Samantha's friend Kate owned a shop called the Community Crafters, but she was killed in a freak accident and she had asked Samantha if she would take over the shop if anything should ever happen to her. So Sammy moved back home home and reopened the Craft store. Her neighbor had just opened the Yarn Barn and had called to ask someone to come over to help her hang something, and so Sammy said she would go and she found Ingrid dead. Sammy loves to investigate along with her sister and cousin. The new investigator not happy with them, but they investigate anyway. I am not going to spoil the story for you, but it is really a great book. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

A CRAFTER KNITS A CLUE was an enjoyable cozy mystery. My first by this author, but it won't be my last!

A Crafter Knits a Clue is the debut of the A Handcrafted Mystery series set in the small town of Heartsford, Wisconsin. Samantha Kane grew up in Heartsford, moved away after high school and is now back and running Community Craft. Community Craft was created by her best friend Kate Allen as a place for the local artists and crafters to display and sell their wares, and for the local crafting clubs to meet. When Kate died unexpectedly, Samantha had returned for her funeral and realizing that the store was going to close permanently quickly decided to move back home and take over the shop. With Kate's younger brother Carter working part time in the store, Sam feels a strong connection to her best friend.

Ingrid Wilson has recently arrived in town and opened the Yarn Barn next door. The newcomer is rubbing quite a few people the wrong way with her incessant demands for help. Ingrid calls to ask Carter to come over and fix something in the store; but tired of her calling Carter away from his responsibilities at the Community Craft, Sammy decides to go herself. Unfortunately for Sammy she finds Ingrid dead on the floor, stabbed by a knitting needle. Not long after Sammy discovers Ingrid's body, Carter's basketball coach who's also Ingrid's nephew, is the victim of a hit and run and she can't help but think that the two incidents are connected.

Sammy teams up with her sister, Ellie and cousin, Heidi and recreates their childhood detective agency SHE. With the help of Heidi's boyfriend Officer Tim and the newly hired Detective Liam Nash, Sammy and her friends track down a killer.

A fast moving plot with just the right touch of hometown feel, likable characters and a hint of romance. A surprising twist at the end will leave readers wanting more.

I received an advanced copy of A Crafter Knits a Clue from NetGalley via Crooked Lane Books. While not required to write a review I am more than happy to offer my honest opinion.

As a knitter and mystery lover, I was anxious to give this new Handcrafter Mystery series a try. Labeled as a “cozy” by the author, Crafter Knits a Clue fits that description perfectly. As such, the story is set in a small, close-knit but gossipy town in Wisconsin. The characters are typical of everyday friends and neighbors. The crime, in this case a murder, is solved through the twists and turns of the town grapevine as multiple suspects are considered. Of course, there is also the expected touch of romance. In typical cozy-fashion, neither the crime nor the romance is too detailed or explicit.

After returning to her hometown for the funeral of her best friend, Samantha Kane aka Sammy, takes over her friend’s craft shop in order to continue its role in the community. Following her discovery of the body of another shop owner, Sammy resurrects S.H.E., a childhood investigative “club,” which includes her sister and cousin. The club seemed very Nancy Drew-ish and a bit juvenile for these now adult women. It would be much more convincing if the club, as well as the member’s banter, matured with the characters. Even though the main characters are interesting, the emotional connection between Sammy and Detective Liam Nash never quite sparked for me.

This series has a lot of potential and I’m hoping these wrinkles get smoothed out in the next installment because it’s on my “to read” list.


FYI - I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Love crafting mysteries so was excited to see a new one. A bit slow in the beginning, could have used more background development on the character(s) but picked up speed and became enjoyable. Looking forward to see how the author develops this series.

The only downside to this book is it makes me want to knit/crochet which I have yet to accomplish!

I stuck with this one as long as I could, but at 86%, I just didn't want to spend any more time with these characters. While I'm mildly curious about the murderer's identity, I don't care enough to keep reading.

