Knitted and Knifed

A Knitty Kitties Mystery, Book 1

By: Tracey Drew

Narrated by: Sarah Mollo-Christensen

Length: 6 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's Summary

Wanted: Cat mum to manage a yarn store, corral two curious cats, all the while being tangled up in murderous mayhem and mystery.

A smart woman would dump her cheating ex, move from the city, and give herself a chance for a well-deserved do-over. A smarter woman - smarter than me, anyway - wouldn’t jump out of that same frying pan and return to Cape Discovery, a seaside village where her family is the nuttiest of all the nut-ball residents.

I’m a former high school counselor, middle-child peacemaker, and current curator of lots of squishy/fuzzy goodness at my granddad’s little yarn store; a temporary assistant until I decide what to do with the rest my life. There’s only one knotty problem to untangle first: the knife sticking out of the most unpopular man in town, and the police detective trying to pin the murder on the donkey - otherwise known as my younger brother.

With a pair mischievous cats determined to be underfoot and a craft group of serial knitters and happy hookers wanting the inside scoop, a girl could lose her mind. And if the killer has their way, maybe even my life....

Tessa Wakefield has her hands full juggling a cozy craft store, her crazy family, and two men who’d rather poke out their eyes than describe themselves as cute, which they totally are. Cute, charismatic, and occasionally on her mind when she’s not stumbling over dead bodies and using her newfound sleuthing skills to track down murderers. Lucky she’s an excellent multi-tasker...because digging beneath Cape Discovery’s surface can unearth secrets that kill.

©2021 Tracey Drew (P)2021 Podium Audio

Excellent!

The storyline is great and the narration fantastic! I enjoyed listening to this book greatly.

Not for me

Couldn’t get through the first chapter. The story doesn’t grab you and the narration is awful. The narrator has a talk whisper with strange prosody.

An interesting / entertaining Cozy

I was impressed with this new Cozy. The Story - Setting- and Characters are well written by Tracey Drew. Sarah Mollo-Christensen's narration is excellent. I will be purchasing more books in this series and hopefully enjoy them as much as I have this first book.

Keep up the great work.

cute kitty mystery

The storyline is well developed with believable and likeable characters. The cats add a nice touch. the storyline maintains your interest throughout. it is a great quick read. The narration is done in a way to keep your interest. I recommend this book.

I love this

I bought the paper book version last month ,but being busy I didn't have time to read it. I discovered my love for auto books now. I finished crocheting my market bag when I finished it.
The story kept me wondering what happened next and fantastic ending to the story. The man voices Sarah did make laugh quite a bit ,but I quickly got used to it. I love both of kitties cute personalities. Tessa is relatable with me being absolute goof at times as well. I'm looking forward to the rest of the books and maybe what seems to be two possible love interests for her in the future.

Witty, funny knitting cozy mystery- from New Zealand

Wonderful narrator and Tessa (the main character) is like the best friend you’d live to have. Warm and quirky characters in a lovely setting.

And funny - dry tongue in cheek to out right broad humor - I loved every minute. Can’t wait for book two after the preview - keep ‘em coming! 10 stars!

Delightful!

A perfect addition to the cozy mystery genre. The protagonist is witty and charming. The locale is different and fresh. And the accent of the narrator is delightful. The characters, settings, and plot flowed as easily as the ocean waves off of Discovery on a lovely summer afternoon. I would recommend this book to anyone seeking such a retreat.

Different but familiar

vibes of Agatha Raisin in New Zealand; but unlike Beaton's Agatha, Tessa is actually likeable (and not narcissistic)

Accent

NZ was not quite right eg. cars-erole vs. cass-erole. Was a bit jarring to hear.

I finished it but I don’t know why

The narrator was difficult to listen to, but that’s usually something you can overcome if the book is even halfway decent. This one wasn’t.

Knit one murder into a good mystery

I enjoyed this book. I loved the fact it was set in New Zealand (and the narrator was a good choice), so unusual for a cosy mystery but not sure how well that would come across if I was just reading it. Anyway, I liked the characters and of course the helpful guard cats. I don't think the family really came across as nutty and it just seemed like a normal family dynamic to me. There is no romance but there is the potential and as this is the first book in the series, I am sure the heat will be turned up, now that the characters have been introduced. The mystery was the main focus of the story, with enough family drama and background to keep it flowing nicely. There was a number of suspects who all looked guilty and this kept you guessing who the killer was. It will be interesting to see how the author develops the series.
When Tessa returns home to help her grandfather get over the death of his wife and help him fuqn the local knitting store, she thought the biggest problem would be not getting scratched by her mischievous cats and helping to pick up stitches for the knitting club. But when her brother ask her to meet him before work for some advice, she couldn't have guessed she would be following two cats as they discovered a dead body. The dead man was her brother's boss and somebody he owed a lot of money to. Scared her brother will be arrested Tessa starts her own investigation, against the detective in charges wishes. With a number of suspects in her knitting group she is in the perfect position to ask them question but by doing so is she stitching a target to her back? The man wasn't well liked to begin with but the more she learns about him and her small home town the more she wonders if maybe he deserved to die, just as long as her brother isn't arrested.
I liked the narrator. I don't know if she is a native New Zealander or just very good at accents but she really helped to sell the story.

Bear with it and you get hooked

No, it isn’t fast paced but like a good fair isle pattern, as it grows you slowly see the pattern emerge

Loved it

Enjoyed every minute of it very funny looking forward to hearing the next one soon

Uninteresting Story

I tried but did not like the irritatingly whimsical note struck by the narrator. The eternal upward inflection, the so arch comments about every event. Not for me.

Yarn, murder, cats - perfect!

I took a punt on this one and was so glad I did. It’s a good yarn (see what I did there?), it’s well written and well read. I loved that the reader had an NZ accent, too. I’ll be listening to the second book as soon as it’s available.