The Vampire Knitting Club

Vampire Knitting Club #1

by Nancy Warren, Sarah Zimmerman (Narrator)

Vampires who knit
A troublemaking witch
Who killed Granny — and is she really dead?

At a crossroads between a cringe-worthy past (Todd the Toad) and an uncertain future (she's not exactly homeless, but it's close), Lucy Swift travels to Oxford to visit her grandmother. With Gran's undying love to count on and Cardinal Woolsey's, Gran's knitting shop, to keep her busy, Lucy can catch her breath and figure out what she's going to do.

Except it turns out that Gran is the undying. Or at least, the undead. But there's a death certificate. And a will, leaving the knitting shop to Lucy. And a lot of people going in and out who never use the door—including Gran, who is just as loving as ever, and prone to knitting sweaters at warp speed, late at night. What exactly is going on?

When Lucy discovers that Gran did not die peacefully in her sleep, but was murdered, she has to bring the killer to justice without tipping off the law that there's no body in the grave. Between a hot 600-year-old vampire and a dishy detective inspector, both of whom always seem to be there for her, Lucy finds her life getting more complicated than a triple cable cardigan.
The only one who seems to know what's going on is her cat ... or is it ... her familiar?

Genres: Mystery, Fantasy, Cozy Mystery, Paranormal, Vampires, Audiobook, Urban Fantasy

6 pages, Audiobook

First published September 3, 2018

About the author

Nancy Warren is the USA Today bestselling author of more than 100 novels.

She’s known for writing funny, sexy and suspenseful tales. She’s an avid hiker, animal lover, wine drinker and chocolate fiend. Favorite moments in her career include being featured on the front page of the New York Times, being the answer to a crossword puzzle clue in Canada’s National Post newspaper and being a finalist three times in the Rita awards. She has won the Reviewer’s Choice Award from Romantic Times magazine.

Get a free short story when you sign up for Nancy's newsletter at www.NancyWarrenAuthor.com or join Nancy in her private Facebook group to talk about books, knitting, pets & life.
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Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

OMG. When the first page of this book features the following line, you know things will only get better. "Todd, had stuck his salami in someone else's sandwich". I am very pleased to report that I was right. This book has everything that you could want in a cozy mystery...engaging characters, a fun storyline, and humor.

Lucy is so sweet. Instantly, I connected with her. In the wake of the death of her grandmother and an array of quirky characters, I thought she remained pretty level headed. Then, there is the man of mystery...Rafe. He really is a man of mystery and talents. This includes "knitting". Yes, he can knit. A skill that Lucy has yet to master herself.

I had such a fun time reading this book. If you aren't having fun reading a book, than, walk way from it. A nice start to this series. Which, I can't wait to read the next books in this series and find out what new mischief Lucy and Rafe find themselves in. The Vampire Knitting Club will have you in "stitches" from all the laughter you will have from reading this book!

[Regina the Constant Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ -Audiobook 🎧

I’m not sure what possessed me to start another series when I’m trying to finish the ones I’m already working on, but I’m glad I did. This was SO good, I stayed up all night to finish it.

Lucy Swift comes to England for an extended visit with her grandma and to try and decide what she wants to do with the rest of her life. She gets a shock when she arrives…grandma is dead, sort of, and has left Lucy her knitting shop and wants her to run it. Lucy decides she’s going to find out what really happened to her grandma and while doing so discovers things about herself she never knew.

Highly Recommended If You Love:
Cozy Mysteries
Supernatural Characters
England
Knitting

[Madison Warner Fairbanks · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Vampire Knitting Club by Nancy Warren

First book in the Vampire Knitting Club series.
Paranormal cozy mystery.

