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A Knitting Mystery #13
Purl Up and Die
In this mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Yarn Over Murder, Kelly Flynn and the Lambspun Knitters must unravel the truth from the lies to clear a friend’s son of murder...
Kelly’s summer in Fort Connor, Colorado, is off to a great start with knitting classes taught by her friend Barb. But while the advanced stitches are giving Kelly the slip, a more deadly problem soon has her friend coming apart at the seams.
A young woman has accused Barb’s son, Tommy—a young doctor doing his residency—of assaulting her. The yarns spun by the local rumor mill are bad enough, but when the woman is found dead in her ransacked apartment, Tommy becomes the number one suspect.
With the police ready to close the case, it’s up to Kelly to knit together the clues to uncover a killer who doesn’t seem to drop a stitch...
Kelly’s summer in Fort Connor, Colorado, is off to a great start with knitting classes taught by her friend Barb. But while the advanced stitches are giving Kelly the slip, a more deadly problem soon has her friend coming apart at the seams.
A young woman has accused Barb’s son, Tommy—a young doctor doing his residency—of assaulting her. The yarns spun by the local rumor mill are bad enough, but when the woman is found dead in her ransacked apartment, Tommy becomes the number one suspect.
With the police ready to close the case, it’s up to Kelly to knit together the clues to uncover a killer who doesn’t seem to drop a stitch...
311 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 2, 2015
124 people are currently reading
1086 people want to read
About the author
Maggie Sefton
35 books783 followersAka Margaret Conlan
From author website:
"First, a little biographical information as introduction: Born in Richmond, VA, I grew up in Northern Virginia in Arlington, close to Washington, D.C. I attended university and received a Bachelor's degree in English Literature & Journalism, married, and started my family there. All four of my daughters are grown and established in careers of their own and are literally scattered around the globe. I now reside in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado with two very demanding dogs."
From author website:
"First, a little biographical information as introduction: Born in Richmond, VA, I grew up in Northern Virginia in Arlington, close to Washington, D.C. I attended university and received a Bachelor's degree in English Literature & Journalism, married, and started my family there. All four of my daughters are grown and established in careers of their own and are literally scattered around the globe. I now reside in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado with two very demanding dogs."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 195 reviews
June 14, 2015
IMHO the proofing on this was really bad. (1) Within the same chapter and a few pages apart, Kelly gave the same long, detailed almost verbatim explanation of a situation to 3 people. (2) Within another chapter, Steve told Kelly that he checked with Jennifer about taking him through newer apartment complexes and she agreed. Five pages later, Kelly suggests he check with Jennifer if she could show him around newer apartment complexes. (3) Within a few pages, Burt and Kelly twice discuss the use of rubbing alcohol to remove fingerprints. All three of these instances caused me to go back in the book to make sure I hadn't missed something because I admit I skipped a lot. You can only tell me so many times about the tables outside Pete's Porch and Lambspun, the beer Kelly drinks, how she LOVES her coffee, and that she wears white summer pants. Yikes! I might complain but I'll stick with the crew. I've invested so many years in them, I can't give up now. But I am so glad I stopped buying the books and now get from the library.
August 11, 2015
I clearly need therapy or something. Why did I read this? Kelley likes coffee. WE GET IT!. The kid is growing, 3 inches. WE GET IT! Kelley and her friends like Fat Tire. WE GET IT! For real this book could have been half as long if we didn't constantly have to be reminded about coffee, softball etc. Ugh...I must have decided I needed to be punished for something.
June 16, 2015
I have been conflicted about this series for awhile. I felt the last two books were just phoned in, fitting the mystery around all of the characters and their quirks. There seemed to be a slight improvement in this book, but despite these improvements, I now realize the real problem is that I really dislike the main character, Kelly. It is hard to give up on a series after 13 books, but the time has come.
September 2, 2015
You know the concept of hate-reading? I tend to not hate-read much (who has the time? Plus, I at one stage I was hate-reading so much I almost disconnected my right eye by rolling it too much*). However, my exception to the rule has always been Maggie Sefton's Lambspun series. This series of books are so bad! The characters are basically cardboard cutouts that are given really terrible dialogue, the dialogue is awful (all of the characters sound exactly the same) and the books are so repetitious that about 90% of the story could cut with no noticeable effect on our understanding of the plot. But I keep reading them, bitch about how terrible they are, then put a reserve on the next one as soon as it arrives at the library.
