The Cozy Mystery List Blog

Cozy Mystery (and Other Favorite) Books, Movies, and TV

Emmie Caldwell (Mary Ellen Hughes): Craft Fair Knitters Mystery Series

July 5, 2025

A Wicked Yarn (A Craft Fair Knitters Mystery Book 1) Yikes, I’ve really gotten behind! I believe I mentioned a few posts ago that my daughter and her family have visited recently… well, recovering from that sort of excitement is starting to get harder and harder, so the last few weeks have left both myself and my husband a little behind. I’ll try to get back ‘on track’ as quickly as possible!

Anyway… for ‘this month’ (ie last month, June), I’ll be discussing the first entry in Emmie Caldwell‘s Craft Fair Knitters Mystery Series, A Wicked Yarn. it’s worth mentioning that I don’t usually highlight an author’s other pseudonyms in the name of this sort of book highlight post, but in this case, Mary Ellen Hughes is simply significantly more recognizable than Emmie Caldwell. It’s really unfortunate when authors do this, since I think it really hurts their new series – not to mention makes it harder for readers to find new works by authors they like. This is a relatively new series by Caldwell/Hughes, starting in 2020, so it’s safe to say it’s a very modern Cozy by this site’s standards.

It’s Mother’s Day weekend, and relatively recently widowed Lia Geiger is enjoying herself at the Crandalsburg Craft Fair, including managing the stall where she sells both her own and friends’ knitting products, and checking up with her old friend, Belinda, the fair’s manager. Lia has relatively recently moved to Crandalsburg as part of moving on from memories of her deceased husband, though not particularly far- just from another nearby small town, York. Belinda seems a bit on edge, even more so than normal for a holiday fair opening.

It doesn’t take long for Belinda to explain the problem. The owner of the barn where the craft fair is run is being sold – and worse, to Belinda’s ex-husband Darren, who will certainly shut it down. Well… he would shut it down, but unsurprisingly, he turns up dead before he can do so… right after Belinda and her ex exchange ambiguous, vaguely threatening phrases in front of the entire craft fair.

Well, fortunately, Lia isn’t about to let little things like an obvious motive and menacing phrasing keep her from believing in her friend’s innocence. Even more fortunately, there seems to be no shortage of suspects for Darren’s death, as is so often the case.

As with so many modern Cozies, this is definitely the sort of series where you’re really going to enjoy the series more if you’re interested in the hobby that is integrated into it. There are significant portions of the book where the goes into specifics regarding knitting projects, her time with her knitting circle, the stock and management aspects of Lia’s booth, and other crafting elements. That said, it also does one thing that I know many site readers will know, and that’s get right to the murder. The amount of pre-crime content is exactly what I like to see in a Cozy – a few pre-murder scenes to set the tone and establish the setting, then the sleuth stumbling across the crime scene.

All in all, I would call A Wicked Yarn a very solid modern Cozy with a good mix of mystery and theme-specific elements. If you’re looking for a mystery involving knitters, this is definitely a great pickup for any modern Cozy fan.

As always, if you want to read more of these brief discussions of some of the more popular Cozy Mystery Series that I’ve written in the past, you can find them at the Most Recommended Cozy Mystery Series page.

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X

No Comments Yet - Click to Add One Now

June 9 to June 29

June 28, 2025

A Body at the Book Fair (A Secret Bookcase Mystery 6) Here is the list of new releases for June 9 to June 29!

Ellie Alexander (aka Kate Dyer-Seeley): A Body at the Book Fair (6th in the Secret Bookcase Mysteries)

Christy Barritt: If You’re Reading This (10th in the True Crime Junkies Mysteries)

Catherine Bruns: Death of the Hula Girl (25th in the Aloha Lagoon Mysteries)

Anna Lee Huber: A Tarnished Canvas (13th in the Lady Darby Mysteries)

LynDee Walker: The Pastor’s Wife (Stand Alone Novel)

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X

2 Comments - Click Here to Read the Comments or to Add Another

May 19 to June 8

June 12, 2025

The Diva Poaches a Bad Egg (A Domestic Diva Mystery Book 18) Here is the list of new releases for May 19 to June 8!