Cute mystery where the granddaughter solves her newly turned vampire grandmother’s murder.
Imagine how fast you could knit with vampire powers. A sweater overnight. By hand!
Fun and imaginative. I look forward to reading more of this series.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I'm on the hunt for more cozy mysteries to love, but I think my first one was just SO GOOD that the others I've been trying have been fine. This was cute, with the heroine inheriting her grandmother's knitting shop after visiting and finding she had passed. She's trying to uncover the truth of her grandmother's death and discovers some vampires in the basement of the shop. The mystery kind of fell to the background of this plot, though, and I wasn't really invested in finding out who killed her grandmother or why. The reveal was fine, but nothing too exciting. I really just like this one for the cozy knitting shop vibes and want to move to England to run my own knitting shop now. I'm not sure if I'll continue the series or just try out some other cozy authors for now!

[Sina & Ilona Glimmerfee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ich habe mich in dieser Geschichte sehr wohlgefühlt. Sie war so warmherzig wie ein Kuscheldecke. Schöne Ideen, sympathische Charaktere und der Charme von Oxford.
Ich habe gleich mit den zweiten Band angefangen. (Sina)
-----------------
Auf Empfehlung von Sina habe ich das Buch auch gelesen und schließe mich Sinas Meinung an :) (Ilona)

[Wanda Pedersen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 9 of the 2024 Read Your Hoard Challenge

I forget how I originally became attracted to this book, but I purchased it in 2020, so it has been languishing on my shelves for 4 years. Although I'm not sorry that I read it (and spent money on it), I don't believe that I'll be reading further in the series.

This is a not-very-mysterious cozy with a bit of witchcraft and some vampires thrown in. Lucy Swift returns to her grandmother's wool shop, only to find that her gran is dead and Lucy has inherited said shop. And that the shop has been a meeting place for a vampire knitting circle. Now, Lucy can't knit to save her soul, but she decides to re-open the store while she figures out what happened. Of course Gran has joined the ranks of the undead, just to complicate matters. To cap things off, Lucy seems to be exhibiting some witchy powers, including a black kitten familiar.

Some conflict is needed, so we are given a missing grimoire, shifty employees, several break-ins, a persistent estate agent, and two handsome men: Rafe, a vampire, and Ian, a detective (very much alive). To this point, these two guys have just been attentive to Lucy, but there's potential for a full fledged love triangle in future books. Okay, tell a lie, the second book is available as an audiobook through Libby and I could probably withstand one more installment….

Just a note on the publishing—a Google search revealed that they deal with just three authors. It seems to be a case of authors banding together to bring their books to market. Kind of a step above basic self-publishing. I have to say that the cover art is lovely and very appealing.

[Angela (Angel's Book Nook) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Vampire Knitting Club is book one in the Vampire Knitting Club series by Nancy Warren. This is a a nice introduction to the series and a very cute cozy mystery.

Their is no shortage of ingesting and fun things in this cozy mystery. It’s light, easy, and a fun little read. We are treated to a murder mystery, magic, vampires who knit, & more.

Lucy travels to Oxford to visit her grandma only to find out she is dead. She soon has a mysterious stranger stop by, weird things happening around her, and a kitten attaching itself to her.

Lucy was a good character. I liked her. Ya, she’s young and uncertain about her future, but we all where at one time in our life. She takes things in stride and does her best.

I liked all the people that surround her in this new life. The vampires are just too much fun. I laughed at them; because they all knit. Vampires who have a knitting club. Just to much fun! I look forward to getting to know more about them and seeing if maybe a little romance happens. Their are possibilities.

I had fun with the mystery and watching Lucy and the vampires piece it together. We find out that Lucy is a late bloomer as a witch and it was fun to see her take it all in. Theres a little drama and danger plus some magic.

The Vampire Knitting Club was a delightful read and I’m going to be reading on. We get interesting characters, great surprises and twists, and a fun cozy mystery.

Rated: 4 Stars

[Bea · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Cute but not sickly sweet. A good mystery though it was mostly obvious. It was an interesting new take on vampires with enjoyable characters. I've already grabbed the second book.

[Lena · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Sherlock Holmes had his Baker Street irregulars, and I had my Harrington Street immortals.”

