My name is Barbara Emodi and I have just got off the phone with my friend Valerie Rankin. I miss Val. We used to teach evening sewing classes together here in Halifax, Nova Scotia but she recently moved back to Gasper’s Cove, the small town up the coast where she grew up.

I hope it works out for her.

You know don’t you, that Val brought up those three kids on her own, doing just about any job she could find? She deserves a happy ending. You can’t image how much fun we had when we taught together. Valerie is smart, funny, and resourceful, but I always thought she was underestimated, maybe mostly by herself.

To tell you the truth, after her kids grew up and went off to school, jobs and whatever, Valerie just wanted some peace. She had this idea she could go back home and do something she had always wanted to do, set up a crafter’s co-op and make a living for once doing what she loves—crafts, sewing, working with her hands.

If anyone can pull it off, it’s Valerie but I don’t think things have gone entirely to plan.

I mean murder? Really? In rural Nova Scotia? How did that ever happen?

And I understand Val knew both these people. That’s got to keep you up at night, and I have to tell you, after talking to her, that’s exactly what it’s doing. Keeping her up. Here’s the thing. You know how they say your greatest strength is your greatest weakness? Well, that’s true for all of us, but maybe in Valerie’s case it’s particularly true. She’s persistent, I mean that’s what got her this far and probably why the kids turned out so well, but on the flip side Valerie Rankin’s not a good one for giving up.

I could tell in her voice she’s got herself all worked up about trying to figure out who killed who and she can’t let it go. She’s got all sorts of theories, and I didn’t want to say anything, but most of them don’t make a lot of sense. I understand the local Royal Canadian Mounted Police don’t think so either.

I tried to tell her, let the RCMP handle it, and you just concentrate on your own life for once. But she did that thing she does where she sounds like she’s agreeing with you but not paying one bit of attention.

What can you do? I just hope she doesn’t stir things up and get herself killed too. You never know.

Plus, she does have lots of other things she should be thinking about.

Apart from the fact she might not have a structurally sound place to set up this co-op, I understand that she’ll have tons of inventory. You know what they’re like in communities like Gasper’s Cove. They think it would kill them to actually buy something they can make themselves. The place is crammed with knitters, sewers, carvers, rug hookers, potters, you name it. She told me there’s even an old fisherman who makes door mats and wreaths from the rope they use to pull up lobster traps and the tourists buy them up as fast as he can make them. She shouldn’t be thinking of anything else but how to organize all this stuff, get it ready to sell, and forget about murderers. I mean doesn’t she have a crew from the Department of Tourism coming to shoot a video of the co-op’s Grand Opening? Seems to me that’s the sort of thing you’d want to get ready for.

And what about this guy she talked about? The one who had ham and scalloped potatoes at her house? I’d eaten at Valerie’s place myself, so I would say by this stage whoever this guy is he’d definitely be interested now. Maybe Valerie should pay attention to that too.

But will she? I doubt it. Not once she’s got this idea she is some sort of detective. Like I said, Valerie doesn’t let go. The folks who don’t get that are the ones who underestimate her. I just had a thought.

I wonder if this killer has made the same mistake.

Crafting for Murder, A Gasper’s Cove Mystery Book #1
Genre: Cozy
Release: February 2023
Format: Print and Digital
Purchase Link

Beware! A crafty killer lurks in Gasper’s Cove

Seamstress, crafter, and empty-nester Valerie Rankin has plans to open a crafter’s co-op that will put Gasper’s Cove, Nova Scotia on the map. One month before opening day, she still has to pin down a venue, patch up the family business, iron out corruption in the town council, and unravel why anyone who tries to help her ends up dead. With the help of her Golden Retriever, an ex-con who loves cats, and a community of first, second, and third cousins, she just might pull it off.

• • All-new cozy mystery series set in the world of the fictitious yet immersive Gasper’s Cove where crafting and community collide
  • Mystery lovers and crafters alike will adore immersing themselves in this warm, quirky mystery featuring empty-nester Valerie Rankin and her efforts to re-invigorate the family business and her hometown.
  • A perfect gift for anyone who loves crafting, sewing, or simply a great read

Meet the author
Barbara Emodi writes sewing and craft-related cozy mysteries situated in Nova Scotia, Canada where she lives with her husband and rescue dog and cat. She is also a frequent traveller and is often in Berkeley, California and Austin, Texas, where her sons live, between time spent in Halifax, Nova Scotia with her daughter and grandchildren.

For many years Barbara led a double life. Publicly, she was a journalist, a public relations prof., a political communicator, and a radio commentator. In her private life, she made all her own clothes and taught sewing classes in Canada, the US, and Australia.

Often when Barbara sewed, she thought of the people she’d known and the stories she could tell. As a result, she decided to write mysteries for people who make things, based on the belief that those who create can investigate. She writes about what she knows, and a few things she has suspected.

You can follow Barbara and her stories on her website at babsemodi.com.

All comments are welcomed.