The Vampire Knitting Club
By Nancy Warren
On Tour October 15 - November 16, 2018
The Blurb
First in a new series of paranormal cozy mysteries!
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 800-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?
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 800-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?
The Vampire Knitting Club by Nancy Warren
Series: The Vampire Knitting Club, #1
Genre: Paranormal Cozy Mystery
Publication Date: September 3, 2018
Published by: Ambleside Publishing
Paperback: 256 pages
ISBN-10: 1928145477
ISBN-13: 978-1928145479
ISBN-13: 978-1928145479
e-Book File Size: 2089 KB
ASIN: B07HDBQ7BB
Amazon | B&N | IndieBound
The Excerpt
CHAPTER ONE
Cardinal Woolsey’s knitting shop has appeared on postcards celebrating the quaint views of Oxford, of which there are many. But when a visitor has tired of writing ‘wish you were here’ on the back of pictures of the various colleges, the dreaming spires, and the dome of the Radcliffe Camera, a cozy little shop painted blue, brimming with baskets of wool and hand-knit goods, can be so much more inviting.
My grandmother Agnes Bartlett owned the knitting shop and I was on my way to visit after spending a very hot month at a dig site in Egypt visiting my archaeologist parents.
Gran was always ready to wrap her warm arms around me and tell me everything was going to be all right. I needed comforting after discovering my boyfriend of two years Todd had stuck his salami in someone else’s sandwich. I referred to him now as my ex-boyfriend The Toad. I was thinking about Gran’s wisdom, her hugs and her home made gingersnaps, when I started to feel as though cold, wet fingers were walking down the back of my neck.
My wheeled suitcase clanked and rattled behind me along the cobblestones of Harrington Street as I looked around, wondering what had caused the heebie-jeebies.
The October day was chilly and crisp and, in the mid-afternoon, the street was busy with shoppers, tourists and students. Church bells chimed three o’clock. When I glanced ahead, I saw my beloved Gran. She wore a black skirt, sensible shoes and one of her hand-knit cardigans, this one in orange and blue. She was walking with a glamorous woman in her sixties whom I didn’t recognize. I thought Gran looked confused and my hackles immediately rose. The glamour puss was holding an umbrella over Gran’s head, even though the day was dry and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.
I waved and called, “Gran!” moving faster so my suitcase began to bounce.
I was sure they saw me, but as I sped toward them, they veered down a side street. What on earth? I lifted my case and began to run; though my case was so heavy it was more of a grunting stagger.
“Gran!” I yelled again. I stopped at the bottom of the road where I’d last seen them. There was no one there. A dry, shriveled leaf tumbled toward me and from a window ledge a small, black cat regarded me with what looked like pity. Otherwise, the street was empty.
“Agnes Bartlett!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.
I stood, panting. The side street was lined with a mixture of half-timbered cottages and Victorian row houses, all clearly residential. Gran hadn’t popped into a shop and would soon emerge. She was visiting in one of those homes, presumably. I wondered if it belonged to her friend.
Well, there was no point standing there. I’d go to Cardinal Woolsey’s and wait for Gran there. Her assistant, Rosemary, would be running the shop and I could let myself into the upstairs flat and unpack while I waited for my grandmother to return.
I retraced my steps, but when I reached the entrance to the quaint shop and tried the door, it didn’t open. I tried again, pushing harder, before my other senses kicked in and I realized that no lights were on inside.
A printed sign hung on the windowed front door. It said, “Cardinal Woolsey’s is closed until further notice.” At the bottom was a phone number.
Closed until further notice?
Gran never closed the shop outside her regular closing days. And if she had, where was her assistant?
I stood on the sidewalk that feeling came again, like cold fingers on the nape of my neck.
***
Excerpt from The Vampire Knitting Club by Nancy Warren. Copyright © 2018 by Nancy Warren.
Reproduced with permission from Nancy Warren. All rights reserved.
The Review
I just read an amazing book, y'all — The Vampire Knitting Club by Nancy Warren. I love everything about it. The Vampire Knitting Club is teeming with marvelous characters, the prime example being Lucy Swift, my favorite. I relished watching her reactions to the vampires change from disbelief, to skepticism, and finally to acceptance. Lucy's reaction to a startling discovery about herself ranged from disbelief to skepticism to acceptance also.
The Vampire Knitting Club is set in the city of Oxford, in Oxfordshire, England. With its rich history spanning thirteen centuries, Oxford becomes another character in the skillful hands of Author Nancy Warren. Her descriptions of the sights and sounds experienced by Lucy added considerably to my enjoyment of her book.
Ms Warren's clever and humorous word-craft also contributed to the pleasure of reading The Vampire Knitting Club. For example:
• ...Gran listens with her whole attention and says exactly the right thing.
I think the only disappointment for both of us is that she's never been able to teach me to knit. Everything I try, whether it's a sweater, a pair of socks or a simple scarf ends up looking like a scrunched-up hedgehog.
• "Well now, I've never seen a scarf turn out quite like that." Gran had laughed, unperturbed by the fact that my winter scarf had transformed into a sea urchin.
I tossed it in the corner and Gran's cat ate holes in it. He's dead now.
• I took my laptop next door to Elderflower Tea Shop. The Watt sisters might look like they belonged in a Brontë novel, but they had something the Brontës never had: high speed Wi-Fi.
• "The nonsense humans believe. The French vampires started that rumor about carrying garlic so their victims would arrive already seasoned."
• I couldn't imagine the damage that a dozen, or two dozen or however many there were of vampires could do if they were hungry and enraged. They gave the term hangry new meaning.
• "What did you say"
"You have sharp ears. I said Bovis Stercus. It's Latin for the excrement of a bull."
I rolled my eyes. "Only in Oxford."
The story line is bloody good — fun and fast moving, with a unique premise. I was zipping right along, savoring every word, when I read that [spoiler] entered the shop carrying [spoiler]. I looked down at the percentage read on my Kindle, and was dismayed to see that I was at 90% (and was totally surprised that it was [spoiler], by the way). The Vampire Knitting Club is so delightful that I didn't want it to end that soon! Speaking of ending, I had a delicious cozy feeling as I read it.
Luckily, I won't have to wait long to find out what happens next to Lucy and the others. Books 2 and 3 are available now, and Book 4 of The Vampire Knitting Club series will be released on November 28, 2018.
I love The Vampire Knitting Club by Nancy Warren, and recommend it to fans of paranormal mysteries, and cozy mysteries with a paranormal twist. I think it will have special appeal to fans of the Stacy Justice Mystery Series, the Lucy Valentine Series, and other books by Nancy Warren. The Vampire Knitting Club is absolutely fabulous, and deserves my highest rating of Five Kitties!
Five out of five kitties
Note: I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of The Vampire Knitting Club.
All opinions shared are 100% my own.
For the Guest Post from November 1, click Here!
The Author
About Nancy Warren
Nancy Warren is the USA Today bestselling author of more than sixty novels including the Toni Diamond cozy mystery series. She shares her time between Victoria, British Columbia, and Bath in the UK.
Tour Participants:
Visit these other hosts on this tour for more reviews, interviews, guest posts, and giveaways!The Giveaway
This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Nancy Warren. There will be one (1) winner of one (1) Amazon.com Gift Card. The giveaway begins on October 15, 2018 and runs through November 17, 2018. Void where prohibited.
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