Died in the Wool

Not the best knitting mystery out there, to say the least. The dialogue in particular was rather painful, very unrealistic and laden with bad puns (and I normally really enjoy horrendous puns -- these ones are just BAD bad and not funny bad). Also the plot was a typical eye-roll-inducing cozy plot, with an unexpected detective taking on an investigation instead of leaving it to the police, and all the characters being absurdly willing to help (and if she's so busy running a yarn store, where does she find the time to solve mysteries?). The narrator's voice was also very irritating. I read this only because Julia had read it and said it was so bad that I had to read it for myself. I wouldn't recommend inflicting this on yourself unless show more you REALLY enjoy knitting mysteries or you have absolutely nothing else to read. show less

Ariadne's Web is the setting of this cozy mystery which is cleverly woven around the owner of a knitting shop where a dead body is found one bright fall morning. At first, Ariadne Evans, the owner, is the chief suspect, but after getting an alibi for her, Detective Josh Pierce instead enlists her help in solving the crime since it appears that knitting has something to do with the crime and he doesn't know the difference between a cable stitch and purling.

Ari and Josh are drawn to each other but profess that they are just working on the investigation. This light-hearted "romance" is used to gather information while throwing the murderer off track. The clues that are presented are ingeniously threaded throughout and unless you are show more carefully tracking all the hints, you will be surprised at the ending.

This is one of the better cozy mysteries that I have read recently because it all seem to be more realistic since Ari doesn't go out to question everyone about what they did and what they saw. It was more using her own intelligence to figure out what actually happened and why. I definitely will be looking for the next one, hopefully soon! show less

One of my favorite cozy mystery theme is knitting mysteries. And Died in the Wool is one of my favorite cozies of all.

Ariadne Evans is the owner of Ariadne's Web, a successful knitting shop. Cranky Edith Perry is a difficult customer and not beloved in their Massachusetts town. But then she is found dead; strangled in some homespun wool. Edith was about to buy the building that housed Ariadne's Web and raise the rent on Ariadne's shop and that makes Ari a prime suspect, at least according detective Joshua Pierce.

my review: Though this follows the usual cozy mystery formula, it does so with a nice amount of humor and plenty of interesting characters: her Aunt Laura, ex-husband Ted, their seven year old daughter, Megan, her friend Diane show more and her husband Joe, part-time employees Kaitlin and Summer, Edith's son, and the usual small-towners to keep you guessing to the end as to the real killer. The story is from the point of view of Ari and Joshua, which makes it different from the usual cozy. While formulaic, it stands above others that I have read as it is better written and engaging. This comes with a few basic knitting patterns but nothing really interesting. But it makes me want to knit!

I definitely recommend this for cozy fans. I also recommend her next book, Knit Fast, Die Young

my rating 4/5 show less

Really liked this book, even though I figured out whodunit fairly early on. Very light read, hard to put down.

There was "inside dirt" on running a specialty yarn store and some detail on creating yarn from the sheep up. There was also some semi-heavy-handed "commentary" on pattern copyright and internet usage. The "free patterns" included in the back weren't anything to write home about, but there were interesting knitting-related passages throughout the book.

I could have completely done without the main character's family - ex is a loudmouthed controlling ass, mother/aunt are irritating butt-inskys, the child is glossed over unless it can create angst for the mother/main character (and nothing really gets resolved with the child).

All show more that and I still liked the book a whole lot. I'll be looking for the next one in the series right away! show less

Fun fast read. Women with a yarn shop goes to work and finds the body of a friend/customer on the floor. Enter eligible detective who takes an interest in her while she plays Nancy Drew. Everyone, including Ari's ex-husband the boring tax-lawyer, tells her that the cop got the "hots" for her but she insists that's not true. Meanwhile, Ari sizes up the suspects(who are all friends or customers) and not recognizing the danger.

Ariadne Evans owns Ariadne's Web, a knitting shop in the fictional town of Freeport in Bristol County, Massachusetts. One morning she discovers the body of a woman (Edith) who enjoyed browsing but rarely purchased any of her designs although she could afford them. Detective Josh Pierce is called in to investigate. Suspicion immediately falls to Ariadne and her closest friend's families. Of course Edith was not well-liked by most people in the town so suspects really do abound. Ariadne and Josh find themselves attracted to one another. The solution to the case was fairly obvious to me fairly early. I found many of the actions of the characters, particularly of the investigating officer, to be out of character and rather implausible. I show more also find it difficult to believe that even when this book came out in 2005 that dial-up Internet would still be in use by a shop owner (who is launching a web site for her business) at home and work. Broadband and DSL connections were in widespread use at that time. I will not be going out of my way to find future installments in this series. show less

The last thing knitting store owner Ariadne Evans expects to find when she opens her store one morning is a dead body - strangled to death with yarn from her shop. The police have plenty of suspects and Ari thinks they'll solve the case soon but she is none too happy when suspicion quickly falls on close friends of hers. Ari knows they are innocent but she needs to convince Detective Joshua Pierce that he needs to look elsewhere for the murderer. Soon Ari is heavily involved in investigating the murder - but as she gets closer to the truth she herself may be in real danger.

"Died in the Wool" is an okay first book in a new cozy mystery series by Mary Kruger. While Kruger does follow some traditional cozy mystery "rules" - notably a show more police detective as a potential love interest - she does shake things up a bit. The book is written in the third person, not the first, and from the viewpoints of both Ari and Joshua - a unique device that works most of the time. While having a mystery set in a yarn store is also a familiar cozy mystery device, Kruger again takes it up a notch with the addition of hand made yarn and the work that goes into it. The characters - Ari, her friend Diane, her Aunt Laura, Josh -are all well done (although Laura comes close to being a cliché). For the most part the mystery is well written with plenty of suspects and red herrings. However, the mystery does have some moments where plot turns are awkwardly written and a second murder is telegraphed way ahead of time. Finally, while the identity of the killer will come as a surprise to most readers, the motive for the murders is totally unbelievable.

"Died in the Wool" is an okay mystery and I suspect subsequent books in the series will be better as Kruger gets a real feel for her characters and setting. show less