Book source ~ ARC. My review is voluntary and honest.
Emma Madison used to be a newspaper reporter, but she left that grind behind to start her own business creating new jewelry from old costume jewelry and other things, like buttons. Her designs are really taking off and while she’s not rich, by any means, she’s at least making a profit. Most months anyway. One morning she hits a garage sale jackpot and heads over to show her friend Carleen, owner of the antique shop Silver Squirrel, only to get there and see the shop is a crime scene. Luckily, Carleen is okay. Not so fortunate is her employee, Tina LeMann, who has been murdered. Emma vows to Carleen that she’ll figure out who the murderer is before anyone else gets hurt. Or dead.
There’s a lot to love about this story: an eclectic collection of artists, small town living (and gossip), lots of jewelry descriptions (if you’re into that thing), and a mystery that didn’t have the murder suspect immediately pegged. And then there’s the rest. There is a lot of mundane shit happening that could have been left out. And it’s not just here and there. It infects the entire book. It all leads nowhere and doesn’t advance the plot in any way. As a long time reader, I can tell you I do not need all of a character’s daily details spelled out for me. Including the minutiae only bogs a story down especially when those details have nothing to contribute to the plot. I’m hoping the next book is more streamlined. In addition, Emma is a bit irritating. Just because she was once a reporter, doesn’t mean she can run around town investigating a murder and not suffer consequences. I tolerated her fairly well though except for the scene at the police station where she gets all high and mighty with the detective. I really despised her dumbass attitude in that instance. I mean, seriously? Ugh. However, while this first book isn’t ideal, I’m still interested enough to see what else happens in a Roseland, Georgia sequel.
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