I received this from Netgalley.com.

A good read and representation of the era. It is inspired by the real life mother of forensic science, Frances Glessner Lee.

3.75☆

Thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for offering me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a cute, fun, and light read. I wouldn't exactly describe it as a cozy mystery, although it certainly has a lot of the elements of the genre, including a cat. The main character is somewhat relatable, although in the beginning of the story, she has a temper thanks to which she manages to alienate a variety of people in a town she hasn't lived in for a long time.
I liked the mystery itself and the way it unfolded. I also appreciated her partner and the other little characters scattered throughout the story (her friend, her partner's family, the store owner, and even Ginger Comstock and the like). The novel reads well, too, so you're not going to get bored.
The reason I gave it four stars is that it could have been slightly more complex. First off, if the heroine is indeed based on Frances Glessner Lee, we could have gotten a bit more insight into how Maple makes her dollhouses (materials used, techniques, and so on). Secondly, I really, really didn't like the way she had moments where she remembered someone she had lost and she kept drowning in the pain. This woman was a widow and she had more grief about her brother than her husband, who had recently been killed in WWII. If that's not just a little bit suspicious, I don't know what is. I get that maybe she was this way because it was something she couldn't come to terms with, but I went "come on!!!" more than a few times throughout the novel because of how many times her dead brother kept popping up in the story. This put me off from the first few pages and I almost DNF-ed the book because of it, so beware that it might be something you may need to skip.
All in all, though, a nice combo between a cozy mystery and a historical fiction novel.

Debut author Katie Tietjen successfully captures the feel of post-WWII New England in the autumn of 1946. Maple and her husband had moved from Boston to small-town Elderberry, Vermont before he was killed in the war. Now she meets frustration everywhere she turns. Bill's medical practice is bankrupt, so there is no money for her to pay the rent. Her attempts to find a job using her law degree have been futile--what jobs are available in the field go to men returning from military service, and females are not yet totally welcomed in the legal profession. Maple's attempts to find friends in town have been thwarted partly because the town's queen bee has no time for her, and partly because Maple can't seem to keep herself from stridently voicing her opinions, in a way that others view as unseemly for a woman.

The only thing Maple can do to earn a bit of money is to sell her growing collection of self-made dollhouses, which she customizes to resemble the houses of her customers. But after a widely disliked man is found hanging in his barn, she decides to try her hand at building a miniature death scene, hoping that it will help law enforcement crack the case and allow her to participate in the investigation.

I enjoyed reading about this fascinating character, based on a real-life person. The secondary characters--the hardware store owner who allows her to sell the dollhouses in his store, her one loyal female friend, the newest and youngest addition to the sheriff's office, even the villains--successfully support what becomes an intricate mystery. The ending is satisfying and life-affirming. I look forward to more from this promising author (perhaps a sequel?).

My thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

This was an OK book. I found the beginning of the book rather slow and it wasn’t until I was two thirds of the way through that I found myself somewhat engaged and wanting to know where it was leading. I struggled to like the MC, though I empathised with her: an intellectual, recent widow in the 1940s who struggled to be accepted in a small town and be acknowledged as anything other than a widow despite having a law degree. Personally, I also found the constant reference to her brother a little annoying and unnecessary. Character development was good and I started to warm to the grumpy sheriff towards the end but the plot let this book down for me.

Death in the Details by Katie Tietjen is an enchanting and refreshingly original Historical Fiction Mystery novel which takes place in Vermont shortly after WWII. Talk about an incredible debut! My interest was piqued by the title and scintillating premise of miniatures and dollhouse crime scene recreation based on real-life Frances Glassner Lee, the first to do so. The beguiling writing and characters with soul kept me happily invested the entire time. In my view the mystery is secondary to the historical aspects and human nature bits, which together create a beautiful whole.

Maple Bishop has lost nearly everything important to her, including her mother, brother and most recently, her husband. After his dearh she was dismayed to discover her generous physician husband had left her without any financial security. Though Maple was educated in law, no one wanted to hire a female lawyer in the late 1940s. She decided to sell dollhouses she fashioned with painstaking detail at her friend Ben's hardware store. Her curiosity, law background, sense of justice and creativity placed her in an ideal position to sleuth with the rookie officer Kerry when a mysterious death occurred. She created a "nutshell" crime scene which contributed to the crime resolution.

The friendships were lovely to follow and the dollhouse details easy to visualize. Amongst my passions are forensics, miniatures and viewing dollhouses on my travels so this story gripped me tightly.

Your search for a unique new series should start here!

My sincere thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this engrossing novel. I am eager to discover what happens in the next installment!

I really enjoyed this book. It was a really creative story line and out-of-the ordinary. It follows a main character whose mother, brother, and husband have all passed away and she's adjusting to life as a widow and life in small town Vermont. She can't get a job as a lawyer and runs into some difficult and challenging characters who are very dismissive of her talents. Throwing herself into making dollhouses, she uses her talent to recreate a crime scene and then goes on to investigate and solve a crime that was otherwise dismissed by the sheriff.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this ARC.

Death in the Details by Katie Tietjen, huh? Well, okay is better than 'meh,' I guess. This book managed to keep me mildly entertained, like a lukewarm cup of tea on a rainy day - it did its job, but it certainly won't blow your socks off. It's like a cozy mystery that forgot to bring its charm. Tietjen's writing style is solid, but the story lacks that certain punch that makes you truly invested. Think of it as a forgettable date - it's just fine while it lasts, but a few hours later, you struggle to recall anything noteworthy about it. All in all, it's an adequate read, perfect for killing time when you have nothing better to do...or forget to do.

I really enjoyed Death in the Details. I liked Maple and cared about her well being and was happy to see how her world evolved. I thought the other characters were also interesting, but was worried about some of them being painted as one dimensional. However, as the story went on, Maple understood the other characters better and saw them in new lights.

I hope this becomes a series and will gladly read more about Maple and her crime scenes in a nutshell.

In Katie Tietjen's debut novel, Death in the Details, set in post-World War II Vermont, war widow Maple Bishop becomes an unlikely sleuth after discovering her husband's financial betrayal and a suspicious death in her small community. Inspired by real-life forensic innovator Frances Lee Glessner, Maple's unconventional coping mechanism involves crafting miniature crime scenes, adding a macabre twist to the mystery. Despite occasional anachronistic dialogue and some predictability in the plot, the novel successfully captures the post-war era's historical intricacies and Maple's journey of resilience and self-discovery. The supporting cast, notably Sheriff Sam and Officer Kenny, adds depth to the narrative, while the slow start gradually gives way to a gripping exploration of secrets, grudges, and unexpected alliances. Overall, Death in the Details offers a captivating blend of history, mystery, and emotion, providing an engaging read for fans of World War II-era fiction and murder mysteries.

I loved this mystery. Tietjen created a compelling sleuth and I love Maple Bishop's introverted, honest-to-a-fault self. I loved the whole miniaturist Frances Lee Glessner aspect as well as the time period as well. I definitely will read the next books in this series - the author has set the stage for more interesting mysteries.

I really enjoyed this book it was very Agatha Christie like . I like and enjoyed the premise, main character and the setting .
It was such a good read
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for letting me read and review this book

Maple Bishop is a war widow following World War II. Although trained as a lawyer, she is unable to find a firm willing to bring her on in the small town she and her husband moved to prior to the war. After getting the insurance payment from his death in the war, she is shocked to find out that he was a better country doctor than he was financial manager. Maple is broke.

She searches for a way to make money. Thankfully, her hobby of making miniature doll houses appears to be able to make some money. But, in delivering a doll house, she comes across a murder. At first, she is a suspect. But she begins providing not-so-welcome advice to the local sheriff.

In her first novel, author Katie Tietjien has created a nice heroine and detective. Her characters are well developed and likeable. Her plot was intriguing. I look for more books from this author.

This was an interesting historical fiction account based on the real life of Frances Glessner Lee. I’d never heard of her or her groundbreaking methods of recreating death scenes. This story features Maple and is set In Vermont during the late 1940’s. Maple is a grief stricken widow having lost not only her husband, but mother and brother. She’s an outsider in a small tight knit community and a woman with a law degree, which in those times was highly unusual. She channels her emotions into constructing miniature scenes from scant scraps. I found calling them dollhouses kinda creepy. They were more akin to moments and scenes Maple was capturing. The post-war era seemed mostly historically accurate. Maple is very observant, picking up on things out of place and suspicious. She manages to earn the ire of the local Sheriff, Sam repeatedly. She is blunt and quite forthcoming with her thoughts and feelings, always trying to tone it down so as not to appear rude or more intelligent than the men. Kenny Is a young officer in training who could become an ally when Maple discovers a body hanging in a barn. Her skills, using the premise of crime solving by recreating the scenes, are dismissed and ignored by the know-it-all men in charge. There are many solidly described and interesting supporting characters. After what I felt was a slow start the pace of investigating, crime solving, and tension amped up. It kept me guessing. I very much enjoyed learning about this slice of obscure history. The author went to great lengths researching Captain Lee.
An advance reader copy of “Death In The Details” by Katherine Tietjen, published by Crooked Lane Books, was provided by NetGalley. These are all my own honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily without any expectation of compensation.

2.25/5

Maple Bishop is not having a good time. Recently widowed after her husband died in combat during World War II, her situation only gets more complicated when she finds out she's penniless. Alone and in need of money she turns her hobby, making extremely detailed dollhouses, into a small business. But things take a turn when one of her first customers winds up dead and Mabel has the dubious honor of finding the body. While dismissed as an "accident" by the authorities, Mabel cannot stop thinking about it and decides to reconstruct the scene in one of her miniatures finding discrepancies that lead her to believe something else is going on and that a killer is out there.

The author was inspired by Frances Lee Glessner, a woman who was instrumental in the development of forensic science in the USA. She created these intricated dioramas of crime scenes that helped teach the importance of processing the scene and observation. I found that story to be more compelling than the plot of this book. Is this bad? No, not really. It was just too boring, lacking a certain spark of <i>something</i>. For a book about miniatures it was missing more descriptions of these little houses and their details. The set up was contrived, Mabel's presence in the story stood out because of how unnatural it felt, an outsider in her own plot. I don't think the crime itself was that interesting, or difficult to put together. The way the characters spoke and interacted felt too modern at times, it was jarring when the story referenced WWII. Speaking of which, it did all the time. Even when it made no sense to mention it.