BUT NO MORE! 2015's Lambspun mystery, Purl Up and Die, is officially my last. The novel opens as Kelly goes across the street to work in the yarn store (guys, Kelly likes to work on spreadsheets at the yarn store). She orders an ice coffee (guys, it's hot in Colorado in summer AND Kelly likes coffee). Then a woman who is not in the main group comes into the yarn shop. Because Sefton only introduces two new characters per book, this woman will either be murdered or be the murderer. The only mystery is which one it is. Kelly, who is the literary equivalent to the chewing gum that gets stuck on the sole of your favourite pair of runners, sits in on a class without paying the teacher for it, causes a disruption for the other attendees who actually paid, then leaves.
Next, Kelly goes and visits her client, who is apparently a successful businessman. Not according to this dialogue:
The buzzer on Arthur's phone system sounded. "Oops, that's my secretary. Reminding me that my next appointment is here."
Kelly drained the last of the coffee and gathered her portfolio into her briefcase bag. "I'd best get back, anyway. You're in good shape, Arthur. So now I need to see what Don Warner and company have waiting for me."
While Arthur may be playing a professional businessman, it is more than clear a professional editor never went near these pages. For starters, one doesn't gather a portfolio into a bag - one either gathers a portfolio and places it in a bag or just simply places it there without gathering it first (also, not briefcase bag but either briefcase or bag - briefcase is a noun not an adjective). Additionally, who says "oops" when a buzzer goes? How can you be reminded of something you haven't been told about in the first place? Why are these people speaking in single-clause sentences? It is all so, so bad.
A few pages later, Kelly's boyfriend "smiled into her eyes" (you smile AT someone, not into random physical features), and I was out. Done. Finito. All over.
There's bad which is fun to read and play with and then there's work that is so excrutiatingly bad that you feel bad for the author, publishing house and anyone who has their name attached to the book. The Lambspun series has now reached that point and I am done with it. HereIRead out.
*Not a true story. However, more believable than any of Maggie Sefton's bestselling novels.
BUT NO MORE! 2015's Lambspun mystery, Purl Up and Die, is officially my last. The novel opens as Kelly goes across the street to work in the yarn store (guys, Kelly likes to work on spreadsheets at the yarn store). She orders an ice coffee (guys, it's hot in Colorado in summer AND Kelly likes coffee). Then a woman who is not in the main group comes into the yarn shop. Because Sefton only introduces two new characters per book, this woman will either be murdered or be the murderer. The only mystery is which one it is. Kelly, who is the literary equivalent to the chewing gum that gets stuck on the sole of your favourite pair of runners, sits in on a class without paying the teacher for it, causes a disruption for the other attendees who actually paid, then leaves.
Next, Kelly goes and visits her client, who is apparently a successful businessman. Not according to this dialogue:
The buzzer on Arthur's phone system sounded. "Oops, that's my secretary. Reminding me that my next appointment is here."
Kelly drained the last of the coffee and gathered her portfolio into her briefcase bag. "I'd best get back, anyway. You're in good shape, Arthur. So now I need to see what Don Warner and company have waiting for me."
While Arthur may be playing a professional businessman, it is more than clear a professional editor never went near these pages. For starters, one doesn't gather a portfolio into a bag - one either gathers a portfolio and places it in a bag or just simply places it there without gathering it first (also, not briefcase bag but either briefcase or bag - briefcase is a noun not an adjective). Additionally, who says "oops" when a buzzer goes? How can you be reminded of something you haven't been told about in the first place? Why are these people speaking in single-clause sentences? It is all so, so bad.
A few pages later, Kelly's boyfriend "smiled into her eyes" (you smile AT someone, not into random physical features), and I was out. Done. Finito. All over.
There's bad which is fun to read and play with and then there's work that is so excrutiatingly bad that you feel bad for the author, publishing house and anyone who has their name attached to the book. The Lambspun series has now reached that point and I am done with it. HereIRead out.
*Not a true story. However, more believable than any of Maggie Sefton's bestselling novels.
June 25, 2015
I haven't really enjoyed the last book or so. Mostly I've been sticking around out of curiosity of the characters but really the mystery end has gotten a little forced. Also when you focus so much on a large group and only introduce a new character to kill them off or make them a suspect or have them actually be a murderer it's kind of easy to figure it out. Two new characters, so one will be dead and the other did it.
I haven't even finished reading this because I got a little bored with the coffee, coffee, coffee. I get it she likes coffee. Also after reading the synopsis I kind of lost interest. It sounds like the tired story of one of those oft talked about seldom actually proved in real life stories of woman accuses upstanding man of sexual assault for revenge. That narrative is one we can't escape from because it's so popular in fiction.
