Member Reviews
This is a great book with a wonderful story and well developed characters. The story flowed very well and was very enjoyable. This book will keep you reading long into the night and you will not want to put this book down until you finish. This was such a great read and full of surprises. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader’s copy of this book. The free book held no determination on my personal review.
Loved it! Pleasant, enjoyable reading. Clever mystery. Interesting characters of all ages. Some red herrings and surprises, especially the ending. I look forward to reading the next one in this spin-off series.
I hadn't read any of the series this continues, but the characters are so well-developed, it took me barely any time to feel comfortable with them and like I was among friends.
I enjoyed how the knitters managed to get inside the head of the deceased, a woman they barely knew, just by talking together, sharing random experiences with her and asking questions in town. I liked how none of them was ever in any danger when investigating since that was a little break from the usual cozy formula.
There was a side story along with the murder that was very interesting and even more so, the deeper the mystery developed. A different formula is refreshing sometimes as no one told the friends to back off investigating or that they were in the way.
Hint: When you read, pay lots of attention to Chapter 1. It will all fall into place later--I wish I had been able to remember more about that chapter later on in the book. I did re-read the first chapter after I finished the book.
This was a very enjoyable murder mystery consisting of food, family and friendship. I read that the author has changed publishers which is why the new series title but it is most likely a continuation of her 11-book knitting series. Again, this was great as a stand-alone and for someone like me who had never read any of her books. But I definitely intend to. Sally Goldenbaum is a very gifted writer!
The Seaside Knitters find themselves in the midst of knitting mittens, hats and scarves for the winter, but take the time to help solve the murder of a local recluse. Although most people do not know Dolores Francesca Maria Cardozo, but have been impacted by her quiet donations to the community.
Sea Harbor, Massachusettts is the home of the Seaside Knitters Society. Society member Cass Halloren is at the laundromat one night when she notices children's clothing has been added to the dryer with her lobster nets. She waits until a boy comes to retrieve his clothing -- jeans and a girl's school uniform. He jumps on his bike and leaves quickly without the clothing, obviously afraid of her...or of something anyway. Cass and her knitting friends track down the kids and return the clothes. But something is wrong....the kids seem to be alone. Where is their mother? The mother turns up the next day, injured. Her head injuries explain why she was away from home all night....but it doesn't explain why her bicycle is discovered at the scene of a brutal crime. Someone bludgeoned a local elderly woman to death with her walking stick....and the children's mother must have been at the scene. The knitters band together to investigate and find out what happened to Dolores Cardozo.
This is the first book in the Seaside Knitters Society series.....but, this series is a continuation of the Seaside Knitters series that has 11 books. I have to admit that I would have enjoyed this book more if I had read the prior series. For the first couple of chapters I felt a bit lost until the story really kicked in and I wasn't trying to figure out who was who anymore. :) The book is well-written. The mystery is interesting, and the characters are quirky and engaging. A reader could jump in at this book and not be completely lost, but I think reading the prior series would make the characters a bit more understandable and familiar. There is a list of characters at the very beginning of the book that gives a bit of background.
The front cover is awesome! There is a knitting pattern for socks at the end of the book as well! :)
For more information on the author and her books, check out her website: http://www.sallygoldenbaum.com/
This was the first I've read in this series and now I will have to catch up on the previous ten mysteries. It's nice to find a series with such a large back list. At first I was not that interested, almost set it aside to revisit later but a friend mentioned how much she loved the series and after a bit of thought, I went back to it - glad I did. Also glad that the author included a complete cast of characters. I needed it. My feeling is that, if I had not been a first time reader of the series, the list would not have been so important. To be honest, I also have no desire to learn to knit. That leaves a very well written cozy mystery once I got further into it. Cass is front and center to begin this story when she catches a boy adding clothing to her dryer at the laundromat. She can't catch him and becomes concerned about his situation. One thing leads to another and the knitting group starts digging for information. It leads to his mother and then to the discovery of murdered elderly reclusive lady. I enjoyed the well developed characters and the mystery kept me guessing to the end. I will be going back to read the series in order and hope to be ready to read the next in the series.
Cases meets a young boy at the laundromat and worries that he is somehow alone. The knitters try to reunite he and his sister with their mother while trying to investigate the murder of a reclusive woman and to prevent another one. A fun new novel in the Seaside Knitters series.
Murder Wears Mittens by Sally Goldenbaum was a wonderful seaside mystery featuring a tight group of friends. I found the characters and the writing style to be excellent. I could almost picture myself in the story. My only problem is that the book was hard to get into since I had not read any of the previous books. It was difficult to keep all of the characters straight. I appreciated the list of characters at the beginning, but I still found it to be keep track of everyone. I definitely need to start at the beginning of the series to truly appreciate this book!
I'd read a few of Sally Goldenbaum's books awhile back, and was very interested in reading a new one. The Seaside Knitters Guild investigates the murder of a mysterious old woman, one they'd seen around but never really got to know. They're also intrigued by a newcomer to the area, Kayla, with two young children, who seems hesitant to get to know anyone. The characters in this series are interesting and the story lines are good. It was a bit too easy to figure out the culprit in this novel, however. It would have been nice to have a few more possibilities. It also seems to venture a bit further away from the knitting storyline, but perhaps that's normal for such a long-running series.
