It’s summer in Sea Harbor, Massachusetts, and while tourists flock to the beautiful cottages by the sea, trouble brews for the Seaside Knitters. One of them gets tangled up with a precocious granddaughter and another stands accused of casting a local resident off on a permanent vacation.As Izzy Chambers and the Seaside Knitters prepare Izzy’s yarn studio for the tourist season, fellow knitter Birdie Favazza has her hands full with a visiting granddaughter she never knew existed. Gabby soon becomes a fixture in the town—riding off on Birdie’s bike, teaching her own crochet class, even striking up an unlikely friendship with a reclusive local fisherman named Finnegan, himself the source of much local turbulence.
But it’s Cass Halloran, the lobsterwoman, who stumbles over the body of the old fisherman, covered with leaves and sea grass, and wearing the yellow fleece vest she once made him. When Cass unwittingly becomes a suspect in his murder, the knitters rally to protect their dear friend.
Soon the Seaside Knitters will discover that caring for Gabby while casting their net for a killer is tricky business indeed. They’ll have to keep their wits about them as they piece together the clues, working to catch a killer before one of their own winds up knitting behind bars.
I don't know what was different about this book compared with the previous 5, but this one had me pretty engaged from beginning to end! I think the characters are growing on me a bit more and that is both a good thing and a bad thing. At this point, characters who have been around since the beginning could be the murderer! Between the victims and the killers this town is going to be a ghost town soon!
Sally Goldenbaum knits the clues and characters together in a fascinating way!
The tourist season is kicking off and the Seaside Knitters are getting in the swing of things, Cass is finishing knitting a waistcoat for Finnegan, a retired fisherman, he seems reclusive and curmudgeonly to most but Cass is accepted by him (hence the knitting!), Birdie has a surprise in the form of a step granddaughter (Gabby - who also gets accepted as a friend by Finnegan), so far everything is rosy, but Finnegan's somewhat estranged daughter has arrived back in town, Birdie's brother-in-law, Nick (Gabby's great uncle) seems to be overly secretive about something, something involving Finnegan, and then Cass discovers Finnegan dead, wearing the yellow waistcoat (which he had loved and wore daily after she gave it too him) which was how she found him.
Now Cass seems to be in line to be suspect number one and so the Seaside Knitters are putting their heads and needles together to sort this out!
it was good. I guessed the murderer though wich made me happy and sad. I liked the characters, but the author was realllly pushing the small town "cozy" vibe. overall cute thoguh!
I have said this before and I'll say it again. I want to live here. And be friends with Nell and Birdie and Cass and knit at Izzy's yarn store. Even with the diminishing number of townspeople (a substantial portion are murderers and, of course, some of the remaining townspeople are murder victims), this is a town I could retire to.
A fun cozy with a knitting project included. It’s the first in the series with so many interesting characters. There is a cast of characters in the front of the book that I had to constantly refer to. I really enjoyed the friendship between the main characters and beautiful setting. It’s a place that I would really like to visit.
This one takes place during the summer and involves two mysteries. I like the theft mystery better than the murder mystery. I would have liked this more if the theft storyline had been the only mystery. The setting, food, and knitting are still wonderful, and I still like the Seaside Knitters.
Reclusive fisherman Finnegan owns a large chunk of unkept land that he refuses to sell, and when his body is found by one of the "Seaside Knitters" the other three ladies seek out the real killer. I really enjoy this cozy mystery series. Great stories, well defined characters and food and atmosphere that will want you to vacation in this Massachusetts fictional seaside town!
This is the sixth book in the A Seaside Knitting Mystery series.
This is a very delightful series and is mainly focused on the mystery and not knitting. So those that don't knit, don't pass on this series.
The town of Sea Harbor, MA is in a bit of turmoil. A piece of prominent real estate belonging to a recluse, Finnegan, is the center of controversy. The property is in need of upkeep and the residents would like to see it purchased and developed.
Birdie Favazza, a member of the Seaside Knitting group has a visitor, Nicholas, her late husbands brother. Soon, Birdie also learns that Nicholas has brought Gabby, the granddaughter that Birdie didn't know she had. Gabby is such an adorable little character.
