Death by Cashmere (Seaside Knitters Mystery Series #1) by Sally Goldenbaum

From the Publisher

Now in trade paperback-the new mystery series that spins a yarn about knitters and murder in a seaside village.

Not long after Isabel "Izzy" Chambers opens up a knitting shop in the sleepy fishing town of Sea Harbor, Massachusetts, a diverse group of women begins congregating each week to form the Seaside Knitters.

Izzy raises some eyebrows when she rents the apartment above her shop to Angie Archer, whose reputation for loose behavior and a quick temper has made her unpopular with many locals. But could any of them have wanted her dead? Angie's body is discovered drowned in the harbor, her long red hair tangled like seaweed in a lobster trap.

An official investigation rules the death an accident. There are speculations of too many whiskey sours, a slippery wharf, a dark night...But Izzy and the Seaside Knitters smell something fishy. When several strange incidents occur above the shop, the women decide to take matters into their own hands. But before long, their small-town sense of security is frayed, and the threat of more violence hangs over this tightly knit community...

Rhys Bowen

Murder in a truly close-knit community—a knitting circle in a New England seaside town. Peopled with characters we come to care about. Add a cup of tea, a roaring fire and you've got the perfect cozy evening.

Alexander McCall Smith

A charming and delightful read. This book has a strong sense of place - so strong one can smell the seaweed. Delicious.

Carolyn Hart

In Death By Cashmere, Sally Goldenbaum's appealing world will draw readers to return time and again to Sea Harbor. In this wonderful launch of a vibrant new mystery series, the characters ring true and clear. (Carolyn Hart, author of Set Sail for Murder)

Gillian Roberts

With all the dexterity and warmth the women of Sea Harbor knit into their sweaters and shawls, Sally Goldenbaum weaves us a tale that combines friendship, community—and crime— without dropping a stitch. (Gillian Roberts, author of the Amanda Pepper series)

Nancy Pickard

The Seaside Knitters are a wonderful group of friends who care about each other, and readers will care about them, too. I can't wait for their next meeting! (Nancy Pickard, author of The Virgin of Small Plains)

Publishers Weekly

Izzy Chambers gives up her life as a lawyer in Boston in order to open the Seaside Knitting Studio in Sea Harbor, Mass., where she spent her childhood, in Goldenbaum's charming debut. An informal knitting group of eccentric characters forms around the shop, including Birdie Favazza, the oldest member at nearly 80, and Cass Halloran, the owner of 200 lobster traps who's devastated by a midnight theft. Cass's younger brother, Pete, pines for the gorgeous Angelina Archer, who's recently come to the Cape to research a local history project and rents the apartment above Izzy's store. When Angelina's body washes up in the cove, Izzy and her knitting group vow to discover who hated Angelina enough to want the woman dead. A knitting pattern for a scarf rounds out a cozy many will find an ideal beach read. (Aug.)

Kirkus Reviews

A quartet of knitters probes the death of a restless young researcher on Cape Cod. Childhood sweetheart Tony Framingham predicted that Izzy Chambers would become "a female Atticus Finch." But his crystal ball didn't foresee that they'd both come back to Sea Harbor, Tony to help his widowed mother Margarethe with the family business and disillusioned corporate lawyer Izzy as proprietor of Seaside Knitting Studio. Although her aunt, Nell Endicott, frets about Izzy's upstairs tenant, former wild child Angelina Archer, Izzy assures her that Angie has a respectable job planning an exhibit for the Sea Harbor Historical Museum; that she is dating reliable Pete Halloran; and that she even spends time listening to dotty old Angus McPherron talk about the old days. So when Angie's drugged and pushed off the breakwater, Izzy and Nell meet fellow yarn buffs-80-something Birdie Favazza and Pete's lobsterwoman sister Cass-over Nell's soup and Birdie's wine to dispute the prevailing wisdom that the malefactor must have been a passing stranger. And since the creepy town watchman, George Gideon, is certainly no protection, the four stout needlewomen agree that it's up to them to root out the menace that threatens tranquil Sea Harbor. Even the genuine charms of its characters can't save Goldenbaum's series debut from its glacial pace and obvious ending. Her indecision about whether to make Izzy or Nell the headliner further tangles this cozy skein. Agent: Andrea Cirillo and Kelly Harms/Jane Rotrosen Agency

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