Book Review: The Vampire Knitting Club by Nancy Warren

Summary:

tvkc-coverVampires who knit
A troublemaking witch
Who killed Granny — and is she really dead?

At a crossroads between a cringe-worthy past (Todd the Toad) and an uncertain future (she’s not exactly homeless, but it’s close), Lucy Swift travels to Oxford to visit her grandmother. With Gran’s undying love to count on and Cardinal Woolsey’s, Gran’s knitting shop, to keep her busy, Lucy can catch her breath and figure out what she’s going to do.

Except it turns out that Gran is the undying. Or at least, the undead. But there’s a death certificate. And a will, leaving the knitting shop to Lucy. And a lot of people going in and out who never use the door—including Gran, who is just as loving as ever, and prone to knitting sweaters at warp speed, late at night. What exactly is going on?

When Lucy discovers that Gran did not die peacefully in her sleep, but was murdered, she has to bring the killer to justice without tipping off the law that there’s no body in the grave. Between a hot 600-year-old vampire and a dishy detective inspector, both of whom always seem to be there for her, Lucy finds her life getting more complicated than a triple cable cardigan.
The only one who seems to know what’s going on is her cat … or is it … her familiar?

Goodreads

Thoughts:

I didn’t know that a cozy mystery featuring vampires, witches, and knitting was exactly what I needed in life, but there you have it. This was such a little gem of a book and I absolutely adored it.

Lucy arrives in Oxford intent on visiting her grandmother after breaking up with her boyfriend having caught him cheating on her. She’s looking for a little downtime and comfort but instead finds that her grandmother has passed away and she’s inherited her knitting shop and attached apartment. Shocked, and not quite sure what direction she wants her life to take, she decides to temporarily run the shop while she’s trying to figure things out. Of course, things aren’t as they seem. Was her grandmother’s death really an accident? And some of the residents of Oxford are kind of…strange.

I loved this book. I loved it so much that I binge read the rest of the series that’s out so far (4 books in total) all in a row. They’re quick reads and fun little mysteries. They remind me of Murder She Wrote. Except Lucy is young and there are vampires and stuff. And knitting. But the mystery aspect reminds me of those type of mysteries. Murders are always seeming to happen around Lucy and somehow she ends up putting together a lot of the clues.

I love Lucy’s character. She’s trying to figure things out about her own life when she’s thrown this curve-ball and then she has even more things to figure out. Despite that, she’s very grounded. I love the side-characters in the series as well, they’re all great fun–especially the vampires. They’re all very lovely people. Or former people, I guess.

The other great thing about the book, and all the books in the series, is the humor. It’s a very smart type of humor and witty banter that just hits the spot for me.

I felt like the supernatural elements were smoothly incorporated into the story so that it felt natural. I mean, as natural as vampires and witches can feel, anyway. I think a lot of it is due to Lucy’s reaction to finding out these things exist, and how she is, on one level, disturbed but also accepting of this new reality. It helps that all the vampires do their best to appear people-like and as normal as possible while in front of her.

Overall this was a fun read! I recommend it to anyone that is looking for a cozy mystery with some supernatural elements. 4/5 stars.

22 thoughts on “Book Review: The Vampire Knitting Club by Nancy Warren”

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