A Holiday Yarn: A Seaside Knitters Mystery [Hardcover]

Sally Goldenbaum (Author)

Book Description

Series: SEASIDE KNITTERS MYSTERY | Publication Date: November 2, 2010

A special event in the national bestselling mystery series! Craft away the holiday season with the Seaside Knitters.

With the Seaside Knitters' help, Mary Pisano converts her charming inherited home into a B&B. Her first week is booked by her very own family, in town to discuss their grandfather's will. She's hoping the tranquility of the setting will smooth over ill feelings among family members. But when her cousin Pam-a Sea Harbor, Massachusetts, native-is found murdered, she realizes she was dead wrong...

With the holiday cheer severely disrupted, Mary relies on the Seaside Knitters to set things right. They gladly offer their skill for unraveling crime, but it'll take all their crafty know-how to unravel this deadly tangle.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Death puts a damper on the Christmas festivities in Goldenbaum's engrossing fourth cozy featuring Izzy Chambers and the other members of her Sea Harbor, Mass., knitting circle (after April 2010's Moon Spinners). When "controversial fashion editor" Pamela Pisano turns up dead with a pistol in her hand on the snow-covered back porch of the Pisano family estate, Ravenswood-by-the-Sea, it appears a clear case of suicide. Particularly distraught is Mary Pisano, Pamela's cousin, who recently inherited Ravenswood and is in the process of converting the house into a bed-and-breakfast. When a painter Mary hired falls to his death off a ladder onto some granite rocks, this accident is more than a little suspicious. Of course, a killer is at work, and the knitters must tap old memories and old police records before they can bring the mystery to its unexpected conclusion. (Nov.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

The fourth Seaside Knitters mystery focuses on Nell, knitting shop owner Izzy’s aunt. Christmas will soon be coming to Sea Harbor, and Mary Pisano has been renovating her grandfather’s estate with plans to open as a bed-and-breakfast. However, when the Pisano family gathers in Sea Harbor for their annual family meeting, things don’t go smoothly for Mary, and it gets worse when cousin Pamela is found dead on the B&B’s back porch. Nell, Birdie, and Cass try to help Mary, even as Izzy wrestles with her own, more personal mystery (longtime boyfriend Sam is behaving secretively).There’s no shortage of suspects and a lot of family secrets to unravel. New readers will have no problem keeping up with events and people, although they may want to go back and read the previous series entries. Goldenbaum’s cozy mystery features appealing characters whose relationships will matter to the reader, and the knitting details may inspire not just knitting but also helping the KasCare charity. --Kat Kan

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: NAL Hardcover (November 2, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451231589
• ISBN-13: 978-0451231581
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #611,624 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars She's done it again!, November 6, 2010

By 

Jacquelyn Bailey (Ft. Washington, MD) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Holiday Yarn: A Seaside Knitters Mystery (Hardcover)

I pre-ordered this book the second I knew it existed, and I waited impatiently for it to arrive. I was not disappointed. Again I felt as wrapped up in this warm holiday cozy as if in one of Nell's beautiful blankets. Again the planting of clues was so skillful that I arrived at the truth at about the same time Nell did. The Seaside Knitters series is one of my favorites, and the only bad thing about it is that I am going to have to wait so long for the next one!

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A True Gift for the Holidays!!!!!, November 2, 2010

By 

Lori Caswell "dollycas" (FALL RIVER, WI) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Holiday Yarn: A Seaside Knitters Mystery (Hardcover)

We return to Sea Harbor, Massachusetts just in time for the holidays. The Seaside Knitters are helping Mary Pisano turn her family home into a wonderful Bed & Breakfast. Her first guests are her family, in town to discuss her grandfather's will and tie up any loose strings. Mary hopes the relaxed setting will sooth anyone's feelings who may have been hurt by her inheriting the family home. When they see her renovations how can they not be happy with what she has done with her family legacy.

Mary not only has to make her family happy but also her neighbors. One in particular, Henrietta O'Neal, who is doing everything she can to halt the opening of the B&B.

But Henrietta is just one small distraction hindering the opening of Ravenswood-By-The-Sea. The bigger distraction is the dead body of Mary's cousin Pam found on its snow covered grounds. The family reunion has now become anything but relaxing and until the murderer is found all of Mary's plans for her B&B begin to unravel. The Seaside Knitters are knitting the clues together as fast as they can so that the tragedy will not ruin everyone's holiday.

I LOVED IT!!!!!

I am always happy to visit Sea Harbor, even in the icy cold winter. By this 4th sojourn to the seaside village all the characters are now old friends, the shops are decked out for the holidays and the recent snowfall really gets us in the holiday spirit, except for murders it is a truly magical place.

Sally Goldenbaum has created a place you will want to visit again and again with words as only she can. This is the perfect story to "Escape" into. Curl up in a nice comfy chair, a fire in the fireplace, a cup of hot apple cider, sit back and enjoy as she takes you back to this seaside town full of the nicest people, but whose reputation for murder, mystery and mayhem will keep you on hooks and needles. And don't forget the power of mistletoe.






Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Obsidian, a division of Penguin Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Christmas time in coastal Massachusetts, November 6, 2010

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Holiday Yarn: A Seaside Knitters Mystery (Hardcover)

The villagers of the small New England town of Sea Harbor are gearing up for the holidays, but this is one Yuletide season in which a pall hangs over the village. Mary Pisano inherits her uncle's home, which she converts into a B&B. Her entire family occupies the B&B for the annual meeting.

One of the attendees is Pamela Pisano, editor of a national fashion magazine, who is breaking hearts of the men who idolize her. On their way home at night, two Seaside Knitters find her body that a gun in her hand. The police initially believe Pam, a native of the town, committed suicide as she was under immense pressure. Days later, a model and sometimes lover of Pam is found murdered. The Seaside Knitters believe notes in the snow next to both bodies connect the deaths, but need to find out how if they are to solve the homicides.

Instead of Patterns in the Sand, this time it is patterns in the snow as Sally Goldenbaum creates Christmas time in coastal Massachusetts. The Seaside Knitters are a close knit group who go out of their way for one another including investigating murders (see Moon Spinners). Their friendship is what makes this amateur sleuth series a strong saga and A Holiday Yarn a terrific whodunit.

Harriet Klausner