Knitting Mystery #10
Maggie Sefton
Berkley Prime Crime
June 2012/ ISBN 978-0-425-24759-4
Mystery/Cozy
Amazon
Reviewed
by Laura Hinds
Kelly Flynn
lives in Fort Connor, Colorado, where she works independently as
an accountant for some wealthy business men. She has an active social
life with many friends, and is in the midst of rekindling a romance
with a man she truly loves. Kelly enjoys knitting and is working
hard to finish a shawl to wear as a bridesmaid at fellow knitter
and friend, Megan's, upcoming nuptials.
When professional
seamstress, Zoe Yeager, is shot in the head, it appears to be an
open and shut case against the abusive husband she recently left.
Yet with no physical evidence, the police keep questioning those
involved in Zoe's life, including rival seamstress Leann O'Hara.
Leann had been publicly angry with Zoe in front of a sewing class
on the night she died. Kelly had a great deal of success when she
wore the hat of amateur sleuth and solved some previous murders.
Anyone who knows her well knows she won't let this killing go unsolved,
or let the wrong person be charged.
I've read the
entire knitting mystery series and enjoyed it. Maggie Sefton is
an excellent story teller, and her characters are likeable and true
to life. Unfortunately, I found this book disappointing. I found
that Sefton relied too much on repetition of unimportant story points.
The colors and feel of the yarn are mentioned nearly every time
Kelly enters Lambspun, the yarn shop. There was too much focus on
Kelly's friends pushing her to resume a sex life with ex-boyfriend
Steve, whom Kelly is dating again. All of her friends commented
frequently about this.
Kelly also
apparently has the bad habit of talking on her cell phone while
she is driving. This happens over and over in the book, and since
it is a pet peeve of mine in real life, I let it bother me a lot.
How hard would it have been to have Kelly pull over to talk? Or
for her phone to ring at times other than when she was driving and
felt she had to answer? While the murder mystery itself was fairly
good, I knew who the real killer was before Zoe was even murdered.
It was like a big red flag was flown rather than the typical red
herrings employed in the course of a mystery.
Overall I remain
a fan of Maggie Sefton, and will give her new mystery Deadly
Politics a try. If you enjoy the knitting mysteries, please
don't let my thoughts hinder you from reading it. It is a book that
is integral to the series and leaves room for future books that
I hope will be back on track as tight, well-knitted mysteries.
Reviews
of other titles in this series
Knit
One, Kill Two #1
Needled
To Death #2
Deadly
Yarn #3
Killer
Stitch #4
Dyer
Consequences #5
Fleece
Navidad #6
Unraveled
#9
Cast On,
Kill Off #10
Only Skein
Deep #15
Dyeing
Up Loose Ends #16
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