In particular, Sammy, the main character, feels childish and unlikeable to me. The way she talks to people often seems abrupt and nonsensical. When the new police detective in town tells her, "Let me be the judge of whether I should question Carter," she asks, "Do you take vitamin D supplements, Detective?" The detective seems as confused as I am by that question.

And the detective isn't much better. "Typically, after a victim is found, the perpetrator will follow those closest to the victim...to see how much information they know." Really. Really? Murderers follow up their crimes by following the victim's friends and loved ones around. Not buying it.

Sammy is pretty much always rude to her mom and sister. Maybe this was an attempt to portray real family dynamics, but it just made me exasperated with Sammy.

Finally, the writing feels labored in many spots. Sammy's dog, Bara, has "his furry hips moving at a comfortable pace." And when Sammy calls another investigation meeting with her sister and cousin, "Her lips curled upward in a smile."

Less than halfway through, I figured the murderer must be the person she runs into periodically but never really talks to. Only because the encounters feel out of place and unnecessary. When I gave up at 86%, I scrolled ahead to see if I was right. Nope. So that's good. Though I see when Sammy unmasks the killer, that person immediately gives a detailed confession speech, starting with, "I'm actually quite smart. I pulled that one out of the yarn with my bare hand and, knowing it was now covered in my DNA, I took it with me..." Then "Stunned by the sudden confession, [x] tried to retract [his/her] statement, but it was too late." Oi.

I wanted to like this. Small town. Craft store. Grieving over death of best friend. Cute dog. Lots of elements that I would generally connect with. But a childish main character and awkward writing made it difficult to get through.

Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for this honest review.

I enjoyed reading the book if you like suspense and the start of romance you will like the book, liked the people and the dog,

This story starts out bittersweet given the circumstances but it knit together into a great mystery! With funny, quirky, characters, a beautiful setting, and a well written plot, this is a story worth sinking your teeth into.

This is the perfect mystery for all cozy lovers! It has a sweet set of characters who become real to their readers and a fun and fulfilling plot! I very much recommend this great debut!

I enjoyed this cozy mystery. I loved the setting and the characters. The story was fast paced and easily read. I will definitely read more by this author in the future.

As a debut novel, it isn't bad. There was enough misdirection to keep the mystery from being solved too quickly and the story did keep moving. The writing style is good and flowed pretty well. The descriptions were nice and didn't bog down in detail, all of which I like in a mystery. Too much detail and you lose the clues.

What I didn't like about the novel was the town and it's people. Everyone was too sweet and too cute. Even when a horrific murder happens, everyone just goes on with their life - no one was scared (at least they didn't show it) and no one really seemed to care. Also, Sammy's constant references to Kate, the dead friend, got a bit annoying.

Sammy's disregard for her own safety was silly even if it did move the story along. Plus, the romance between Sammy and the cop didn't ring true. In the beginning it seemed promising but the silly fights between them didn't do anything to help readers acknowledge the attraction.

Quinn is a writer to watch, I think her books will be successful, but her characters need more than one dimension or one defining characteristic.

Loved this book. Characters were so real and the story kept me coming back for more. If you like cozy mysteries, you will love this!

Ok, first off, I love the sound & idea of this shop. Community Craft is and would be a perfect store to put into any city or town. That said I shall move one with the book review.

This book was basically chosen cause it dealt with crafting and I was trying to get out of a historical fiction groove. It worked. Anyway, this book starts off a little slow. I think the author could have done a better job with the back story of Kate but that is my opinion.

The story line is engaging and though I agree Sammy oversteps her bounds when it comes to her investigation into the murder I understand why she is doing it. Though I have to admit the relationship building between Sammy & Detective Liam Nash was not surprising though I am curious to see how the author grows or destroys it in the future books.

This book is what I call a classic chick book. I mean no insult or demeaning it in any way. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and plan on looking into other books by this author and getting the next ones in this series.

