[review] Bodies and Bows by Elizabeth Penney

Bodies and Bows is Book 3 in the charming Apron Shop cozy mystery series by Elizabeth Penney that is set in a quaint apron shop in Maine.

Title: Bodies and Bows
Author: Elizabeth Penney
Series: Apron Shop Mysteries #3
First Published: March 30, 2021
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genres: Mystery, 
Acquired: from the publisher via Netgalley

*** Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, for providing me with an advanced e-copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review. ***

Iris Buckley is hoping for a bit of rest and relaxation now that the summertime rush is winding down in Blueberry Cove, Maine. Her apron shop Ruffles & Bows has been a huge success, her friendships are stronger than ever, and now she’s ready for all of the end of summer cookouts on the beach that she can handle.

But before Iris can even turn on the grill, Bella’s latest fling, former Olympian sailor and gorgeous bad boy Lance Pederson is killed in a hit and run while jogging at dawn – and all the evidence points to Bella herself.

Suddenly the month of August isn’t looking so restful, since now Iris has been roped into the Lighthouse Rehabilitation Committee, helping her friend Sophie plan a wedding, and – most importantly of all – tracking down a killer and clearing Bella’s good name before everything unravels.

A wonderful cast of characters

One of my main complaints about cozy mysteries is often there are too many characters and they get thrown at you all at once. It’s often impossible to keep track of everyone. But Bodies & Bows introduces its characters in a very natural way and, while there are A LOT of characters (more than average), both old and new, it never feels too crowded and I never had a problem keeping track of everyone. It probably helps that I did read the previous books in this series already so the characters aren’t all new.

I was introduced to the main cast in Book 2, Thread and Dead (you can read my review of that book here) and the gang has all returned in this story. The core cast, while a bit larger than normal, is still one of my favourites. The friendships are always a main point in this series and this book is no different. In fact, the girls’ friendships are more important than ever when one of their own (Bella) is the main suspect in the town’s latest murder.

And while like most cozies, the main character, Iris, does do most of the heavy lifting in terms of investigating, her group of friends do pull their own weight significantly more than the usual cozy sidekicks. I think it spreads out the “risk” a bit and makes the mystery more interesting when there are other personalities involved.

As a main character, Iris continues to be one of my favourite amateur sleuths. As I mentioned in my previous review of the series, she’s a very well-written and fleshed out character. She is still as genuine and likeable as ever and is in a steady relationship. Some people may find it a bit boring, but I love it. Iris and her no-drama life makes her actions more realistic and believable.

Who killed the Olympian and town celebrity?

We don’t really get to know the victim, Lance Pederson very well. He’s a home-town hero – a former champion sailor who is good-looking, charming and popular. He was dating Bella (one of Iris’ best friends) but also had a couple of other ladies thinking they were “the one”. It was easy to come up with a list of suspects when Lance was found killed, a victim of a hit-and-run. And while Bella was the obvious prime suspect, you don’t have to be a veteran mystery reader to know that is a big red herring.

Along with the murder (and a second, attempted murder) there is also a sweet romantic storyline too. Nothing that takes up too much space in the story and it doesn’t detract from the murder plotline in any way – it was just a nice sidenote that made the story more charming.

I actually had my guess as to who the killer was about a third of the way into the book … which turned out to be the correct one. There was just one tiny sentence that I read and immediately said “That’s the killer.” But that didn’t stop me from reading (and enjoying) the rest of the story to find out if I was right.

So, while this mystery was a bit easier to solve than other cozies, it was still one of the most enjoyable to watch unravel. There wasn’t a lot of character development for most of the characters, although there were a few big changes to Bella’s life. But that doesn’t bother me at all. I love long-running series that can continue to hold my interest and there are enough interesting characters in the Apron Shop series to keep me coming back for a long time.

Read Bodies and Bows for yourself

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