There’s a lot to like about Yarned and Dangerous – the setting, the writing, the voice of the author, the characters, and more. Aspiring designer Josie Blair is none too pleased to leave her life in New York City to take care of her cranky, crotchety, cantankerous great Uncle Eben. But he’s still laid up after the car accident that killed his wife, Cora, and broke his leg. Josie’s mom is leaving for a cruise and someone needs to take care of Eben. Reluctantly, Josie packs up her things and her cat and heads back to sleepy, dreary Dorset Falls, Connecticut.
Everything about this story. . . especially Sadie Hartwell’s writing, really make this cozy mystery stand out from the rest.
Once she arrives, Josie feels a kinship with the small town. As much as she tried to put her time in Dorset Falls behind her, Josie almost feels as though she’s coming home. Even her great-uncle’s black attitude can’t sour Josie’s growing feelings of ease. She spends her days going through Miss Marple’s Knits, the yarn shop that Cora owned and operated before her death. Eben wants nothing to do with the business, so Josie sets to work cataloging the inventory and searching for a buyer for the soft and wooly skeins. But when Josie finds out that there’s a plan in place to tear down the building housing Miss Marple Knits, she can’t help but swing into action.
I really liked Josie; I think she’s the true glue that holds Yarned and Dangerous together and the buttons and sequins that embellishes the story. Everything about this story: Josie, in particular, but the characters, the plot, and especially Sadie Hartwell’s writing, really make this cozy mystery stand out from the rest. I loved how returning home to a small town in Connecticut really reignited Josie’s creativity and how she follows her heart and focuses on family, friends, and the small things that really make life worthwhile.
FTC Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. All of the opinions expressed in the review are mine alone.
About the Author
Sadie Hartwell grew up near the Canadian border in northern New York State, where it’s cold, dark, and snowy almost half the year—a perfect environment for nurturing a simultaneous love of mystery fiction and needlework. She attended St. Lawrence University, graduating with a degree in history, and has worked as a waitress, handbag designer/manufacturer, paralegal, and copy editor before turning to writing full time. Now she gets to play with yarn and make up stories whenever she wants, and wishes everyone had a job as much fun as hers.
More About the Book
Yarned and Dangerous
(A Tangled Web Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
New Series
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Kensington (November 24, 2015)
ISBN-13: 978-1617737176
ASIN: B00U7LJOEK
Synopsis
Time has not been kind to sleepy Dorset Falls, Connecticut, where an erstwhile resident is hoping to bring a tattered yarn shop back to life—but with a murderer on the loose, the whole town is in knots…
Josie Blair left Dorset Falls twelve years ago in hopes of making it big in New York City. But after earning an overpriced master’s degree and getting fired by a temperamental designer, she finds herself heading back to her hometown. Her great-uncle was injured in a car accident, and newly unemployed Josie is the only person available to take care of him. Uncle Eb’s wife didn’t survive the crash, so Josie is also tasked with selling the contents of her Aunt Cora’s yarn shop. But the needling ladies of the Charity Knitters Association pose a far bigger challenge than a shop full of scattered skeins…
Miss Marple Knits is one of the few businesses still open in the dreary downtown. Josie can’t imagine how it stayed open for so long, yet something about the cozy, resilient little shop appeals to her. But when one of the town’s most persnickety knitters turns up dead in a pile of cashmere yarn, Josie realizes there’s something truly twisted lurking beneath the town’s decaying façade…
INCLUDES ORIGINAL KNITTING PATTERNS!
Purchase Links
Giveaway
Enter to win (1) of two print copies of Yarned and Dangerous.
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The Girl with Book Lungs 
I love working with yarn. The feel and the colors are such a beautiful way to create art. Thanks for the review. robeader53@yahoo.com
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Wonderful post!! Thank you for being part of this tour!
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