PLEATING FOR MERCY: A Magical Dressmaking Mystery - Melissa Bourbon

From the back of the book: All the Cassidy women possess special gifts. Harlow Jane Cassidy's is creating beautiful dresses. But she's about to discover secrets in her own family and another gift-one that can reach beyond the grave....

When her great-grandmother passes away, Harlow leaves her job as a Manhattan fashion designer and moves back to Bliss, Texas. But soon after she opens Buttons & Bows, a custom dressmaking boutique in the old farmhouse she inherited, Harlow begins to feel an inexplicable presence....

One of her first clients is her old friend Josie, who needs a gown for her upcoming wedding. But when Josie's boss turns up dead, it starts to look as if the bride-to-be may be wearing handcuffs instead of a veil. Suddenly, Josie needs a lot more from Harlow than the perfect dress. Can Harlow find the real killer-with a little help from beyond?

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A highly enjoyable paranormal cozy mystery! It would be highly enjoyable no matter the genre label.

I like reading the acknoweldgements for a book from time to time. In PLEATING, Melissa thanks her mother for teaching her to sew for the pride she felt in her newfound ability as a child and that sewing helped her come up with the character of Harlow Cassidy.

Harlow is the great-great-great-granddaughter of Butch Cassidy who threw a coin in an Argentinian fountain and made a wish. So starts the magical abilities of the Cassidy women with their charmed lives. Charmed being what you make of it. Each woman has their own unique ability and Harlow is hard-pressed to figure hers out. She knows she likes dressmaking and hopes to make a go of her dressmaking shop in Bliss, Texas, her hometown.

The mystery solving comes across as natural since Harlow wants to help her friend, Josie, and the police aren't moving in the right direction. The characters are engaging and believable, even the ghost of Meemaw who is a bit of a prankster.

I can't wait for the next in the series, A FITTING END, to come out on 7 Feb 2012. It's pre-ordered with Cynthia at High Crimes Mystery Bookshop ( http://www.highcrimesbooks.com/)

You can visit Melissa:
http://misaramirez.com/misa-ramirez-writing-as-melissa-bourbon-or-visa-versa/

Five Texas ghosts and dresses beans.....