Christy Barritt: Artifice (4th in the Pros and Cons Mysteries)

Lorraine Bartlett (aka L. L. Bartlett & Lorna Barrett): After the Tempest (6th in the Lotus Bay Mysteries)

Krista Davis: The Diva Poaches a Bad Egg (18th in the Domestic Diva Mysteries)

Agatha Frost: Millionaire’s Shortbread and Murder (34th in the Peridale Cafe Cozy Mysteries)

Carolyn Haines: Doggone Bones (29th in the Sarah Booth Delaney Mysteries)

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X

No Comments Yet - Click to Add One Now

J.C. Eaton: Sophie Kimball Mystery Series

May 31, 2025

Booked 4 Murder (Sophie Kimball Mystery Book 1)

Well, it’s the end of the month, and that means it’s time for me to discuss another recommended mystery series. This month, I’ll be discussing the first of the Sophie Kimball Mystery Series by J.C. Eaton, Booked 4 Murder.

Sophie starts the novel with a stable job and no interests in uprooting and changing careers – she is an accountant, working for the police in Mankato, Minnesota. Sophie’s only real problem at the moment appears to be her mother’s overactive imagination – she’s convinced that the members of her book club have been ‘cursed’, as a number of them have died recently. Of course, this isn’t necessarily the biggest coincidence, as her mother is a retiree and the book club is at her retirement home – most of the recently deceased are in their 70s or 80s and in generally poor health. However, there were a few unusual coincidences – most notably, each had received a cryptic email with a disturbing message recently. However, as the death counter climbs, Sophie decides to relent and visit her mother, if for no other reason than to set her mind at ease.

Despite being a relatively new-style Cozy, and only published less than a decade ago, this isn’t a really strongly themed book – the protagonist doesn’t run a bakery or a knitting shop and doesn’t spend most of her time working her day job while investigating on the side. While literature elements are present because of the book club, they’re far more mystery-relevant than specialized themes often are in modern Cozies. Regular readers will know how much I appreciate when a book gets right to the mystery, and Booked 4 Murder definitely doesn’t disappoint on that front – the first deaths are discussed on the very first page, having occurred offscreen before the book even begins.

Because of both of these factors, this is definitely one of the more ‘mystery-forward’ Cozies I’ve seen published in the last decade or so. If you’re looking for a modern Cozy with relatively light ‘theme-ing’, I can definitely recommend Booked 4 Murder.

As always, if you want to read more of these brief discussions of some of the more popular Cozy Mystery Series that I’ve written in the past, you can find them at the Most Recommended Cozy Mystery Series page.

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X

15 Comments - Click Here to Read the Comments or to Add Another

Next Page »

Subscribe to Blog Post Email Alerts

  • Cozy Mystery Blog Home
  • Cozy Mystery Site
  • Soon to be Released Mysteries
  • Cozies by Themes
  • New Mystery Releases
  • New Mystery Series
  • Cozy Mystery Recommendations
  • Most Popular and Recommended Cozy Mystery Series
  • Holiday Mystery Book Lists
  • What Is a Cozy?
  • TV and Movies
  • Author Interviews
  • Cozy-Mystery.com on Facebook

Recent Posts

  • Emmie Caldwell (Mary Ellen Hughes): Craft Fair Knitters Mystery Series
  • June 9 to June 29
  • TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES CHANNEL MYSTERY MOVIES – July 2025
  • May 19 to June 8
  • Cozy Mystery Book Recommendations – May 2025

Recent Comments

  • Danna - cozy mystery list on June 9 to June 29
  • Dawn n on Bed & Breakfast Mystery Series, Hotel Mystery Series and Boarding House Mystery Series:
  • Harold on J.C. Eaton: Sophie Kimball Mystery Series
  • Sherry on Mystery Books that Take Place in Alaska…
  • Susy S on June 9 to June 29

Cozy Mystery List Home | Affiliate Disclosure | Cozy Mystery Blog Home  | Cozy Mystery Blog Sitemap | Privacy Policy  | Contact Me   | About |

Copyright © 2006-2025, Cozy-Mystery.Com, All rights reserved.
A Guide to Cozy Mystery Books, Movies, and TV


MENU
  • Cozy Mystery Blog Home
  • Cozy Mystery Site
  • Soon to be Released Mysteries
  • Cozies by Themes
  • New Mystery Releases
  • New Mystery Series
  • Cozy Mystery Recommendations
  • Most Popular and Recommended Cozy Mystery Series
  • Holiday Mystery Book Lists
  • What Is a Cozy?
  • TV and Movies
  • Author Interviews
  • Cozy-Mystery.com on Facebook