Jeanne Reviews: Knits, Knots, and Knives by Emmie Caldwel

Lia Geiger is looking forward to seeing the Civil War re-enactment held near the Crandalsburg Craft Fair where Lia manages a booth for her knitting group. A newcomer to the area, this will be Lia’s first exposure to the annual event, though she and her fellow knitters have been making garments for the re-enactors.  Some of them are real stickers for authenticity, wanting their attire to be era- appropriate right down to their socks.  Lia’s neighbor Jack is one of those, and is upset by an upstart participant with deep pockets who seems to be trying to take over the group. Some members welcome a relaxation of the rules while others remain traditionalists, causing some friction within the group. When someone ends up dead after the mock battle, Lia finds herself once again trying to unravel a mystery.

While this is pretty much a traditional cozy, there are several features that make it a standout for me.  The first is that Lia is a middle-aged widow with a grown daughter who isn’t as likely to go off on a tangent. She’s more careful—well, most of the time—and thoughtful in her process.

There’s a hint of mature romance that began in an earlier book and the pace is appropriate, with the right amount of consideration and is blessedly free (so far) of the romantic angst so common with younger heroines. 

Lia has a good relationship with her daughter who is equally sensible and who has a budding romance of her own. There’s a good set of supporting characters, including a policeman who is tolerant of Lia’s snooping.

I consider this more of a fair-play mystery than some cozies, which withhold clues until the very end when there’s a huge information drop that almost instantly solves the case except for the semi- mandatory “heroine confronts killer alone” scene. Not a fan of those, so I’m grateful if the author can avoid them.  While this one did withhold some information, there was enough available for me to figure out several of the plotlines so I was satisfied.

On the downside, the aforementioned confront the killer scene did show up and with what I considered a very flimsy excuse on Our Heroine’s part as to why she rushed in where angels fear to tread. For me, it was a formulaic mistake, but that’s just me.  I’m sure others would be clamoring for such a scene.

This is the third in the series and I think can be read as a standalone. I have read the other two, but I feel a new reader wouldn’t have any trouble getting up to speed.  If you want a fast-paced thriller, this is not going to be your cup of tea but if you like a domestic themed mystery with a leisurely pace then this may be one you want to pick up.

And having the adorable feline Daphne doesn’t hurt!

I’ll certainly plan to read any new entries in the series, but since this one just came out it may be a while.

The titles in series order:

Wicked Yarn

Stitched in Crime

Knits, Knots, and Knives