A Crafter Knits a Clue by Holly Quinn is apparently the first in a new cozy series and I thought that I would like it. However, I found it to be a struggle to read at times.

Samantha/Sammy Kane now owns the Community Craft Store in Heartsford, WI. It was her best friend's store when she died in an accident. It would have closed if Sammy hadn't taken it upon herself to take it over. It sounds like a lovely shop and Heartsford sounds like a perfectly lovely small town that would be fun to visit. However, I never felt a connection to Sammy throughout the story. She was often abrasive with other people especially when she was trying to get information about the recent murder. I also didn't understand her attitude toward Detective Liam Nash. She didn't know him but she decided he didn't know how to do a proper murder investigation.

Ms. Quinn's descriptive writing introduced me to Heartsford and the crafters and I enjoyed getting to know the town and the people who lived there. I liked Elle and Heidi very much and enjoyed the times that they were in the scenes. The plot was smoothly paced with just enough twists to keep me guessing for a short while; but I did come up with an accurate guess as to who the culprit might be. All in all, the conclusion was solid and satisfying. My rating is 3.5 stars.

The storyline is interesting, the setting is good. I just did not like the 2 main characters. Sammy and Liam just have an edge and way of talking that just did not sit well with me. Sammy seems fine until she opens her mouth. Truly don't see why she has a single friend let along a successful business. Liam is totally lacking in people skills. Yet these 2 main characters interface with people all day long. They need a new attitude.

*will post to my blog on 10/19/18. If you would like me to post it earlier, let me know and I will.

I fell in love with mysteries by accident.  A co-worker left a stack of paperbacks on my desk one morning and, among them, were two Alex Cross novels written by James Patterson.  I was hooked after that.  

Then I discovered cozies and a whole new love was born. 

There's something about the small-town life you see in a cozy mystery that draws me in.  It fascinates me to think that you can live in this close knit group of people, grow up together and know everything about everyone and still be so in the dark about someone.  That's probably the biggest draw for me when it comes to cozy mysteries.  

A Crafter Knits a Clue is the first in a new series, A Handcrafted Mystery, by Holly Quinn.  It starts as so many cozy series do, with the main character returning home after being away for some length of time.  Sadly, Sammy Kane has returned home after the death of her friend, Kate.  As an homage to her friend and a courtesty to the community, she takes over Kate's old craft store, putting her right the heart of everything happening in Heartsford, WI.

Sammy is a bit prickly and standoffish at the beginning of the novel, but I warmed up to her as I got to know her.  You learn about her history, her ex, and other things that make her actions seem more reasonable.  It doesn't always make her more likable, but you can at least see where she's coming from.  For me, that makes all the difference.  

New to the town is Detective Liam Nash, taking the place of their former, retired detective.  I liked Liam from the beginning.  He did have his own prickly moments that bordered on jerky, though.  Admittedly, he tended to only be a jerk when Sammy was pushing him or not giving him all the information he needed to do his job.  I was extremely happy when they found their common ground and stopped butting heads as much.  

This was a great mystery set in a cute little town and I'm anxious to see where the next in the series takes us.   My only complaint is that we didn't get a chance to know Ingrid at all before she was murdered.  It would have been good to have seen her alive a bit before she died considering all you learn about her past in the end.  Aside from that one small personal preference, I'm fully invested in Sammy, Liam, and the rest of the town now.

A Crafter Knits a Clue takes place in a craft store in Wisconsin. This is a well plotted story with interesting, likeable characters which can be read in one setting. A few too many characters at 22. Thank you to Net Galley for allowing me to read an advanced reader’s copy.

In general, I really enjoy reading cozy mysteries. I like the low-key vibe they give, I like the small towns they seem to usually take place in, I like the amateur sleuth who always finds herself stuck in the middle of a crime that really has nothing to do with her.

A Crafter Knits a Clue sounded like the kind of cozy mystery I would like: young woman returns to her small hometown to take over her best friend’s store after said best friend’s tragic death. It definitely had potential to be a multi-layered read with interesting, well-developed characters. It’s too bad it didn’t deliver.

