Thank you for the advanced readers copy Netgalley, but this one ultimately was not a book worth finishing for me.

I can not get invested in a book where it is unclear to me if the author supports or would have supported the South in the Civil War.

Lia is resuming life after becoming a widow. She runs the local craft fair on Saturdays, selling knitted goods she and her knitter friends make. Her daughter lives nearby and is the marketing director of the Weber Alpaca Farm. Nothing is so soft to knit as alpaca wool.

The Civil War reenactors are on hand to recreate a battle scene. Jack, who ran the organization for years, is a stickler for authentic details. Now, Arden and his son-in-law, Lucas, have barged in, and think the battles are more for entertainment rather than a chance to share history. There’s animosity between the three men, but it’s Lucas who tries to rub it in every chance he gets.

When the smoke clears, one of the ‘dead’ soldiers is really dead. In the confusion of the battle, who had the opportunity and a motive? The means were at hand in the form of a bayonet on the end of a rifle, supposedly being guarded inside a tent.

The police always look for a killer as someone close to the victim. In this case, there’s no clear path to follow.

A main suspect is a friend of Lia’s, so she’s asking a few questions in hopes of getting him out of the mess he’s in. Lia’s able to find a few clues to help although she is somewhat distracted by being asked out—but is it really a date? In the end, will Lia be able to find the killer before the killer finds her?

This is book three in the series. I like Lia. For the most part, she’s a sensible person, doesn’t put herself into dangerous situations, and is a good friend and neighbor. She has a great relationship with her daughter, too. Now there’s a hint of romance in the future—I look forward to seeing how that progresses. A lovely read, not an overemphasis on knitting, but a welcoming small town feel.

I like this series! Fun craft vibes, good mother / daughter relationship, a decent mystery, and a charming small town. Looking forward to the next one!

<I>ARC Provided by NetGalley<I>

This is the third book in the Craft Fair Knitters Mystery series. I was able to enjoy reading this book without having read the first two in the series. The Ninth Street Knitters have a booth set up during the local Civil War reenactment. When one if the "injured" reenactors is found to be dead, Lia's neighbor and friend is the owner of the bayonet that has the victim's blood on it. Lia wants to help her friend and save the craft fair from this latest tragedy. This should be a good new series for people who enjoy cozy mysteries with a craft and knitting theme.

Knits, Knots, and Knives is the third crafter cozy mystery by Emmie Caldwell. Released 6th Dec 2022 by Penguin Random House on their Berkley imprint, it's 288 pages and available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. 

This is an engaging and well written crafter cozy which even includes a lovely ragdoll cat. I enjoyed the characters and the development of the mystery which although a tiny bit predictable and trope-y in places, is also appealingly well written and paced. Much of the action centers around a civil war re-enactment and living history group and the background research and descriptions are complete and full of interesting detail. The author has done her research well and provides good descriptions of the period re-enactments and the behind-the-scenes details. There are a number of suspects for Lia and the knitting group to examine and exonerate, and the denouement and resolution of the mystery are satisfying and well written. 

All-around comfortable cozy with an amateur group of knitters. I'm looking forward to future installments. With three books written in the series already, it would be a good choice for a weekend cozy mystery binge read.

Four stars. (Clean language, no sexual content). 
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Jeanie

What a great cozy mystery! The mysteries are knit together with elements I found interesting, including the alpaca farm and the Civil War battle reenactment. Knitting brings people together; in this novel, several old friends in the Ninth Avenue Knitters help with ideas and information about the murder victims and who may have done them in as they knit. This story invited this reader in from the beginning – in this case, the annual reenactment of the battle at Crandalsburg. I really enjoy the characters, especially Lia, her next-door neighbors Sharon and Jack, and Pete, the local police chief. I also enjoyed seeing a mother and daughter as close as Lia and Hayley.

Lia has been a widow for about a year and a half. She sold their home and now lives in a small, Civil War era home within easy visiting distance of York, where she goes each week to knit and catch up with friends in her knitting group. Lia also sells some of the projects that she and her friends knit at the Crandalsburg Craft Fair. Her daughter, Hayley, moved back to the area and is the marketing director for the alpaca farm where much of the yarn Lia loves to use is produced.

The Craft Fair is set up for sales after the reenactment. Vendors added Civil War era items, such as the woolen socks and scarves at Lia’s Ninth Avenue Knitters booth. Arden, a fairly new businessman in the area, has taken over control of the reenactment group that Lia’s next-door neighbor, Jack, has been overseeing for several years. There are hard feelings among Jack and his friends. Arden’s son-in-law Lucas is his right-hand man. Neither Arden nor Lucas care about how authentic they are, but when Jack was in charge, there were no sneakers on the battlefield or other things not true to the era.

A couple things are not authentic for safety reasons. The only time a bayonet could be on a rifle is for the bayonet demos, limited to only two rifles. Jack and Lucas allowed theirs to be used for the demo and arranged for where they would be stored during the battle.

Lia, her neighbor Sharon, and best friend Belinda had met Arden’s wife Heidi, who heard good things about the knitters’ booth. She is nothing like her husband. Heidi is kind, positive, friendly, and genuinely want to seeing the vendors’ booths. It wouldn’t happen on this day. When the battle was over, Arden’s body was found at the edge of the field. He died of a stab wound, but no knife was found nearby.

