Helpful Score: 1
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 â 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 âcrafty culpritâ 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.
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 â 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 âcrafty culpritâ 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.
