Quilt City Murders was named Best Mystery of 2022 by the National Indie Excellence Awards and was a finalist in two American Writing Awards categories: Best Debut Novel, and Mystery/Suspense.
Reviews of Quilt City Murders:
Quilt City Murders is an absolute must-read cozy mystery, and I do not say that lightly. I give this book a 5+ star rating!
Read Jenny Raith's full review here: https://cozymysterybookshop.com/cozy-mystery-book-review-quilt-city-murders-by-bruce-leonard/
Best-ever murder mystery about Quiltmakers!
Many of the other 5-star reviews here are eloquent and on-target, so I'll just add that this is the first 'quilt' mystery I've read whose story could stand on its own no matter the milieu, and whose details re quilting and quilters were credible. I enjoyed it, feel like I got a free trip to the quilt mega-festival in Paducah, and will look forward to further series titles. — L
My wife and I just finished reading “Quilt City Murders” out loud. It was a real page-turner! The characters were masterfully drawn, the language was artful, interesting and humorous, and we couldn’t wait to find out what was on the next page. Leonard’s writing style is as accessible as it is clever. I loved the tid-bits of humor peppered throughout. We can’t wait for the next one. — John D.
Summary
Quilter Hadley Carroll thinks her life can’t get any worse after being demoted from reporter to newspaper courier and having her fiancé, Matt Ackerman, dump her without explanation. But then, while chucking a sack of newspapers into the Ohio River in Paducah, Kentucky—known as Quilt City—she finds Matt’s body snagged under the transient dock. She knows she’ll never find peace if she doesn’t figure out why he left her and who killed him, so she gets to work.
As QuiltWeek Paducah, the largest quilting event in the world, approaches, then fills the small town with 30,000 textile connoisseurs, quilters turn up dead. Paducah’s mayor tries to instill calm as citizens panic, protests flare up, and visiting quilters flee by the thousands.
Despite grieving the loss of Matt, Hadley perseveres, strengthened by her troubled upbringing and aided by her weekly quilting group. She uses her investigative skills and impressive intellect to solve the murders, to bring peace back to her hometown, and to get a good night’s sleep—finally.