The characters were pretty generic and often hard to read. The protagonist, Sammy, is meant to be a feisty type, but usually comes off abrasive and bratty. Ellie is like a caricature of an uptight housewife/mom. Heidi.... is a nurse. That’s basically all I can tell you about her character. There’s also the new detective in town who enters a flirtation with Sammy (despite Sammy being consistently rude to him) and a handful of townies. Not only do the characters fall flat, the dialogue is stiff, unbelievable, and always goes on a sentence or two longer than normal speech patterns.

It’s a huge problem that the characters aren’t more compelling because this novel certainly isn’t driven by its plot. For a mystery, it’s just boring. The Spring Fling, despite being about ten percent of the novel, took me like three days to get through because it was just repetitive. There’s a parade. There’s decor. Oh, no! Liam called it the Spring Thing!

I don’t know, for me, I just can’t recommend this book because I found that it was a real effort for me to continue reading it.

2.5/5

A light, interesting cozy mystery set around a community craft shop where locals bring their work to sell, and also hold craft classes. It's a small town, where everyone knows everyone's business. Which means they also know the murderer, as the police question people, secrets start coming to the fore.

Samantha “Sammy” Kane moves back to her hometown in Wisconsin to run a craft store. When she goes to help the owner of a yarn shop, Ingrid, Sammy finds her dead with a knitting needle lodged in her throat. After the police are called, Detective Liam Nash walks in, and throws Sammy off her game. She wants to help with the investigation, but Liam wants her safe. Sammy is attracted to him, but doesn’t know how to work with him. Can Sammy find the culprit before she’s next on the killer’s list?
This was a good start to a new cozy mystery series. The character of Sammy was a quirky and likeable protagonist who had all of the great qualities of an amateur sleuth. I loved how her close friends and relatives help her with the investigation, and have her back when she needs assistance. The plot was very twisty in nature, and kept me guessing until the end. The romantic tension between Sammy and Liam was a great reprieve from the murder investigation. The only drawback was the mention of Kate. Since she died prior to the story, I felt there should have been more on her character, and maybe a link between her death and the murder in the book. I was very confused as to why she was mentioned in the story. Maybe there will be more about her in the next installment? I can’t wait. I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily reviewing it.

First in a new series, so it has the typical new series growing pains. We get introduced to the characters and the main character and her friends work to solve the mystery. Unlike most cozy mysteries, the main character is not solving the mystery because a friend is the main suspect. Sammy and the detective butt heads of course.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review. - I will look into the next in the series to see if things work out

cozy-mystery, yarn-crafts, murder, romance

A pleasant little cozy set in my home state featuring my favorite yarn craft. The mystery is fairly well done and has some nice twists and red herrings along with decent suspense. The characters are interesting, but the protagonist seems stuck in high school mentality despite being in her early thirties. Maybe I just expected too much. The publisher's blurb gives hints and seems better than the usual, and there is no need for spoilers.
I requested and received a free review copy from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley.

fun little cozy. the main character was a little rude and pushy, a little difficult to like. Ending was a little abrupt with the murderer confessing all without any prompting. i was given a free book through Netgalley. My review is freely and honestly given

I loved this book! This had everything that a cozy mystery should have: Fun characters; interesting small-town setting; a mystery that was interesting and it easy to solve from the beginning. The pace of the book was great. I didn’t feel that the ending was rushed. I’ll be reading more of Holly Quinn’s books in the future.

This was a clean book with no foul language or embarrassing scenes.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Samantha (Sammy) Kane hails from a small Wisconsin town and has returned to small town life and runs a store that sells the work of local artists and crafters. She took over the store when her BFF died in an accident and has fully embraced the return to her hometown.

When a fellow business owner is murdered, Sammy not only finds the body, she inserts herself into the investigation...and drags her sister and cousin along for the ride a well.

While I really wanted to like this book, I just can’t manage to bring myself to it. Sammy lacks social skills that any successful small business owner should have, her love interest is the local detective (did the author take this from writing a cozy 101?), and I never had a moment where I was truly engrossed in the story. Nothing really made this stand out or made its own unique mark that makes me want to pick up the next one.

