Needled to Death

Kelly and Jennifer take a knitting group out to Vickie's farm to see her alpacas. When they get there Kelly finds Vickie dead. The police seem to look at Vickie's estranged husband for the murder. Kelly is not happy with that and starts digging deeper. When Vickie's daughter ends up dead, Vickie knows the police are not looking in the right direction. She figures it out as she is doing the books for the attorneys for Vickie's estate. But how does she prove who murdered Vickie? And who murdered Vickie's daughter? Why?

I enjoyed this story. I have read other stories in this series (out of order.) I like the main cast of characters. Each has their flaws and quirks. They are like old friends to me. This time I did figure it out (alright, so show more it was the last quarter of the book.) I also figured out the motive although it was circumstantial until the end. I liked the mystery and solution. Kelly is not afraid to ask questions but man, she came close this time. Good thing she had back-up.

I look forward to more of the series. show less

Loved installment #2 in Maggie Sefton's Knitting Mysteries. I think what I enjoy so much about this series is that it feels like a grown-up version of my much beloved Nancy Drew mysteries. Yes, it is a bit ridiculous that someone manages to die in every book, but I love the characters, setting and the writing. They are certainly a "guilty pleasure" type of read, especially with the fun addition of knitting. If you are looking for a deep murder mystery novel look elsewhere, but if you are looking for a fun series to read over coffee while wrapped in your latest knitted creation, you will certainly enjoy.

Kelly Flynn, CPA, is telecommuting to her job in DC while waiting for all the legal work to be done concerning her inheritances. She has joined a knitting group in the shop next door and is getting involved with many local knitters and fiber crafters. On a volunteer trip to co-lead a visit to a local alpaca ranch, Kelly discovers the rancher's dead body. Kelly and her friends try to help in solving the mystery, as Kelly also helps the victim's daughter prepare financial documents for the estate. Beside the mystery part of the story which I think is well handled I like the side story involving her complicated inheritance and her growing involvement into life in Fort Connor. Very enjoyable series.

Needled to Death is a decent cozy mystery, but there's not anything either good or bad about it that sticks out to me.

I like how the main character Kelly's job as an accountant is woven into the story. She's able to use her skillset to help solve the mystery, which itself is fairly solid. That, and the inclusion of information about alpaca husbandry, were probably my two favourite things about the book.

That being said, the side characters kind of jumble together after a while. There's both a Burt and a Curt and many different knitters at the yarn store that I can't name off the top off my head. I don't feel like anyone, except for the victim, was particularly distinguishable or memorable. They don't have to be super eccentric or show more larger-than-life to be memorable, but I also shouldn't be forgetting about them immediately after I've finished reading the book.

It's also a book that relies on many tropes, both from cozy mysteries and women's fiction in general - such as the 'wonderful' small town vs. the 'awful' big city or the 'career woman who's simply too busy for a relationship'. If you put this book on the Hallmark Channel, it wouldn't be out of place.
That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I'm personally the type of reader who likes reading books that approach tropes in a more creative and out-of-the-box fashion, so this didn't really suit my reading tastes.

I'd read more books from this series before if I stumble across them again in the library, but I don't think I'll be specifically looking for this series in future.

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3.25 stars

Vickie, an alpaca rancher, is found murdered in her home when Kelly brings a group of fellow knitters by to see Vickie's alpacas. While Kelly is sorting out some personal inheritance business, she also decides to help Vickie's daughter sort out some of her mother's finances, while also finding out more about what happened to Vickie.

I liked it, though I'm not really into knitting so those parts of the book weren't as interesting to me. There are a couple of knitting patterns and a couple of recipes at the end of the book, as well. It was unfortunate I ended up reading it at the same time as listening to a different cozy mystery on audio. It made it a bit tricky to distinguish the two as I switched between them. I am liking the show more audio one just a bit better than this one, so I couldn't quite give this 3.5 stars (which is likely what the audio one will get), but I thought this deserved more than 3 stars (“ok” in my rating range). For a while, I thought I wouldn't continue this series, but I think I am going to give it another chance and read book 3. We'll see after that. show less

Better than the first in the series, and it ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, so now I have to find the third. I liked the characters more this time around and was sorry to lose the character that turned up as the first victim. I even liked the one that turned out to be the murderer, until some unsavory character traits were revealed very late in the story.

Kelly Flynn is staying in Fort Connor, Colorado until she settles the estate of her late aunt and cousin. She was left a great deal of property and it may take months to settle the estate, and Kelly is beginning to think she may never leave. She is doing accounting work from her house, making friends, and enjoying learning how to knit. Since she is learning about different types of wools, she volunteers to take a group of tourists to visit Vickie Caymore's alpaca farm. To her shock, she finds Vickie's body. As the police investigate the murder, Kelly helps Vickie's daughter Debbie settle her financial matters. Debbie is convinced that her stepfather killed her mother because she was in the process of divorcing him, but he swears to show more Kelly he didn't do it and she begins to believe him. When the murderer strikes again, Kelly realizes she has to do what she can to stop the killer before someone else is killed.

While it had some good points, I found "Needled to Death" to be a disappointing mystery. For the most part, Kelly was a good heroine - still dealing with her aunt's death and trying to decide if she should stay in Colorado or go back to Washington, D.C. I loved her golf ball stealing dog, Carl. Her tentative romance with Steve was sweetly done. Some of the secondary characters such as Debbie, Jayleen, and Burt were well written. But much of the book was unbelievable. Kelly constantly worries about money, wondering whether she can afford to quit her D.C. job and work as a consultant in Colorado, yet she never seems to work instead spending her time knitting with her friends, drinking coffee, or playing softball. And considering the size of the estate her aunt left her, including a ranch in Wyoming with plenty of cattle, the constant fretting about money seemed overdone. The writing is sloppy - having characters named Burt and Curt confused me. As for the mystery itself, while the identity of the murderer may come as a surprise to readers, the second murder is so obviously telegraphed that readers will know which character is doomed long before the murder takes place. The book has some major editing issues - early in the book one of the suspects approaches Kelly at her cottage after she came home from Vickie's funeral, but at the end of the book she says he approached her while she was still at the funeral. That's sloppy writing and editing.

With some good editing and tighter writing "Needled to Death" could have been so much better. show less