Winner of the 2004 C. Hugh Holman Award from the Society for the Study of Southern Literature. Seems Like Murder Here offers a revealing new account of the blues tradition. Far from mere laments about lost loves and hard times, the blues emerge in this provocative study as vital responses to spectacle lynchings and the violent realities of African American life in the Jim Crow South. With brilliant interpretations of both classic songs and literary works, from the autobiographies of W. C. Handy, David Honeyboy Edwards, and B. B. King to the poetry of Langston Hughes and the novels of Zora Neale Hurston, Seems Like Murder Here will transform our understanding of the blues and its enduring power.

Molly sets up a series of classes where the Tarzana Hookers can pass on their skills to others but Sheila, the teacher of the most popular seminar, is getting stage fright. To ease her fears, the Hookers plan a practice class at CeeCee's mansion, but before the lesson begins, they stumble upon a dead body in the apartment above CeeCee's garage. Molly must unravel the clues to find a killer-- quickly. Includes delicious recipes & crochet patterns.

From USA Today bestselling author Dorothy Howell, a brand new cozy mystery series featuring twenty-something Abbey Chandler and her fellow sewing circle members in the quaint, touristy town of Hideaway Cove. Abbey Chandler needs a new start and a place to escape, so Hideaway Grove, where she spent her childhood summers, seems like a perfect choice. Once there, she takes up a rewarding new hobby--but also gets tangled up in a hit-and-run homicide . . . Abbey has barely arrived in the quaint, quiet town of Hideaway Grove before things turn from blissful to bloody--as the new librarian is mowed down by a car. The only witness on the scene isn't much help, aside from handing Abbey the bag of books dropped by the victim. Even worse, the sheriff's office seizes Abbey's car because of a suspicious dent in the right front fender. While she waits for the problem to be sorted out, Abbey is drawn into a charity sewing project--even though she can't tell a bobbin from a seam ripper. Before she knows it, she's graduating from pillowcase dresses to aprons, setting up a studio in a back room of her aunt's bakery, and making plans to participate in the upcoming craft fair. But through it all, she keeps looking for patterns and possible conflicts in the late librarian's personal, professional, and romantic life. Then a shocking discovery sends her in a new direction, and as the truth begins to unspool, she's got a notion about who's guilty . . .

There are two things that can’t talk—moving pictures and dead showgirls… 1920, Wellington, New Zealand. Grace Devine is poised to build her thriving dress design business as the twenties begin to soar. But when a fashionable client is murdered, suspicion falls on Grace as the last person to see Agatha alive. As wary clients cancel and business begins to fail, Grace decides there’s only one way to prove her innocence and save her career…this seamstress will turn sleuth to find who really murdered the showgirl. The more she learns, the more she uncovers of the darker side of the dead woman’s personality. Agatha liked to collect secrets and use them against people. But what target snapped that fatal night? Can Grace stitch together the clues before her life is torn apart… These heart-warming historical mysteries will send you on a unique New Zealand adventure.

Molly and her Tarzana Hookers must untangle a twisted yarn... Molly's been handed the reins for this year's creative retreat-an exhilarating weekend out on the Monterey Peninsula, complete with crochet classes. Unfortunately for one teacher, though, the breathtaking scenery is where she'll take her last breath. Now Molly will have to find a new instructor, and, if she can squeeze it in, solve this murder-with the help of her pals from the Tarzana Hookers.

When a member of Molly Pink’s crochet group is suspected of murder, it’s up to Molly and her pals to pick up the dropped stitches and catch a killer.

Croteching has become Molly Pink's relaxing escape from her hectic life as a bookstore event manager and from the stress of being Tarzana, California’s latest murder suspect... For Molly, the weekly crochet group at Shedd & Royal Books and More was just another event to manage. Then she stumbled across the body of group leader Ellen Sheridan. Her complicated past with Ellen has made her a prime suspect, and after being cuffed and questioned, she could use a little diversion. Never mind that she doesn’t know how to crochet. Granny squares don’t look that hard to make. But while Molly’s fending off a detective with a grudge and navigating crochet group politics, the real killer is at large. And it’s up to Molly to catch the culprit—before she winds up in a tight knot. Delicious recipe and crochet pattern included! “A gentle and charming novel...Its quirky and likable characters are appealing and real.”—Earlene Fowler, author of Tumbling Blocks

Things are getting knotty in this delightful 13th installment in the Crochet cozy mystery series—featuring crochet patterns and delicious recipes! The Tarzana Hookers crochet club is ready for its close-up . . . But Molly Pink may be getting too close to a case that will land her on the cutting-room floor. Molly Pink’s excitement level is off the hook: The Craftee Channel’s new cable talk show “Creating with Crochet” has scheduled an upcoming taping at the bookstore. While she’s there, TV host Rory Graham is to work with the Tarzana Hookers on a Make and Take bracelet project to draw bookstore customers to the yarn section. It’s a win-win...or so it “seams.” The situation gets a bit knotted when channel producer Michael Kostner confides to Molly his concern that Rory may have oversold her ability as a crocheter. When the producer’s worst fears are realized, it’s up to Molly to make sure Rory comes through. Guiding Rory through crocheting-for-beginners will have to wait, though, as Molly suddenly has to untangle the mysterious death of a new Tarzana Hookers member. Marianne Freeman and her live-in companion, Connie Richards, haven’t exactly been gabby since they joined the Hookers, but Connie’s voice is silenced permanently when she is electrocuted while walking on a wet lawn—electrified by an old radio plugged into a faulty extension cord. The fingers point at Marianne, but Molly is fast on the case to protect one of her own. Was Marianne the killer...or the intended target? Why does her younger brother want to keep her from talking to the cops? And why is this whole case starting to remind Molly Pink of an old TV movie?

Molly Pink and her pals, the Tarzana Hookers, are ready to bring the craft of crochet to the masses. But when one of their members finds herself the prime suspect in a murder, the Hookers are going to have to switch their focus to fighting her bad rap… Molly and her friends can’t wait to get more people hooked on crochet at the annual SoCal Knit Style Show, where Shedd & Royal has been granted a vendor booth. In the past, the show has always been about knitting, and this is the first year there’ll be crochet classes and a crochet competition. The show’s organizer is K. D. Kirby, publisher of several knitting magazines and owner of a yarn store that caters to an elite Beverly Hills crowd. Everyone is shocked when K.D. doesn’t show up for the opening reception, but that’s nothing compared to how they feel when she’s finally found—dead in her hotel suite. Suspicion immediately falls on Adele, one of the Tarzana Hookers, who locked horns with K.D., and whose handmade crochet hook is found at the murder scene. Certain that Adele’s been framed, Molly starts her own investigation, hoping to get their pal off the hook and find a killer before another guest checks out… DELICIOUS RECIPES & CROCHET PATTERNS INCLUDED!

After she discovers the body of her arch-nemesis in her trunk, Haley Randolph must track a killer, while also trying to get her hands on the new to-die-for Sinful-brand handbag. By the best-selling author of Purses and Poison.