One day. It’s difficult to pick one—nearly all my days in Sea Harbor are filled with interesting things. But there is one I might want to talk about. It was a recent Monday, one worth revisiting, a day that launched all of us into the Sea Harbor summer with a vengeance. Or at least with enough tension and mystery and problems to force a resolve to bring back the peaceful summer for which we wait all winter.
It was a beautiful day, with a scattering of clouds against the blue sky, a harbor alive with activity—whale watching boats, fishing vessels, pleasure boats. The screech of gulls and kids running freely across the harbor green, celebrating the end of another school year. A typical June day in Sea Harbor.
But there was something not quite right that Monday. For starters, there was a mysteriously absent Birdie Favazza. Birdie is one of my dearest friends and our oldest seaside knitter. Occasionally we worry unduly about Birdie, a fact that she is quick to scold us about.
“I am fit as a fiddle,” is how she puts it. And, in truth, she is, though her octogenarian status still worries us now and then.
“She said she’d meet us here,” I told the others as we gathered around a back table at Garozzo’s Deli for lunch.
“Maybe she’s just late?” Cass suggested. Cass sometimes took Mondays off, leaving her brother Pete to bait the traps and check the lines, and having her meet us for lunch was a treat. But she couldn’t stay long, she told us. She had an appointment at the bank.
“Now, Cass—” I began. But Cass stopped my words with a wave of her hand. We all knew the Halloran Lobster Company had fallen on tough times. And Cass, with a streak of Irish stubbornness that rivaled any I’d ever seen, was determined to single-handedly keep it afloat, though we all wondered how. And the lines on her forehead that day told us she wondered, too.
“Birdie mentioned yesterday that she’d be at the City Council meeting tonight,” Izzy offered.
“Maybe two events in one day were too much for her. It’s almost too much for me, but I promised Ben I’d be there tonight. So I will.” Cass swallowed the last bite of a prosciutto sandwich and hurried off.
“Odd,” Izzy said, finishing off a piece of lemon cake and pulling out her wallet. “Birdie thinks those council meetings are boring. I’d have thought she’d pick lunch with her best friends over that.”
“But they’re talking about the community garden Ben is starting up,” I reminded her, a project my husband had drawn us all into. “Birdie will go to support it. Not to mention the fate of her friend Finnegan—also on tonight’s agenda.”
“Ah, Finnegan,” Izzy mused. “I almost forgot that his land is being debated tonight. Poor Finn. It’s certainly true that his land is full of junk, wild weeds, not to mention ugly, but it’s his. Why all these developers think they can take it away from him is mystery.”
But it wasn’t really so much of a mystery (certainly not any more than Birdie’s absence again that night at the council meeting was). His land was an eyesore—but worth a fortune.
Finnegan was a fixture in Sea Harbor, an old fisherman who had turned eccentric in recent years, warning people away from his land with a well-aimed shotgun. About the only people he allowed passed the rusty fence around the seaside property were Cass Halloran and her mother Mary. Finn had once worked with Cass’ dad and loved the family, not to mention Mary’s Irish stew and soda bread. The land was an eyesore. At the least, cleaning it up would please some of the people. But Finnegan would have none of it.
Unbeknownst to all of us, he showed up at the meeting that night, listening to the debate from the back shadows of the room. When the arguing was through, he announced his presence, and told all of us that the developers would get his land over their dead bodies. Or his. We weren’t sure at the time.
Ben suggested dinner at the yacht club after the meeting. Food and good wine calmed emotions, he said. So we gathered there, still concerned that Birdie hadn’t shown up nor answered her phone.
But we were hungry—so Ben got a big table near the veranda doors, big enough for Izzy and her husband, Sam, along with Cass and Danny Brandley. And me, of course. It turned out the yacht club was a good choice, not only because the food was terrific, but also because the mystery of the missing Birdie would be solved. Well, actually only partially solved, with a new one piled on top of it.
When we walked across the restaurant, we spotted her —our Birdie—sitting across from a handsome stranger behind a row of ficus trees.
She was clearly animated and thoroughly enjoying herself. And in the company of a dashing white-haired gentleman none of us had ever seen before.
That Monday was the beginning.
But before the week was over, we’d have a pile of concerns and unknowns as high as Izzy’s new shipment of organic cotton yarn.
A skeleton in Birdie Favazza’s closet. A floundering lobster company. A determined old fisherman. A dead body nearly buried in leaves. A suspicious inheritance. And a charming Italian ten-year-old who would steal our hearts.
The summer of A FATAL FLEECE had begun. To learn how it ends, look for A FATAL FLEECE, available May 1st.
