Shear Terror — Dorothy Howell

The latest novel in a crafting cozy series featuring talented sleuthing seamstress Abbey Chandler, the members of a small-town California sewing studio -- and murder.

Abbey's life in Hideaway Grove is comfortable, and she's grateful for her small sewing studio in the back room of her aunt's bakery, but she's feeling stuck. Her plan to expand her custom tote bag business by selling to a chain of gift shops has hit a snag. Making enough totes to distribute to all the stores requires large-scale production -- which requires money Abbey doesn't have. To make ends meet, she takes a part-time job at the town's bustling Visitor Center . . .

Abbey is soon sorting items with her co-workers for the Visitor Center's annual Lost and Found Day when unclaimed items are displayed and offered for sale. Thanks to tourism, there's enough to fill a huge stockroom. But something is amiss. Eleanor Franklin, devoted to all things Hideaway Grove, hasn't shown up for work -- and when Abbey discovers her whereabouts, it isn't pretty . . .

Eleanor is dead inside a clothing bin, dressmaker shears impaled in her chest -- shears the sheriff reports are engraved with Abbey's name. Under suspicion, Abbey will have to launch her own investigation. But who would want to kill thoughtful Eleanor, a model resident always so full of good advice about how to uphold Hideaway Grove's high standards? As it turns out, not everyone appreciated Eleanor's advice . . .

Now Abbey will have to cut through a tattered trail of greed, theft, and revenge to sew up the case before a killer cramps her style -- for good . . .