Book Review: Crossing the Lines by Nancy Warren

Earlier this week, I started a new series... the Vampire Book Club by Nancy Warren. After absolutely devouring the Vampire Knitting Club mysteries this year, I needed a new Vampire mystery series. The first chapter of The Vampire Book Club kind of threw me a little. It brings you right into the action with Quinn Callahan being banished by her coven and sent to Ireland. I thought surely there is a prequel, and guess what? There is... Crossing the Lines!

Crossing the Lines is a prequel to The Vampire Book Club and it tells the story of how Quinn ends up being banished by her coven and sent to Ireland. It features sexy modern vampire, Lochlan Balfour.  If you've read the Vampire Knitting Club books you know who I'm talking about, and if you haven't read them.... what are you waiting for?

This was a fun, quick story. It explains Quinn's back story and gives readers a taste of the fabulous mysteries to follow. This prequel centres around what Quinn did to get into trouble, and also the death of a book club member.

The mystery itself was quick and fairly easy to solve. I was there more for the vampire! Aren't I always?

If you like vampires and mysteries, or even witches and mysteries, go grab this series today. The entire series [and the Vampire Knitting Club mysteries] are all available on Kindle Unlimited!

Book Review: The Vampire Knitting Club: Cornwall by Nancy Warren

So far this year, I have completely devoured the Vampire Knitting Club mysteries by Nancy Warren. I'm a yarn dyer by day, and a customer recommended them to me, and oh my gosh... I loved them! I have completely finished the series, so I started on the spin-off The Vampire Knitting Club: Cornwall. Amazing! Every bit as good as the original series.

Lucy Swift's best friend, Jennifer Cunningham, is helping her open a second yarn shop in Cornwall. Jennifer is at a loose end in her life, since leaving Boston and she is in no hurry to return. Being an avid knitter, she's more than happy to get the shop up and running and figure things out later. However, when she stumbles on a dead body before the shop is even open, she knows she is going to have to play amateur sleuth first.

I love, love, loved this book! Jennifer is a witch, a knitter and a person with a complicated past. She is an absolute joy to have an adventure with. Naturally in Cornwall she meets so many interesting characters, and it is such a fun, first adventure!

I like that while the mystery itself is solved by the end, there is still so many unanswered questions about Jennifer and the occupants of Tregrebi, Cornwall. Like the undead almost-pirate like Gryffn? He could have been a Lord but he prefers to spend his time in the sea. It's going to be so much fun to watch the locals stories unfold in future books!

The Vampire Knitting Club: Cornwall is simply tremendous! It can be read as a standalone, as it does introduce characters from the original series. Lucy and her undead vampire, Rafe, make an appearance. However, I'm certain after reading this one you'll want to go back and read the original Vampire Knitting Club mysteries!

Book Review: Cat's Paws and Curses by Nancy Warren

It's time for a short Christmas [almost in July] mystery and Nancy Warren has you covered with a festive Vampire Knitting Club mystery!

Lucy is getting together with her [human] knitting circle, to enjoy good company and festive knits. However not all is festive and happy, when one of the members of the circle is killed. In a brilliant locked room mystery, Lucy must figure out who the killer is before they strike again.

I love a locked room mystery! With only a limited number of suspects and clues laid out before you, can you solve it before the amateur sleuth? In this case.... yes! It was clear early on who the victim and murderer were. However, it was enjoyable watching it play out and confirm my theory!

I listened on audio to this short story and it was great. It's the perfect length for a long dog walk. I have only one Vampire Knitting Club mystery left, and it is going to be a happy-sad moment when I start it. This series has zoomed up my list of most favourites! If you like knitting and/or supernatural mysteries then this series is for you too!

Book Review: Ribbing and Runes by Nancy Warren

Yes, I'm back again with another review for a Vampire Knitting Club Mystery. Why? Because they are just so darn good! Since discovering these books in February, I've quickly made my way through [almost] the whole series. Ribbing and Runes is the 13th book in the series, and the second last book published. 

Lucy Swift is preparing to say "I do" to her sexy vampire, Rafe. However, on the way to the altar, there is a little mystery.... in the way of a dead witch! On a shopping trip, Lucy discovers the witch that put the hex on her cousin Violet. However, what she wasn't expecting was to get caught up in a murder mystery involving alchemy!

I love this series so much! Nancy Warren deftly weaves the mystery and the "I do's" so well. I practically sped through this one, as I tried to solve the mystery before Lucy!

As the final page was read I sighed that contented sigh of a happy reader. Needless to say Lucy and Rafe get their happy ending, but I know they will have many more adventures. After all, trouble seems to follow Lucy around. More than mysteries, I'm curious what the romance department has in store for Violet!

If you love supernatural mysteries then you need to be reading this series. I've been alternating between the audiobook and the e-books [audios for dog walking] and the narrator is fantastic. No matter what format you choose you won't be disappointed.

Book Review: Herringbone & Hexes by Nancy Warren

Herringbone and Hexes is the 12th book in the Vampire Knitting Club mysteries, featuring Lucy Swift, yarn shop owner and part time amateur sleuth. This time Lucy gets mixed up in another murder case when a new friend is found dead. 

I absolutely cannot get enough of this series. I’ve been reading them since the first book, The Vampire Knitting Club, and have been bingeing them, one after another. They are the perfect series for supernatural fans that love a good murder mystery. 

 

I thought this one was particularly well crafted, especially as the murder didn’t happen until more than half way through the story. However, as Nancy Warren is a fantastic storyteller I knew it would all wrap together and it did. 

It’s hard to review the series without giving away spoilers as there is little side stories that build on each other from book to book. Like many cozy mystery series, you could read a single mystery as a standalone and not feel lost. However, you will get far more enjoyment out of this series if you read them in order. After just one book, it will soon become a favourite! 

With Lucy’s sexy vampire Rafe and a stunning whodunnit every time, it it’s easy to see why this is one of my favourite series.

Book Review: Diamond and Daggers by Nancy Warren

I've been reading a LOT of Vampire Knitting Club books this year! Over the last few months I've been devouring the series, and haven't written a review for any of them yet. So I must change this with the 11th book in the series, Diamond and Daggers.

Lucy Swift is about to get into danger [yet again], when she promises vampire and former actress, Sylvia Strand, that she will wear her famed Cartier jewels to a gala in her honor. What can go wrong? Of course, this is Lucy, so everything! During the Gala Lucy is knocked unconscious and the jewels are stolen. Sylvia is absolutely grief stricken, and Lucy and the vampires set about trying to recover the jewels.

From the very first book, The Vampire Knitting Club, I have been absolutely smitten with this series. The mysteries are always tantalizing, and the chemistry between vampire Rafe and witch Lucy, is never boring! This one was especially good, as it delved into Sylvia's back story as a famous silent movie star, and what people would do to get their hands on the jewels.

While I did manage to unravel the mystery before Lucy, I was glued to every single page, as Nancy Warren packs a lot of action in, right down to the last page!

If you like paranormal mysteries, you need to be reading this series! I can't wait to read the next one.