The Wedding Shawl

March 21, 2011
The convincing interplay among the members of the Sea Harbor, Mass., knitting group offsets the run-of-the-mill detecting in Goldenbaum's fifth Seaside Knitters mystery (after 2010's A Holiday Yarn). One night at the local bookstore, mystery author Danny Brandley joins Izzy Chambers and friends, who convene every third Tuesday to knit and discuss mystery novels, to talk about writing. Brandley, after revealing that he draws his plots from real life, provides an example that hits close to home. Fifteen years earlier, the community was rattled by the death of high school graduate Harmony Farrow, who drowned in a quarry under circumstances that suggested foul play. An accidental eavesdropper directly connected to the Farrow case overhears the conversation. After another murderâthat of hair stylist Tiffany Ciccoloâthe cold case heats up. Once the culprit is identified, the characters rebound from the shock improbably quickly, even for a cozy.

April 15, 2011

The Seaside Knitters are joyously preparing for the wedding of one of their own, but first they have to solve a murder.

The family and friends of knitting shop owner Izzy Chambers are busy making ready for her marriage to Sam Perry. Izzy's beloved aunt Nell has even hired gardener Claire Russell to make her backyard perfect for the ceremony. Long divorced from her ultra-strict husband, Claire has returned to Sea Harbor, Mass., to face the past. Soon after a book-shop discussion of cold cases focusing on the death of Claire's daughter, beautiful local teen Harmony Farrow, Harmony's BFF Tiffany Ciccolo is found dead in the basement of the beauty salon where she worked. Tiffany had a crush on Andy Risso, member of a popular local band. Since Andy was formerly Harmony's high-school flame, the police have him high on the suspect list. Nell and her friends realize they have to solve both murders before they can present Izzy with her beautiful wedding shawl and provide a perfect wedding day.

The latest outing for these dexterous amateur sleuths (A Holiday Yarn, 2010, etc.) is a very pleasant read that evokes summers by the sea and features a mystery that will keep you guessing and instructions for making a wedding shawl and a lobster dinner.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

May 1, 2011
The Seaside Knitters series continues with knit-shop owner Izzy about to get married at the lovely home of her aunt, Nell. Along with several other shop regulars, Nell is knitting Izzy a gorgeous lace wedding shawl (pattern included). But stitches fall by the wayside when a murder mars the upcoming nuptials. This might be Goldenbaums best so far: the cast is contained, the murder has real relevance to the community, and the culprit is not quite as apparent as in some cozies. Even those who have never picked up a knitting needle will find plenty to enjoy here.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)