Buttons and Betrayal
(2026)(The fourth book in the Pins and Paws Mystery series)
A novel by Hailey Hartley
Former Broadway costume designer Vivienne Belmont thought she'd left the drama behind when she traded New York for the Spanish moss and Southern charm of Savannah, Georgia. Running Magnolia Threads, her vintage clothing boutique, was supposed to be peaceful—until she discovers a modern plastic button sewn onto the hem of a priceless 1850s ball gown she's restoring for a local theater production. Her expert eye tells her something is very wrong, and when the theater's temperamental leading lady is found dead at the bottom of a balcony staircase, Viv's instincts prove correct. The death looks like an accident, but Viv notices a crucial detail—the victim's vintage jacket is missing. When her elegant Standard Poodle, Monty, discovers that jacket stuffed in a dumpster behind the theater, complete with torn buttons and traces of a struggle, Viv realizes she's stumbled onto murder.
As Viv uses her expertise in costume construction, fabric analysis, and button identification to help investigate, she uncovers a tangled web of professional jealousy, stolen opportunities, and a decades-old betrayal that someone will kill to keep hidden. The theater world of Savannah proves just as cutthroat as Broadway ever was, with bitter rivalries between costume designers, actresses fighting for starring roles, and old wounds that never quite healed. With Monty's keen nose sniffing out evidence and Viv's trained eye spotting details that others miss, they work to piece together a mystery where every button tells a story and every thread leads somewhere dark.
Racing against threatening notes and a killer who knows she's getting too close to the truth, Viv must navigate friendships, secrets, and the dangerous underbelly of theater life to catch a murderer who thought they'd hidden the evidence in plain sight. In historic Savannah where beauty masks betrayal and resentment can simmer for twenty years before exploding into violence, Viv discovers that the smallest details—a button, a thread, a smudge of blood—can unravel the most carefully staged crimes. Join Viv and Monty as they prove that sometimes the best detectives work with needles and thread instead of guns and badges, and the most damning evidence comes in the smallest packages.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
As Viv uses her expertise in costume construction, fabric analysis, and button identification to help investigate, she uncovers a tangled web of professional jealousy, stolen opportunities, and a decades-old betrayal that someone will kill to keep hidden. The theater world of Savannah proves just as cutthroat as Broadway ever was, with bitter rivalries between costume designers, actresses fighting for starring roles, and old wounds that never quite healed. With Monty's keen nose sniffing out evidence and Viv's trained eye spotting details that others miss, they work to piece together a mystery where every button tells a story and every thread leads somewhere dark.
Racing against threatening notes and a killer who knows she's getting too close to the truth, Viv must navigate friendships, secrets, and the dangerous underbelly of theater life to catch a murderer who thought they'd hidden the evidence in plain sight. In historic Savannah where beauty masks betrayal and resentment can simmer for twenty years before exploding into violence, Viv discovers that the smallest details—a button, a thread, a smudge of blood—can unravel the most carefully staged crimes. Join Viv and Monty as they prove that sometimes the best detectives work with needles and thread instead of guns and badges, and the most damning evidence comes in the smallest packages.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Used availability for Hailey Hartley's Buttons and Betrayal