Where do I think the strenght of this book lies? In its emotional component. I actually really liked Mabel, with all her quirks and issues. She felt like quite the survivor and her distress was palpable. When the book dug deeper into the sense of loss the protagonist, and most of the side characters, was experimenting I did get sucked in. If this had been a drama about mourning and reconnecting with other people and her community it would have been a hit with me. Just remove the murder mystery gimmick and focus on the emotional toll of war and death.

Kate Tietjen has written a really interesting debut mystery novel. Set in a post WWII small town, the main character, Maple, finds herself questioning the local police department’s ruling of a suicide. Armed with her ability to create miniature houses and people, she sets out to prove the authorities wrong by recreating the death scene. I thoroughly enjoyed trying to figure out who might have been responsible for the crime, and was pleasantly surprised that I had not guessed by the end. Always a good sign when reading a murder mystery. I look forward to further adventures of Maple in small town Vermont. Tons of quirky characters that are sure to show up more in future books.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the eArc.

Thank you to Net Galley and Crooked Lane Books for the chance to read and review this book. the opinions expressed are my own.
A book based on handcrafted dollhouses caught my attention. When Maple Bishop is left destitute after the death of her husband during the war, she decides to try selling these dollhouses to make money. The mystery involves a body hanging in a barn. I found parts of this book interesting, but it did not draw me in. I found it hard to care about any of the characters-I just couldn't get to know them. The mystery wasn't much of a mystery-it was pretty easy to figure out the villains. I am rating this book a three because parts of it appealed to me, and I think there is great potential if this series continues.

4 stars for this gripping but cosy mystery!

My love for World War II-era fiction and murder mysteries made this book an irresistible choice, and it didn't disappoint. While the first section of the story unfolded slowly, it was essential to establish Maple, our protagonist, and her backstory. Once the plot gained momentum, I was completely captivated & devoured the rest of the novel in a single sitting. I particularly loved how things seemed to come full circle at the end.

Two aspects prevented me from giving it a perfect five-star rating: Firstly, the mannerisms and language of certain characters felt too modern & not quite 1946. And secondly, the mystery itself was a little predictable.

Overall, this WW2 cosy mystery is a delightful read, offering a blend of intrigue and historical charm.

Thank you to the author, publisher & NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review.

If you like historical mysteries, especially those inspired by real people, check out Katie Tietjen’s solid debut, Death in the Details. Without spoilers, I can say it’s inspired by the real-life mother of forensic science, Frances Glessner Lee. Tietjen’s amateur sleuth, Maple Bishop, is loosely based on Lee and her “Nutshell studies of unexplained deaths”.

In 1946, Maple Bishop is a war widow, penniless and stuck in a small Vermont town where her husband was the town doctor before he enlisted. Although she’s a lawyer, no one will hire a female, so she turns to her hobby hoping to make enough money to pay the mortgage. She asks Ben Crenshaw, the local hardware store owner, if she can set up a small area in his store to demonstrate the making of her dollhouses and miniature scenes. When a grumpy local farmer and his wife commission a dollhouse, Maple is hopeful.

Maple struggles to deliver the completed dollhouse to the Wallace farm, but, despite an appointment, there’s no one there. She does follow her curiosity to the open barn doors, and finds Elijah Wallace hanging in his barn. She’s shocked when Sheriff Sam Scott shows little feeling at the scene of the apparent suicide. The more Maple stares at the scene, though, the more she begins to suspect the dead man may have been murdered. But, the sheriff shows no inclination to believe a little lady who makes dollhouses.

Maple’s angry and reluctant to admit that her own temper and inclination to blurt our the truth does nothing to encourage the sheriff to listen to her. But, her recreation of the barn and death scene as a nutshell crime scene does interest a young deputy who wants to work with her to find the truth.

I found Tietjen’s debut to be solid and fascinating. While Maple Bishop is difficult to like, it’s hard not to sympathize with a lonely war widow who is desperate to make a living in a town equally determined to reject her. Death in the Details is fascinating in the post-World War II depiction of small-town life. I hope Tietjen and her amateur sleuth will continue to examine death scenes through the nutshell crime scenes.

I always enjoy the use of real people in the fictional setting. This had a great concept overall in the in the historical mystery novel. I enjoyed trying to figure out what was going on in this book, and the characters felt like they belonged in this world. It left me wanting to read more in this series and from the author.

The premise of this book really drew me in, but sadly did not fulfill my expectations. Set during the late 1940s in a small town, Maple, a war widow faces financial disaster. She turns her idea of selling her doll houses into a mechanism to solve the murder of a neighbor. Of course, the local police chief wants nothing to do with her or her 'nutshell' crime scene.
I found Maple hard to like, the pace of the book slow, the mystery not all that mysterious. There are alot of grumpy, unhappy people inhabiting the pages of this story. It was just okay for me.