There's plenty of cruise advice in Skye Dennison Boyd's honeymoon mystery Murder of a Needled Knitter. I've never taken a cruise, so I don't know how accurate the rest of the advice is, but don't expect using antibiotic hand sanitizer to save you from the Norwalk virus. In a contest between a virus and an antibiotic, the virus wins.

Skye may not believe that anyone deserves to die as the murder victim did, but less charitable readers might think the death was richly deserved, especially after several Boyd-Frayne discoveries.

Yes, Trixie and Owen Frayne are able to help Skye and Wally solve the case. Trixie, Skye's best friend, has been a major supporting character in many of this series' books. On the other hand, her husband has had about as big a role as the wife of a traditional male supporting character.
This time Owen gets to shine. I loved it when he compared Trixie and Skye to Lucy and Ethel from the classic I Love Lucy TV series. Will Wally and Owen become friends like Ricky and Fred?

One of the main suspects for the murder is Skye's mother, May Leofanti Denison. May and her husband, Jed, are the only other Scumble River regulars to grace these pages -- unless you count phone calls and mentions. Skye's sister-in-law, Loretta, gets most of those mentions, while Skye wonders if she's gotten to be an aunt yet. (Considering what a 'velcro mom' May is, one wonders what kind of grandmother she'll be.)

Frannie Ryan, former Scumble River High student and Skye's friend, gets a phone cameo. So does Carson Boyd. Something Wally says about his father in chapter 19 makes me worry. Will it be in the next book or later?

Loved it when Wally stood up to May needling Skye about her weight in chapter 13. That's also the chapter in which a Knitting Jeopardy contest is held. One of the answers has to do with the science fiction show, Firefly.

The name of one of the Diamond Countess' restaurants, the Coronet Brasserie, raised my eyebrows, but I was confusing it with 'brassiere,' the word 'bra' is shortened from. Oops! There went my mental image, thank goodness.

There are no Doozier antics in this one. We do get to enjoy the stupid questions some of the passengers ask, though. (Made me feel sorry for the ship's staff and crew.)

There are two nods to Ms. Swanson's dime story mystery series. In chapter 15, a woman is reading a mystery that Skye has read and considers good (so do I). From the description of the cover, it's book two, Nickled and Dimed to Death. In chapter 17, we meet a ship's dancer named Candace Davidson, who is from Shadow Bend, Missouri, where the dime store mysteries are set.

See chapter 11 for the history of batik fabric.

Cat lovers, I'm afraid Skye's Bingo gets only a few mentions. See chapter 14 for which regular character is catsitting 'Mr. Black Cat,' as Wally called him.
Dog lovers, Jed Denison's Chocolate doesn't even get that. ( )

I love every Scumble River mystery! ( )

The Scumble River gang is back. Wally and Skye are married and on their honeymoon....along with Skye's parents and her best friend Trixie and Trixie's husband. So much for time alone with her new husband. When a famous knitter is murdered, And Skye's mother is named as the prime suspect, Skye and Wally team up with the Scumble River gang to find the murderer.

If you are a Scumble River fan you won't!t want to miss those! I was afraid thar Denise Swanson would jump the shark with this series when Skye and Wally finally married but nothing has changed and the Scumble River gang is as crazy as ever. ( )

It's nice to see actual forward motion in a cozy series and at last, seventeen books in, Wally and Skye are married and heading on a what should be a delightful honeymoon cruise. The unexpected presence of a large, at-sea, knitting extravaganza doesn't worry Skye at first, but soon we learn some favorite faces from Scumble River will be joining the newly married Boyds in the Caribbean. When Skye's always feisty mother, May, is considered a suspect in on board murder, the Boyds and Fraynes combine forces to look for evidence to exonerate her. The boat was a fun setting for a mystery like this--there's a bit of a locked room vibe going on, since there are definitely a limited amount of suspects. ( )