I was very excited when NetGalley offered me an ARC of Sally Goldenbaum’s latest adventure in Sea Harbor. Reading these books feels like a visit with old friends. Her descriptions of the town make you feel like you are there and you can almost feel the sea air. The plot centers around plans for a beloved town character’s 100th birthday celebration. But,, a few days before the party, he passes in his sleep. While sad, at his age, his passing was not unexpected. But, a closer look reveals that his death was not natural. The knitting group is determined to reveal his murderer and has many adventures during the quest. The writing was solid and the plot twists well done. A truly enjoyable read. This opinion is my own.

Izzy, Cass, Nell and Birdie (along with the entire town) are busy planning a 100th birthday party for a beloved town benefactor. However, plans change after a murder and knitting evenings turn into crime solving discussions on what may be their hardest case yet. Absolutely wonderful!

This book in the series was one of the best ones yet for me. You get a little deeper look into the lives of many Sea Harbor residents and the community as a whole. Really good mystery but sad as well with the loss of such a loved character. This book did take a little more serious tone and not quite the usual light cozy but very well written. Great reveal at the end and I am already very eagerly awaiting the next book!

I'm only giving this a 3 stars because it just lost me about half way thru. I love this authors work and I love this series. It disappoints me this one book just drags on and on. Not really making sense. Overall the plot/ storyline is good but as I said it just drags on and on. I'm thinking of jumping to the last chapter and see if things improve.
I encourage y'all to read this one for yourselves. . I might just be having an off day.

Sea Harbor is gearing up for Angus' 100th birthday and everyone is excited. Before the big day, however, Angus is found dead in his bed. The town decides to have the birthday party as a celebration of life and it ends with Nell and Birdie finding Father Northcutt face down on Angus' living room floor, bleeding and unconscious. The authorities take a second look at Angus' death and determine he did not die peacefully in his sleep as first thought, but someone poisoned the old man of the sea's nightly tea.
Sea Harbor is a town I'd love to live in, minus the murders. Well, maybe the murders as long as I'm not the victim and I can join Nell, Birdie, Izzy, and Cass in their sleuthing. This one had me guessing until the end. I wasn't surprised by who the killer was, but the motive was not what I was expecting. There were several people that could have been the killer and I suspected each of them at one point or another. Gull and Bones is another fantastic read by Sally Goldenbaum.

Long time resident Angus, beloved by all, is about to celebrate his 100th birthday and Sea Harbor is ready. Charlie has returned home, Annie Smith, a newcomer has arrived and both are helping Dr Lily take care of Angus in his home. Just days before the celebration, Angus is found to have passed in his sleep by Charlie. Upon further view, he was murdered. The knitters take it upon themselves to find out who could have done this. There are many suspects, and it is not known who did it nor why until the very end. The story does end on a high note, with good news from Izzy. Looking forward to the next installment of the series. Many thanks to NetGalley, Ms Goldenbaum, and Kensington Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Gull & Bones is the 8th book in the Seaside Knitters. I have read this series from the beginning and have enjoyed every one of the author's books. The characters are all the same from the first book with new characters added on with each story. The main characters are Birdie Favazza, a wise octogenaria, widow of Sonny Favazza. Cass Halloran Brandley married to Danny Brandley, an author. They have a son, Joey. Izzy Chambers Perry. She owns the Sea Harbor Yarn Studio. She is married to Sam, a ward-winning photographer. They have a daughter, Abby. Nell Endicott is Izziy's aunt. She is married to Ben Endicott. There are others who are in the book that I am not mentioning. The rest of the characters are new to the story. It takes place in the town of Sea Harbor.

The whole town is excited to celebrate the 100th birthday of Angus McPherron, He is a long time Sea Harbor resident. He has over the years been generous and helped people get on their feet. Father Lawrence Northcutt is an old friend. There are old friends that are known as the Fab 5 who have known Angus since they were all young. They own many of the stores in town.

The book opens with Angus and Father Northcutt sitting on Angus's deck talking. In another part of town Ben and Nell Endicott are having their friends for their Friday night get together with their friends. Everyone comes bringing something. Charlie Chambers is there. He is back to town working as a nurse for the free clinic. Doctor Lily Virgilio recruited him. Everyone is happy he is back. He has worked in many places. He has a roomate, Annie Smith who everyone would like to met. Charlie and Annie take care of Angus going to his house in the morning and again at night. Angus has formed a close relationship with them. He has asked Charlie to come a little early. When his wife was alive they had a tradition of giving someone a special gift on their birthdays. He planned to give the special gift to Annie. He hid it somewhere special as his house cleaner was very noisy. She was obsessed with her feelings toward Angus.

Angus asked Charlie to bring his guitar and had asked Annie to come and help celebrate his upcoming birthday. They all had a great time. They put him to bed and left him as he said he was expecting someone. The next day Charlie came to give him his medication. When he arrived he found that Angus was not out of bed yet. He went to check on him and found him dead. Jerry Thompson, police chief called Ben and asked to see him. He also wanted Birdie there too. He informed them that Angus had been poisoned and it was murder. Birdie and Ben were the executives of Angus's will. He had made changes to update his will. The ladies were shocked. They decided that they would try to find out who killed him.

This is when the story takes off. There is so much going on that it is hard to put all on paper. I will leave the story to the reader to enjoy with all the twists and turns that keep the reader wanting to know who did it, etc. It keeps the reader guessing to the very end. There is a nice surprise at the very end of the story.

As I have said before, I have followed this series from the beginning. You get to know the main characters and they become your friends. I look forward to the next book in the series.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Publishing Corp. for this ARC.

I read Gull and Bones while on vacation, and it was the perfect beach read.
I like these characters, they are warm, caring and funny, and when they find themselves wrapped up in a murder investigation, their friendship shines bright.
Everyone is getting ready to celebrate a local resident's 100th birthday, but when he dies just days before his celebration, his close friends question his passing.
Even though Angus was sweet, he did tend to get involved in people's lives, and the question is did one of them end his life.
Could it be Annie, the newest resident or is it another friend, who desperately needed his help, but was turned down.
I think this is my favorite book in this series so far, and I'm looking forward to reading more.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.