The towns people are debating amongst themselves on what to get Finn to either sell the land or at the very least clean it up. But then Finn is found dead, by what is determined to have been murder. Once his will is read and it is learned that Cass, another member of the knitting group, is to inherit the bulk of his estate, she becomes a prime suspect. In addition, Finn's estranged daughter is also sure that Cass murdered him to get the money she needs to lobster business afloat.
It is now time for the knitting group to get together and work together and find out who the killer actually is.
The members of the knitting group are a wonderfull bunch and are always ready to help those of this resort community. I certainly hope that Gabby will be able to come back in future, as she added so much to this book, I thought.
I was thrilled to find two books in this series that I hadn't read. We are back in Sea Harbor with the usual cast of characters. I love the descriptions of the times that the friends are together and the food that they eat. It is enjoyable to read about the shops and eating establishments in the town. Gabby, Birdie's granddaughter becomes a main character in this book as Birdie learns that her husband, Joe had had a child out of wedlock.
As usual, a person turns up murdered in this sweet little town and the ladies want it solved so that they can move on into summer at peace. I was almost a third of the way through the book before the murder took place! It was not difficult to figure out who going to be murdered but to guess the murderer was something else. I did not have it figured out until page 296 out of 317! It is a sign of a job well done when the suspects are laid out so well that it is difficult to pin the murder on any single person. Of course, we are not quite privy to some of the clues that become known at the end.
I also enjoy the fact that Ms. Goldenbaum can display the intense love between Nell and Ben without any graphic details. There is no cursing, no graphic core, and no sex. It is simply a mystery, well written.
I hope to be able to return to Sea Harbor soon and join the gang on the Endicott's deck.
Another fun visit with the Seaside Knitters. I liked having Gabby there and hope she shows up in future books. Surprisingly enough one of my top suspects was actually guilty. As much as I don't knit (and have no desire to) I enjoy hearing about the knitters projects.
Another lovely murder mystery. No blood, no gore. They are really just a puzzle to solve, and set in a lovely part of the world I happened to have visited a few years ago. They bring back memories of a very happy holiday.
This summer in Sea Harbor, Massachusetts, one of the Seaside Knitters gets tangled up with a precocious granddaughter, and another stands accused of sending a local resident on a permanent vacation…
As Izzy and the Seaside Knitters prepare her yarn studio for the tourist season, fellow knitter Birdie Favazza has her hands full with her granddaughter Gabby. The little girl soon becomes a fixture in the town and even strikes up a friendship with a reclusive local fisherman, Finnegan, who is the source of much local turbulence.
Then lobsterwoman Cass Halloran stumbles over the old fisherman—his body covered with leaves and sea grass and wearing the yellow fleece vest she once made for him. When Cass becomes a suspect in his murder the Knitters must rally to protect their friend.
Soon the Seaside Knitters will discover that caring for Gabby while casting their net for a killer is a tricky business, indeed. They’ll have to keep their wits about them as they piece together the clues…or one of their own will wind up knitting behind bars.
My thoughts: Hmmmm, what can I say . . . I am having mixed feelings about this series over the last couple of books. I don’t know whether it is I need a break from cozy mysteries for awhile or if the books are just getting increasingly slow and a bit boring.
I truly do enjoy the setting and the main characters in this series . . . it just feels as if the story lines regarding the actual murder mystery have been dragging quite a bit. Ugh!
I will keep giving it a try since of course like any good reader . . . I already own the entire series 🙂
Overall, a fun cozy mystery series with great main characters and a charming, cozy location – but increasingly slow plot lines!!
A Fatal Fleece by Sally Goldenbaum is number 6 in the Seaside Knitters mystery series. IMO the books in this series are better appreciated and easier to follow when read in order. Ms. Goldenbaum writes in an educated, sophisticated manner, and yet at the same time there is a folksy/homey component about her writing style that I enjoy. Several reviewers have commented on reviews for other books in this series that Ms. Goldenbaum introduces too many characters, as well as taking side trips down memory lane, thus adding a lack of cohesion and excessive verbiage. IMO, by reading the books in order, the characters become rounder, more interesting. Relationships grow, change, and sometimes end. Fear of the past catching up with the present, sometimes leads characters to act in surprising and life altering ways.