Murder Wears Mittens is a cute and entertaining cozy mystery that makes a great start to a new series. Cass Halloran is the main character in this new series. This first book finds Cass and her friends embroiled in solving a suspicious death. While trying to solve the murder, they discover some buried secrets.
I really liked the characters and storyline for this one!
Not a terrible book, but I had a hard time getting into it. To many characters.
Cass Halloran has returned to the laundromat to retrieve her lobster nets from the dryer when she finds someone has decided to dry some children’s close in her load. Before she knows it a young boy enters the laundry to retrieve the clothes and Cass becomes concerned with why he is alone. Cass can’t help but continue to worry and when she shares the encounter with the other Seaside Knitters the ladies decide to check on the boy.
When the group finds the boy along with his sister alone they do their best to reunite the children with their mother and think their job is done with the good deed. But then the body of Dolores Cardozo, a local recluse, is discovered and not only the mother of the children but even one of their own seem to have ties to Dolores so the group find themselves trying to uncover a murderer.
Opening up Murder Wears Mittens I became concerned when the first thing I see is a long list of characters that would be included letting the reader know who was who. I always cringe when I see something of this nature thinking the story should introduce me to whoever is in the book and get to know them so if this is needed then perhaps I won’t enjoy the book. However, in this case it seems that these characters have been around for quite a while for this author with eleven other books in the A Seaside Knitters Mystery series. I was under the impression when I picked this one up that it was a brand new series, the Seaside Knitters Society, but this wasn’t the case.
My rating on Murder Wears Mittens is basically due to the fact that jumping this far into an ongoing series leaves me feeling that I’ve missed a connection to the characters. The story was an alright cozy read it just didn’t grab me as I would have liked and I believe if maybe I’d been reading and getting to know these characters from the beginning I would have been more connected to them with so many involved in the book. I may even try to eventually go back and read about these ladies from the beginning as it seems like it would be a nice small town cozy if I felt I could get to know them better in earlier reads.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
I did not enjoy this book as much as the first one in the series. It seemed overly complicated. The list of characters is mind-boggling and mine mind just simply did not want to dedicate that much brainpower to remembering each and every one. It took quite a long time for the conversation to be centered at the knitting shop, which is something I had enjoyed in the first book. Quite a bit of the conversation took place around the dinner table of a knitters home. Once we returned to the knitting store, Then for me, the action began to knit together. And then I really enjoyed reading it. I mean, it is a knitting oriented mystery series, right?
The comp,icated plot was designed with other mysteries to be solved as well as subplots. In the end, it came together, but not always neatly.. For example, I found it odd that after so much verbiage about everything else, the actual murder scene itself was barely described. I had to write in my own mind what actually happened since the murderer's story was very incomplete. I do not feel that it was my job to do that.
I enjoyed the premise, the scenery in the bookstore and out on the beach but I felt it needed to have more focus, it seemed to be all over the place. Not to the point of unraveling, but close.
Murder Wears Mittens is the first book in the Seaside Knitters Society.
Sally Goldenbaum has a new publisher, Kensington, and the series name has been changed Seaside Knitters Society. All the characters that we learned to love in Seaside Knitters are back in the Seaside Knitters Society and didn’t drop a stitch in the changeover.
Cass is at the laundromat when she a young boy slips some clothes into one the dryers see is using, she starts to say something to him and he and his dog take off. By the time Cass gets to the door and looks down the street, he is riding his bike with the dog following. Cass then heads to meet with her fellow knitters and with the help of her aunt, Sister Mary Fiona to learn who the boy is and where he lives. When they go to return the clothes, it becomes apparent that the boy and his sister is home alone. The next morning. The next morning, a young lady is found wandering along the road, suffering from a head injury that has caused amnesia. It is learned that the woman, Kayla Stewart, is the mother of children the had found the night before. Soon the police are called to the rural home of Dolores Cardozo where they find her lifeless body in her living room. Kayla becomes a person of interest when the police find the families bicycle leaning against a tree near Cardozo’s home. Cardozo was one to keep to herself but was often she going on walks in the neighboring countryside.
Once Kayla regains her memory she not willing to tell much of her past history or why she was at Cardozo’s home.
The Seaside Knitters Society are busy making scarfs, mittens, and caps for those who need them for the upcoming winter. They, therefore, have ample time to discuss various approaches to find the killer. The home town is shocked when Cardozo’s will is read, which uncovers other avenues to pursue.
As with all of Goldbaum’s books, this was another well-plotted and entertainingly told story with mostly all the enjoyable characters from previous books.
A handy cast of character is at the front of the book and knitting pattern for simple socks is also included.
I;m so happy that a new home was found for this delightful series and am eagerly awaiting the next book.
