On Skein of Death Knitting Mystery Guest Post

Thanks for sharing!

Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for On Skein of Death (A Riverbank Knitting Mystery) by Allie Pleiter. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!

For Libby Beckett, opening her charming yarn shop, and introducing customers to the joys of knitting and crochet, is the work she was meant to do. Until the yarn she loves is used for murder….

On Skein of Death (A Riverbank Knitting Mystery)

by Allie Pleiter

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive compensation at no cost to you.

On Skein of Death (A Riverbank Knitting Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Publisher: ‎ Berkley (June 1, 2021)
Mass Market Paperback: ‎ 304 pages

Libby has come home to Collinstown, Maryland to live her dream and open her own yarn shop, aptly named Y.A.R.N., along the Chester River. To Libby, Y.A.R.N. stands for “You’re Absolutely Ready Now.” But the acronym changes whenever inspiration strikes, and customers add to the list of suggestions that fill the blackboard wall in a shop stuffed with color, fiber, and comfort.

Libby is thrilled when she lands famous Norwegian knitting celebrity Perle Langager for a series of events at Y.A.R.N. Libby’s English bulldog, Hank, has been modeling one of Perle’s doggie sweaters, and customers just can’t wait to see Perle in action. The mayor of Collinstown even decrees a Collinstown Yarn Day to celebrate. But once Perle arrives in town, she seems distracted and on edge. And when she’s found strangled with a skein of red yarn, Libby knows she has to solve a knotty mystery before her new life unravels.

Guest Post: Libby Beckett from ON SKEIN OF DEATH describes her perfect day

Hello, I’m Libby Beckett, the heroine of the Riverbank Knitting Mysteries series. While covering the opening of my new yarn shop “Y.A.R.N.” our hometown newspaper reporter asked me to describe my “perfect day.” I thought it’d be fun to share it here as a way to meet all of you.

Every good day (and maybe especially the bad ones) should start with excellent coffee. I brew some at home, but my shop assistant Linda makes great coffee and a pot is always on at the shop. I load mine up with lots of flavored creamer.

Once I fill my travel mug with all that tasty caffeine, I walk my English bulldog Hank the handful of blocks from my colonial home to the shop. The walk through Collinstown, Maryland is almost always beautiful, especially in the fall. In a small friendly (okay, maybe a bit nosy, too) town like mine, any walk anywhere often means running into friends and neighbors. Everybody loves Hank—what’s not to love about an adorable dog partial to modeling hand-knit sweaters?

A day at my yarn shop is filled with wonderful customers, beautiful yarns, helping people with their projects, and generally surrounding myself with all that gorgeous color and texture. It’s hard to have a bad day surrounded by all that creativity. My mom comes into the shop almost every day. I love her, but she’s gotten a bit more challenging of late.

Some non-knitters stop by the shop, too. Gavin Maddock is the charming mayor of Collinstown and just declared a “Collinstown Yarn Day” to celebrate my upcoming big event. Things are a bit complicated with Gavin, on account of both our newly-single status and the fact that Gavin and I were a serious couple back in high school. Nowhere near as charming is Collinstown’s Chamber of Commerce President George Barker, who seems to spend his days thinking up new ways to aggravate me.

Some part of every day includes a trip across the street to my best friend Margo’s Perfect Slice Pie Shop. Next to yarn, Margo’s pie is my coping mechanism of choice. Any “perfect day” would have to include a “Perfect Slice.” Probably two.

My ideal day would end with a lovely dinner at one of Collinstown’s wonderful restaurants, followed by a quiet evening getting lots of knitting done at home by the fire.

The wonderful thing is that many of my days are close to this ideal. Well, except for the one where the guest of honor for my shop’s first big event turns up strangled by a skein of yarn…

About Allie Pleiter

An avid knitter, coffee junkie and firm believer that “pie makes everything better,” Allie Pleiter writes both fiction and non-fiction working on as many as four novels at a time. The bestselling author of over fifty books, Allie has enjoyed a twenty-year career with over 1.5 million books sold. In addition to writing, Allie maintains an active writing productivity coaching practice and speaks regularly on the creative process, publishing, and her very favorite topic—The Chunky Method of time management for writers. Visit her website at www.alliepleiter.com to learn more.