One Sharp Stitch (A Nimble Needle Mystery)
by Allie Pleiter
With this being the last day of this tour, I wanted to get my review up and be sure you could enter the giveaway.
About One Sharp Stitch
One Sharp Stitch (A Nimble Needle Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – North Carolina
Publisher : Kensington Cozies (March 25, 2025)
Hardcover : 256 pages
ISBN-10 : 1496752007
ISBN-13 : 978-1496752000
Digital ASIN : B0DB3CD9GB
Audio CD ASIN : B0DSYHJN3R
When thirty-something Shelby Phillips returns to her quiet hometown just outside of Asheville, North Carolina, she reluctantly takes over her mother’s Nimble Needle needlepoint shop—and gets entangled in a murder investigation . . .
It’s only temporary. That’s what Shelby Phillips tells herself when she returns to excruciatingly harmless Gwen Lake after her graphic arts career—and the office romance blooming with it—get tossed like rejected design mockups. Her plan is as simple and fool-proof as a tent stitch: manage the family needlepoint shop during her parents’ RV vacation. It’s just a month. It’s not as if they’re retiring . . . right?
When Shelby becomes responsible for hosting a trunk show with local vendors, she’s determined to pull it off. Even if that means dealing with former classmate Kat Katsaros, a rising entrepreneur specializing in needlework scissors. Kat has changed since high school—and she’s angling to take over the Nimble Needle herself. The tension unspools when Shelby makes a terrible discovery on the morning of the event: Kat’s dead body.
Shelby can’t believe the death was an accident. That’s why she’s set on exposing who committed the murder with Kat’s own equipment. She finds help in a new friend, a potential crush, and the surprising support of her sister and the Nimble Needle stitchers. Still, Shelby must move quickly to stop the crafty culprit before her maybe not-so-temporary new life in Gwen Lake comes apart at the seams . . .
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Shelby Phillips’ life is in flux after her career and office romance implodes when the company is sold. So, returning to Gwen Lake to manage the family needlepoint shop while her parents take a long RV vacation around the U.S. could be a welcome distraction while she plans what path her life will take next.
When she learns a former classmate, Kat Katsaros, has a trunk show of her special needlework scissors scheduled at Nimble Needle, Shelby plans to make the event a rousing success. Kat has evolved since their school days, driven to be a success, and even has plans to take over the needlework shop when Shelby’s parents decide to retire.
But then Kat fails to show up for her trunk show. Shelby goes to look for her, and she makes a horrific discovery. She finds Kat’s dead body in her work van. The death is ruled an accident, but Shelby just isn’t buying that theory. She may have had issues with the woman, but she does deserve justice. She decides to investigate the death herself with her own theory, and she has a lot of help – the Nibble Needle stichers, aka Not Your Average Grannies/NYAGS, her sister, a new friend, and an old friend she may want to really want to reconnect with.
Can Shelby, the Grannies, and her friends, old and new, prove that Kat was murdered and who cut the woman down in her prime? Or will the killer get away with murder?
In this first Nimble Needle Mystery we meet Shelby Phillips, her mom, Nina, who owns Nina’s Nimble Needle, her dad, her sister Jessica, and her family, and the Grannies, Faye, Livvy, Tilly, and Dot. There are a lot of family dynamics in play. Shelby believes Jessica is the perfect child with the perfect life and she is the screw up. But all is not as blissful in Jessica’s life as it appears. I enjoyed how this sister relationship changed and evolved throughout the course of the story. I loved their dad and his laid-back common-sense style. Their mother is high energy with many plans and an open heart. The NYAGs are unique and love doing needlepoint projects as well as catching up on the town’s gossip, butting in where they may not be wanted, and trying to help Shelby in any way they can. Ms. Pleiter’s characters are all well-crafted, leaving room for growth as the series continues.
The victim had quite a talent for design, knife sharpening, and making her share of enemies. There were more suspects than I first imagined. The author makes readers sharpen their sleuthing skills with some quick twists and red herrings. My personal list of suspects had them moving up and down with each turn. The actual “crafty culprit” did not move much until late in the story as clues started to fall into place. Our protagonist had to do some quick thinking when the killer transformed before her eyes.
As a former crafter, I love the needlepoint theme and would love to shop and hang out at Nina’s Nimble Needle. Ms. Pleiter did an excellent job of describing it and Gwen Lake.
My dream is to travel around the United States in an RV with my husband and family, so I loved Shelby’s parents’ vacation. Someday I hope to hit the road just like them.
One Sharp Stitch has set this series off to a great start. Filled with engaging characters I want to get to know better, a fun theme, and a well-plotted mystery, this book kept me entertained from beginning to end. I am excited for the next Nimble Needle Mystery.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to Kensington Cozies and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.
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About Allie Pleiter
An avid crafter, coffee junkie and firm believer that “pie makes everything better,” Allie Pleiter writes both fiction and non-fiction working on as many as four books at a time. The bestselling author of over sixty books, Allie has enjoyed a twenty-plus year career with over 1.8 million books sold. In addition to writing, Allie maintains an active writing productivity coaching practice and speaks regularly on the creative process, publishing, and her very favorite topic—The Chunky Method of time management for writers. She lives in the Charlotte area with her husband and the world’s most adorable dog.
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Also written by Allie Pleiter.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” “As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.” I am also an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.”
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It sounds like a really interesting book. Thank you for sharing.