Cashmere Conspiracy

A Hazel Stitchworth Cozy Mystery #1

by Fiona Grace

“A great story of murder, romance, new beginnings, love, friendships and a wonderful cascade of mystery.”
--Amazon reviewer (regarding Murder in the Manor)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

CASHMERE A HAZEL STITCHWORTH COZY MYSTERY (BOOK #1) is the first book in a new cozy mystery series by Fiona Grace, #1 bestselling author of Murder in the Manor, which has over 10,000 five star reviews!

From the cozy confines of her knitting boutique to the competitive world of exotic yarns, Hazel Stitchworth knits her way to the European Fiber Festival to source rare alpaca wool. But when death strikes a beloved community member, she'll need all her pattern-solving skills to expose a murderer before the deadly design claims another victim…

With the help of a charming amateur historian, Hazel must out of the role of shop proprietor and into the shoes of an amateur sleuth in order to clear her name, reveal a killer, and unravel a tightly-knotted mystery.

Immerse yourself in the enchanting world of the Hazel Stitchworth series, a warm and inviting cozy mystery that seamlessly blends sharp wit and peculiar charm. With its blend of lighthearted comedy, heartfelt emotions, and unexpected plot turns, this series is sure to present an endearing new protagonist who will steal your heart and keep you engrossed until the early morning hours.

Future books in the series are also available!

"Very entertaining. I highly recommend this book to the permanent library of any reader that appreciates a very well written mystery, with some twists and an intelligent plot. You will not be disappointed. Excellent way to spend a cold weekend!"
--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (regarding Murder in the Manor)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“The story line wasn't just a who done it, but had a story about her life and romance, including village life. Very entertaining.”
--Amazon reviewer (regarding Murder in the Manor)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“It has endearing and sometimes quirky characters, a plot that keeps you reading and the right amount of romance. I can’t wait to start book two!”
--Amazon reviewer (regarding Murder in the Manor)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“What a great story of murder, romance, new beginnings, love, friendships and a wonderful cascade of mystery.”
--Amazon reviewer (regarding Murder in the Manor)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“This is a clean contemporary romance that you will find hard to put down!”
--Amazon reviewer (regarding Always, Forever)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“A bit of romance and a very determined woman! I have read many of Fiona Grace's novels and loved every one of them—this was no exception. I am looking forward to reading the rest of this new series!”
--Amazon reviewer (regarding Always, With You)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Genres: Mystery, Cozy, Cozy Mystery, Amateur Sleuth

155 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 20, 2025

About the author

Debut author Fiona Grace is author of the LACEY DOYLE COZY MYSTERY series which includes MURDER IN THE MANOR (Book #1), DEATH AND A DOG (Book #2) and CRIME IN THE CAFE (Book #3). Fiona would love to hear from you, so please visit www.fionagraceauthor.com to receive free ebooks, hear the latest news, and stay in touch.

Reviews

[Medori Marble]

This book was horrible. Maybe if you are a textile worker can you stand constant (and I mean every other sentence) textile puns.

[Holly Sweany · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, but it was just so sickly sweet and flowery. It needs a good session with an editor.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable.

My only gripe for this story is the author used far too many similes to get her point across. Otherwise it's a fun story with a murder involved. The characters are believable and interesting. The plot is easily followed and the premise is finding out who killed the main character's main alpaca supplier and why. The answers were difficult and sad when revealed. I do recommend this book.

[Chelsea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring and very confused with the storyline

[Valerie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this would be a fun quick read in between books. As a fellow fiber artist, I figured a book with yarn and knitting thrown in would be fun. I was wrong. There are so many knitting references and yarn talk that there wasn’t much room left for an actual story.

[Corinne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book in the first couple of chapters and was excited because I thought I found a new cozy mystery series. But there were just way too many puns and similes and other assorted wordplay related to yarn that it was too much. So much that a distracted from the mystery, from the characters, from the story of a hole. I would’ve cut out at least 70% of the puns and similes, and it would’ve still been too much.

