A CRIME OF A DIFFERENT STRIPE

The crafty Seaside Knitters’ latest case tests their skills to the max.

Very pregnant Cass Halloran’s old friends Birdie Favazza, Izzy Perry, and Nell Endicott, who's Izzy’s aunt, are awaiting Cass’ first baby almost as eagerly as she is. Izzy’s husband, award-winning photographer Sam Perry, has reluctantly invited his old mentor, Harrison Grant, to give a talk at the fall art series in Sea Harbor, Massachusetts. Grant seems to have changed from the brash womanizer Sam remembers to a kinder, gentler person, but evidently not enough to stop someone from murdering him. The morning after Grant fails to show up at the art center’s welcome party, Izzy, who runs the local yarn shop, finds his body at the bottom of the rickety steps leading to the home of Rico Silva and his dog, Frodo. Rico’s an embittered man whose estate has slowly gone to ruin in the years since his wife ran off, leaving not a trace to this day. Despite their experience in crime-solving, the Knitters can’t imagine who might have killed Grant, who has no obvious connection to the town. But when they get down to sleuthing, they turn up bombshells about Grant’s odious treatment of women and his mission to travel far and wide apologizing to those he’s wronged, including someone in Sea Harbor.

Endearing characters tackle a tangled case that leads to a sad but ultimately satisfying conclusion.