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Annie’s Mysteries Unraveled #10
Toxic Designs
Nothing hits as close to home as having a loved one get sick, which means double trouble for Kate Stevens when her daughter, Vanessa, and her best friend, Vivi Lawrence, both become deathly ill within hours of each other.
Vanessa is home for two weeks over summer break, and a shared meal between the three of them seems to be the source of the food poisoning. But why doesn’t Kate herself become ill? Is it just luck, or is something more sinister afoot?
Kate becomes all the more suspicious when Vivi has several recurrences of illness, and doctors cannot find the cause. Kate is sure that someone is out to harm—or worse, eliminate—her friend, but no one will listen to her protestations, not even Vivi.
Could the malefactor be Vivi’s new assistant who seems to be gunning for her job? What about the woman who a year earlier filed a frivolous lawsuit against Vivi and the Fort Worth hotel where Vivi is an event planner? Or is it the lawyer, who Kate believes is angling for leverage with Vivi on an inheritance she is set to receive?
Vivi and Vanessa are both sick, and Peter Matthews—the handsome Fort Worth detective who is also Kate’s friend—has been called away on a crucial case. So Kate turns to Paige Bryant, the owner of the Once Upon a Yarn needlecraft shop that is Kate’s home away from home, for help.
Kate is sure that someone has deadly plans for Vivi, but she must first figure out why before she can prove who it is. Will Kate and Paige solve the mystery before those toxic designs come to pass?
Vanessa is home for two weeks over summer break, and a shared meal between the three of them seems to be the source of the food poisoning. But why doesn’t Kate herself become ill? Is it just luck, or is something more sinister afoot?
Kate becomes all the more suspicious when Vivi has several recurrences of illness, and doctors cannot find the cause. Kate is sure that someone is out to harm—or worse, eliminate—her friend, but no one will listen to her protestations, not even Vivi.
Could the malefactor be Vivi’s new assistant who seems to be gunning for her job? What about the woman who a year earlier filed a frivolous lawsuit against Vivi and the Fort Worth hotel where Vivi is an event planner? Or is it the lawyer, who Kate believes is angling for leverage with Vivi on an inheritance she is set to receive?
Vivi and Vanessa are both sick, and Peter Matthews—the handsome Fort Worth detective who is also Kate’s friend—has been called away on a crucial case. So Kate turns to Paige Bryant, the owner of the Once Upon a Yarn needlecraft shop that is Kate’s home away from home, for help.
Kate is sure that someone has deadly plans for Vivi, but she must first figure out why before she can prove who it is. Will Kate and Paige solve the mystery before those toxic designs come to pass?
205 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2015
About the author
Kristi Holl
66 books16 followersKristi Holl is a best-selling award-winning author of dozens of middle-grade novels. With additional background as an elementary school educator and instructor of writing for children, Kristi's books are on many recommended reading lists and have been nominated for numerous Children's Choice Awards. Kristi has three grown daughters and lives in Texas.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 7, 2025
Toxic Designs by Kristi Holl keeps the reader guessing until the very end. Set in the small town of Sage Hills, Texas, with unique characters, the author does a wonderful job of making the reader care for the characters.
Kate Stevens is our protagonist in this cozy. Her best friend Vivi is slowly being poisoned. Kate and her daughter Vanessa, home from college for a summer visit, must sift through all the plausible clues and red herrings to find the would-be killer.
There is much going on in this story. Job security. Characters not being who they seem. Whom to trust. Gravely ill family members. The love between mothers and daughters. And the love of friends.
The plot moves along crisply and engages the reader. If you are looking for a satisfying cozy, you can’t do better than Toxic Designs by Kristi Holl. Enjoy!
Kate Stevens is our protagonist in this cozy. Her best friend Vivi is slowly being poisoned. Kate and her daughter Vanessa, home from college for a summer visit, must sift through all the plausible clues and red herrings to find the would-be killer.
There is much going on in this story. Job security. Characters not being who they seem. Whom to trust. Gravely ill family members. The love between mothers and daughters. And the love of friends.
The plot moves along crisply and engages the reader. If you are looking for a satisfying cozy, you can’t do better than Toxic Designs by Kristi Holl. Enjoy!
June 28, 2018
A short, fun read, and I like the characters, but the plot got pretty goofy near the end. The plan that they came up with to try to flush out the culprit - really?!
July 19, 2023
Easy light mystery read. This is one of my fave Sweet Annie’s lot to read
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews