Embroidered Lies and Alibis by Lois Winston | Book Tour with Guest Post and Giveaway

 

Embroidered Lies and Alibis (An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery) by Lois Winston

About Embroidered Lies and Alibis

 

Embroidered Lies and Alibis (An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery)

Cozy Mystery

15th in Series

Setting - New Jersey

Independently Published

Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 10, 2026

Print length ‏ : ‎ 199 pages

Digital ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1940795812

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0FZDBKCJD

 

A Stitch in Time Could Save a Life…

When Anastasia’s mother Flora is offered a free spa vacation from Jeremy Dugan, a man connected to her distant past, Anastasia and husband Zack suspect ulterior motives. After all, too-good-to-be-true often spells trouble. Their suspicions are confirmed when the FBI swoops in to apprehend Dugan. However, Dugan isn’t who he claimed to be, and his arrest raises more questions than answers.

The Feds link Dugan to a string of cons targeting elderly single women across the country, but his seemingly airtight alibi leaves investigators stumped. Then, shortly after his release on bail, he’s kidnapped. A certain segment of New Jersey’s population is known for delivering deadly messages, and the FBI believes Dugan received one of them.

Meanwhile, bodies begin showing up in the newly created public garden across the street from Anastasia and Zack’s home. With two baffling crimes, no clear suspects, scant evidence, and every possible motive unraveling, both the FBI and local law enforcement are once again picking Anastasia’s brain. This time, though, her involvement is far from reluctant. Will she stitch together enough clues before she or someone she loves becomes the killer’s next victim?

Craft project included.

About the Guest Post 

Seams Like the Perfect Crime by Lois Winston | Book Tour with Guest Post and Giveaway

 

Seams Like the Perfect Crime (An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery) by Lois Winston

About Seams Like the Perfect Crime

 

Seams Like the Perfect Crime (An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery)

Cozy Mystery

14th in the Series

Setting - New Jersey

Independently Published (February 4, 2025)

Print length ‏ : ‎ 285 pages

Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0DNRBGVSQ

 

When staffing shortages continue to hamper the Union County homicide squad, Detective Sam Spader once again turns to his secret weapon, reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack. How can she and husband Zack Barnes refuse when the victim is their new neighbor?

Revolutionary War reenactor Barry Sumner had the odd habit of spending hours mowing a small patch of packed dirt and weeds until his mower ran out of gas. He’d then guzzle beer on his front porch until he passed out. That’s where Anastasia’s son Nick discovers his body three days after the victim and his family moved into the newly built mini-McMansion across the street.

After a melee breaks out at the viewing, Spader zeroes in on the widow as his prime suspect. However, Anastasia has her doubts. There are other possible suspects, including a woman who’d had an affair with the victim, his ex-wife, the man overseeing the widow’s trust fund, a drug dealer, and the reenactors who were blackmailing the widow and victim.

When another reenactor is murdered, Spader suspects they’re dealing with a serial killer, but Anastasia wonders if the killer is attempting to misdirect the investigation. As she narrows down the suspects, will she jeopardize her own life to learn the truth?

Craft projects included.

 

About the Character Guest Post

Sorry, Knot Sorry by Lois Winston | Book Tour with Author Guest Post and Giveaway

 

Sorry, Knot Sorry (An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery) by Lois Winston

About Sorry, Not Sorry

 

Sorry, Knot Sorry (An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery)

Cozy Mystery

13th in Series

Setting - New Jersey and New York City

Independently Published (June 4, 2024)

Print length ‏ : ‎ 300 pages

Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CXTY8D76

 

Magazine crafts editor Anastasia Pollack may finally be able to pay off the remaining debt she found herself saddled with when her duplicitous first husband dropped dead in a Las Vegas casino. But as Anastasia has discovered, nothing in her life is ever straightforward. Strings are always attached. Thanks to the success of an unauthorized true crime podcast, a television production company wants to option her life — warts and all — as a reluctant amateur sleuth.

Is such exposure worth a clean financial slate? Anastasia isn’t sure, but at the same time, rumors are flying about layoffs at the office. Whether she wants national exposure or not, Anastasia may be forced to sign on the dotted line to keep from standing in the unemployment line. But the dead bodies keep coming, and they’re not in the script.

Craft tips included.

