one sharp stitch

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 . . .

Allie Pleiter is an internationally bestselling author, an accomplished productivity coach, and an avid knitter and needlepointer. In addition to 6 nonfiction books, she has written dozens of popular fiction, mystery, and romance novels with more than 1.6 million copies sold. The creator of The Chunky Method, a time management system, she teaches creative people how to be more productive and productive people how to be more creative through her coaching practice and nationwide speaking engagements. She also is a regular speaker within the crafting and knitting community, appearing at yarn and craft shops as well as national events including Stitches Midwest, Vogue Knitting Live, and the Wanderstitch Cruise onboard Norwegian Cruise Lines. An alumna of Northwestern University, she is a member of Sisters in Crime, the American Needlepoint Guild and the National Speakers Association. She lives with her husband and adorable dog near Charlotte, NC, and can be found online at AlliePleiter.com.