And reading in a bit further I wasn't disappointed, "She'd met Tommy. He was a good guy." Ok so no good guy has ever groped a girl or made her feel uncomfortable? At least Lisa had stepped in to be the voice of reason and state there is no "type" of guy that would assault someone.
In the end though from the other reviews and the synopsis it looks like she's one of those mythical woman that cries sexual assault for revenge. Which really, couldn't it have been a honest misunderstand in that doctor's office, maybe she could have felt his hands on her and had a PTSD moment that triggered a memory of an actual assault? Lots of women are assaulted and people don't believe them because there is this idea that it's so common for someone to casually report it revenge. With a PTSD triggered misunderstanding, we could still have the "nice guy" doctor wrongfully accused, but she still turns up dead by the hands of someone who really did assault her or something. I don't know. It just all feels bad and wrong to me. I tried to finish the book but mostly I was just trying to zip through to say I did and finish the book and be done.
I haven't even finished reading this because I got a little bored with the coffee, coffee, coffee. I get it she likes coffee. Also after reading the synopsis I kind of lost interest. It sounds like the tired story of one of those oft talked about seldom actually proved in real life stories of woman accuses upstanding man of sexual assault for revenge. That narrative is one we can't escape from because it's so popular in fiction.
And reading in a bit further I wasn't disappointed, "She'd met Tommy. He was a good guy." Ok so no good guy has ever groped a girl or made her feel uncomfortable? At least Lisa had stepped in to be the voice of reason and state there is no "type" of guy that would assault someone.
In the end though from the other reviews and the synopsis it looks like she's one of those mythical woman that cries sexual assault for revenge. Which really, couldn't it have been a honest misunderstand in that doctor's office, maybe she could have felt his hands on her and had a PTSD moment that triggered a memory of an actual assault? Lots of women are assaulted and people don't believe them because there is this idea that it's so common for someone to casually report it revenge. With a PTSD triggered misunderstanding, we could still have the "nice guy" doctor wrongfully accused, but she still turns up dead by the hands of someone who really did assault her or something. I don't know. It just all feels bad and wrong to me. I tried to finish the book but mostly I was just trying to zip through to say I did and finish the book and be done.
June 2, 2017
This isn't a review of the story so much as a complaint about the basic premise: Someone we like[tm] in the knitting community has a son who was accused of sexual assault and Obviously Didn't Do It [tm] because a) we like his mom! b) the plot setup is really obvious.
I hate the meme of false accusations, since memes make it seem that the thing is common in the real world, and false accusations are NOT COMMON. *beat the drum with me here, NOT COMMON*
On the other hand, it really is pretty common for Nice Guys[tm] to be sexual predators, and if you're not part of their target population why shouldn't they be nice to you? Predators are not all-around monsters, a successful predator has to blend into his environment to find prey better (mostly his, even if #notallmen). And predators can absolutely have nice moms. Many moms are nice!
Another false trope is that His Life Will Be Ruined By One Accusation. If one accusation is combined with several years of 'we know he's a creep but no one said anything official' then yes, One Accusation [tm] will do it. On the other hand, look at campuses all around America that have professors coming out of the woodwork as serial predators who no one did anything about for years. And look at the show-biz business. And look at the book-publishing business. And look at the pro ball playing business. One person speaks up, gets called a liar, others speak up and get called gold-diggers and opportunist liars, and then the police show up and sometimes a guy gets arrested and sometimes not - either way 'wimmin be liarz.'
I skipped large chunks of this book, but I wanted to know who did the murder - not who I expected.
I hate the meme of false accusations, since memes make it seem that the thing is common in the real world, and false accusations are NOT COMMON. *beat the drum with me here, NOT COMMON*
On the other hand, it really is pretty common for Nice Guys[tm] to be sexual predators, and if you're not part of their target population why shouldn't they be nice to you? Predators are not all-around monsters, a successful predator has to blend into his environment to find prey better (mostly his, even if #notallmen). And predators can absolutely have nice moms. Many moms are nice!
Another false trope is that His Life Will Be Ruined By One Accusation. If one accusation is combined with several years of 'we know he's a creep but no one said anything official' then yes, One Accusation [tm] will do it. On the other hand, look at campuses all around America that have professors coming out of the woodwork as serial predators who no one did anything about for years. And look at the show-biz business. And look at the book-publishing business. And look at the pro ball playing business. One person speaks up, gets called a liar, others speak up and get called gold-diggers and opportunist liars, and then the police show up and sometimes a guy gets arrested and sometimes not - either way 'wimmin be liarz.'
