A Stitch to Die For (An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Book 5)

A sense of déjà vu washed over me. Less than two weeks earlier I’d discovered Rosalie Schneider, another elderly neighbor, unconscious at the bottom of her basement stairs. I took a few steps into the foyer and turned toward the dimly lit living room. Batty Bentworth sat on her sofa, a multi-colored crocheted granny square afghan draped across her lap, her gaze fixated on the news broadcasting from an old black and white console television set.

“Mrs. Bentworth, didn’t you hear me?”

When she didn’t respond, I stepped between her and the television. She continued to ignore me, but now I knew why. Batty Bentworth was dead—but not from natural causes.

About
A Stitch to Die For

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery

by Lois Winston

Ever since her husband died and left her in debt equal to the gross national product of Uzbekistan, magazine crafts editor and reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack has stumbled across one dead body after another—but always in work-related settings. When a killer targets the elderly nasty neighbor who lives across the street from her, murder strikes too close to home. Couple that with a series of unsettling events days before Halloween, and Anastasia begins to wonder if someone is sending her a deadly message.

A Stitch to Die For

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery

by Lois Winston

Acclaim for the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries

Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun

“Crafty cozies don’t get any better than this hilarious confection...Anastasia is as deadpan droll as Tina Fey’s Liz Lemon, and readers can’t help cheering as she copes with caring for a host of colorful characters.” –
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)

“Winston has hit a homerun with this hilarious, laugh-until-your-sides-hurt tale. Oddball characters, uproariously funny situations, and a heroine with a strong sense of irony will delight fans of Janet Evanovich, Jess Lourey, and Kathleen Bacus. May this be the first of many in Winston’s Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series.” –
Booklist
(starred review)

“A comic tour de force...Lovers of funny mysteries, outrageous puns, self-deprecating humor, and light romance will all find something here.” –
ForeWord Magazine
(Book of the Year nominee)

“North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum. Funny, gutsy, and determined, Anastasia has a bright future in the planned series.” –
Kirkus Reviews

“...a delightful romp through the halls of who-done-it.” –
The Star-Ledger

“Make way for Lois Winston’s promising new series...I’ll be eagerly awaiting the next installment in this thoroughly delightful series.” –
Mystery Scene Magazine

“...once you read the first few pages of Lois Winston’s first-in-series whodunit, you’re hooked for the duration...” –
Bookpage

“...madcap but tough-as-nails, no holds barred plot and main character...a step above the usual crafty cozy.” –
The Mystery Reader

“...Anastasia is, above all, a JERSEY girl..., and never, ever mess with one of them. I can’t wait ‘til the next book in this series...” –
Suspense Magazine

“Fans of Stephanie Plum will love Lois Winston’s cast of quirky, laughable, and loveable characters.
Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun
is clever and thoroughly entertaining—a must read!” – Brenda Novak,
New York Times
best-selling author.

“What a treat—I can’t stop laughing! Witty, wise, and delightfully clever, Anastasia is going to be your new best friend. Her mysterious adventures are irresistible—you’ll be glued to the page!” – Hank Phillippi Ryan, Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity award-winning author

“You think you’ve got trouble? Say hello to Anastasia Pollack, who also happens to be queen of the one-liners. Funny, funny, funny—this is a series you don’t want to miss!” – Kasey Michaels,
USA Today
best-selling author

Death by Killer Mop Doll

“Anastasia is a crafting Stephanie Plum, surrounded by characters sure to bring chuckles as she careens through the narrative, crossing paths with the detectives assigned to the case and snooping around to solve it.” –
Booklist

“Several crafts projects, oodles of laughs and an older, more centered version of Stephanie Plum.” –
Kirkus Reviews

“In Winston’s droll second cozy featuring crafts magazine editor Anastasia Pollack...readers who relish the offbeat will be rewarded.” –
Publishers Weekly

“...a
30 Rock
vibe...Winston turns out another lighthearted amateur sleuth investigation. Laden with one-liners, Anastasia’s second outing (after
Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun
) points to another successful series in the works.” –
Library Journal

“Winston...plays for plenty of laughs...while letting Anastasia shine as a risk-taking investigator who doesn’t always know when to quit.” –
Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine

Revenge of the Crafty Corpse

“Winston peppers the twisty and slightly edgy plot with humor and plenty of craft patterns. Fans of craft mysteries will like this, of course, but so will those who enjoy the smart and snarky humor of Janet Evanovich, Laura Levine, and Laura DeSilverio.” –
Booklist