Birdie, an eighty something much loved and respected citizen of the little island community, discovers that her late husband had a son from a previous relationship she knew nothing about. She receives a pleasant shock and surprise when her former brother-in-law shows up with a step-granddaughter she was not aware existed. Gabby , who calls Birdie Nonna, adds a tremendous amount of joy, love, excitement, and spice to the story.
There are two connected murders which threaten to tear the community apart. Cass is especially affected, but in the end love triumphs over all. Heartbreak is tempered with joy, tears with laughter, and sorrow with thanksgiving over lives well lived, and a love story that even death can't separate.
We're back with the Seaside Knitters for another palate-cleansing read, which did not disappoint.
The town of Sea Harbor is trying to figure out how to get Francis Finnegan, one of the old fishermen in the town, and known simply to most as Finn - to either clean up or sell the land and house where he lives. It has become an eyesore, and is on valuable waterfront property. Finn is a well-known curmudgeon, who beloved wife dies years ago, and whose daughter ran away as a teenager. But he is adamant that he will continue to live as he likes.
The he's found murdered. And a body is found buried on his land. So many people wanted him out of the way, but would they have killed him? And did he kill someone and bury them on his land? His estranged daughter, now an artist, has recently returned to Sea Harbor, and is apparently counting on inheriting the land and everything else. But when it turns out that he has left everything to one of the Seaside Knitters - Cass, whose family fishing business is in incredible debt - she becomes a suspect as well. Which means that her friends want to make sure that she is cleared of suspicion.
Needless to say, a lot more goes on, involving other characters, but this is the gist. It's a fun read, and for once, I suspected the right person of being the guilty party, which seldom happens!
I like this series of mysteries because of the setting - a yarn/knitting shop and wonderful descriptions of the sea coast and delicious Friday night dinners on the grill with martinis and music overlooking the ocean. Someone of course is murdered in the town and the group of women, Nell, Izzy, Birdie and Cass from the knitting shop pick up clues and eventually solve the murder. The story involves an older cranky man, Finn, living by himself after his wife has died in an old building/house which he has greatly neglected. The property is also overgrown and an eyesore. The land is in a premium location on the shore so the town would like it to be kept up and also desires to buy it for the town's use. Finn is murdered. In his will he leaves the property to Cass, the woman who owns the lobster business, because she is one of the few people who was ever friendly towards him. Turns out the murderer is a married man having an affair with Finn's daughter. Finn had seen them and threatened to tell the man's wife.
Plans for a community garden near the artists’ colony of Canary Cove stir up discussion among the Sea Harbor council members, as they debate what to do with the overgrown eyesore property next to it, belonging to Finnegan, a long-time resident and widower. His prime property location has developers salivating, but he rebuffs all offers and attempts to help him clean it up. When he’s found dead one morning after a storm, what seemed at first to be a sad accident is determined to be murder - leaving the question of who would have killed him, and why? For the property? His presumed heir and adopted daughter Beverly seems to think she’ll be rich soon - but her plans are thrown over when it’s found Cass is named as the sole heir in his will, putting Cass in the hot seat for a while as the police work through the folks who may have had motive. The Seaside Knitters cannot permit Cass to be seriously suspected, so they set about finding what clues they can to point the police to the real killer.
Like the old TV ad that promised two, two, two mints in one, with this book you get two, two, two mysteries in one. One mystery involves murder; the other theft.
Old Finnegan is a long-time fisherman near Sea Harbor whose land offers the best options for business development in town. Developers have offered copious amounts of money, and he won’t sell. The irascible fisherman has two friends—Cass Halloran, a lobsterwoman and member of the Seaside Knitters, and nine-year-old Gabby, granddaughter of Seaside Knitter Birdie.
Finnegan’s daughter moved closer to her father recently. She, too, thought she could cash in on the land she assumed she would inherit.
But someone murders the old man, and the recently revised will leaves his valuable holdings to Cass Halloran. That’s wonderful for her, but now the cops think she killed the old man. It’s up to the Seaside Knitters to clear their friend and solve a mystery. Before the book ends, Finnegan’s daughter will die as well.
