This weekend I attended Readers & ‘Ritas in Allen Texas sponsored by Fresh Fiction, Entangled Publishing, The Writer’s Coffeshop Publishing, Avon Romance and Mike’s Hard Lemonade (which sadly I couldn’t taste since I had to leave and it is not smart to drink and drive!).  I attended thanks to a sorority sister that won a ticket but couldn’t attend (thanks Alex!).  Part of the ticket was being able to sit with an author at lunch…ok so everyone could sit with an author but I was able to sit next to an author of my choosing.  Well I was excited to see that Melissa Bourbon Ramirezwas going to be there because she writes a fun cozy series called Magical Dressmaking Mysteries.  The first book in her series is called Pleating for Mercy and the second is A Fitting End.  I had read the first book but not the second, so was excited to receive a copy of the book…..it is one of the next books I read for sure!

Synopsis:

Former Manhattan fashion designer Harlow Jane Cassidy has a gift for creating beautiful dresses. But when Harlow becomes the prime suspect in a murder investigation, she’ll more than her sewing skills to unravel the mystery…

Business is booming at Harlow’s custom dressmaking boutique, Buttons & Bows, even with the presence of her great-grandmother’s ghost hanging around the shop. But thanks to the fast approaching Margaret Moffette Lea Pageant and Ball, Harlow has her work cut out for her when Mrs. Zinnia James hires her to make her granddaughter’s pageant gown.

With the debutant ball getting the whole town of Bliss, Texas into a tizzy, Harlow knows her dress has to be perfect. But when a local golf pro is found stabbed to death with dressmaking shears, the new deputy thinks Harlow and Mrs. James conspired to commit the crime. Now Harlow has to finish the dress on time and clear her name before the next outfit she designs is a prison jumpsuit…