Invitation to Murder

A Cardmaking Mystery #1

by Elizabeth Bright

Jennifer Shane's brainchild of a shop, Custom Card Creations, hasn't been all glitter and tinsel. Customers are scarce and -- after finally landing a client -- Jennifer hears a murder over the phone. And when she receives a threatening note, it's clear someone has designs on her life, too.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Cozy, Mystery Thriller, Ebooks, Crafts

214 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 6, 2005

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

A pseudonym used by Tim Myers

Series:
* A Card Making Mystery

Reviews

[Roxane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good!

[Lori Henrich · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice light read. The basic premise hinges around Jennifer who has just opened her card making shop. The mystery starts with a phone call to a wrong number. Then a cantankerous women shows up wanting Jennifer to make the invitations for her daughters wedding. There is a time constraint because the bride-to-be is expecting. A women turns up dead they discover she was the woman that called Jennifer and she was to be the maid of honor at the wedding she is preparing the invitations for. It was a good story. I like the card making aspect.

[Amary Chapman]

Card makers cozy

The author's take on small town law enforcement and family connections was a fun one. Pointing to the wedding party and narrowing the suspects was a great idea. Who had the motive. I recomm

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kindle

[Paschalis]

elibrary

[Amanda]

The main character is so stubborn and childish, I couldn’t buy it

[Traci · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was a nice mix of character development and relationships along with a good mystery. The clues were present and made sense. I also felt there was a nice balance incorporating the craft of card making into the story. The descriptions of the techniques made sense in the plot and didn’t overwhelm the story

[Heather L · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall not a bad story, though it could have benefited from better editing. Have also never been a fan of meandering paragraphs that are a half page to 1-1/2 pages long. As a cardmaker myself, though, I did like the premise.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is book #1 in the Card Making Mystery but I had red #2 first. I really enjoyed the 2nd book but I was a little disappointed in this one. The way Jennifer and her aunt go about finding which of their suspects had alibis just didn't seem in the realm of something that would really happen. But it was still an enjoyable book and I like the main characters. I also make cards so I enjoy reading about what goes into running a craft store.

[Nytetyger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is, again, another start to another new cozy mystery series. The setting this time is in yet another small town, where the female protagonist owns a brand new shop devoted to the making of greeting cards, and the selling of the fancy ones she makes on her own. Her first day, sitting at the counter, she gets a wrong number that haunts her—sounds like someone is begging for help and then is murdered. She tells her brother who is (of course) the sheriff of the small town, but he dismisses it, at least until a murdered woman is found in an abandoned house.

Our heroine decides to solve what happened, especially when she starts getting threatening letters telling her to forget she ever got the call at work, and a similar warning at her apartment. There are the requisite goofy relatives, oddball friends, and craft ideas, as well as a really decent plot, making for a rather decent read and the decision to get books two and three!

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun first book in a series. This is also a first book by this author for me, although Elizabeth Bright is actually Tim Myers I haven't read any of his other books. I think he has hooked me with this one so I'll be reading others.

Jennifer has just opened her own card making shop when she receives a wrong number phone call for "Donna". While Jenn is trying to explain that the person has a wrong number the female caller lets out a blood curdling scream and the phone goes dead. Jenn calls her brother, the sheriff, and the mystery begins. Who called, who was she afraid of, who is Donna, and once the body is found, who wanted her dead?

There are card making tips included in the book which is interesting and we get a chance to meet Jenn's family including her Aunt who is a unique lady but is currently volunteering to help Jenn get her new business started.

This was a fun and quick read for me, now looking forward to more in the series.

[Veronica Noechel · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun start to a mystery series. Not so much a nail biter, but more of a romp with a group of likeable characters I wouldn't mind hanging out with in real life. Again, I fell behind on my reviews, so I'm lacking some detail. One drawback I seem to recall was that the story plays a bit fast and loose with the protagonist's investigative techniques which I thought might be pretty easy to spot by the antagonist. There were things she did that would make her an easy mark for any nefarious killer yet these mistakes slid by without consequence. I kept waiting for the killer to show up and be like, "Oh come on. I know it's you." but I guess the reader wasn't intended to see these as glaring mistakes by the protagonist.) But hey, it's the first book in the series and I was ready to read the next as soon as I closed the cover on this one. That's what really matters.

[Julie Fetcho · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun quick cozy with a few laughs.

Jennifer Shane opens a new card making shop a couple doors down from her sister's scrapbooking store. whereas her brother, Bradford, is the sheriff of Rebel Forge, Virginia.

Customers are scarce and Jennifer jumps at a ladies request to do wedding invitations. Then she receives a phone call where she hears a women being killed. Then she starts receiving threatening notes. Between Jennifer and her aunt Lillian they hunt for clues as to who killed the woman on the other end of the phone.

[Mascanlon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book by cozy writer Tim Myers. The protagonist Jennifer Shane takes a leap of faith and opens her own cardmaking shop in a small town. Her first big customer is Bridezilla herself (well actually its Bridezilla, Mother of the Bride). Who turns up dead and how Jennifer begins to build a clientele of friends and sleuths makes for a fun read. The digital edit was awful though and I certainly hope its cleaned up in the next book. I'll give them one more chance!

[Marj · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It was a nice cozy, featuring a card making shop and its owner, Jennifer Shane. She is assisted by her Aunt Lillian, who is a little eccentric, and adds some charm to the story.

I also enjoy the interaction between Jennifer and her brother, Bradford and her sister, Sarah Lynn. The relationship between Jennifer's brother and their aunt is interesting, also.

Looking forward to the next in the series.

[Chi Dubinski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jennifer Shane opens up a card making shop in the same town where her sister owns a scrapbooking store and their brother is the sheriff. Customers are few and far between, so when she overhears a possible murder on the phone, she sets out to investigate. A cozy for those readers who enjoy hobby related mysteries.

[Nadine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jennifer is an independent young adult trying to make it on her own with a new greeting card-making shop. She hears a murder over the phone and soon realizes that it was one of the bridesmaids for which she is designing and making the wedding invitations. Then she gets threatened and the pace really picks up. I think I'll check out the next book in the series!

[Barbara Tobey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bridezillas?

Pleasant cozy mystery with a card making shop as its base location. Nice card making tips included. Light mystery and fun reading. Good family interactions and relationships. I was given a copy by the most recent publisher for review. It seemed familiar as I was reading it, but I had to continue to the end to see whodunnit.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a huge fan of card decorating although I have some friends who do a really great job. But I really enjoyed this mystery and getting to know the whole family. The town sounds very quaint and I'd love to visit and shop there.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and will continue on with the series when I find the rest.

[Lori Lyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another seriesthat is good for an evening of light reading

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fun book with enjoyable characters.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Owner of card making store solves a murder

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super cute card making mystery series. Not a literary masterpiece, but a cute, fun and fast read.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

cute. I will bread another one.

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plot is trite, as expected, but it's cute. The card-making theme is more fun than the actual mystery, but it's nice brain candy.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up at the library because it has to do with card making, my all consuming hobby. I laughed out loud at a few spots, chuckled at the card references and skimmed most of the book.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay. I'm not sure whether I will look for others in this series or not.

[Kel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A "cozy" mystery I downloaded for free on my ereader. The Aunt is my favorite character.

[Claire Cole · Rating 3 out of 5]

eh it was just fine it wasnt great and i certainly dont want to read the rest of the series