I skipped large chunks of this book, but I wanted to know who did the murder - not who I expected.
July 14, 2015
I used to enjoy reading Maggie Sefton's knitting mysteries but this may have been the last one for me.
I have always been keen to get the next story to find out what Kelly and the gang are up to. I had high hopes that Ms Sefton was on the way back to her storytelling best with the last one about the canyon fire story. Her characters were engaging and the storyline scary. This book though is not worth the time it took to read it.
Too much coffee, softball, very hot summer days, coffee, cafe, coffee, very hot summer days, softball, coffee.. oh did I mention the coffee???.
Who was going to be murdered and who is the murderer was very apparent from the first few pages. Cozies are meant to be light and I can live with an obvious who "dunit" arc but if the characters are no longer engaging whats the point of reading the story?
The book appeared very formulated. Write plot points on sticky notes. Type points up placing either in coffee shop, wool shop, softball field. Mention accounting several times. Link them together by using the days of the week. Story written. Obviously not proof read by somebody who cared, or edited by the obvious mix up of the sticky notes.
Yes I was pretty disappointed in this book.
I have always been keen to get the next story to find out what Kelly and the gang are up to. I had high hopes that Ms Sefton was on the way back to her storytelling best with the last one about the canyon fire story. Her characters were engaging and the storyline scary. This book though is not worth the time it took to read it.
Too much coffee, softball, very hot summer days, coffee, cafe, coffee, very hot summer days, softball, coffee.. oh did I mention the coffee???.
Who was going to be murdered and who is the murderer was very apparent from the first few pages. Cozies are meant to be light and I can live with an obvious who "dunit" arc but if the characters are no longer engaging whats the point of reading the story?
The book appeared very formulated. Write plot points on sticky notes. Type points up placing either in coffee shop, wool shop, softball field. Mention accounting several times. Link them together by using the days of the week. Story written. Obviously not proof read by somebody who cared, or edited by the obvious mix up of the sticky notes.
Yes I was pretty disappointed in this book.
June 17, 2015
Boring
Its sad that this series has gotten predictable and trite. This will be the last one I waste time reading
Its sad that this series has gotten predictable and trite. This will be the last one I waste time reading
June 18, 2015
Too Much Nothing
It pains me to say it but I think Maggie Sefton jumped the shark with this entry in a series I have always enjoyed. Too much nothing going on, lengthy descriptions of the garden complete with a list of all the flowers, bushes and trees, lengthy descriptions of the yarns at Lambspun and the worst was what has become Kelly's addiction to coffee. That girl must spend a lot of time in the bathroom.
Couple all that with a mystery that wasn't, the murderer was obvious and since we never meet the first person accused except through his obviously adoring mother, I never much cared about him at all. This has been a Wonderful Series in the past, but this outing just missed completely. Nothing happened! We hear about the murder second hand and then Kelly amidst all of her a activities that consume most of the book (why does she never work in her office?) and then BOOM she has out started the cops yet again and solved the murder. Since I figured out who did it 100 pages earlier it was not a surprise.
This book was disappointing that I will no longer be paying high price hardback prices on my kindle for the next entry in the series. Hopefully, this is an aberration and Sefton will return to form in the next outing. I also think it is beyond time for Kelly and Steve to grow up and get married. They are now mid-thirties not the twenty somethings they were at the start of this series.
It pains me to say it but I think Maggie Sefton jumped the shark with this entry in a series I have always enjoyed. Too much nothing going on, lengthy descriptions of the garden complete with a list of all the flowers, bushes and trees, lengthy descriptions of the yarns at Lambspun and the worst was what has become Kelly's addiction to coffee. That girl must spend a lot of time in the bathroom.
Couple all that with a mystery that wasn't, the murderer was obvious and since we never meet the first person accused except through his obviously adoring mother, I never much cared about him at all. This has been a Wonderful Series in the past, but this outing just missed completely. Nothing happened! We hear about the murder second hand and then Kelly amidst all of her a activities that consume most of the book (why does she never work in her office?) and then BOOM she has out started the cops yet again and solved the murder. Since I figured out who did it 100 pages earlier it was not a surprise.
This book was disappointing that I will no longer be paying high price hardback prices on my kindle for the next entry in the series. Hopefully, this is an aberration and Sefton will return to form in the next outing. I also think it is beyond time for Kelly and Steve to grow up and get married. They are now mid-thirties not the twenty somethings they were at the start of this series.
