The Vampire Knitting Club by Nancy Warren

2.5 Stars

This sounded like it was going to be a fun book to read - cosy mystery (not sure I like that term but it seems prevalent and everyone knows what it means by now so I have to use it), a wool shop and vampires.  What's not to like?  Unfortunately, with this one there is quite a bit that just doesn't hit the mark.  Luckily, it is a very quick read so the flaws are easier to ignore.

I think one of my biggest issues was the setting.  Oxford as a base for the supernatural has been done to death and whilst I can understand the allure of setting a book (or series of them) here, for the scenery if nothing else, I am so over it.  Being a huge fan of the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness I found myself constantly comparing the fictional worlds and this one comes up severely lacking.  We have a transplanted American witch, a nest of vampires and an ancient setting.  What we don't have is a compelling heroine, a cast of intriguing support characters or any real interest in how things are going to work out.  This was a book that I read just to get to the end without any investment or real interest in the tale being told.

Things do look up towards the end though when Lucy's cousin Violet and her mother turn up at The Cardinal Woolsey determined to wrest the family grimoire from Lucy's hands.  In the interests of honesty I had to look up the heroine's name when writing this review and it is only 4 days since I finished the book.  The family dynamics were interesting and the whole task to determine who got the book was well executed on the page and I did find myself drawn in to the situation.  That is almost enough to make me want to see what happens in the second book in this series - almost.

The plot about the grandmother's death and the whole idea that vampire's walk and live amongst us is paper thin and from the entrance of Sydney Lafontaine you know that granny did not have a natural death and why she didn't have a natural death.  As this happens in the opening chapters there is little in the way of tension, suspense or even interest.  The vampire nest under the store just feels plain odd and unless the store is the size of your average department store the whole thing must take up the block of four stores and not just the one, tiny wool shop.  Yes, I know this is a fantasy novel but at least make an attempt at creating a believable world for your reader.