The book was interesting as I like all things yarn. Some parts moved slowly but overall it was an interesting mystery.

I have read all of Sally Goldenbaum's books. This latest novel has not changed my mind about the author she always come through with amazing mysteries this one is really complex but a very enjoyable read from start to finish. The characters are all good and they really portray the book to its fullest. Thank You Netgalley for giving me an early Arc book. Awaiting the next book, I am sure I won't be disappointed,

I enjoyed visiting with Izzy and her group of friends as they solved another murder mystery. The coastal setting was beautiful and the plot was filled with twists. Being a knitter myself, the knitting theme was appreciated.
Many thanks to Kensington and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is book 17 in the Seaside Knitters Society series. I have read a few but not all. I had no trouble with this story following characters and events. Sea Harbor residents are happy to welcome fall and have the beaches and streets back to normal. They are looking forward to the Knitting Fashion show that should bring in a few more tourist dollars before winter sets in. When Birdie finds a fellow bird watcher dead in the woods it might put a kink in the knitter Society show. The story is well plotted and not too many characters to get mixed up. An enjoyable read.

The Seaside Knitters live and work in Sea Harbor, Massachusetts. As the tourist season begins to slow and the weather starts to cool, the big event is a fashion show featuring hand-knit garments. Izzy Perry, owner of Sea Harbor Yarn Studio, has everything arranged—she hopes. With the help of her friends and fellow knitters, the show is bound to come off without a hitch.

Birdie, one of the knitters, used to be an avid bird watcher. Now a widow, she’s taken up the hobby again. She enjoys the birds more than the birders who seem more interested in completing their lists of birds seen than seeing the birds.

When she has to fight her way through a bundle of vines to get to a prime location, she’s startled to find a dead body. In many cases, the victim is someone who was genuinely hated by most people. Not so this time. The victim was a beloved member of the community.

As hard as it is to envision anyone with a grudge large enough to lead to murder, there are a few suspects. With Birdie so upset and involved, it means the Seaside Knitters are involved too. Will the killer be someone equally well-known and loved?

This is book six in the series. Even if you don’t know a knit from a purl, the story will intrigue. Almost more important than the mystery itself is the friendship between the Knitters. They are a family of their own creation. While they solve murders, it’s at a slower pace, taking no risks but still finding a satisfactory conclusion. When the book ends, you’ll feel like you’ve just left your best friends and won’t see them for another year.

Find a pattern for a Belugah Slouch Hat and Beanie at the back of the book.

A beloved teacher and expert bird watcher is killed while camping in a secret location. The yarn ladies need to weave the clues together to solve the murder and protect one of their own.

Wonderful series that just gets better. The characters have really developed and I like to read what they are all doing. Highly recommend this series!

Dollycas’s Thoughts

We return to Sea Harbor when things should be calming down but Izzy has agreed to host a fashion benefit featuring hand-knit items made with yarn from her Sea Harbor Yarn Studio and she has enlisted her friends Willow, Lucky, and Rose to construct a runway for the event. Birdie is busy too. She has joined a local birdwatching group. She had enjoyed birdwatching with her late husband and wanted to take up the hobby again. She finds the eclectic group very interesting.

Birdie is very excited about a birding trip to the local granite quarry but due to an earlier storm Birdie is warned to stay away from the rocks so she detours into the woods. It is there she discovers another member of the group dead. Birdie thinks the man has a terrible accident but she soon learns the victim died before his fall. The police also believe a friend of the Seaside Knitters may have had something to do with his death.

It’s time for the Seaside Knitters to untwist and untangle each and every clue and knit together who was really responsible for the body in the woods. Can they pull that off before all the knitters hit the runway? or will one of them be behind bars?