June 1, 2015
This was a story with deeply rooted friendships, and a close knit community of knitters. A little too many characters for my liking and sometimes hard to keep in order but still a very enjoyable mystery. Life at the Lambspun Knitters Shop starts falling apart when "Big Barb" as she is known she is a knitting teacher who's son becomes accused of murder....
Kelly Flynn is a accountant who has seemed to make her home office at the Lambspun Knitters in Fort Connor, Colorado. Life is good for everyone until knitting teacher, "Big Barb" life starts unraveling, She is a very over protective mother of her son, Tommy a doctor currently in his residency. A young woman who is a patient accuses him of assault and life for Barb takes a serious downturn, knitters at Lambspun become concerned for Barb when she is displaying strange behavior and serious depression when her son son becomes the main suspect when the woman was found murdered in her apartment.
Suspicions arise when this young woman, Laura Brewster also accused one of her professors of assault, being seen by another student. Kelly digs around to find out Laura had a knack for seeking revenge if she did not get what she wanted.Kelly is sure that Tommy could not be responsible for her murder. Being an accountant, with her love of numbers with her ability to solve puzzles and past murders, she's sure that she could stitch together the real clues as to who the killer could really be.
As a want to be knitter and for the seasoned knitter this is a perfect mystery.Descriptions of yarn and the fiber arts are beautifully stitched into the story even though I could not always understand the knitting lingo. Mother Mimi, owner of Lambspun Knitters and Burt, a retired police man are a lovely couple and are definitely make Purl up and Die worth reading. A cast of characters that were likeable but sometimes hard to keep straight but still very charming. Twists and turns make this a cleverly plotted mystery for knitting lovers.
FTC Disclosure: Thank you to the publisher for providing me a copy of this book for review.This did not influence my thoughts in any way. All the opinions of the book and review are my own.
June 10, 2015
Dollycas’s Thoughts
We return to Fort Connor, Colorado and the House of Lambspun Yarn Shop for the 13th installment of this cozy mystery series. Kelly Flynn, is an accountant and she does her best work while sitting at the big table in the middle of the yarn shop with a big cup of coffee from Pete’s Porch Cafe. It is also the place she catches up on what is happening in town and where she meets Burt Parker, a retired police officer with all the right connections at the local police department. Kelly and Burt have solved several murders by putting their heads together and keeping their ears open.
This time the case touches close to home. Barb, who teaches classes at Lambspun, is so proud of her son. Tommy is a doctor completing his residency at the local ER. She talks about him all the time, singing his praises. He has a bright future until a local co-ed accuses him of sexual assault. When she is found dead a few days later Tommy becomes the prime suspect. Kelly and Burt with the help of a few friends are on mission, spinning clues upside down and inside out, to find the truth and catch the real killer.
I do love this series. The friendship all of the recurring characters is what makes these stories great. Whether they are getting together at the cafe or the yarn shop or at the baseball fields they are there to help and support each other through things like a huge canyon wildfire or bending the rules a little to get information to help solve the latest mystery. They have each others’ back and can count on each other no matter what.
This time the author knits together quite a mystery. I did figure it out a bit before Kelly and Burt but I was second guessing myself a time or two thanks to a few clever twists. She also describes everything so well. There are times where I could almost feel the yarn between my fingers and smell the mountain air.
Kelly and Steve’s romance is proceeding nicely and the feud between Kelly’s dog, Carl, and the Brazen Squirrel continues. Both will put a smile on your face.
Booking my next visit to Colorado for Book 14 right now!
January 26, 2016
Reading this book, I felt like she just wrote it to satisfy her editor. There wasn't much flow to it and even some continuity issues further in the book. I also had a huge issue with the fact that the main character had absolutely no problem asking her friend to compromise her job by giving her log in information for the university database to get information about students. There are rules and regulations against that which could have caused Lisa to lose her job if it was discovered. This same information could have been found by doing some research on the part of the main character. Like getting a yearbook from the Denver High School to get pics of students that went to school with the murder victim that Kelly should have shown that first college classmate of Laura's. Overall, not a very interesting book and if the Kelly character continues to do unethical activities in her investigations, I might have to stop reading these books.
