, attempted murders, further fires -- all while Valerie is trying to puzzle out the clues (missing important steps as usual). She is also in the midst of helping to plan her cousin/best friend's wedding, dealing with her emotions over being an empty nester, and of course losing a family property. 

There is a lot going on here, but it's rooted in the same small town atmosphere as the previous books in the series. It has the hallmarks of a Gasper's Cove story - some Nova Scotia history, some cozy relationships which involve food and tea, and Valerie's crafting knowledge, which always plays a part. I really enjoyed the cabal of old ladies at Seaview Manor in this novel and hope to see their cleverness highlighted again.  

If you've enjoyed this series so far, this is a good addition, with some lovely scenes as well as some heart-pounding ones. Beware, you may be left craving butter tarts after this one!