Knit, Purl… Murder by Lyla Lockwood

Fiction, Paranormal Cozy Mystery, (310 pages)

4****

Blurb: Savvy Swift’s life is turned upside-down when she discovers her fiancé cheating. What’s a scorned girl to do? Take off in his classic Dodge Charger, of course! Savvy is just settling into her new home in Wickerton Hollow when the woman who takes her in is accused of killing the town hussy. Strange things a talking cat grants her wishes, the gnomes in the garden come alive, and she must steal back a relic a troll took from them because – whoops! – it is her fault he stole it in the first place. All this, while trying to solve the murder so she can spare her friend from prison. Will Savvy have what it takes? Perhaps. But it will take a whole lot of luck and a little bit of magic.

Thoughts: I really debated how many stars I was going to give this story. It was quirky and fun with silly character/place names that had me cringing (but in a good way), but… a better editor is needed. That being said, I couldn’t put this down. It made me smile and even laugh and there’s a lot to be said about those happy emotions these days.

Savvy is really down on her luck. Engaged to a man she caught doing the deed with their secretary, she takes his car (that she paid for) and heads for who knows where. She just drove until she ran out of money and gas. And ended up in the Adirondacks in a strange small town with odd characters—one who ends up dead. And it’s up to Savvy to figure out who the real killer is so her friend, the sweet Ginny, doesn’t get blamed for the deed. There’s a hunky cop (Shotgun) and his newsy twin brother (Sayer), a nasty newspaper guy (Nitpicker), and the man who owns most of the town (McGreedy). There are also garden gnomes and trolls and witches and more.

It’s a cute story with fun characters – and a definite nod to more books to come as there were a lot of threads left dangling. Ignore the editorial issues and this is a fun book to read.

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