Close Knit: A Novel

A Jenny Colgan novel and a hot cup of tea are like a warm hug, and Close Knit is perfect for stormy weather.

Gertie has spent her life in the small town of Carso, in northern Scotland, closely involved with the local knitting circle. Still living with her mother, Gertie has grown complacent, spending her days working at the local supermarket and her spare time rattling away with her needles. Gone are the days when she had to dread her classmates from school, or so she thinks. When two of them offer her a job (and they prove very nice), Gertie can step out of her wool-haze and explore beyond the bounds her self-imposed limitations have allowed. Will Carso be enough for her, or will the wild beyond call Gertie away on a new adventure?

What’s enjoyable about this book is its appreciation for small towns, rural life, and a closely connected community. The wild, rugged landscape is charming and deadly, but in the end, it’s the skeins that bind us together that matter. A beautiful, heartwarming, hilarious book, this is Scotland written as only Jenny Colgan can do.