“Winston’s entertaining third cozy plunges Anastasia into a surprisingly fraught stew of jealousy, greed, and sex...” and a “Sopranos-worthy lineup of eccentric character...” –
Publishers Weekly

“Winston provides a long-suffering heroine, amusing characters, a...good mystery and a series of crafting projects featuring cloth yo-yos.” –
Kirkus Reviews

“A fun addition to a series that keeps getting stronger.” –
Romantic Times Magazine

“Chuckles begin on page one and the steady humor sustains a comedic crafts cozy, the third (after
Death by Killer Mop Doll
)... Recommend for Chris Grabenstein (“John Ceepak” series) and Jess Lourey readers.” –
Library Journal

“You'll be both surprised and entertained by this terrific mystery. I can't wait to see what happens in the Pollack household next.” –
Suspense Magazine

“The book has what a mystery should...It moves along at a good pace...Like all good sleuths, Anastasia pieces together what others don’t...The book has a fun twist...and it’s clear that Anastasia, the everyday woman who loves crafts and desserts, and has a complete hottie in pursuit, will return to solve another murder and offer more crafts tips...” –
Star-Ledger

Decoupage Can Be Deadly

“
Decoupage Can Be Deadly
is the fourth in the Anastasia Pollock Crafting Mysteries by Lois Winston. And it’s the best one yet. More, please!” –
Suspense Magazine

“What a great cozy mystery series.  One of the reasons this series stands out for me as a great one is the absolutely great cast of characters.  Every single character in these books is awesomely quirky and downright hilarious.  This series is a true laugh out loud read!” – Books Are Life–Vita Libri

“This is one of these series that no matter what, I’m going to be laughing my way through a comedy of errors as our reluctant heroine sets a course of action to find a killer while contending with her eccentrically dysfunctional family. This adventure grabs you immediately delivering a fast-paced and action-filled drama that doesn’t let up from the first page to the surprising conclusion.” – Dru’s Book Musings

“Lois Winston’s reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack is back in another wild romp.” – The Book Breeze

A Stitch to Die For
copyright 2015 by Lois Winston. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, locations, or events is coincidental or fictionalized.

Cover design by L. Winston

Dedication

For Jack, Zoe, Chase, and Collin

who make life so beautiful

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Donnell Bell and Irene Peterson for their superb editorial skills.

Thanks also to the various members of Crime Scene Writers, DorothyL, Guppies, and Sisters in Crime who generously volunteer their expertise on an incredible range of topics whenever asked.

And finally, much thanks to plotting weekend hostess Gail Freeman.
A Stitch to Die For
came to life thanks to your incredible generosity and spare bedroom.

ONE

Two weeks ago my mother, Flora Sudberry Periwinkle Ramirez Scoffield Goldberg O’Keefe, took her sixth trip down the aisle to become Flora Sudberry Periwinkle Ramirez Scoffield Goldberg O’Keefe Tuttnauer. The groom’s daughter was a no-show. At the time of the ceremony her body was being fished out of the Delaware and Raritan Canal in Lambertville, New Jersey.

Ira Pollack, my stepbrother-in-law and the groom’s son-in-law, had just finished a toast to Mama and Lawrence Tuttnauer when two men in dark suits entered the backyard catering tent and headed straight toward him. Given all my dealings with the police over the last few months, I easily made them for detectives, a suspicion confirmed when I spotted them flashing their badges. Ira nodded and followed them out of the tent.

I followed Ira.

He and the two men made their way to the patio at the back of his house. I stopped at the entrance to the tent. The men stood with their backs to me, Ira facing me. From my vantage point I couldn’t hear their words over the conversations and music going on behind me, but I saw the color drain from Ira’s face. He shook his head violently and yelled, “No!” loud enough for me to hear.

I raced across the lawn as fast as I could in three-inch heels. Once at the patio, I placed my hand on Ira’s arm. In a voice that trembled as much as his body, he said, “Cynthia. They found her floating in the canal.”

I gasped, then led Ira over to one of the patio lounge chairs. He collapsed onto the cushion and buried his head in his hands as he choked out huge sobs.

I turned to the detectives, waiting for more of an explanation, but both ignored Ira’s grief to fixate on the party across the lawn. “What’s going on here?” one of them asked.

“A wedding,” I said.

“Whose?”

“Ira’s father-in-law married my mother.”

Both detectives knit their brows together and glared at Ira. “Your wife doesn’t show for her father’s wedding, and you’re not worried?” asked the older and taller of the two men.

Ira tried speaking between sobs. His mouth opened and closed several times, but no words came out. I answered for him. “Cynthia didn’t approve of her father marrying my mother.”