Sew Easy to Kill

Trewley & Stone #5

by Sarah J. Mason

When a needlework student winds up dead--electrocuted by a sabotaged foot control--Trewley and Stone have to unravel a tangled thread of clues and find a murderer cut from an entirely different cloth than anyone ever suspected.

Genres: Mystery

203 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Aka Hamilton Crane

Reviews

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just reread this one. England is in the middle of a heat wave, so Trewley and Stone are not too surprised to be called to a crime scene. Tempers are soaring as high as the temperature. It seems someone objected to one of the students in a sewing class and tampered with her sewing machine. But her death is quickly followed by another. Just what is going on at this quiet girls' school?

Out of print, but a good read all the same.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

A STITCH IN CRIME
A blistering heat wave had tempers fraying all over England. Especially at the Allshire Adult Education Scheme's needlework class. Petty squabbles were brewing over available sewing machines. Until one woman wound up dead, electrocuted by a sabotaged font control. Now Trewley and Stone have to unravel a tangled thread of clues -- and find a murderer cut from an entirely different cloth than anyone ever suspected ...

MEET TREWLEY AND STONE
Detective Superintendent Trewley has years of experience probing the dark secrets of cozy English village life. But even he can use a bit of help sometimes. That's where Stone comes in: with the mind of a scientist and a black belt in judo, she's the perfect partner for tough old Trewley -- and together, they're the perfect crime-solving team."
~~back cover

I just wasn't as enchanted with this book as I have been with others by this author. The writing didn't seem as sharp or witty, and the plot was rather mundane.

[Jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Someone at my quilt retreat started reading this book and didn't like it because it was "too British". It was written in 1996, but is written in a style from the 1940s. The narrative is verbose and ponderous in places and there is a lot of bouncing around different characters. The convoluted sentences and some of the British-isms require careful reading. The mystery itself was solved in a rather unsatisfactory manner and quite by chance. Though I had a guess at who the murderer was, the only clues were toward the very end of the book; until then the author included some red herrings and dire portents. There is very little character development, though I will admit that each sketch did a good job of describing the people. This is part of a series, but it just didn't draw me in enough to want to try the other books.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I made the mistake of reading this before the earlier books in the series - there were references, but it wasn't an insuperable obstacle. Plot only too believable, characters even more so.

[Lana Kamennof-sine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Truly appreciate Sarah Mason's skillful characterizations & plot stylings.

[Karen Baadsgaard · Rating 3 out of 5]

BAD-DIDN'T READ