[Alice · Rating 1 out of 5]

I generally like Fiona Grace's cozy mysteries. I don't think I can finish this one though. Horrible. Let me state up front that I am listening to the book. As an aside, the reader is a digital voice called Annie - and that is annoying in itself. I listen to many audio books, and the reader is a large part of the enjoyment of the book. At first, I was actually impressed that the voice was so good - didn't sound computer generated or stilted. And then... I began to notice instances where the stress was on the wrong word in the sentence, or on the wrong syllable of the word. Suffice to say, I will not select another computer voice book soon! The reader is too important to toss away.

So back to the annoying book. The heroine is a knitting shop owner; something I was looking forward to. The author has hammered us with knitting phrases and analogies in just about every other sentence. It's enough! Her mind was tangled like a skein of wool that had come undone...the clue was as obvious as seeing a purl stitch where a knit should be...she was seeing the problem as clearly as a complicated cable pattern... it was like a dropped stitch... And so it goes. Every other sentence.

Stick to Fiona Grace's other series; I've enjoyed her Tuscan Vineyard series, and the Villa in Sicily series. I doubt that I can finish this book.

[Cherie Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story had enough twists and turns to be interesting.

However, eading this tale would have been much more enjoyable if the author had not inserted so many knitting comments. Most of those interuptions to the flow were completely unnecessary. How many times was a challenge presented as just like dealing with a dropped stitch?

I am a knitter and felt it was annoying. What about nonknitters who may not be as familiar with the terms and expressions? Could all the superfluous mentions have added anything to their reading experiences?

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite fiber cozy by a long shot. The entire book is full of one cliche after another....too much! Also, other than the venue and the constant fiber phrases, the book never really shows what the knitter's convention is like, nor are actual stitches knit or specific patterns discussed. Poorly edited as well. I caught multiple times where things were changed from sentence to sentence. Example: one poached egg suddenly became scrambled eggs a moment later.

[Re Qu · Rating 1 out of 5]

Narration was awful. To many “like a dropped stitch in a cable pattern” or “ knitted together” in the book. This did not seem at all like a Fiona Grace mystery, but a child- like story that is pre written and the “author” fills in the blanks. In this case with knitting related terms in almost every sentence. The book did not hold my attention and I can’t recommend it.

[Gracie Hollingsworth · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the wordy book I’ve ever read. The writing was unbelievably horrible. There was a knitting pun in EVERY SENTENCE. Worst of all it wasn’t unique ones every line it was just switching between the same three puns. Would give 0 stars if I could.

[Diana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't finish this book. Think I made it through 6 chapters before I gave up.
Terrible narration (I'm an audiobook reader). This narration sounded like AI or something.
Hope this isn't a new trend in audiobooks! Ugh.

[Daria Blocker · Rating 3 out of 5]

The AI generated narrator often mispronounced words and missed tones crucial for understanding the gravity of the situation. Its story was ok but the over the top reference and comparisons to knitting and yarn made it hard to get into the meat of the mystery.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hmmm

I really like Grace and this is the first book I’ve read in the series. Well I enjoyed the story and I like knitting, I just felt like there were too many knitting references, constantly pulled into the storyline.

[Karen Mellis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Over the top

...with the knitting references and some sewing ones mixed in just to thoroughly drown the reader. Remove all that fluff, and you're left with mediocre, formulated mystery.

[Melinda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although this may be a good book, I could not finish it because the writing was too flowery for my taste. Also, even as a knitter, the puns were over the top.

[Amber Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was very good! Metaphors used kinda got old but loved the storyline!

[Jacqueline Calvert · Rating 1 out of 5]

Good grief, enough with the knitting similes and other play on words.

[Linda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sorry knitters and fiber enthusiasts: skip this one. Way too many knitting similes for even the most avid yarn lover.

[Melli · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this book up and after getting 36% I had to give it up yeah I love me a good knitting mystery but the way the author wrote the language it was way too annoying

[Jessica Mansfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book however the CONSTANT knitting puns and similes kind of ruined it for me, that was my one complaint there were just WAYYYYY too much knitting commentary

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

a nice cozy mystery nothing exciting but its about friendship developing

[Melissa Tischer · Rating 1 out of 5]

My goodness. The writing in this book is terrible. Every sentence has some kind of knitting pun. The amount of times she says “like a dropped stitch…”

[Andrea Latham]

Narrator: Annie (Synthesized Voice)
Released Date: February 3, 2025
Publisher: Fiona Grace