Skein of the Crime (A Knitting Mystery) [Hardcover]

Maggie Sefton (Author)

Book Description

Series: A Knitting Mystery | Publication Date: June 1, 2010

The newest installment in the series, with knitting patterns and recipes included!

Fall has come to Fort Connor, Colorado, and the cool air has inspired the knitters at the House of Lambspun to start on their hats and mittens. It's also brought an influx of students to the university town-and into the shop for knitting classes. Kelly Flynn is happy to teach them the tricks of the trade-until one of them is found dead on the river trail near Kelly's house. Compelled to investigate, Kelly finds herself following a path that twists more easily than the yarn with which she knits. Knowing the killer could be close, Kelly must work fast to unravel the skein of this crime.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sefton's somber eighth knitting mystery to feature Fort Connor, Colo., financial consultant Kelly Flynn (after 2009's Dropped Dead Stitch) gets off to a slow start, but gradually picks up steam. While Kelly's romance with her longtime architect boyfriend, Steve Townsend, suffers, she helps her IT consultant friend, Megan Smith, plan Megan's upcoming wedding and teach a House of Lambspun knitting class. When Holly Kaiser, a college student who had been dating the son of a Lambspun knitting teacher, dies of a drug overdose, Kelly once again turns amateur sleuth. The more Kelly learns about Holly, who was far too fond of Ecstasy, the more she suspects the fatal overdose was no accident. The action builds to an intriguing cliffhanger. Directions for a braided knit scarf and a carrot cake recipe are a bonus. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

It’s autumn in Fort Connor, Colorado, which means the knitters are working in overdrive at the House of Lambspun knit shop. Kelly Flynn lives next door and is happy to help out shop owner Maggie with classes. But when a special young friend of Maggie’s is found dead, Kelly wants to find out why a girl who was trying to get her life together ran out of time. Eagle-eyed readers may spot the murderer early on, but Sefton still manages to neatly wrap her yarn around a mystery. An upset in Kelly’s personal life adds a nice twist. --Ilene Cooper

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Hardcover (June 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 042523438X
• ISBN-13: 978-0425234389
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #621,320 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Maggie Sefton grew up in Northern Virginia and received her Bachelor's degree in English Literature & Journalism. After working as a CPA and a real estate broker, she now enjoys the satisfaction and challenge of creating worlds on paper.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not too bad, June 25, 2010

By 

K. Anderson "andersox" (Aliso Viejo, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Skein of the Crime (A Knitting Mystery) (Hardcover)

Sefton has stepped up her writing chops a bit in this book. In the past, I've found the pour-some-coffee-pass-the-pizza scenes a bit stilted, but either I've mellowed or she's toned them down a bit.

The mystery starts fairly quickly--first with an intruder into Kelly's home, followed by the intruder's murder. From there, the mystery moves along at a good pace and has a red herring that fooled me!

Sefton pays off one of the long-term relationships with a proposal--very satisfying for readers who have followed the series from Sefton's first book. On the flip side, there's some pretty serious friction between long-time sweethearts, Kelly and Steve.

For knitting aficionados, there are brief scenes about Kelly's foray into felting. For spinners (like me), there's even a nod to Burt's fondness for the relaxation to be found in drafting and spinning.

"Skein of the Crime" wasn't gripping--didn't keep me awake turning page after page to find out whodunit. But, it's a very comfortable book to while away a summer afternoon.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Indulgence for Knitters, June 22, 2010

By 

Tnafbrat "Denise Jackson-Holder" (Tennessee) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Skein of the Crime (Knitting Mystery) (Kindle Edition)

Maggie takes us back again to Fort Connor and our favorite knit shop and yes, of course, there's another murder to solve. If you're already addicted to these Lambspun Knit Shop mysteries, you won't be disappointed, in fact, this one has stepped it up a notch and isn't quite as predictable. Knit addicts new to this series will love this and the previous books. Maggie takes us to a knit shop that has the welcoming atmosphere of our realtime favorite LYS and makes us part of the family. She touches everything that causes us to be addicted to the craft, the yarn, the colors, the feel of it, the experience of trying something new and the friendships gained when becoming part of the knitting world and throws in a great mystery to boot. Though you can read them out of order, this series is one that is very worth stashing and reading from the first.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing!, September 13, 2010

By 

knitloon - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Skein of the Crime (A Knitting Mystery) (Hardcover)

I own this entire series, and can't seem to stop myself. However, I only truly enjoyed the first 5 books. However, this current book made me angry that I had spent money on it. Ms. Sefton's writing style has always been quite simplistic, but that's okay. Sometimes I just want an easy, pleasurable read. This one struck me as belonging more in the juvenile fiction category. I'm tired of the endless talk of coffee, the ridiculous relationship between Kelly and Steve (Really, she wouldn't even admit she liked him in the earlier books, and then suddenly they were living together. Now, suddenly they barely speak.). Also, I realize that this is fiction, but Kelly's interference in criminal investigation would probably land her in jail in real life, along with the authorities who freely share information with her.

I think I'm done with this series.