An enjoyable installment which involves a new environmental science teacher a new bar owner. ( )

It's okay. I like the townsfolk and knitters hangouts, but Murderous Tangle was lacking in mystery department. There are many characters in this series and it's difficult to follow on audio. ( )

Birdie, Nell, Cassie, and Izzy are planning a holiday event for the approaching Christmas holiday, for all their family and friends. This is a small Massachusetts seaside town, and there's a sense that everybody knows everybody, though that's not always true.

Tess Bean is a fairly new arrival in town, working at two rather different part-time jobs. One of them is at the Seaside Harbor school, teaching science to the young students. She's lively and interesting, an environmental activist, and is very inspiring to many of them, including Birdie's granddaughter, Gabby. She also works for Clark Turner, the local veterinarian, in his kennel, where her gentle touch with the animals is valuable.

Not all the small business owners are pleased with her environmental activism, though, especially when she questions their own practices. Yet others are very receptive, and opinion is definitely divided on Tess.

There's another newcomer in town, Bobby Abbot, owner of the Harbor Club, a fancy new bar next to Gracie's Lazy Lobster restaurant. Gracie has gotten on board with Tess's environmental cleanup program, including a compost pit behind her restaurant. Bobby Abbot has not; he's totally opposed to it, and has clashed with Tess more than once.

What relatively few people know is that Bobby tried to buy the Lazy Lobster, to expand the Harbor Club, and Gracie refused. Bobby isn't accustomed to taking no for an answer, and has told her he'll drive her out of business instead.

When Bobby Abbot is found dead, pushed off a ledge into the harbor after the close of business one night, Tess and Gracie are the two most obvious suspects, but not by any means the only ones. An awful lot of people had reason to dislike Bobby Abbot.

With Gracie, one of their own, and Tess, rapidly becoming one of their own due to Gabby's pull with her grandmother, the Seaside Knitters have to find out who really did it. In the process they discover secrets of people they know and care about, and there's no way the answer isn't going to be disruptive, or even destructive, to some of those people.

This is the first of the Seaside Knitters books I've discovered, and despite being number 14 in the series, I found it pretty easy to slide into it, and I'd enjoy reading or listening to more. It's a good mystery, but it's also a well-done look at the friendships and relationships in Seaside Harbor.

Recommended.

I bought this audiobook. ( )

Sally Goldenbaum delivers another delightful story of friendship, loyalty, humor with A Murderous Tangle. Sally Goldenbaum supplies a complete roster of the characters in her novel, which I find wonderful. The Seaside Knitters of Massachusetts provide warmth, love, and friendship in this tight knit community where the town presents many events to strengthen a sense of belonging. Sometimes I feel that the murder stands behind the actual emotional ties of the town. The novel does not dip into a graphic description of the murder and at times seems like a Joanne Fluke mystery. Both writers provide a recipe at the end of the novel, but Sally Goldenbaum also gives a knitting pattern and portrays characters and setting better than Fluke. ( )

A Murderous Tangle is the third book in the Seaside Knitters Mystery series.

This book introduces a new character Tess Bean. Tess in on the staff at the veterinary clinic and a part-time environmental science teacher. She has been able to get some of the students involved in cleaning up the shoreline and passing out literature to educate residents on how to save the environment.

When the body of the owner of the Harbor Club bar, Bobby Abbott, is found near his bar Izzy, Nell, Cass, and Birdie set their sight on finding who wanted Bobbie out of the picture. As they begin to think through possible suspects they find that some of their friends are quickly added to the list. Even Tess becomes a suspect as she was seen having a heated argument with Bobby.

Whether the Seaside Knitters are having a quiet supper at Nell’s or working on their knitting at Izzy’s store they will put all their effort into finding the killer.

The book is well-written and plotted with an interesting cast of characters. Once again the author writes a heart-warming story with people I would love to have as friends.
A knitting pattern and delicious recipes are also included with the book.

I am most interested in reading the next book in this delightful series. ( )