I love this series. I open the book and immediately feel like I am in the company of good friends. Birdie, Nell, Izzy, and Cass have grown so much since the first book, Death by Cashmere was released in 2008. Birdie is a wise octogenarian, Izzy is a young mom and owns the Sea Harbor Yarn Studio, Cass is co-owner of Halloran Lobster Company with a cute little baby boy, and Nell is Izzy’s aunt and is retired. They have their Thursday night ritual of meeting at Izzy’s shop for a night of “friend therapy”. A time to toast, eat, knit, and share what’s happening with them and around town. Then on Friday nights, they gather with their husbands, children, and any other friends who drop in for a great meal at Nell’s that usually includes something grilled out on the deck no matter the time of year. They all are always there for each other no matter what. They also try to help anyone in need throughout the community. Kind, caring, and smart, these characters are very well-developed but continue to grow and remain fresh even after 17 books.

Ms. Goldenbaum has written a very emotional story. The relationships are complex and carefully constructed. The victim’s death deeply affected many people including Birdie. Two sisters are dealing with other issues including the man’s death. In a mystery full of twists and turns Birdie, Nell, Cass, and Izzy try to find proof that someone they care about was not involved in the murder while trying to piece together clues to find who did it and why. They collected information from several different sources and passed it all on to the police. Soon all the clues fell into place. I did have the right person near the top of my suspect list but was surprised at the deviousness and how dreadful the person really was.

I did enjoy the subplot of the fashion show. While the author’s descriptions of the garments and the runway, were good, I wish the book could have contained pictures. Izzy called the runway “magnificent” and a “panoramic scene” that came to life the closer she came to it.

A Twisted Skein is wonderfully written. The characters and the friendships they have built are beyond measure. The mystery is complex and skillfully plotted. Sea Harbor and its residents grab ahold of me a little more with each book in this series and each visit ends too soon.

Summer is on the wane in the charmingly picturesque coastal village of Sea Harbor, Massachusetts, but an upcoming fashion show benefit ensures there’s still plenty of excitement in store for the Seaside Knitters but there is a murderer on the loose. Who killed the teacher? Is Rose responsible for the death?
I received this book from the publisher and NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion of this book.

This was the right book at the right time: entertaining, compelling and relaxing. I'm always happy to travel to Sea Harbor and catch up with these lovely group of knitter.
I like their friendship and strong relationship. The character's age iincludes younger and older characters and I think that the older characters are more lively and interesting. The twin were a bit stereotyped and acting or too juvenile or like someone quite older.
The mystery is solid and I liked learning something about birdwatching.
An entertaining and well plotted story.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A Twisted Skein is book #17 in the Seaside Knitters Society Mystery series by Sally Goldenbaum.

I really enjoyed this series! I found the mystery intriguing. It was complex with twists and turns to keep you guessing which of the suspects was guilty. But my favorite part of the book and series are the characters. The friendships and the support they have for each other. There is a pattern and recipe at the end. I look forward to my next visit to Sea Harbor.

Thank you to the author, Kensington Books, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

This author always makes the impossible completely possible! I swear that the next book in the series can't possibly be better than the last and it is every single time! This time, the mystery is so intriguingly complex that multiple people could be the potential villain, yet, you just know that it can't possibly be the obvious person and you would be correct! The characters of this series, in particular the knitting ladies, but really all the characters are so very well written and stay true to the personalities that the author has developed over the years that she has been writing this series which makes it truly feel like visiting old friends and not just picking up another book. You feel so connected to the town, the businesses, the people and the story that you feel the emotions and mystery clear to your core rather than just reading them on the page. This is one series that will remain a must read for me and this book just cements the fact that we need so much more from this town, these characters and their mysteries! I do highly, highly recommend that you start with the first book and read the books in order. First, you will form a better connection and understanding of the characters, the town, the businesses and region. Secondly, you will have hours upon hours of reading entertainment to enjoy!

This was another amazing visit to Sea Harbor and the Seaside Knitters who’re all like old friends to me by now. I felt so terrible for poor Jillian when her close friend from the high school where she was working was murdered. Her sister Rose seemed to act pretty weird about things, like she had a secret. Would Rose have killed Jillian’s good friend just to keep him away from her twin?

As always, the knitters put their brains together and came up with additional evidence for the police and the perp was taken care of. I sure hadn’t guessed that person at all! The near-ending was the food and fellowship as everyone learned the details from their detective friend. Then a project Izzy had been super nervous over was a smashing success.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by Kensington Cozies, and my opinions are my own.