Lia’s neighbor Jack had been seen arguing with Arden before the battle and had no alibi for the approximate time of his death. A small spot of Arden’s blood was found on the bayonet of Jack’s rifle, which was determined to be the murder weapon. When Arden’s son-in-law Lucas was interviewed for local television news, he firmly proclaimed that Jack was responsible, he was unhinged, and the police needed to lock him up. The police did not have sufficient evidence on Jack, but people around town treat him as a ruthless killer. Those he did contracting work for canceled their jobs. One of his clients took advantage of the situation, suing him for shoddy work. She blackballed him on every local review site. She died from falling through the sabotaged railing of the deck he built.

I enjoyed most of the characters, and felt they were very well defined through their actions and realistic conversations. Pete, the police chief, has shown interest in Lia for a while, but she doesn’t feel ready yet to be any more than friends. I like how she handled it with sensitivity and the positive results.

Plot twists kept changing my opinion of who might be the bad guy or gal. I changed “pet suspects” partway through, convinced of the second person I chose. I was completely surprised at who killed Arden, and very surprised at the motive for killing the second person. I was sad about who did the deeds as there were years of circumstances that led up to the murders. The ending was overall satisfactory with no loose endings, and I am looking forward to the next in series. I highly recommend this compelling read.

alpacas, amateur-sleuth, cozy-mystery, craft-fair, family, former-nurse, friction, friendship, knitting, law-enforcement, murder, murder-investigation, Pennsylvania, reenactors, rural, series, small-business, small-town, widow, framed, *****

Bayonets can be lethal.
The hooks for me were knitting, alpacas, retired nurse, cozy mystery, and reenactors.
The crafters are at a reenactment when Mr Despicable is found murdered. That is the beginning of this complex case involving a lot of people who are not what they seem to be. Lots of interesting characters, beautiful descriptions, a fantastic plot twist or two, and a slew of red herrings. Loved it!
I requested and received a free EARC from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley. Thank you!

Lia Geiger’s normal weekend craft fair is looking a bit different thanks to a Civil War reenactment taking place on the property. She’s looking forward to it, although she quickly learns that there has been a recent power struggle in the group of reenactors. When the smoke on the battle clears, the dead body of Arden Sprouse is discovered. He was the one most responsible for the conflicts in the group. Unfortunately, suspicion has fallen on Lia’s neighbor. Can she figure out what really happened during the battle?

I’ve enjoyed this series because I really like Lia and her immediate family and friends. She is a little older than a typical cozy sleuth, which I appreciate. Her relationship with her daughter is a highlight as well. While the suspects are all strong, I wish we’d had more of a reintroduction to the minor characters who populate Lia’s world. The plot is good. I do wish we had gotten shorter clue recaps, but there were several good twists along the way to the logical climax. I also enjoyed some solid sub-plots. The reenactment combined well with the crafting theme. Those who have been enjoying this series will be pleased with the latest entry.

This was a fun read! Lia is a strong main character. She's intelligent, capable at running the Ninth Street Knitters, and is good at getting people to talk - and listening to what people have to say. I also really liked her relationship with her adult daughter Haley. They're close but Lia treats her like an adult and even more importantly - Haley asks like one.

The mystery kept me hooked. I did have a few inklings of the outcome but it was still a bit of a surprise - especially how it unraveled. The pacing was excellent and kept me reading and not wanting to put the book down. I liked the bits about knitting and the Civil War reenactment which provided enough information to flesh out the setting and the background but not so much that it detracted from the mystery.

I'm looking forward to going back to the beginning of the series and getting to know these characters from the start.

By day I'm a yarn dyer and knitter, and by night I love to read cozy mysteries... which is why the Craft Fair Knitters Mysteries are a match made in heaven for me!

Lia along with her daughter, Hayley, and her friends are gearing up for the Crandalsburg Craft Fair and a Civil War reenactment. However, things go awry when the reenactment turns real and one of the participants is killed. When Lia's neighbour is fingered for the crime, Lia and the Ninth Street Knitters must put their heads together and solve the crime.

I love this series! It deftly combines my two favourite things: knitting and a good mystery! This one was especially good! Growing up in Australia, I've never seen a Civil War reenactment in person. I now live in Canada, and I have to say I still haven't. However, Emmie Caldwell writes such a good tale, that I felt like I was alongside Lia and Hayley and watching it all unfold!

Emmie Caldwell always delivers a first class whodunnit, and Knits, Knots and Knives was especially good! It was a race to the finish, as I tried to solve the mystery before Lia and her friends.

If you like a good story with a side order of yarn delight, I highly recommend this series. It's the perfect book to put in your favourite yarn-lovers stocking this holiday season.

Knits, Knots, and Knives by Emmie Caldwell is the third book in the Craft Fair Knitters Mysteries series. Lia Geiger and the Ninth Street Knitters have another mystery to solve. The Ninth Street Knitters have some input but main character Lia Geiger took on the main role in this investigation. She is determined to prove her next-door-neighbor, Jack's innocence in a murder. Lia sure knows what questions to ask and who to ask them. I enjoyed reading about Lia's sleuthing and her blossoming relationship with Police Chief Pete Sullivan. This was a fun whodunit to read.

This was a quick, enjoyable cozy. I always like Lia and her Ninth Street Knitters, and the Civil War Reenactment adds an interesting layer to the mystery this time. These stories are always a fun blend of mystery, family relationships, and friendships, and I find myself just chugging along right through them. Also, it's extra satisfying when the victim is basically a horrible person. :>) Looking forward to the next one.

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