Book Review (and a Giveaway!): It Came Upon a Midnight Shear by Allie Pleiter

IT CAME UPON A MIDNIGHT SHEAR by Allie Pleiter
SERIES: Riverbank Knitting Mysteries #3
GENRE: Cozy Mystery
PUBLISHER: Berkley
RELEASE DATE: November 1, 2022
PAGES: 300

A murder in her yarn shop’s backyard puts Libby Beckett’s holiday plans on thin ice.…

The holiday season looks merry and bright for Libby and her friends at Y.A.R.N. The store is expanding for a holiday boom, and she’s gathered Collinstown’s businesses to decorate a community Christmas tree. Dashing “Gallant Herdsman” Vincenzo Marani arrives to showcase the rare vicuña, whose coat produces the world’s most luxurious yarn. It’s a perfect yuletide—until Libby’s ex-husband, Sterling, turns up in town…and then turns up dead.

The murder unravels Libby’s life faster than a hand-knit Christmas stocking. The luxe yarn goes missing, Sterling’s domineering family comes to town, and the vicuña attempt an escape. If Libby can’t stitch up a solution to the case, she may be trading in her knitting needles for a set of handcuffs.

Other Books In This Series

I so love this cozy mystery series from Allie Pleiter! Each book just gets better and better, and It Came Upon a Midnight Shear is my fave so far. (If you’ve been following my reviews for a minute, you know that I have a habit of saying that about her contemporary romances, too… but it’s true. Each new book by her is a new fave of mine.) Seriously, though, all the ingredients that I look for in a Christmas cozy came together with ease in this book and had me completely immersed in the story & the characters.

Poor Libby. Every time she plans a ‘to die for’ special event at her knitting shop, fate seems to take that as a challenge – and wins. True to form, her dreams of a spectacular Christmas for her shop (courtesy of the Gallant Herdsman & his rare vicuña shearing) and for Collinstown (courtesy of her planned community tree decorating) die a tragic death … along with her ex-husband. This would have been the last straw for me, if I were in Libby’s knitted socks, but I have a feeling that she’s not done with creative events for her store. I love the way that Pleiter gives her protagonist a courageous spirit, a warm heart, and a resilient soul. She’s a strong character, as well as being intelligent, savvy and friendly. Were I a resident of Collinstown and were Y.A.R.N. a real shop, I would be hanging out in there every chance I got – even though I can’t knit to save my life.

The mystery in It Came Upon a Midnight Shear was very cleverly plotted, and it kept me guessing right up until the big reveal. A plethora of plausible suspects, lots of history to unpack amongst all the players, and skillfully developed clues – all of these elements definitely had me completely absorbed in solving the crime along with Libby, and I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that she got there before me this time. A rarity, given how many mysteries I read – and it makes me love this book even more. And – joy of joys – along with the Christmasy festive vibes and the stellar mystery (or two), the romance thread that’s been slowly brewing between Libby and her high school sweetheart Gavin takes a grin-inducing turn!

Bottom Line: It Came Upon a Midnight Shear has it all – delightfully-woven characters, a tightly-knitted mystery, a tangle of suspects, and threads of humor & heart & romance! Readers will love Libby and her Y.A.R.N. shop, Hank, Gavin, and all the other supporting players as well as Collinstown at Christmas. This whole series is fantastic, and this book is my fave so far! Can’t wait to tag along for Libby’s next event … from the safety of my Kindle.

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.)

My Rating: 5 stars / loved it!

KissingBook Level: 3 / may forget to breathe on occasion

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The bestselling author of over fifty titles, Allie Pleiter‘s twenty-year career has sold 1.6 million books.  Allie also coaches on writing productivity and speaks nationally on time management for creatives. Allie is an avid knitter, confirmed coffee junkie and firm believer that “pie makes everything better.” She lives in the suburbs of Chicago with her husband and the world’s most adorable dog.

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What about you? What makes you want to read It Came Upon a Midnight Shear by Allie Pleiter?