Member Reviews

NetGalley was kind enough to share an Advanced Reader copy of Sally Goldenbaum’s eighteenth book in the Seaside Knitter series. If time permits, start at the beginning and read them all. But, this book also works well as a stand-alone. Good friends Izzy, Cass, Nell and Birdie are enjoying life and working on a large blanket that they will donate. They are all awakened by a devastating house fire in town and learn the next morning that a good friend was killed in the fire. Once his death was ruled a murder, they get involved in the investigation. They have more than a few suspects, including their beloved but controlling mayor who had feared that the dead man might be a successful rival in her next election. The writing, as always, is so descriptive that you can almost smell the salt air. The peripheral characters add body to the book and truly makes you want to visit this lovely town, in spite of the fact that they seem to have more than their share of murders! This opinion is my own.

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The Herringbone Harbor Mystery is the 7th book in the Seaside Knitters Mysteries. I have read this series from the first book, Death by Cashmere. It takes place in the town of Sea Harbor. The main characters are Birdie Favazza. weathy octogenarian, widow of Sonny Favazza; Cass Halloran Brandley, co-owner of Halloran Lobster Company; Izzy Chambers Perry, owner of the Sea Harbor Yarn Studio; Nell Endicott, retired nonprofit director and Izzy Perry's aunt along with their husbands, Danny Brandley, Sam Perry, Ben Endicott, The rest of the characters add to the story,

Nick Cabot has lived his whole life in a section called Fisherman's Village. He kept the land and rebuilt a new house as per his grandfather's insturctions. Nicholas Cabot, Sr. owns a fishing supply company and is very sucessful as Nick is. Squid, is his dog. Gabby Marietti is Birdie's granddaughter. She is staying with her grandmother for the summer, and her friend, Daisy Danvers are dog walkers who own Sea Harbor Pawperfect Day Dog Walkers. They have 5 dogs so far. Squid is one of their dogs they walk. He sometimes stays with Gabby when Nick goes away.

The ladies meet every Thursday evening at Izzy's shop for food, knitting and just enjoying each other's company. They were making a herringbone afgan for the art auction. Each was doing a part that would be knitted together when almost done. Gabby brought Squid to introduce him to the ladies. Cass said that she knew Nick and his family and his sister, Nancy was in her class. Beatrice Scaglia, mayor of Sea Harbor stopped in after a meeting and was upset that Nick was thinking of running for mayor.

Gracie Santos is the owner of the Lazy Lobster and Soup Cafe. Her uncle, Alphonso Santos. a wealthy business owner is part-owner of Gracie's company. Bobby Palazola works for Gracie as her chef. Gracie had brought him back to help with her restaurant. Beatrice had been at a meeting there and told the ladies that something was missing in the meal and she thought something fishy was going on, Bobby hired a man named Marco Costa. He use to work for Cass but quit. He knows his fish. He came to the resturant looking for a job. The Health Department got a report from someone and was coming to check out the kitchen. Gracie had spoken to Nick about her feelings about Marco. She did not trust him, Nick did not have a good report on him so told Gracie he would look into it.

Gracie was going to meet Nick at Lucky's Place bar owned by Lucky Bianchi. He is Birdie's godson. She called Cass and asked her to come with her. Nick told them that he had seen Marco at Jack O'Reilly's new resturant standing against the building. When leaving Cass saw Marco and standing behind some plants. She realized he had been easedropping on them and was watching Nick and Gracie as they were lealving.

Iizzy and Sam were taking their daughter, Abby, to see a puppet show. They had extra time so they stopped in to have a look at the new resturant They saw Marco taking to a man named Tony. He told them that his brother was the new chef. He gave Izzy the new menu to keep. Marco left.

Nell and Ben went to Izzy's for dinner. After dinner they all decided to take a walk on the beach. Nell and Izzy saw a couple near the boulders and they seemed to be having words. The man left and then came back and left again. He had dropped his cap. The woman went to the ocean and took off her sandels and dove into the ocean and swan to boat. Later that evening Izzy was concerned that the shoes would be washed out to sea with high tide so she went and retrived them as well as the cap.

