A Finely Knit Murder: A Seaside Knitters Mystery

Goldenbaum's genial ninth Seaside Knitters mystery (after 2014's Murder in Merino) finds 11-year-old New Yorker Gabby Marietti staying with her grandmother, Birdie Favazza, in Sea Harbor, Mass., for the fall. Gabby attends Sea Harbor Community Day School, where she's delighted with her new friends and teachers, though a school board%E2%80%93based effort is afoot to remove the new headmistress, Elizabeth Hartley. The fall gala at Community Day is a roaring success until the body of school board member Blythe Westerland turns up near the school boathouse, and Elizabeth becomes the prime suspect in Blythe's murder. Birdie and the other Seaside Knitters know that the school's future depends on a fast solution of the crime, so they pitch in to assist police chief Jerry Thompson, whose situation is complicated by the mutual attraction between him and Elizabeth. As always, the knitters' personal lives and loves are a part of the mix, and cozy fans are sure to enjoy their company despite the growing undercurrents of danger. (May)