After hundreds of years, and with heightened speed and dexterity, imagine what a badass knitter you would be!!!

This book was exactly as advertised; a cozy murder mystery with vampires, witches, and knitting, knitting, knitting. It was all of my interests combined and I was thoroughly entertained.

I would gush more but I’ve downloaded book two. Just remember...

[Phrynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fifteen book series and I just stumbled across book one. It was unexpectedly really good.

Lucy Swift arrives home from overseas to find her grandmother has died and she has inherited a knitting shop in Oxford, cleverly named the Cardinal Woolsey. To her complete shock and amazement granny pops up again, not alive but undead, and we discover a nest of vampires living under the shop.

It is really good fun with loads of intriguing characters, two dishy men for Lucy, a murder to be solved and a wonderful black cat. A familiar in fact. Yes there are witches in the book too.

Oh well - another series for me to read. What a blow.

[Faerie]

Looking for an end to this book slump! Hopefully this quirky read helps! 🤞

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

The blurb of the book tells us that Lucy’s grandmother has been murdered, and is a vampire. All well and good except… it takes us until two fifths into the book for Lucy to learn this. I appreciate that a book needs a hook but giving the game away and the protagonist not knowing for so long kind of felt a bit rubbish.

The characterisation of, well, anyone was on the poor side. At one point Lucy says “trust me to find the only vampire knitting club in the world”. But prior to this we’ve never been given any reason that she has such extraordinarily bad (?) luck. Her boyfriend cheated and she hates her job so she left, spent a month working with her archaeologist parents before deciding to spend a couple of months in Oxford – my heart bleeds.

Lucy seems to only be able to notice people and describe them via skin tone “he had the kind of skin that would freckle”, “the tan showed that he spent his winters in spain”. How does it show that? Spain is not much sunnier than the UK in the winter, that means absolutely nothing. With regards to Lucy, everyone calls her beautiful but we never have a description as to why. Of course, everyone’s value of beautiful is different, but it does seem awfully handy to be able to say “oh she’s pretty, who knows why”.

Lucy doesn’t have much of a personality, she fancies most good looking men that are around her, and she’s “beautiful”, so far so “insert self here”. Until we come to something rather egregious. Lucy didn’t realise she was a witch because she’s “a late bloomer”. I will include the entire passage so I can point out its mistakes:

[from her grandmother]:

““You’re a late bloomer. Always have been.”

She was right. I was the last one in my class who could read. I couldn’t tell time until I was eight. I still had trouble with left and right, and when all the other girls in high school were shopping at Victoria’s Secret, I was still in a training bra.”

She has taken three things that are indicative of actual issues people face, usually people with dyslexia and/or dyspraxia, lumped them together with having small boobs and called it a reason to not realise an important part of your personhood. We actually later found out that her mother didn’t hold with witchcraft much and so probably suppressed it when she could. Which is a far better, less ableist, reason. I mean, it worked on Harry Potter.

Moving on from that hot mess, we have men who seem to be worldly by quoting well known plays or misrepresenting the stages of grief. But it’s OK because they’re “creepy” or “disturbingly attractive”, girl, get a new “type”.

Poor research on the part of the author led to this: “I don’t know if it was the jet lag or the grief”. Friends, it’s one hour time difference from Egypt to Britain, it wasn’t jet lag. And on the part of Lucy: “I don’t know anything about cats”. Google exists. These and at least half a dozen other items just feel like poor storytelling, not character traits.

I will confess to have gotten the murderer wrong so points for that, though the reasoning was the same. The murderer was, however, like many murderers doing it for stupid reasons that, when you get down to it, almost certainly wind them up in jail when they are inevitably caught which is the literal opposite of their plan.

Second to last observation, this was a clever sentence: “Sherlock Holmes had his Baker Street irregulars, and I had my Harrington Street immortals.” But it’s the kind of sentence that you feel had a book built around it because the author thought themselves clever. And it is pretty clever, but it deserved a better book than this.

