Close Knit

(3.5 Stars)

I didn't know cozy suspense was something I was missing in my life, but I found it in Close Knit. It wasn't the story I was expecting but I'm happy I stuck with it.

The book is broken up into two parts. Part one feels like a cozy slice of life view of a tiny seaside town in Scotland and it's quirky inhabitants. Part two is a lot more action driven, with quickly mounting suspense. This makes for a very slow start with a dramatic finish, but you really have to push past the initial set up to get the full effect.

I loved how vivid the descriptions of the land and town were. It makes the setting itself feel alive, and I could easily understand what was drawing the characters to stay there. It feels isolated, but not lonely.

There's sort of an omniscient perspective. You bounce between the inner thoughts of each character multiple times per scene in a way that was a little jarring. I never quite got used to it, but that might just be my personal taste.

The last thing I'll note is that the blurb is a little misleading. I expected a straight forward romance when in reality the romance is more of a sub plot. The suspense was a pleasant surprise. This is my first Jenny Colgan book, so maybe this is standard, but as a first time reader I would have enjoyed it more if I had different expectations going into it.

This ARC was provided through NetGalley by Avon and Harper Voyager in exchange for honest feedback. All opinions are my own.