I know the title says this is about a day in my life, but really it is more about a moment. I had no idea that my life was about to change forever when I got my first look at the unusual building. More than anything, I was surprised at what it looked like in real life. All I knew before arriving was that I had inherited some property in Indiana on the shores of Lake Michigan. The photo I’d seen was more arty than factual—a building shrouded in shadows from the tall old trees that surrounded it. I hadn’t even noticed the sign above the front door that said: Classy Yarns. I certainly hadn’t realized it was an old red school house.
My name is Annie Sara Hart and I’m a crochet artist. I’m sure my art school teachers would be surprised that my medium of choice is yarn and my expression of it is crochet. I suppose you could call my creations sculpture, but I think of the unicorns, bears and dolls more as companions to the kids I make them for. They are meant to be cuddled and loved. It makes me happy to think that my creations have a good shot at being indelibly etched in the childhood memory of their owners.
But back to the schoolhouse. It was out in the country and a far cry from my life in L.A., working in a fancy Malibu kids’ boutique as a favor to my talent agent father. The shop was owned by his top A-list movie star client and was meant as a landing place for her daughter. I had been acting like a companion or big sister to Gray Hanover since we were kids– as in I went to camp with her and had to check the bathroom for bears. Now it was more about keeping her together and helping run the boutique since Gray was really just window dressing for the place.
The plan was that I would just take a short time to see the property in Indiana and then put it up for sale. But then I met the local yarn group who became instant friends and convinced me that fixing up the yarn shop area and turning some empty space into a tea room would make the place far more saleable. They came with gossip and wonderful bake goods.
It didn’t take long for me to begin to wonder what had happened to the previous owner and just like that I was caught up in a murder mystery. It got more complicated when Gray came to stay and it was camp all over again, only the stakes were higher this time.
That was still in the future. The exterior had already captured my imagination, but for now, I just wanted to go inside and find the bathroom. It had been a long drive from the airport in Chicago.
Death Among the Stitches: A Crochet and Crumpets Mystery, Book 1
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: January 2025
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Meet Annie Hart: newly inherited yarn and tea shop owner and reluctant amateur sleuth.
Annie Hart, daughter of Bryan Hart – talent agent to the stars – spends her life getting roped into whatever new task her father needs her to do for his VIP clients. So when she inherits a yarn shop in the small Indiana town of Franklin, she is curious to see what it feels like to have something that is solely hers!
But when her arrival is greeted by the local law enforcement, Annie senses things are not quite as they seem in this idyllic town . . . everyone knows everybody in Franklin yet when it comes to the death of the shop’s previous owner, nobody seems sure of anything!
Annie soon discovers that Eleanor Danton was in fact murdered, strangled with her own yarn . . . invigorated by her need to find out the truth, and feeling somehow at home with the friendly bunch of local yarn artists who frequent the shop, she sets out to finding the killer. Much can be achieved over a cuppa and a yarn . . .
About the author
Despite getting a degree in Fine Arts, all Betty Hechtman wanted to be was a writer. She writes a number of series all of which have yarn in them and take place in a location she has an affinity for. She discovered the hard way that it takes a lot less time to buy yarn than to finish making something with it. She, her stash of yarn, and her family live in Southern California. For more information visit BettyHechtman.com.