That evening or early morning both Birdie and Cass were awaken by the smell of smoke. Izzy, Nell and Ben were also awakened by the sounds of sirens. Birdie was awaken in the morning by Gabby calling her. Squid had arrived at their house and was acting weird and quivering. He seemed scared and lost. Ella, Birdie's housekeeper and Harold Sampson, groundskeepr told Birdie and Gabby there was a bad fire in the Fisherman's Village, The fire was at Nick's. There was someone in the house. It was Nick. It was determined that Nick did not die in the fire but was sihot. It is now murder.

This is where the story takes off. There is so much going on that it is hard to put on paper. I will leave the rest of the story to the reader to enjoy to the surprising ending. There is two parts of the story. Who has been tampering with Gracie's resturant and who is trying to ruin Bobby's
reputation.. The other is who killed Nick and why.

I really love this series. The characters become like family. I always look forward to the next adventure of the Seaside knitters.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Publishing Corporation for this ARC.

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I always enjoy returning to Sea Harbor, with close-knit citizens, wonderful yarn shop, artists’ colony, and beautiful sea views. Nell, Birdie, Izzy, and Cass try to solve the murder of dear friend Nick. Several suspects come to the front, but none seem quite right, until the women begin looking at Nick’s death in a different light. A well written book.

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This continues to be one my all-time favorites cozy series. I wish I could give it three and half stars instead of just three. The characters seem so genuine and draw you into their lives and their town. However, if I am being honest, this one fell a little short for me but still a good mystery. It just seemed like the main 4 characters just kept moving from one location to another to simply sit around and talk. Also very little input from the men in their lives with this one. The mystery was well plotted and not easy to figure out but the close-knit group of friends didn't have quite the usual feel this time around. I will most definitely keep reading this series though! Keep them coming!

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A mysterious story centered around friendship and love. The plot twist was not easily predictable, which is huge for me. Highly recommend!

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Thanks to #Kensington Publishing and #NetGalley for letting me read the advance reader's copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

I almost didn't request this book, because the last one was so truly terrible I felt I was through with the series, but I decided to give it one last chance. This one is much better than the last, and, though the plot through line is similar to every other book in the series, the author does not repeat herself endlessly, and even tries to mix up a few of the commonplace events. The author is good at creating the idea of red herrings, but not on making them believable, so it is always easy to spot the murderer. Also, the characters are always saying what a nice place Sea Harbor is, but people die there, by violence and in response to jealousy and envy and other passions, a lot. This is the 18th book in the series, and the characters age, so it's maybe 18+ murders in less than 10 years, judging by the ages of the children in the story (though Gabby seems to age faster than the two children born to main characters, but I didn't go back and try to actually do the math --and obviously, no editors have done so, either). Not really a town I'd want to visit.

This story, which involves high school friends, the Mayor's race, and a few unusual plot twists is decent; the characters are the heart of the story, and this is a much more pleasant visit with them than the last one, but will not draw in new fans.

It's sort of heartbreaking, because with a little more effort, by both the author and the editorial team, we could see some growth in the main characters, some changes in the town, and some realistic dialogue from the Ken doll collection of men attached to the women main characters.

For series fans.

If you like knitting and the sea shore, try the early books. https://ww2.kdl.org/libcat/WhatsNext_PrinterFriendly_Series.asp?seriesid=48086

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Once again our four friends are knitting and reeling from another death. Working on a joint project for a fundraiser they are beyond distressed when one of the villages nicest residents is murdered. There are more threads than ever to unravel and so many possibilities. A wonderful mystery with good friends to save the day.

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#TheHerringboneHarborMystery #NetGalley is another great addition to this series.
This close knit group of friends are working together on a project and enjoying their time together until tragedy strikes one of their own.
A brutal fire engulfs a friend's house, their dog escaping to Birdie's for help, and the suspect list is long.
Izzy and the gang are determined to find truth before someone else gets hurt.

I love this series, the friendships are genuine and the love they have for each other shines in this story.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.

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