My last observation comes in two parts. In the final few paragraphs, Lucy is sitting down with her family, witches and vampires and observes to herself: “It felt both cozy, mysterious, and mystical sitting in that circle”. One, that is a list of 3 things, put your ‘both’ away. Two, “cozy” “mysterious” – do you think I forgot which book section I got this from? If you have to tell people your book is cozy and mysterious you must be doubtful that you got the point across. While it was far from being a good book it did definitely hit both those points (I did guess the wrong murderer, after all), but if the author is unsure I don’t hold much hope for future stories…

[Avada Kaddavra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gut eingesprochenes Hörbuch und niedliche, unterhaltsame Story ohne viel Tiefgang. Ich mochte es, nur halt nicht unbedingt Rafe😅 der Charmebolzen...
Es ist nicht so cosy wie erwartet, aber kann ja noch kommen😃😃 ich frag mich was es mit dem Immobilienmakler noch auf sich hat🤓

[Melike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun book, I took turns listening to it and reading it on my kindle. The narrator was excellent and made it enjoyable to listen to it.

[Amber · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was pretty inoffensive, but I kind of had a small stroke at the end when the protagonist, Lucy, decided to invite her (dark magic) cousin, who stepped over her unconscious body to get at her family inheritance, into her life. I get that Lucy is supposed to be a good person so she's trying to heal old wounds or whatever but yikes. The author did a lot to let you know this person shouldn't be trusted, so it makes Lucy seem like an idiot.

Anyway, this is my first "cozy" and it's strange to read a book about vampires, murder and sweaters and have it not be super campy. I went into it knowing it probably wasn't going to be silly, but I still wanted it to be silly. It doesn't take itself super seriously, but it still took itself a little too seriously considering knitting vampires, you know what I mean? The whole time my brain was like, "Jokes now, pls? Self-aware humor maybe?" and the book was like, "No man, purring kittens and sweet old ladies." It's not even hilariously bad! It's just cute.

I think the biggest thing that stops me from giving this 3 stars is that I feel like I just read a 1/4th of a book. There's so much story that doesn't get told. And like the whole "will she sell, wont she sell" thing drags on for a really long time and you know she's not going to do it. Cut all that and give me a meatier story.

But you know, if you're just here for purring kittens and sweet old ladies then hey. This book isn't terrible.

[Stellar Nebula · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Вампирский Клуб Вязания" рассказывает о Люси Свифт, которая наследует бабушкин магазин вязания в Оксфорде, и обнаруживает, что ее бабушка была убита. Люси теперь должна раскрыть убийство своей бабушки, а также справиться с тем фактом, что она теперь является владелицей магазина вязания, полного вампиров.

Это первая книга в цикле, который на данный момент насчитывает аж 15 томов и, вроде как, Нэнси Уоррен прикрывать лавочку пока не собирается. Как книга, знакомящая читателя с лором, "Вампирский Клуб Вязания" работает вполне неплохо: тут представлено достаточно крюков и загадок, которые авторка может потенциально вывести на передний план в следующих частях. Почему мама Люси не признает свою сущность ведьмы? Почему бабушка поссорилась с сестрой? Я уже не говорю о предысториях вампиров-вязальщиков. Пространства для фантазии море, я хочу сказать.