A club like no other!!! A knitters club with no age limit!! These four ladies will have you laughing and pulling for them as they try to once again solve another mystery!! This is the first cozy mystery that I've read by this author and though it was later in the series, I wasn't lost or confused at all. I thoroughly enjoyed it and wish I could've given it more than 5 stars. This is one that will keep you thoroughly entertained from the first page till the end, I highly recommend!!!!

Gentle Reader, you know how much I love the Seaside Knitters series by Sally Goldenbaum. You know how I would live to live in Sea Harbor and eat at Nell's on Friday night and attend the Thursday evening knitting dinners. I was so happy to hear there is a new title being published tomorrow, November 28, and I was delighted to be able to read an advanced reader's copy. Here are my thoughts.

One of the strengths of the series is that the view through which we approach the murder mystery changes with each book. Although all four protagonists help solve the mystery, who finds the body or knows the victim or is in the front lines varies. In this book, Birdie Favazza, the octogenarian member of the foursome, finds the body, and while all four women uncover information that helps solve the mystery, she is at the center of this story. Birdie is my second favorite character, after Nell. It's so refreshing to have an 80-year-old woman play a central role, and she's such an active, energetic woman. Yes, she has aches and pains and has lost her husbands, but her optimism carries her through. She's a great role model.

The story is set in deep fall on Cape Ann, with blustery winds, early sunsets, steaming pots of chili, thick sweaters. Izzy is concentrating on a fashion show that is going to be held at her shop, and worrying about the timeline, the logistics, and if she should have trusted her former sales girls, twin sisters Jillian and Rose, and Lucky, the bar owner, to make the runway stage. But her worries about the show disappear when Birdie finds a fellow member of her birding group dead. Everyone liked Josh. Who could have killed him?

A tangential storyline follows Jillian and Rose, twin sisters we met many years ago when they worked in Izzy's shop with their aunt, Mae. They are now grown up, but the formerly close sisters are feuding as Rose tries to interfere with Jillian's romantic life.

And I was delighted that a character who owns a tea room is introduced. Sea Harbor is now perfect: the Brandleys' bookstore, Izzy's yarn store, and now a tea room. And they have a birding group. As the world's worst but most enthusiastic birder, I thought as I read the cast of characters, "Well now, Ms. Godlenbaum has checked every box to make it the perfect holiday book for me." Truly Sea Harbor is now where I want to live. Retirement is 8 years away, and I've already started looking for a real Sea Harbor to move to. Suggestions welcome. No murders, please.

The atmosphere of the story is up to par with the rest of the series. The close relationships between Izzy, Nell, Birdie, and Cass is well developed, although Cass is not a major part of the mystery this time. But I was disappointed by two things, and spoiler alert here, Gentle Reader. Skip the next section if you don't want any reveals of anything at all.

We never are told how Josh is killed; he's found lying next to a stone wall but no mention is made of a head injury. The comment is made that he looks like he's sleeping. To me, that suggests that there is not a lot of blood, as you might expect if he had slipped and hit his head or been bashed in the head with a rock. Nor, when he murderer is revealed, are we told how they knew to find Josh at the campsite.

I kept searching on my Kindle for words like coroner and post-mortem, to see if I wasn't remembering a passage because I was so eager to visit Sea Harbor for a few nights. Just a few short paragraphs, even a couple of sentences, would clear these inconsistencies up.

I truly love Sea Harbor and the series. In fact, I'm re-reading them all in order right now, except for this new one. I still recommend the series and recommend this title, but because of this confusion, for me it's a weaker entry than most. I love this series, and despite a couple of problems, I still recommend this book, but the issues make me downgrade it 4.5 stars out the usual 5 I give this series. It probably should be 4 stars, but I love the series so much I can't dropout down a whole star. My review:

I don’t have a clue how to knit, but I would certainly love to hang out with the “knitting” ladies who are such great friends. I love the love they have for each other. The story line is great as are all these characters. There are definitely some twists and turns and things that just don’t “add up”. I loved it and hope to go back to Sea Harbor to visit with them again. I received this book from NetGalley, but my opinion is my own.