 

About the Guest Post by Lois Winston

A Crafty Collage of Crime by Lois Winston | Blog Tour with Interview, Excerpt, and Giveaway

 

A Crafty Collage of Crime (An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery) by Lois Winston

About A Crafty Collage of Crime

A Crafty Collage of Crime (An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery)
Cozy Mystery

12th in Series

Setting - New Jersey and Tennessee

Independently Published (June 16, 2023)

Print length ‏ : ‎ 258 pages

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C4BHYXLB

Wherever crafts editor and reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack goes, murder and mayhem follow. Her honeymoon is no exception. She and new husband, photojournalist (and possible spy) Zachary Barnes, are enjoying a walk in the Tennessee woods when they stumble upon a body on the side of a creek. The dead man is the husband of one of the three sisters who own the winery and guest cottages where Anastasia and Zack are vacationing.

When the local sheriff sets his sights on the widow as the prime suspect, her sisters close ranks around her. The three siblings are true-crime junkies, and thanks to a podcaster who has produced an unauthorized series about her, Anastasia’s reputation for solving murders has preceded her to the bucolic hamlet. The sisters plead for her help in finding the real killer. As Anastasia learns more about the women and their business, a host of suspects emerge, including several relatives, a relentless land developer, and even the sisters themselves.

Meanwhile, Anastasia becomes obsessed with discovering the podcaster’s identity. Along with knowing about Anastasia’s life as a reluctant amateur sleuth, the podcaster has divulged details of Anastasia’s personal life. Someone has betrayed Anastasia’s trust, and she’s out to discover the identity of the culprit.

Craft project included.

About the Interview With Lois Winston

Guilty as Framed by Lois Winston | Blog Post with Character Guest Post and Giveaway

 

Guilty as Framed (An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery) by Lois Winston

About Guilty as Framed

Guilty as Framed (An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
11th in Series
Setting - New Jersey
Independently Published (September 6, 2022)
Print length ‏ : ‎ 263 pages
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0B1XHPLBC

When an elderly man shows up at the home of reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack, she’s drawn into the unsolved mystery of the greatest art heist in history.

Boston mob boss Cormac Murphy has recently been released from prison. He refuses to believe Anastasia’s assertion that the man he’s looking for doesn’t live at her address and attempts to muscle his way into her home. His efforts are thwarted by Anastasia’s fiancé Zack Barnes.

A week later, a stolen SUV containing a dead body appears in Anastasia’s driveway. Anastasia believes Murphy is sending her a message. It’s only the first in a series of alarming incidents, including a mugging, a break-in, another murder, and the discovery of a cache of jewelry and an etching from the largest museum burglary in history.

But will Anastasia solve the mystery behind these shocking events before she falls victim to a couple of desperate thugs who will stop at nothing to get what they want?

Crafts projects included.

 

About the Character Guest Post

Stitch, Bake, Die! by Lois Winston | Blog Tour with Excerpt, Character Guest Post, and Giveaway

Stitch, Bake, Die! (An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery)
by Lois Winston

About Stitch, Bake, Die!

Stitch, Bake, Die! (An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery)

Cozy Mystery

10th in Series

Setting: New Jersey

Independently Published (October 4, 2021)

Print Length: 218 pages

Digital ASIN: B09D5VZFRX

 

With massive debt, a communist mother-in-law, a Shakespeare-quoting parrot, and a photojournalist boyfriend who may or may not be a spy, crafts editor Anastasia Pollack already juggles too much in her life. So she’s not thrilled when her magazine volunteers her to present workshops and judge a needlework contest at the inaugural conference of the NJ chapter of the Stitch and Bake Society, a national organization of retired professional women. At least her best friend and cooking editor Cloris McWerther has also been roped into similar duties for the culinary side of the 3-day event taking place on the grounds of the exclusive Beckwith Chateau Country Club.

 

Marlene Beckwith, wife of the multi-millionaire pharmaceutical magnate and country club owner, is both the chapter president and conference chairperson. The only thing greater than her ego is her sense of entitlement. She hates to lose at anything and fully expects to win both the needlework and baking competitions.

 

When Anastasia and Cloris arrive at the conference, they discover cash bribes in their registration packets. The Society members, few of whom are fans of Marlene, stick up for the accused and instead suggest that Marlene orchestrated the bribes to eliminate her stiffest competition.

 

The next morning when Marlene is found dead, Anastasia questions whether she really died peacefully in her sleep. After Marlene’s husband immediately has her cremated, Anastasia once again finds herself back in reluctant amateur sleuth mode.

 

With the help of Cloris, Marlene’s personal assistant Rhetta, and a laptop someone will stop at nothing to find, Anastasia soon unravels evidence of insurance scams, medical fraud, an opioid ring, long-buried family secrets, and too many possible suspects. And that’s before she not only stumbles over the body of yet another member of the Stitch and Bake Society but also finds Rhetta unconscious. 

Can Anastasia piece together the various clues before she becomes the killer’s next target?

Crafting tips included.

