Good Morning Sweet Friends :)
I pray today finds you all doing well, and I'm so thankful you've taken the time to drop on by The Preppy Book Princess today for another book review.
I've been a fan of Allie Pleiter's books for quite sometime, and I was pleased when she decided to also start writing within the cozy mystery genre. I got to read and review her previous cozy mystery series, and today I have the pleasure of sharing my review with you all of the upcoming first title in her new cozy mystery series.
I'm honored to be a part of Allie's Allies (Her Review and Launch Team), and I can't wait to tell you guys all about this one.
Without further adieu, let's dive right into today's review.
One Sharp Stitch by Allie Pleiter:
Source: Complimentary Copy Provided by the Author as Part of Her Review Team Allie's Allies
Publisher: Kensington Cozies
Publication Date: March 25th, 2025
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: Nimble Needle
Synopsis:
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 manage the family needlepoint shop duringher 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 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 . . .
(synopsis from goodreads)
My Review:
One Sharp Stitch kicks off a new cozy mystery series by best selling author Allie Pleiter, and it was a title that I had a hard time wanting to put down.
Shelby Philips returns home after losing her lucrative graphic design job, and finds herself temporarily taking over her mother's beloved needlepoint store. When the artist of the first trunk show Shelby's handling for the store turns up dead, and Shelby is the one to find her, things start to get crazy pretty quickly. Everyone else in town is convinced that Kat's death was a tragic accident, but all the pieces don't seem to fit into that puzzle as far as Shelby's concerned. With a ragtag group of beginner needlepoint pals and herself on the case, she's determined to see justice brought to light in this tragic circumstance.
With quirky characters, a mystery so well plotted that I didn't figure it out until the characters did, and Allie's signature writing that drags you right into the story, One Sharp Stitch is a fantastic introduction to the Nimble Needle series, and it ended up being even more than I was expecting. I went into this one prepared for a wonderful story, but I honestly wasn't expecting it to end up being one of my favorite reads of the year so far.
I have read a lot of cozy mysteries over the years, and this one by far is one of the most realistic titles I've ever actually picked up. In a way that probably made it a little spookier as everything felt like it could actually happen in real life. However, the small town setting and character busy bodies still gave it the heartwarming setting I've come to love and expect within this genre, and I already can't wait to read more from these characters in the future.
Final Rating: 5/5.
I can't possibly recommend this one enough, especially to fellow readers of cozy mysteries. It's an explosive start to a new series, and one that I can definitely see myself rereading in the very near future.
Thanks so much to Allie Pleiter and Kensington Cozies for providing me with a complimentary copy to read and review!
I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary advance reader copy of this novel from the author and publisher as part of the author's review and launch team in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own, and this is my honest review.
Thanks so much for reading guys! I pray you all have a wonderful rest of your day :)
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