This is book 1 in a spinoff series (Seaside Knitters Society) from Sally Goldenbaum's Seaside Knitters series that has at least 10 books. Izzy and the knitters are still part of this book but Cass takes the lead from the Lobster shop when she sees a young boy taking clothes from her dryer at the laundromat. When she and her friends discover their mother's disappearance is connected to the murder of a wealthy hermit who lives on the edge of town they jump into the mystery to help solve the crime. I love the New England lore and setting and especially the free knitting pattern available with each book in both series. A good cozy mystery and lots of great characters.
Murder Wears Mittens is the first book I’ve read written by Sally Goldenbaum. For some reason, I couldn’t get interested in this book and set it aside. I decided to give it another go and was glad I did. When I picked it back up, I found that I was enjoying it and anxious to find out who the culprit was. The storyline is well plotted and the characters well rounded. The Seaside Knitters are a group of thoughtful, kind, and compassionate women who are trying to solve a murder and figure out the mystery surrounding a mother and her young children. The final reveal was quite a surprise.
Cass Halloran stops to pick up her lobster nets from the dryer at the local laundromat and finds a pink sweater and school uniform mixed in with the nets. A young boy and his dog show up but he runs away when Cass approaches them. Cass and her knitting friends discover the boy’s identity, and when they return the clothes the next day, they find him and his younger sister alone and the boy will only say his mother is running errands. The group is concerned about the safety of the children, but Sister Fiona assures them she has everything under control. When Dolores Cardozo’s body is found, her death is ruled a homicide. The young, single mother of the two children is found near the murder site, with a head injury and temporary amnesia. Dolores was a longtime resident in the town, but no one seems to know much about her but Cass and her friends learn that she was very wealthy and left a large inheritance to the children’s mother.
I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.
I really enjoyed Sally Goldenbaum's new book, I have read other books as well, and truly have found a love of these cozy mysteries. Nell, Izzy, Cass and Birdie are not your typical knitters group of women. Their small cozy town of Sea Harbor seems to encounter some terrible murders, which brings out the amateur sleuth in all 4 of these friends, who range in age drastically! I love following along with their ideas, and wish I could attend their Friday Night Deck Dinners at Nell and Ben's..and I really wish I could knit! This was a really quick read, even if you think you know how this will end, you still want to enjoy reading The Who, what, where, how and when of the Seaside Knitters Society.
Contrary to the notice on the book, this is a continuation of a series, which I have been following and reading for few years. This is a great add-on. This story finds the small group involved in a small-town mystery, trying to determine who murdered a reclusive citizen of their small town, Seaside Harbor. Since the area is reminiscent of the Rockport, MA area, which I truly love and know well, I automatically find the series interesting and enjoyable. However, I am also taken in by the small group of citizens, who, it seems, sort of unofficially run this town wonder about that, but I have never really come to a full understanding of that aspect. In this case, the small group of ladies and their spouses/significant others realize that the murderer is among them, so need to figure things out quickly. Unraveling clue after clue became a fascinating read, as the group moved toward an interesting, surprising conclusion.
I found the characters interesting and well done. The only character I had difficulty grasping was Sister Fiona, since she is unlike any nun I have ever known or encountered, and I have known and encountered nuns in a myriad of situations, to include among their families. Her actions lent to the mystery, but I could not understand why she was so reluctant to spill what she really knew about Kayla Stewart, the young, single mother of two, who is central to the story. I found it interesting that Sister Fiona kept her counsel, and waited until the group figured it out for themselves to confirm/expand on things. In fact, I wondered, from the outset, why Kayla was so reluctant to divulge any information about her past. Yes, she worried about the effect this would have had on her children and her life in this small town, but, spilling her secrets with this group would cause problems and/or repercussions? Surely, this group was smart enough to use discretion. Besides, she did not have to spill the information to everyone, just those who could help tie things up and make Kayla’s life easier. This holding back gave the story a false sense of anticipation, as the story routinely let the reader know there were secrets she and the good sister were not spilling. I agree this is fiction and things happen differently in fiction, but this was a bit too much for me. As I said, I thoroughly enjoyed the setting, with which I am rather familiar and love. The story plot was interesting and things moved along smoothly and quickly, after you got into the story. However, I found it all a bit false, as I said. If you enjoyed the other books in this series or are looking for an easy read cozy, this is a good book. There is no overt sex, no objectionable language, no objectionable scenes, and just pure, clean interesting reading. Reading this addition to the series only made me want for another book—I can hardly wait for it to come out. I received this form NetGalley to read and review.
Loved the cover and description of this book. Was glad it loved up to my expectations. It was a very easy book to read. Different characters, each bringing something different to the book with them. It was easy to get lost in this book and that made it very enjoyable.
I've been a long time fan of this series and this particular book was excellent.
I enjoy the group of friends, each one adding their own levels of humor to the story.
Izzy is one of my favorite characters, but in this book, I really enjoyed the part Cass played.
A death shakes up their small seaside town and when the ladies begin asking questions, they seem to realize that a murderer is living among them.
No one truly knew the victim, she led a quiet and peaceful life. Once Izzy and friends started to put the pieces of the puzzle together, they found out just what type of person the victim was.
This story captured me from the beginning and it was easy to lose myself in this story.
I voluntarily read an ARC of this book provided by the publisher and NetGalley.