Publication Date: March 24, 2026
An empowered PI parlays her talent for petty revenge into lucrative karmic justice in a sharp and funny novel full of surprises by a USA Today bestselling author.
When Stella Stark discovers that her boyfriend is cheating, she also discovers that thirty-nine isn’t too old for petty revenge. Can we say…glitter bomb? She’s lost both her job and her home—why not broaden her professional horizons as Little Miss Petty, helping wronged women achieve karmic justice? Frankly, the demand is too great to ignore.
New friends rally around her: Havisham, a bar owner with a soft spot under her gruff exterior, and Salcedo, a college student with marketing savvy. There’s just one hiccup: Getting revenge on the cheating soon-to-be ex-husband of her best-paying client is supposed to be easy. After all, he’s her neighbor. But something isn’t adding up. Malone is not only intriguingly handsome. He’s also a good listener, sympathetic, and adores kittens. He may look like the ex, but he isn’t acting like him. And how can Stella, a woman on the rebound, be even remotely tempted by the pizza-with-benefits relationship he suggests? That would be so bad for business.
There’s so much for Stella to learn—about karma, the charmer across the breezeway she’s falling for, and most importantly, herself. Love, revenge, and second chances—they all come with a little risk. And a twist.
Little Miss Petty by Sally Kilpatrick features Stella Stark as the title character. She comes up with many petty acts throughout, and at one point even conducts a business around it, has paying customers, and a website. But when it can affect her PI license, which way will she turn?
Stella became petty at a young age when a great-aunt threw her under the bus and got her in trouble with her family for something she didn’t do. She perfected her acts as she got older, and there were some laugh-out-loud moments as a result.
When her world implodes, she loses her boyfriend and business partner of many years and therefore her job, has debt up to her eyeballs, and has nowhere to turn. But she unexpectedly is befriended by two women, one a college student and the other an older woman who’s the bartender and owner of the bar she frequents, and from there things start to look up.  It doesn’t hurt that a hunky neighbor and possible love interest is living across the breezeway at her new crappy apartment complex. There are others at the complex she becomes friendly with, and it helps give her life some purpose, especially with all the multitasking she has to do to survive. She’s nothing if not resourceful!
Multiple stories are told throughout, and a mystery to be solved concerning stolen money with unexpected connections to one of her clients and her hunky neighbor. There are many twists and turns, and a chance for a happily ever after. Stella’s potential relationship with Malone doesn’t hurt, since he’s the first person ever to really see her, which gives her the boost she needs.
There are a few unexpected connections throughout as we wind ourselves through the tale. There is some closure in the epilogue, which takes place one year later, but I had hoped it would go just a little further.
Little Miss Petty shows Stella’s resilience and fortitude as she tries to get her life back on track as she nears her fortieth birthday. Humor also doesn’t hurt!
Sally Kilpatrick is the USA Today bestselling author of eight novels and counting, including Nobody’s Perfect and The Happy Hour Choir. She has won multiple awards, including the 2018 and 2019 Georgia Author of the Year. Sally empty nests in Marietta, Georgia, with her ever-understanding husband and decidedly unimpressed cats. Her hobbies include reading, travel, wine, and running in an effort to make up for the wine consumed. She has yet to meet a house she didn’t want to tour.