Но при прочтении у меня было четкое ощущение, что Уоррен хотелось поскорее закончить первую книгу и перейти к следующим. Поэтому она мигом всех со всеми перезнакомила и вылила ведро инфодампа, чтобы дальше с этим не возиться. Мне не совсем нравится такой подход. То что книга открывает цикл не дает права халтурить. "Гарри Поттер и Философский Камень", например, тоже открывает серию и обладает всеми атрибутами первого тома. Нас знакомят с главным героем, главным злодеем и знакомят с миром магии, оставляя некоторые вещи на потом. Однако при всем этом "Гарри Поттер и Философский Камень" это законченная история, со своими (продуманными!) началом, серединой и концом. И в этом состоит главная проблема "Вампирского Клуба Вязания": как затравка она хороша, а вот как отдельная история - нет. Если совсем без подробностей, то детективная линия тут абсолютно тухлая с развязкой в стиле "убийца - садовник". Помимо этого, Нэнси Уоррен старается попридержать интригу для следующих книг, поэтому 100500 раз пережевывает одну и ту же информацию. Это не хило так утомляет, учитывая что книга довольно короткая.

Определенный интерес к дальнейшим событиям у меня есть, но пока не могу сказать буду ли продолжать знакомство с этой серией.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucy Swift inherits her Grandmother's knit shop after finding out she has passed away. However, Lucy soon learns that her Gran was a mystery of her own and someone was behind her death. Throw in a mysterious Vampire and and Lucy's world is becoming a lot more interesting.

This was an unexpected treat. The story is quickly paced and full of interesting characters. I liked the concept of this story, I thought it was a great way to start a new series and as a crafter this was a story I could totally absorb myself into.

[Zero · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lucy arrives at her grandmother's for a visit, only to discover that her grandmother passed away a few weeks before. Her grandmother left everything to Lucy, including her knitting shop, and requested that Lucy stay on to run it. As she tries to find her footing in her new life, she discovers that many things aren't as they appear.

This was my first paranormal cozy mystery book and it was pretty good. The mystery wasn't very surprising, and Lucy was sometimes too trusting and sometimes too suspicious. But this book does a good job of setting up the series and I'm open to reading more.

[Narilka · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Vampire Knitting Club is exactly what you expect from the title: a paranormal cozy mystery featuring vampires, a witch and a lot of knitting. Lucy Swift is on her way to visit her grandmother in Oxford. Gran owns a knitting shop, the Cardinal Woolsey, and has a little apartment above the store where Lucy hopes to stay for a few days. Finding the store unexpectedly closed, Lucy heads to a neighboring shop where she finds out that her Gran is... dead? How is that possible? And why has she seen someone who looks a lot like her Gran walking outside the shop?

This is a fluffy and fun start to a paranormal cozy mystery series. The story pretty straight forward and goes where you expect based on the title. Lucy is likeable enough. Besides, who wouldn't want an adorable magical kitten familiar as their familiar? There is also knitting references that I did not get at all due to me not being a knitter. That aside, it made for a light and easy afternoon read. I'll likely give the second book a try before making a decision around finishing the whole series.

[Aly is so frigging bored · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is my first cozy mystery ever! And I loved it! Lucy is funny and likable and I couldn't help but love how she handled her situation. Also, I loved the details Ms Warren included about Oxford, now I can't wait to visit it. I can't wait to see how she's learning magic and adapting to being a business owner.

[Sabine · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stitchy witchy stars.
I am not big on paranormal stories but this one was a lot of fun. I loved the knitting vampires and there was a lot going on to keep me listening. I will definitely listen to / read more in this series.

[Stitching Ghost · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aside from a few minor details that sort of annoyed me it was a pretty enjoyable read. I liked the knitting aspect which included lines such as "Knitting is a diabolical exercise in frustration" as a cross stitcher who has raised a knitter/crocheter I related hard to Lucy's lack of knitting skills.

[Heather Gilbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, so to be up-front, I really dislike all things witchy, so I was shocked to find myself so engrossed in this mystery that I couldn't put it down. I got hooked on the beautiful Oxford setting, as well as the unique concept for a cozy mystery series. The amateur sleuth was likeable, and the witchy/paranormal aspects weren't played up too much. The ending wasn't a huge twist, which is usually what I'm looking for in a mystery, but something about the quaintness of the setting and the quirkiness of the characters made me want to read more in the series. And these series covers are just gorgeous! This book kind of took me by surprise in a good way. Solid, interesting writing and plotting that moved along. I'll be reading more.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A woman inherits a knitting shop after the death of her grandmother.
She enlists the help of the knitting vampires who live in the basement to solve her grandmother's murder.

