"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 ...
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"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"--
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Add this copy of One Sharp Stitch to cart. $20.46, like new condition, Sold by GreatBookPricesUK5 rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Castle Donington, DERBYSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2025 by Kensington Cozies.
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Fine. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 256 p. Contains: Illustrations. A Nimble Needle Mystery. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Add this copy of One Sharp Stitch to cart. $26.96, new condition, Sold by GreatBookPricesUK5 rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Castle Donington, DERBYSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2025 by Kensington Cozies.
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New. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 256 p. Contains: Illustrations. A Nimble Needle Mystery. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Add this copy of One Sharp Stitch to cart. $24.74, new condition, Sold by Booksplease rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Southport, MERSEYSIDE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2025 by Kensington Cozies.
Add this copy of One Sharp Stitch (Nimble Needle Mystery, Bk. 1) to cart. $11.50, new condition, Sold by Book Outlet rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Jefferson City, TN, UNITED STATES, published 2025 by Kensington Publishing Corporation.
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New in new dust jacket. New, Publisher overstock, may have small remainder mark. Excellent condition, never read, purchased from publisher as excess inventory.
Add this copy of One Sharp Stitch (a Nimble Needle Mystery) to cart. $11.99, very good condition, Sold by Housing Works Online Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from New York, NY, UNITED STATES, published 2025 by Kensington Cozies.
Add this copy of One Sharp Stitch (a Nimble Needle Mystery) to cart. $13.13, very good condition, Sold by Housing Works Online Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from New York, NY, UNITED STATES, published 2026 by Kensington Cozies.
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Add this copy of One Sharp Stitch (a Nimble Needle Mystery) to cart. $26.95, new condition, Sold by Russell Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Victoria, BC, CANADA, published 2026 by Kensington Cozies.
Add this copy of One Sharp Stitch to cart. $27.45, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2025 by Kensington Cozies.
One Sharp Stitch by Allie Pleiter is the first A Nimble Needle Mystery. I have been looking for an engaging needlepoint cozy mystery for years (the one that got me hooked on cozy mysteries ended much to my disappointment). I was not a fan of Shelby in the beginning. She is a character that grew on me along with Shelby�s sister. I like Shelby�s mother, Nina, who is lively and has an upbeat personality. There are a variety of characters in the story. I hope we get to learn more about the shop employees in a future book. Shelby�s sister is Mrs. Perfect who gives Shelby an inferiority complex. The sibling�s relationship will improve as they reconnect and discuss their issues. I liked the small-town setting and the cozy needlework shop (I could envision the beautiful canvases and the colorful threads). The mystery is a tad predictable. It was obvious which character was going to die from the moment the individual was mentioned. There is a twist or two along the way which may or may not surprise a reader. There are repetitive details and the spacing varies. The ending was expected (sigh). I am hoping for improvement in the next A Nimble Needle Mystery. One Sharp Stitch is a lighthearted tale with Needlepoint Nina off on a jaunt, an Avante Garde artist, grand opening tragedy, a curious cat, a perfect sister, boisterous nephews, and stunning canvases.
Lori
Apr 19, 2025
Fun Theme with Engaging Characters
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 Katâ��s dead body in her work van. The death is ruled an accident, but Shelby just isnâ��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 ââ?¬Å"crafty culpritââ?¬Â? 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.