 

About the Excerpt

A Sew Deadly Cruise by Lois Winston | Blog Tour with Excerpt, Guest Post, and Giveaway

A Sew Deadly Cruise (An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery) by Lois Winston

About A Sew Deadly Cruise

 

A Sew Deadly Cruise (An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery)

Cozy Mystery

9th in Series

Independently Published (October 1, 2020)

Print Length: 226 pages

Digital ASIN: B08F4FTVP6

 

Life is looking up for magazine crafts editor Anastasia Pollack. Newly engaged, she and photojournalist fiancé Zack Barnes are on a winter cruise with her family, compliments of a Christmas gift from her half-brother-in-law. Son Alex’s girlfriend and her father have also joined them. Shortly after boarding the ship, Anastasia is approached by a man with an unusual interest in her engagement ring. When she tells Zack of her encounter, he suggests the man might be a jewel thief scouting for his next mark. But before Anastasia can point the man out to Zack, the would-be thief approaches him, revealing his true motivation. Long-buried secrets now threaten the well-being of everyone Anastasia holds dear. And that’s before the first dead body turns up. 

Craft projects included.

 

 

About the Excerpt

Drop Dead Ornaments by Lois Winston | Blog Tour with Review, Guest Post, and Giveaway

The Blurb

Anastasia Pollack’s son Alex is dating Sophie Lambert, the new kid in town. For their community service project, the high school seniors have chosen to raise money for the county food bank. Anastasia taps her craft industry contacts to donate materials for the students to make Christmas ornaments they’ll sell at the town’s annual Holiday Crafts Fair.

At the fair Anastasia meets Sophie’s father, Shane Lambert, who strikes her as a man with secrets. She also notices a woman eavesdropping on their conversation. Later that evening when the woman turns up dead, Sophie’s father is arrested for her murder.

Alex and Sophie beg Anastasia to find the real killer, but Anastasia has had her fill of dead bodies. She’s also not convinced of Shane’s innocence. Besides, she’s promised younger son Nick she’ll stop risking her life. But how can she say no to Alex?

Drop Dead Ornaments by Lois Winston

Series: An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, #7
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publication Date: October 22, 2018
Self Published
Paperback: 278 pages

ISBN-10: 1940795443
ISBN-13: 978-1940795447

E-Book File Size: 2641 KB

ASIN: B07GMZ2H4B

Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Kobo | iTunes

The Review

A Crafter Knits a Clue by Holly Quinn | Blog Tour with Guest Post and Giveaway

For fans of Betty Hechtman and Maggie Sefton,
the latest craft frenzy is Holly Quinn’s Handcrafted series debut.

The Blurb

Sammy Kane just moved back to her hometown to run a craft store. But when the owner of a nearby yarn shop is murdered, Sammy will needle little help finding the killer.

When a heartbroken Samantha “Sammy” Kane returns to her hometown of Heartsford, WI, for her best friend Kate’s funeral, she learns that Kate’s much-loved craft store is in danger of perishing with its owner. Confounding all her expectations of the life she would live, Sammy moves back home with her golden retriever and takes over Community Craft. A few doors down Main Street, fellow new arrival Ingrid Wilson has just opened the Yarn Barn, a real “purl” of a shop. But when Sammy strolls over to see if Ingrid could use a little help, she finds Ingrid’s dead body — with a green aluminum knitting needle lodged in her throat.

Detective Liam Nash is thrown for a loop as every single citizen of Heartsford seems to have a theory about Ingrid’s murder. And nearly everyone in town seems to be a suspect. But the last time Sammy did any sleuthing was as a little moppet. And this is not fun and games. Sammy is eager to help the handsome Liam — who seems to be endlessly inventive in finding reasons to talk with her — and when Liam arrests affable woodworker Miles Danbury, Sammy puts everything on the line to help clear Miles.

As the case comes dangerously close to unraveling, Sammy must stitch the clues together. But the killer has other plans — and if Sammy’s not careful, she may wind up in a perilous knot in A Crafter Knits a Clue, the first warm and woolly yarn of Holly Quinn’s new Handcrafted mysteries.

A Crafter Knits a Clue by Holly Quinn

Series: A Handcrafted Mystery, #1

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Publication Date: October 9, 2018

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books

Hardcover: 330 pages
ISBN-10: 1683317718
ISBN-13: 978-1683317715
e-Book File Size: 2536 KB
ASIN: B078LZ5ZM5

Amazon | B&N | IndieBound | BAM! | Powell's | Walmart | BookBub

Scrapbook of Murder by Lois Winston | Blog Tour with Excerpt, Review, and Giveaway

The Blurb

Crafts and murder don’t normally go hand-in-hand, but "normal" deserted craft editor Anastasia Pollack’s world nearly a year ago. Now, tripping over dead bodies seems to be the “new normal” for this reluctant amateur sleuth.