** Thanks to the Sally, I have one (1) copy of A FATAL FLEECE to give away. Contest open to residents of the US only. Contest ends May 10. Leave a valid-email address with your comment. Book will be shipped directly from the author. **
Meet the author
Sally Goldenbaum has been writing forever, with 30-plus published novels to date. In between, she has taught college English and philosophy, high school Latin, worked in public television (where she had the honor of rubbing shoulders with Mr. Rogers for a brief time), edited a bioethics journal and veterinary medicine publications, and raised three great children. The Seaside Knitters mystery series was born right along with four wonderful grandchildren in need of sweaters and hats and scarves. A match made in heaven. Visit Sally at www.sallygoldenbaum.com.
Wow, with that little bit of the story I am hooked, now I MUST win so I can find out what happens. . . LOL! This looks like a really good series, I am so glad I got your post about it. Thanks for the chance to win a copy of the book as well. Have a great day!
This looks like another great cozy to add to my list. Thank you for the chance to win.
Thanks Maureen and Angela. Glad my ‘ploy’ to lure you in to the story worked!
Considering the fact that I live in an area where the fishing fleet is slowly being replaced by noisy party boats, and the fresh sea food places around the area are also becoming history, I think I’d love to win a copy of this book. I grew up in and around “mommy dearest’s” knitting store so the location is also part of my past.
So please Dru, enter me in your lovely giveaway?
NoraAdrienne(at)gmail(dot)com
Noraaadrienne–we keep bumping into each other! good to ‘see’ you again.
Yet another series that I have added to my book list, which is growing by leaps and bounds by the way! Sounds like a great series. I’m a very amateur knitter and I always enjoy books that revolve around some of my favorite crafts. Thanks for the heads up and the chance to win!
jrobinson12 (at) austin (dot) rr (dot) com
This sounds like another great story in a terrific series!
kpbarnett1941[at]aol.com
This is my first look at this series. I know, late to the party or what? Anyway they look perfectly beachy to me. Please enter my name for the chance to win this one. Thanks. carlscott(at)prodigy(dot)net(dot)mx
Hi Jane, thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoy the series.Hi Karen and Carla. Hope you enjoy the series. “Beachy” they definitely are!
What a fun sounding read. I have not had the pleasure of reading any inn this series but they are on my wish list.
Hi Nancy–I love new readers. Welcome!
I love cozies, so I can’t wait to try out this one…thanks. Kuzlin(at)aol(dot)com
Hi Linda–thanks for coming aboard!
From the excerpt, I think this cozy would be rich in fully developed characters. I love the seaside setting too. Please enter me in this giveaway.
CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com
Hi Carolee–I live in land-locked Kansas but spend as much time as I can on Cape Ann. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
absolutely adore Sally’s books and hope one day she will use me as a knit designer for one of them
Needles….I’d love to hear from you. Email me and ‘we’ll talk”!
love sally’s books, still hoping she will use me as a knit designer for one of them!
I love Ms. Goldenbaum’s books!!!
Thanks, Patti. So nice to see you here!
Thanks Sally and Nell for dropping by. Looking forward to reading this story.
And thank you, Dru, for having me. Stopping by your place is always a perk to my day.
I love Sally’s Seaside Knitter’s books and can hardly wait to get started on Fatal Fleece. Sally’s vivid descriptions of Sea Harbor influenced our paint schemes and decor when we redecorated this spring so we now have the feel of a seaside cottage every day at home.
Candi, you make me smile! I’d love to see photos of your redo….
Love all of Sally’s books – would love to win this one!
Thanks, Rachel!
I would love to win this cozy little mystery. Having moved inland, away from the beauty of the sea, I miss it so much. While I have two beautiful rivers it is just not the same. Karen
I know what you mean, Karen. Once a water lover, it’s difficult to be away (even with rivers! We have the Missouri floating by us and it doesn’t reallyl count.)
I love Sally’s books. They feel like family but more adventurious. I would love to win a copy.
Thanks, Jill!
SO looking forward to the latest Seaside Knitting mystery! cdhuisman@hotmail.com
Another great knitting mystery it sounds like—and I’d love to win a copy.
suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com
Seaside mysteries are my absolute favorites. I love to see what the “girls” are knitting, eating, & solving. Reading them takes me to another place, a teriffic place, where I spend hours of fun. Keep them coming Sally. They are the BEST!,,,
Barbara, you’ve made my day. Thanks!
I’d love to read this! I know I would enjoy it!!
Lovce Cozy books.
Love Cozy Mysteries
Kiki and Carol–thanks for stopping by. Hope you enjoy the books.
gee, hope i’m not too late to enter!!!!
thanx for another awesomne giveaway!!
cyn209 at juno dot com
How did I miss commenting on this book. I love this series.
mary-fairchild@sbcglobal.net
contest is closed.
Darn I just missed the contest. 🙁 This series is on my TBR list. Will have to check out the latest release.
Thanks, Stacie. I hope you enjoy the seaside knitters. I know they’d love to meet you!
Sally