Handcrafted Mystery

When a heartbroken Samantha "Sammy" Kane returns to her hometown of Heartsford, Wisconsin, for her best friend Kate's funeral, she learns that Kate's much-loved craft store is in danger of perishing with its owner. Confounding all her expectations of the life she would live, Sammy moves back home with her golden retriever and takes over Community Craft. A few doors down Main Street, fellow new arrival Ingrid Wilson has just opened the Yarn Barn, a real "purl" of a shop. But when Sammy strolls over to see if Ingrid could use a little help, she finds Ingrid's dead body-with a green aluminum knitting needle lodged in her throat. Detective Liam Nash is thrown for a loop as every single citizen of Heartsford seems to have a theory about Ingrid's murder. And nearly everyone in town seems to be a suspect. But the last time Sammy did any sleuthing was as a little moppet. And this is not fun and games. She is eager to help the handsome Liam-who seems to be endlessly inventive in finding reasons to talk with her-and when Liam arrests affable woodworker Miles Danbury, she puts everything on the line to help clear Miles. As the case comes dangerously close to unraveling, Sammy must stitch the clues together. But the killer has other plans-and if she's not careful, she may wind up in a perilous knot.

Samantha "Sammy" Kane is settling into her new life in idyllic Heartsford, Wisconsin, running her late friend Kate Allen's craft shop, Community Craft, when one early June day, bestselling crochet author Jane Johnson visits Heartsford. Captivated by Community Craft, Jane devotes a chapter in her new book, Behind the Seams, to the store. Sammy is honored, but satisfaction quickly turns to shock when she finds Jane strangled to death-her cold hands clutching a copy of her most recently published book, with the words "THE END" raggedly scratched into the cover. Heavens to Etsy! Not only must Sammy contend with the author's inauspicious demise, but she also has to untie some knotty details from her own past. It turns out Kate's death was not what it seemed and instead was somehow hooked to Jane Johnson's demise. Handsome Detective Liam Nash is on the "skein," more than happy to see the shop owner again, if less than enamored by her sleuthing interventions. But this was Sammy's best friend-she has to know. Fortunately, Sammy has a "lace" in the hole. As a child, she formed the S.H.E. detective team with her cousin, Heidi, and her sister, Ellie. Having already reconstituted their partnership, the S.H.E. team searches for a pattern behind the latest death. As the case starts to unravel, will Sammy and team be able to sidestep Liam quick enough to stitch together the clues?

Snowcapped pines and glittery dusted sidewalks adorn tranquil Heartsford, Wisconsin, while residents cuddle beneath heirloom quilts in front of cozy wood fires. But come the next day, the below-zero temperatures won't keep the locals away from Heartsford's annual Fire & Ice event. To boost customer traffic at Community Craft's one-night-only sale, Samantha Sammy Kane persuades a few of the craftspeople who sell their wares at the store to participate in a live mannequin window display contest. Local quilter Wanda Wadsworth emerges as a favorite to win the contest, as she manages to not move a muscle for an unusual amount of time. Onlookers outside the window try everything to get her to crack-tapping on the glass and making funny faces-but nothing disrupts Wanda's stillness. When the eagle-eyed spectators realize Wanda isn't breathing, a blanket of grief and fear descends upon the wintry town. Detective Liam Nash can't seem to piece the clues together. Fortunately, Sammy's cousin Heidi and her sister Ellie are on hand to reconvene their detective team, S.H.E. They set out to solve Wanda's untimely death before the case grows as icy as a sub-zero Wisconsin winter. But they are all too aware that the killer is too close for comfort.