A Crafty Christmas (27 page)

Having traded in her career as a successful investigative
journalist for the life of a stay-at-home mom
in picturesque Cumberland Creek, Virginia,
Annie can't help but feel that something's missing.

But she finds solace in a local “crop circle”
of scrapbookers united by chore-shy husbands,
demanding children, and occasional fantasies of their
former single lives. And when the quiet idyll of their
small town is shattered by a young mother's suicide,
they band together to find out what went wrong . . .

 

Annie resurrects her reporting skills and discovers that
Maggie Rae was a closet scrapbooker who left behind
more than a few secrets—and perhaps a few enemies.
As they sift through Maggie Rae's mysteriously
discarded scrapbooks, Annie and her “crop” sisters
begin to suspect that her suicide may have been murder.
It seems that something sinister is lurking beneath the
town's beguilingly calm façade—like a killer
with unfinished business . . .

The ladies of the Cumberland Scrapbook Crop
are welcoming an eccentric newbie into their fold.
A self-proclaimed witch, Cookie Crandall can whip up a
sumptuous vegan meal and rhapsodize about runes
and moon phases with equal aplomb. She becomes fast
friends with her fellow scrapbookers, including freelance
reporter Annie, with whom she shares shallow roots in a
community of established family trees.
So when Cookie becomes the prime suspect in a series
of bizarre murders, the croppers get scrappy
and set out to clear her name . . .

 

Annie starts digging and discovers that the victims each
had strange runic patterns carved on their bodies—a
piece of evidence that points the police in Cookie's
direction. Even her friends begin to doubt her innocence
when they find an ornate, spiritual scrapbook that an
alleged beginner like Cookie could never have crafted.
As Annie and the croppers search for answers, they'll
uncover a shockingly wicked side of their once quiet
town—and a killer on the prowl for another victim . . .

Spring is in the air, but the ladies of the Cumberland
Creek Scrapbook Crop hardly have time to stop
and smell the roses. Not when famed Irish dancer
Emily McGlashen is found murdered in her studio
just after the St. Patrick's Day parade—and one of
the Crop's own members is the prime suspect.
Vera's dance studio may have suffered when Emily
waltzed into town, but the croppers know she's not a
vengeful murderer. Lucky for her, co-scrapbooker Annie
is a freelance reporter eager to vindicate her friend.
What she discovers is a puzzling labyrinth of secrets
that only add question marks to Emily's murder.
Just when it seems they've run out of clues,
an antique scrapbook turns up and points the croppers
in the right direction—and brings them face to face
with a killer more twisted than a Celtic knot . . .

Summer's in full swing, and it's time once again
for the Cumberland Creek County Fair Pie Competition.
DeeAnn Fields just knows this is her year to finally win
with her brilliant apple green chili pie.
But after the judges take one bite and spit it back out,
ordering DeeAnn to leave at once,
she's baffled as to what went wrong . . .
until she discovers someone sabotaged her pie.

 

Banding together to find out who hated DeeAnn
enough to ruin her chances of winning,
the ladies of the Cumberland Scrapbook Crop
scrap their summer plans to get to the bottom of this
mystery so that they can return to what they do best—
cropping and crafting!

KENSINGTON BOOKS are published by

 

Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018

 

Copyright © 2014 by Mollie Cox Bryan

 

 

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

 

If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the Publisher and neither the Author nor the Publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

 

Kensington and the K logo Reg. U.S. Pat & TM Off.

ISBN: 978-0-7582-9356-5

 

First Kensington Mass Market Edition: October 2014

 

eISBN-13: 978-0-7582-9357-2
eISBN-10: 0-7582-9357-7

 

First Kensington Electronic Edition: October 2014