A lot of fun. Cute, quirky, entertaining.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so much fun to read. It was perfectly on the right side of pulpy, super funny at times, engaging, and incredibly easy to binge read.

This is the closest I've ever come to wanting to knit in my life.

[Nomnivor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Der Titel verrät ungefähr die Hälfte des Buchs, aber ich bin darüber nicht wütend.

Okay, neue Serie für Spellbound-Fans just dropped.

[Estíbaliz Montero Iniesta · Rating 3 out of 5]

3'5⭐
Lo de los vampiros que hacen croché me parece una fantasía, sinceramente, así como la ambientación en Oxford.

Quizás esperaba enamorarme un pelín más de los personajes, pero de todos modos me han caído muy bien y me parece que son lo bastante particulares como para darnos unas dinámicas interesantes, ya no solo en este libro, sino también en los siguientes.

Lucy es una mujer joven a la que es fácil entender como personaje. Está un poco perdida en la vida, tanto a nivel profesional como personal, y acude a Oxford buscando el consuelo de su abuela, que descubre que acaba de fallecer. Al menos, este marco proporciona a la protagonista un motivo muy sólido (bastante más que en muchas otras series de cozy mystery) para adentrarse en la investigación por su cuenta.
Rafe es un personaje misterioso del que sin duda estoy deseando descubrir más.

Me ha gustado cómo se ha entremezclado el misterio con la vida de Lucy y cómo vamos conociendo Oxford y la tienda de punto de su abuela de su mano. El libro cuenta con varias subtramas de misterio que ayudan a hacer avanzar la historia y que mantienen al lector a la espera de saber si se entrelazan o no y cómo lo harán.

La resolución me ha parecido bien llevada y han conseguido sorprenderme con ciertos aspectos que no me esperaba, pero, en conjunto, he disfrutado mucho de este cozy paranormal y tengo ganas de seguir.

[Jenia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars!
I think I'm just not really into cozy mysteries in general, but this was a very cute book. It did take a little while to get going, but it was very sweet after it did.

.

SPOILER for first third of book:

I also just don't think the first part works tbh. We readers *know* (because this is the genre) that the grandma is a vampire, not dead. But the MC doesn't. So she's sort of mourning, but she's still kinda looking at cute guys and being all light-hearted and joking because hey that's the genre. Idk, maybe I'm just sensitive because when my own grandma, who lived in another country, passed suddenly 2 years ago, it was a big mess for our family emotionally and logistically. But I really wish we got the grandma-isn't-dead reveal far quicker, cuz I found the mood for the beginning of the book kinda off-putting.

[Blodeuedd Finland · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was short and amusing. Plus is has vampires knitting, that was strange and good.

Lucy inherits a knitting store from her gran, and Lucy can't even knit! She also starts wondering if her gran was murdered...

Which ok the blurb does spoil it and then there is the whole title, so yes her gran was murdered and she is now a vampire. And vampires in Oxford seems to enjoy knitting.

Something strange is happening. Who kille her gran. Is there something else going on? Ok, I can't say more, but things are going on. And since it is a short book the mystery is solved quickly...but i was still wrong!

There is a cat, there is a hot vamp, an interesting cop, yes things might turn interesting in this town after all for Lucy.

Fun story.

narrator
She did a great job with all the characters. I liked her Lucy voice, it felt very, well that I would have liked Lucy in rl too

[Amber J (Thereadingwitch) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm giving this a 3.5 stars. While it wasn't bad, and I loved all the talked of handmade items. I found the story to be kind of blah. However I'm holding out hope that it being a series the story will get better. The character development left a lot to be desired in my opinion. I think if given the chance to know them better than the story would have been so much better. I do have plans to finish the series at a later date.