The Paradise Heights Craft Store Stitch-Up (Kate Solly, Affirm)

Remember the easy warmth, dry humour and cosy storytelling of Kate Solly’s Tuesday Evenings with the Copeton Craft Resistance? Well, she’s done it again with The Paradise Heights Craft Store Stitch-Up. The book opens with Fleck Parker in tears as she’s erased her winning streak in a word game—the one thing she does for herself each day as a busy mother of three children under five. Cue the entrance of fellow school mum/subversive crafter Trixie (who crochets messages such as ‘Bite Me’ into her creations). Trixie has been accused of stealing money from the women’s charity Many Hands, where she volunteers. Fleck leads an undercover investigation—complete with playground stake-outs and hostage scenes—to clear Trixie’s name, while wrangling complicated clues and needy children. Although the book begins at a gentle pace with a few loose threads, the story truly shines in the final third, where Solly’s humour, lively pace and chatty prose come together for an enjoyable yarn. Another stand-out element is Trixie’s layered characterisation, as well as the authenticity and relatability of the friendship she builds with Fleck. The author’s side discussions on motherhood, neurodiversity and friendship, as well as on women’s charities and money laundering, are also engaging. For fans of Joanna Nell’s writing, with a twist of Richard Osman-style action, The Paradise Heights Craft Store Stitch-Up will not disappoint.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Michelle Atkins is a communications professional and published educational author. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

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