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 Lois Winston
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USA Today and Amazon bestselling author Lois Winston began her award-winning writing career with Talk Gertie to Me, a humorous fish-out-of-water novel about a small-town girl going off to the big city and the mother who had other ideas. That was followed by the romantic suspense Love, Lies and a Double Shot of Deception.
Then Lois’s writing segued unexpectedly into the world of humorous amateur sleuth mysteries, thanks to a conversation her agent had with an editor looking for craft-themed mysteries. In her day job, Lois was an award-winning craft and needlework designer, and although she’d never written a mystery—or had even thought about writing a mystery—her agent decided she was the perfect person to pen a series for this editor.
Thus, was born the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries, which Kirkus Reviews dubbed “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” The series now includes fourteen novels and three novellas. Lois also writes the Empty Nest Mysteries and has written several standalone mystery novellas. Other publishing credits include romance, chick lit, and romantic suspense novels, a series of romance short stories, a children’s chapter book, and a nonfiction book on writing, inspired by her twelve years working as an associate at a literary agency.
Guest Post:
Wil They/Won’t They? Should They/Shouldn’t
They?
by Lois
Winston
Happy Valentine’s Day! Let’s talk sex. (That got your attention, didn’t it?) Years ago, I began my writing career penning romance and romantic suspense novels. For romance writers, unless you’re writing for one of the inspirational imprints or “sweet” romance lines, it’s pretty much expected that your book will contain a sex scene or two. Or three. Or more. Sex sells.
However, after the release of my second novel, my agent called one day and asked if I’d be interested in writing a mystery series. I’d never given mystery a thought, but she knew an editor looking for a humorous crafting mystery series, and my agent thought I was the perfect person to write that series. In my day job I designed needlework and crafts for kit manufacturers, magazines, and craft book publishers. She also knew I could write humor. Talk Gertie to Me, my first published book, was a humorous fish-out-of-water story about a Midwesterner who goes off to the big city and the mother bent on dragging her home to marry the boy next door.
The result of that conversation was Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun, the first book in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series, currently at fourteen novels and three novellas.You won’t find any hot and heavy heaving bosoms in the series. Mystery readers, especially cozy mystery readers, don’t generally care for sex in their books. They’re interested in solving the mystery. Most don’t mind a relationship between the protagonist and whomever, just as long as it doesn’t get in the way of the whodunit.
Fair ‘nuff. I never really liked writing sex scenes anyway.
However, the last few years have seen a trend toward adding more romance into mysteries. The windows are definitely fogging up in some series, but for the most part, cozy mystery readers still want the bedroom door firmly closed with no graphic descriptions of what’s actually going on between the sheets.
My series opens with Anastasia recently widowed. Her husband has dropped dead at a Las Vegas casino. She thought he was at a sales meeting in Harrisburg, PA.She soon discovers her entire marriage was based on lies. She’s now faced with massive debt, a loan shark demanding fifty thousand dollars, and her communist mother-in-law as a permanent houseguest. And that’s before she stumbles across a dead body in her office. Romance is the furthest thing from her mind.
I had other ideas, though. Enterphotojournalist (and possible spy) Zachary Barnes who rents the apartment above Anastasia’s garage.Sparks start flying, but propriety wins out over hormones, at least in the first book.
Death By Killer Mop Doll, the second book in the series, opens three months later, and there’s a definite tug-of-war developing between propriety and those hormones.
Sexual tension drives romance novels. Once the hero and heroine have their happily-ever-after, though, they wander off hand-in-hand into the sunset. If there’s a sequel, it usually involves secondary characters who become the primary characters in the next book.
In an ongoing mystery series, the protagonist remains the protagonist throughout the series. Consummating a relationship often sinks a series. Although sexual tension doesn’t drive mysteries the way it does romances, it still plays a part in driving the characters’ internal goals, motivations, and conflicts. However, dragging out the will-they/won’t they for too long can also spell disaster. Readers get bored with the same old/same old. Relationships need to grow in much the same way characters need to grow. If they don’t, each book becomes a clone of the one before, and no author wants that to happen.
Our characters’ relationships become a balancing act, one where we have to determine what’s too much and what’s not enough. Get it wrong, and readers will be quick to let us know.
Seams Like the Perfect Crime is the latest book in my series. Twenty months have passed since the start of the series, and Anastasia is now in a far better place in just about every way. No spoilers, though, except to say, she’s still stumbling over dead bodies. After all, I am writing a mystery series.
Author Links Website:http://www.loiswinston.com
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Thanks for featuring my author and her new book about me today!
ReplyDeleteSounds great.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by and commenting, Rita!
ReplyDeleteAnastasia, I haven't read this one, but sure it is just as much fun as your other adventures!
ReplyDeleteI hope you'll get around to it, T.K. You won't believe what my author puts me through this time!
DeleteLove the series and I do love you keep the stories fresh with every new book.
ReplyDeleteDru, I hope you know how much Lois really appreciates all your support over the years.
DeleteThis is a very informative post, Lois. It is particularly helpful for new writers like me who are driven to include romance at the heart of their mystery series.
ReplyDeletePam, both Lois and I are glad you found the post useful.
Delete