I liked this book, it's a nice and enjoyable cozy mystery.
I loved the small town settings, the cast of characters, both human and canine, and the plot.
The heroine is quite interesting, with a huge emotional baggage and the social skill of a piranha.
There's a lot of potential and it could turn into a really interesting series with some work on the heroine (a bit more likeable would help) and solution a bit less rushed and out of the blue.
Recommended!
Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for this ARC

I was delighted to see that there were sock patterns in the back of this book (and slightly dismayed to see that they required circular needles). I believe more books should include craft patterns in the back, and this fit with the overall theme of the book.

A Crafter Knits A Clue follows Sammy Kane who runs a craft store within a small town after the tragic death of her closest friend and soon finds herself embroiled in a murder investigation with her sister and cousin supporting her and butting heads with the new detective.

It was a cozy read that paced itself well, managing to combine small town curiousities and daily life with the search for a murderer. It was engaging and easy to follow through the twists and turns of the investigation with a host of well developed characters.

I enjoyed this book a lot which surprised me a bit as I don’t usually get into mystery books as I normally find them confusing, but this was perfect and I wish her all the best with her future works as I am looking forward to reading the next book as I am already hooked!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book for review.

Sammy has returned to her hometown to run a crafts store (following the death of her best friend, who was the original owner). When the owner of the store next door is murdered, Sammy is the one who finds the body and she determines that she will solve the murder.

Along with her sister and cousin (whose initials form the word SHE) Sammy interjects herself into the investigation. She all but accuses the lead detective of being incompetent (and she's attracted to him of course - and mind you, he isn't the least bit incompetent). Sammy confronts people as she investigates and kept important knowledge to herself.

There's a Nancy Drew feel to this book. Along with her cousin Heidi and sister Ellie, they bring back their little girl SHE club (pre-teen crime solvers) to solve this murder. Sammy didn't even like the victim; there is no tie to her or her shop, so other than being affronted that the murder happened in her town, there's no real reason for her to have gotten involved.

I wanted to like this book; it had a good premise. I found the MC Sammy to be irritating and in some cases behaving in a way that made no sense. While I don't mind a stretch, it was too much of a stretch for me.

This is a lovely small town mystery set in Heartsford. Sammy runs the community craft store and with her sister Ellie and cousin Heidi were known as the S.H.E. girls. They reform to starts investigating the local murder of Ingrid the owner of the Yarn Barn. Sammy believes new local Detective Liam Nash is not taking her findings seriously will this stop her taking the next step in their relationship. Someone believes Sammy knows and will stop at nothing to keep her quiet permanently. Running through this mystery is the closeness of a small town community. This is the first of Holly Quinn’s handcrafted series and l think the first of many. I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I like the craft mystery but couldn't get into this one. The plot felt very familiar and I didn't like the main character much. Again, I love craft mysteries and would look and a second in the series.

I enjoyed the small town feel of this book. I liked the authors descriptive writing style The plot was fast moving. The characters were engaging and the storyline kept my interest until the end. The twist and turns kept me turning the pages and the surprise ending makes me look forward to more books in this series.

"A Crafter Knits a Clue" brings "whodunit" to a small Wisconsin town that has a thriving arts/crafts community and the full spectrum of neighbors that bring character to a town. The "Community Craft" store owned by our chief amateur sleuth is a place that sounds like it would be a great addition to any town. When the owner of the local yarn shop is found dead (by knitting needle, of course), Sammy takes it upon herself to unravel the mystery.

The story was clever; however, the writing needs to be tightened up a bit. There were times when the descriptions of character appearance were much too detailed - the number of times that the main characters sneaker brand was mentioned in description had me wondering if the book was sponsored by the brand.

This book is the start of a cozy new mystery series. As a crafter who has spent quite a bit of time in a small Wisconsin town, I will definitely be keeping an eye out for future installments.

Free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is available on October 9th.

I love to knit, so I was excited to receive an advanced reader copy of this book. This cozy mystery did not disappoint. Set in a small town, the main character runs Community Craft, a store that sells handcrafted goods for community members. The owner of the local yarn store is murdered, and Sammantha is the one who finds her body. With the help of her close friends, Sammy is determined to find out who is responsible.