Sammy arrived three years ago to go to her best friends funeral, whilst there she discovered that the Community Craft shop Kate had set up would close unless someone takes it over, Sammy didn't think twice and bought a house, brought her Golden Retriever back to Heartsford and takes up the shop where Kate left off and her life where SHE left off. Recently Ingrid opened the Yarn Barn (much to the delight of the knitting group that meets and sells their wares through the Craft shop) but she does seem to think as though the world revolves around her and expects everyone to drop what they are doing whenever she needs help.  One day Sammy's assistant (also Kate's and by extension Sammy's much younger brother) Carter gets a call to go help Ingrid, Sammy though needs him to finish the display for the Spring Fling coming up so she agrees to go across instead, but checks a few emails and pays a few bills first (really just to display to Ingrid that people have live thank you very much!), when she gets to the Yarn Barn though Ingrid doesn't seem to be around ... or at least that is what Sammy things until she stumbles across Ingrid's dead body!

A few days later Coach (everyone calls the basketball coach just Coach) is run over and Sammy thinks the two are connected - now she needs to convince the infuriating (and attractive) new detective that he is looking in the wrong place and so Sammy with her sister Ellie and their cousin Heidi re-ignite their childhood detecting club to find out what is going in in Heartsford and to safe friends starting to distrust each other (oh and make sure the Spring Fling goes off without a hitch!)

A Crafter Knits a Clue is the first in Holly Quinn's A Handcrafted Mystery series. It's set in the small town of Heartsford, Wisconsin, and the main character, Samantha "Sammy" Kane, is the owner of Community Craft, which sells items handmade by members of the community. Sammy took over the store upon the death of her friend Kate, who'd started the business. When the book opens, Sammy is busy getting ready for the town's upcoming Spring Fling. Early in the story, Sammy finds the owner of the Yarn Barn dead in her store, killed with a knitting needle.

We meet Sammy's potential love interest in Detective Liam Nash, new to town and not very familiar with small-town life and making Sammy's blood boil for one reason or another every time she turns around. Sammy and her sister and cousin reactivate their childhood investigative crew, named S.H.E. for their initials, to try to solve the crime. Sammy's curiosity gets her into some tight situations, and sometimes I wanted to smack her for not having a lick of sense in how she proceeds because of that curiosity.

I enjoyed the book well enough. There were some grammatical and spelling errors that distracted from my reading, and as others have said, it didn't feel like the first in a series. It seemed to lack some set-up, and it seemed to assume the reader knew more about something than the reader actually knew. But I liked it. I loved the descriptions of small-town life and found them to be pretty accurate to what I knew and grew up with. I'll probably read more in the series.

This was a good read. Would appeal to crafters who like a cosy mystery. I included some descriptions that weren't necessary to the story and made it a bit longer than it needed to be. I will look for her next book in this series.

Fun small town mystery. Sammy has returned to town to keep her dear friend Kate's craft collective open as a hub for the tightly knit community. A murder brings together her childhood sleuthing circle to find the culprit. As things get dangerous Sammy conflicts more and more with the attractive new detective in town.

This was the first book in the series, but it read like the second or third. The murder took place on page two or three, so there was no character set up or town setup. I wanted to like the book because it sounded like such a good plot, but I can't say I cared for the characters at all. The main character Sammy seemed a little juvenile at times, as did her two friends. There really wasn't consistency in the personalities at all. I also isn't get why the detective, Liam Nash, was referred to as Liam Nash the entire book. I will not be reading more.

I enjoyed this cosy murder mystery. It was fast paced and I enjoyed the strong female leads.

The plot line was slightly unbelievable but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. The one thing that it let it down was the poor sentence structure and punctuation errors which detracted from the story. But overall I enjoyed it.

Thank you to netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

A new crafting mystery, A good start to a new series .
Sammy comes back home for her best friend funeral Kate. Kate's community craft store is about to close and Sammy has made a decision to try and keep it from closing by running it herself.
I would like to have some more information and descriptions about the crafts which are in the store for sale .
I did find Sammy a bit inpatient with the new detective Nash who was trying to solve the case if things didn't go her way .
But saying all that it was a good cozy read and will look forward to the next instalment.