When the daughter of a murdered neighbor asks Anastasia to create a family scrapbook from old photographs and memorabilia discovered in a battered suitcase, she agrees — not only out of friendship but also from a sense of guilt over the older woman’s death. However, as Anastasia begins sorting through the contents of the suitcase, she discovers a letter revealing a fifty-year-old secret, one that unearths a long-buried scandal and unleashes a killer. Suddenly Anastasia is back in sleuthing mode as she races to prevent a suitcase full of trouble from leading to more deaths.

Scrapbook of Murder by Lois Winston

Series: An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, #6
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publication Date: October 2, 2017
Self Published
Paperback: 232 pages

ISBN-10: 1940795427

ISBN-13: 978-1940795423

E-Book File Size: 3145 KB

ASIN: B075FCSCPL

Amazon | Kindle | Nook | Kobo | iTunes

The Excerpt

A Stitch to Die For by Lois Winston | Blog Tour Book Blast with Giveaway

Lois Winston, the author of Decoupage Can Be Deadly, is back 

with another Anastasia Pollock Crafting Mystery!

The Blurb

Scrapbook of the Dead by Mollie Cox Bryan | Blog Tour with Review, Guest Post, Giveaway

The author of A Crafty Christmas is back with another Cumberland Creek Mystery!

The Blurb

Halloween means spooky scrapbooks for the Cumberland Creek Scrapbook Crop, but what’s been happening around town is truly frightening. First a dead woman is found in the freezer at Pamela’s Pie Palace, and the next day a second woman is found murdered by the river. Reporter Annie Chamovitz learns the victims were sisters and is certain their deaths are linked. Most bizarre of all, both women were found clutching scrapbook pages.

As their Saturday night crop quickly becomes an opportunity to puzzle out the murders, the ladies begin to wonder if Pamela is hiding more than her secret recipes for delicious pies — or if the crimes are related to the startling discovery that there are gangs in Cumberland Creek. As All Hallows Eve approaches, the crafty croppers must cut and paste the clues to unmask a deadly killer.

Includes tips and a glossary of terms for the modern scrapbooker!

Scrapbook of the Dead by Mollie Cox Bryan

Series: A Cumberland Creek Mystery, #5

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Publisher: Kensington

Publication Date: September 29, 2015

Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages

ISBN-10: 0758293585

ISBN-13: 978-0758293589

e-Book File Size: 677 KB

ASIN: B00RRT30J0

Amazon | B & N | Kobo | BAM! | IndieBound | iTunes | Kensington | Goodreads

Why wait? Go to the Author's website now for a sneak peek!

  

The Review

Death of an Irish Diva, by Mollie Cox Bryan | Blog Tour Review

I read a really good book recently, y'all.  Let me tell you a little about this terrific Cozy Mystery.

Synopsis
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.  

Death of an Irish Diva, by Mollie Cox Bryan, is the third novel in her Cumberland Creek Mystery series. I enjoyed my previous two "visits" to Cumberland Creek, Virginia, in Scrapbook of Secrets and Scrapped, and this "visit" is equally fun and enjoyable. 


(Click here to read my reviews of Scrapbook of Secrets and Scrapped.)  

Scrapped, by Mollie Cox Bryan

Scrapped, by Mollie Cox Bryan

I read a really good book recently, y'all — Scrapped, by Mollie Cox Bryan.   Let me tell you a little about it.

Scrapped is the second book in the Cumberland Creek Mystery series.  It follows Scrapbook of Secrets, which I review here.  

Returning characters in Scrapped are Annie, Vera, Sheila, and the other ladies in the Cumberland Scrapbook Crop, along with Vera's mom Beatrice.  The writing style for Scrapped (as well as Scrapbook of Secrets) is a little unusual; the narrative point of view varies from chapter to chapter, mainly between Annie, Vera, and Beatrice.  This technique adds to the book, since the reader knows what several characters are thinking, not just one character.

Scrapbook of Secrets, by Mollie Cox Bryan

Read from February 03 to 04, 2013

I was hooked from the first sentence of Scrapbook of Secrets: For Vera, all of the day's madness began when she saw the knife handle poking out of her mother's neck.

This is Mollie Cox Bryan's debut novel, an enjoyable cozy mystery that's a very good read.

I look forward to reading Scrapped, and to the release of Book 3 in the Cumberland Creek series.

This book qualifies for
2013 Goodreads Reading Challenge
Cruisin' thru the Cozies Reading Challenge 2013
Let's Make Fruitcake Challenge (YLTO - Goodreads)