A Twisted Skein is the 6th book in the Seaside Knitters Society series. Sea Harbor is having a fashion show after tourist season and everyone is shopping at Izzy's to pick up supplies. Knitter and new bird watcher, Birdie, finds a body that appears to be an accidental death. The autopsy shows that it wasn't. The knitters are on the case.

I like this series. I haven't read any of the book before this but I was able to figure out who everyone was and a little of their backstories. The characters are fun and very likeable. The mystery wasn't too hard to figure out but getting there is most of the fun and this was a fun read. I plan on reading the series from the beginning.

A Twisted Skein is the seventeenth mystery in the Seaside Knitters Society Mystery series. Izzy is getting ready for a fashion show that is going to be held in her yarn shop and the rest of her friends are busy in their every day loves. Murder is the farthest thing from their minds, but when Birdie finds one of her fellow birdwatchers murdered, the knitting gang is on the case.

I have read most of the mysteries in this series and I have really grown to love this setting and the cast of characters. There are a lot of characters in this series, but the author has done a really good job of integrating them into the stories and still keeping them relevant. I enjoyed this book and always love following along as this group of friends put the pieces together to solve the case. My only complaint about this book, and this series in general, is that sometimes the story dragged on. There were many parts where I feet like the dialogue could have been cut down to make this a quicker and easier read. That aside, I really did enjoy this book and would recommend this story to cozy mystery readers.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book!

In Sea Harbor, Massachusetts, all the local knitters are stopping in at Izzy’s yarn shop to pick up supplies to make garments for the upcoming hand-knitters fashion show benefit. It’s a good way to keep everyone busy as the tourist season is coming to an end. 

Birdie is an avid knitter, but she’s also recently taken up bird watching. She’d been spotting some lovely birds, but what she hadn’t expected to see was a corpse. 

Can she and the other knitters unravel the case before more lives are lost?

My Thoughts

Had this just been a simple, sweet, cozy village story, I would very much have enjoyed it. A story about whether or not this group of women could pull off the hand-knitted fashion show would have been a lot of fun. I could happily have read about the knitters, and the bird watchers, and followed the drama of creating a stage, and I would have given it 4 stars. 

The descriptions of the town and its inhabitants were well-written, and I enjoyed watching the preparations unfold for the fashion show. Birding with Birdie was great fun. It’s rarely that one finds an intelligent, active, 80-year old starring character, so I always appreciate it when they are as well-written as Birdie. Nell was also an interesting and well-rounded character. The subplots were entertaining.

However, this was meant to be a cosy mystery and that’s where it failed for me. 

For a mystery, the pacing was excruciatingly slow. Nobody died until 24% of the way through the book. Even once the murder finally occurred, the investigating knitters seemed to be less interested in investigating than they were in their other activities. 

Plus, this mystery didn’t play fair with the reader because the investigators never revealed to the reader what they were finding. In fact, I don’t believe the reader is ever even told how the victim died or how the murderer committed the murder. I say I don’t believe, because by the time I hit the last 50 pages of the book, I had started to skim. 

One major complaint with the mystery storyline was all the drama between the twin sisters. I hate stories where things could have been solved with an honest one minute discussion. Rose was too intelligent for that story to have played out the way it did, and when the secret was revealed it was, frankly, laughable given the amount of ridiculous drama it had caused. 

This is the 17th book in the series, but it does work as a stand alone. I had never read others in the series, but have been told by someone who knows that I would have appreciated this one more had I read the series from the beginning. I enjoyed the character enough that I may go back and try the first in the series.

3.5 out of 5
A TWISTED SKEIN is the sixth book in the Seaside Knitters Society mysteries by Sally Goldenbaum. The darling cover beckoned me to pick up the book. The seaside setting intrigued me, as well as the close friendship of the knitters who solve mysteries. Perhaps it’s because this is the first book I’ve read in the series, or because the point of view jumps from one character to another, but I had a difficult time connecting. The pace is slow and the setup of the characters and crime takes ten chapters to get going. This is more of a character-driven story with a murder mystery thrown in. The author provides a knitting pattern and a recipe at the back of the book, both of which sound cozy and inviting.

I was provided with an advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.