Angora Alibi: A Seaside Knitters Mystery

In Goldenbaum’s unconvincing eighth Seaside Knitters mystery (after 2012’s A Fatal Fleece), Justin Dorsey alienates his distant cousin Janie—a nurse—and the usually generous residents of Sea Harbor, Mass., with his irresponsible behavior. Yet the often jobless Justin shows signs of drawing on large—and unexplained—sources of cash. When Justin dies in an apparent scuba-diving accident, it soon becomes clear that his death was deliberate. The subsequent death of potential witness Horace Stevenson and a secret garden plot raise further questions. Suspicion swirls around the Virgilio Clinic, where Janie works, causing the knitters to speculate about the reasons for Justin’s furtive conduct there and elsewhere. The failure to provide adequate and subtle clues early enough in the narrative, a tendency to tell instead of show, and implausible situations and actions will frustrate some readers. Agents: Christina Hogrebe and Andrea Cirillo, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (May)