Trimmed With Murder: A Seaside Knitters Mystery by Sally Goldenbaum + Giveaway

November 6, 2015 Giveaway, Review 19 ★★★★

Trimmed With Murder: A Seaside Knitters Mystery by Sally Goldenbaum + GiveawayTrimmed With Murder: A Seaside Knitters Mystery (A Seaside Knitters Mystery, #10) by Sally Goldenbaum
Series: A Seaside Knitters Mystery #10
Published by NAL on November 3rd 2015
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 336
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
Rating: 4 Stars
Heat Rating:half-flame

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

All Izzy Chambers Perry wants for Christmas is to keep her brother out of jail—in this holiday yarn from the national bestselling author of A Finely Knit Murder…
In Sea Harbor the holidays mean cozy fires, festive carols, and soft skeins of yarn waiting to become hats and sweaters and scarves.  And this year Izzy and the other Seaside Knitters are also knitting tiny ornaments to decorate a tree for the first annual tree-trimming contest.
Their holiday cheer is multiplied when Izzy's younger brother, Charlie Chambers, unexpectedly arrives to volunteer at a local clinic.  He brings with him outspoken hitchhiker Amber Hanson, who is returning to Sea Harbor to claim an inheritance.  She quickly reacquaints herself with the area--and forms an unlikely friendship with Charlie.  But their bond is shattered when her body is found beneath the undecorated trees on the Harbor Green.
With Charlie a suspect in the murder, Izzy and her fellow knitters step in to uncover the truth.  It's only by peeling away long-buried secrets that they can hope to restore joy to the season, and enjoy the shining lights of the newly decorated trees.

coverlove mystery MURDERMYSTERY refreshing

At First Glance: Trimmed With Murder looks like a great cozy mystery to bundle up with on a dreary day.

Though my days this week have not been as dreary, summer made some kind of a comeback, Trimmed With Murder was still a great cozy to bundle up at nights with. It was exactly what I was looking for starting this November. I love books with holiday themes around this time of year and Sally Goldenbaum delivered just that.

As Sea Harbor prepares for Christmas by kicking off a Christmas tree contest, two new strangers make way into the small town and create a bit of a disturbance. Amber is a woman that jumps into Charlie’s car in the middle of the night, in the middle of the road when he almost accidentally hits her coming into town. She is flighty, abrasive, and has somehow managed to wedge herself into Charlie’s life. Unfortunately, Amber ends up dead shortly after being included in a recent will reading that dumped some big news on this newcomer, and Charlie ends up being the suspect.

I enjoyed this one I did. The writing was well done, very descriptive and warm. Charlie has left Sea Harbor a while ago and it’s his first time back after being away. There is a bit of wariness between him, his sister and his aunt so it takes a bit for Charlie to try and mend this relationship in hopes to begin some healing. I couldn’t help but feel a little mad that Nell, his aunt, doubted Charlie at the beginning in light of the events.

The story was done a bit different. Goldenbaum introduces Amber into the story before the murder and really gives the reader a feel for the girl. You can’t help but feel sorry for Amber and what she was going through. Her grandmother and her family blamed her for her mother’s mistakes and kind of taking it out on her. She suffered and became a sort of a black sheep in the family. It was nice to see Esther, a town resident step up and take care of the girl during her short stay at Sea Harbor. I felt for Amber, I did, she seemed sort of lost and a bit of a tortured soul, misunderstood. When it turns out that she ends up the murder victim, the style that Goldenbaum introduced me to in this book is rare. We meet Amber, and it isn’t until almost 100 pages into the book that the murder finally happens and you just feel for you, you can’t help it. Or, at least I did.

Outside of that, there were plenty of warmth and friendship that you can’t help but adore and admire through the book. This is the first book for me in this series and I guess It could benefit from reading it from the beginning, but for me it did work as a stand-alone. I was able to learn about the characters quickly and it was nice to see how they stick up for each other, especially when it came to try and clear Charlie’s death.

There were a few other mysteries connecting to Amber that played a big roll in this book, which I liked. I also liked the whole holiday feel as well. It was definitely worth a read.

 

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19 Responses to “Trimmed With Murder: A Seaside Knitters Mystery by Sally Goldenbaum + Giveaway”

  4. Magen Corrie

    Like that the author allowed you to get to know the person before they are killed, though that is also pretty sad. But very interesting.

    Definitely looks like a great book to bundle up with!

    Reply

  10. Lola

    What a lovely cover and I like the idea of a mystery set during christmas. That’s an original set-up with how the murder doesn’t take palce until 100 pages in the book and you get to meet the murder victim before that. I have read one book where there was first an introductionary chapter before the murder happened, which really worked in that book. It’s ncie you were still able to enjoy this book even though you haven’t read the previous books. Great review!
    Lola recently posted…My To-Be Read List #15: pollMy Profile

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