To pick up another of Sally Goldenbaum's Seaside Knitters Mysteries is like returning for a visit with good friends. Her characters are so likeable, so real, you can almost feel like you're living among them, participating in their Friday barbecues, planning what dish you could bring to titillate their appetites. In this story, an old crotchety friend of theirs who has let his ocean-front property go to seed (much to the consternation of his neighbors and the township), is murdered, and his distant artist daughter prepares to take over ownership of the valuable land. Meanwhile, the eldest of the knitters is presented with a teen-age granddaughter she didn't know she had accompanied by the brother of one of the knitter's three ex-husbands. Just prepare to be back with old friends in Maine for the summer.
There seem to be a lot of people in town mad about the state the local grump's property is in. While he is a grump he does seem to have a core group of people he likes. This includes Izzy's friend Cass. When Cass finds him dead and she is the recipient of his estate, she is suspected of having motive to kill him. Nell and Izzy get together with friends to figure out what actually happened.
I enjoyed this story. I'm enjoying Nell and her family and getting to know them. I liked that Cass was more in this book. I enjoyed the development in her character and her relationship. I do wish that it didn't always seem like so much happens in between the books. I feel like I miss a lot of the characters' lives. I do enjoy this series and I'm excited to read more.
The Seaside knitters are back for another adventure. This one starts with everyone meeting Gabby Birdie's granddaughter whose is in Sea Harbor for a while visiting. She befriends and older gentlemen Finnegan who doesn't let too many people near him. When he winds up dead people begin to wonder what happened to the old man who hated him enough to kill him?
I love going back to Sea Harbor and seeing what everyone is up to which is always a great adventure. You feel like your going to visit old friends and see what everyone is eating now? The characters are rich and the stories have a depth that you will find yourself pulled into. Definitely a great adventure to read about.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
4.0 Summer time in Sea Harbor and tourists flock to the beautiful beach and cottages by the sea and the Seaside Knitters are preparing for the season. Birdie has her hands full with a visiting granddaughter she never knew existed but Gabby steals the hearts of everyone around her and is a lively addition to the community. Gabby makes friends with an old man who likes to keep himself to himself. The community wants this man to clean up his land and most of all people want to buy it but he is not moving. Unfortunately this man's body is found and it seems like there has been a murder. Now the Seaside Knitters go into action.
I finished this book while on vacation. While it is number six in the series, it didn't disappoint. Although, I did know "who dunnit" well before the end. I must be getting better at reading between the lines! The setting and characters are so well written that I find myself wanting to wake up in Sea Harbor, surrounded by the wonderful sights, sounds, tastes, aromas and friendships that abound in this little harbor town. And reading about knitting is always a pleasure. Looking forward to #7.
The group at Sea Harbor is shocked and saddened when their crusty townsman and friend is murdered. His land, in a perfect spot for development, is fought over even before he is dead. With a long lost daughter, a close friend, a feisty 10 year old and various other interested parties, the police and the small group of amateur detectives are hard put to bring the murderer to justice. The many threads are woven together in a for-profit mystery. Good book! I hated for it to end.
Nell and her niece, Izzy, are the core of the town knitters group. Their friend Birdie finds out she has a 10 year old step-granddaughter, Gabby, when her brother-in-law Nick brings her to visit. She makes a hit with all their friends in particular, Finnegan, an old man who lives on a valuable but eyesore of a property. He becomes the victim in this story. There are plenty of people available to be suspects. This book had a more complicated plot than the last in the series I read and so got a higher star rating.
In each book, you get to know the characters more and become part of their lives. There is always something happening in Crystal Cove!
This one involves the untimely death of a man that was a fixture in the community and the search to uncover who was responsible. As always, the Seaside Knitters are one step ahead of the local police force!
Even if I knew "who done it" from page one I would love this series. The Endicotts' Friday night get togethers bring me back every time. I even find myself craving Ben's famous martins and I HATE martinis. Love all the characters and the Sea Harbor atmosphere. I found this book particularly captivating with the introduction of some new, fun characters.
This book is one of the Seaside Knitters mysteries. Think sort of "Murder She Wrote" with four good friends solving mysteries together. It's as much about relationships as it is about murder. The cast of characters is loving and supportive and each plays an integral part in the books. I'd like to live in their town.
It took me a while to get into this book, but then it just took off I kept changing my mind to as who was the Murder. I need to start the next book in this series as soon as possible!
Not very well-written. Not clear why the knitters need to solve the murder when the police are totally working the case. Not very hard to work out whodunnit. Pretty good for falling asleep to, though.