Emma Madison's dream of launching her career as a jewellery designer has come true. She loves junkin' for old beads and baubles so she can give them new life. Emma had a good morning at a garage sale and decides to swing by the antiques shop her friend owns to share her finds, but she wasn't prepared to learn that her friend, Tina, has been murdered there at the shop. Emma wants the murderer locked up but it seems as though the police aren't finding any leads, so she uses her newspaper reporting experience to assist them. Someone doesn't want Emma snooping around, but Emma is determined to find the person responsible for Tina's death, no matter what.

This book was filled with interesting things and creative characters - jewellery makers, painters, weavers, antiques, fashion and food. It's a small town so there's no shortage of gossip, but who would want Tina dead?! I couldn't figure it out. The writing was good which made it a fast and fun read for me. I'm looking forward to more in this series!

Thank you to LibraryThing and Red Adept Publishing for my copy.


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Disclaimer: I received this book for free from LibraryThing in return for an honest review.

Former newspaper reported, Emma Madison, is launching a new career as a costume jewelry designer. She enjoys taking old costume jewelry and turning it into something new. After a great find at a garage sale early one morning she rushes to her friend, Carleen's, antique shop to share her finds only to discover that Tina, a salesclerk and friend, was murdered. The police do not seem to have an evidence so Carleen asks Emmma to use her experience as a reporter to help find the murder. But when the murder starts to threaten her what is Emma to do?

Overall I thought this book was alright. I felt like the story was more about Emma's jewelry making business then the actual murder mystery. That being said I still found the mystery to be interesting and I would probably read a potential sequel to this book. ( )

The star of this cozy mystery is one Emma Madison, a jewelry designer who creates new pieces from old bits of junk jewelry. She becomes an amateur detective when she discovers one of the salespeople at her local jewelry shop has been murdered. Tina was a clerk at the Silver Squirrel, and her death brings multiple potential suspects out of the woodwork. These include the members of Tina's family, particularly her sketchy brother, who is a little too interested in what he will inherit. Aside from the detecting, the book is full of fun discussions of Emma going hunting for old jewelry pieces to repurpose. She has to fight her main jewelry-maker rival for first access to the best goods at yard sales. As I really enjoy old jewelry made new, I particularly liked hearing about Emma's jewelry-making exploits. As with most cozy mysteries, Emma's lifestyle is basically a fantasy. She is somehow supporting herself on a small jewelry-making business that somehow leaves her plenty of time to run around investigating crimes. If you can suspend disbelief about that part, this is a fun and able cozy mystery. I'd happily read more in this series. ( )

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. ( )

This was an easy read with a little bit of a twist at the end. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't good enough to make me want to run out and get more of the series. ( )