October 27, 2020
Welp. Just, yeah. I'm done. I can't anymore with this series, and I couldn't even make it to the end of this one. The writing has gotten steadily worse and so has the editing. The dialogue is stale and trite, there are entire sections where she repeats herself...repeatedly...and there are ridiculously obvious plot mistakes, for sobbing out loud. WHERE is the editor?! Yoicks. But the thing that really broke the deal for me was the subject matter in this one: the son of one of the semi-regular characters is accused of sexual assault, but of course everyone assumes he's innocent and the woman is for some unknown reason lying because he's the son of their friend, so everyone jumps into action to try to sleuth out why this evil woman is lying. There is a small nod to the idea that of course there's a *chance* that he's guilty, but it's clearly a token nod. It's insulting and insensitive, and I'm done.
February 28, 2025
This was the worst one out of all the books. I was bummed. I really liked all the others. It almost felt as if someone else tried to write the book in the author's style. Too much baseball,sitting outside,working with numbers. Just no meat to this story. This was the first time the murderer was obvious many many chapters before the end.
December 31, 2017
I guessed the murderer right.
Good book. Nice pattern at the end.
Find the main character’s lack of knitting knowledge a little confusing bc she’s been hanging out with the knitter for 6 years but only knows a garter stitch.
Thought the felting was cool.
Liked the dog.
Enjoyable book.
Good book. Nice pattern at the end.
Find the main character’s lack of knitting knowledge a little confusing bc she’s been hanging out with the knitter for 6 years but only knows a garter stitch.
Thought the felting was cool.
Liked the dog.
Enjoyable book.
January 11, 2026
Wenn man keine zwei liebsten Zeitvertreibe zusammenpackt, Stricken und Lesen, verpackt in einen netten kleinen Krimi, da kann man doch nicht viel falsch machen, oder?
Spoiler: man kann... ausgesprochen redundant erzählt (das Buch könnte um die Hälfte kürzer sein), und an den Haaren herbeigezogene Storyline.
Spoiler: man kann... ausgesprochen redundant erzählt (das Buch könnte um die Hälfte kürzer sein), und an den Haaren herbeigezogene Storyline.
October 31, 2015
I have read all the books in this series and have really enjoyed most of them. I really expected more from this book at this point in the series. I feel like the characters have never been fully developed and after all this time I feel like I still don't know the characters. Like others that have read this book I am sick of hearing about coffee and softball. I figured out very early on who murderer was. And in this day in age, couldn't Barb be called something other than Big Barb. The Mother Mimi thing is getting old too. I am afraid this will be the last book by Maggie Sefton I will read. There are too many other great series to read.
June 15, 2016
3.5 Stars. I love my Lambspun family but I did have some problems with this book. The beginning had some bad editing going on but that got better as the book went on. My other problem was that a lot of the same information was repeated when Kelly was filling different people in. I get that she does that but I don't need the same thing repeated 2 or 3 times. I was also surprised that the police didn't zero in on the murderer the way I did based on the evidence. Still an enjoyable book overall.
September 6, 2015
This book was all about coffee, softball and junk food. There was very little focus on the mystery and it was easy to predict who the murderer was.
Also there was a lot of repetition in the dialogue which was boring. It's a shame that this book was not up to par because Sefton's books are generally a very enjoyable read.
Also there was a lot of repetition in the dialogue which was boring. It's a shame that this book was not up to par because Sefton's books are generally a very enjoyable read.
September 13, 2015
I have loved this series because they were light reads with fun characters and knitting thrown in --the perfect thing to binge on late at night, and cheaper than other bad habits!! This one, however, was terribly edited and sadly repetitive.
October 2, 2015
I used to enjoy this cozy mystery series. The last few books in this series were boring to me: mystery was obvious to me, not much about yarn or crafting and idealistic characters without much depth. I guess this series has run its course for me.
March 29, 2017
The latest instalment in the Lambspun series, this time Kelly needs to get her teeth into the area of sexual assault and lies. The son of one of the regular teachers at House of Lambspun has been accused of groping a female patient and Kelly and her friends are stunned to hear this, before she can think about it Kelly is looking into things and finding out more than she expected.
Regrettably this book seemed a little disjointed in places - but even so this is still one of my go to series!
Regrettably this book seemed a little disjointed in places - but even so this is still one of my go to series!
October 11, 2021
Kelly once again gets herself involved in a mystery when the son of a fellow knitting shop regular is accused of sexual assault and murder. This book is so very slow and takes its time getting anywhere, and the solution is pretty obvious from at least the halfway point. At the same time, I really like the camaraderie between the characters, and I find the slow pace comforting when I'm anxious. Not my favorite mystery series, but worth visiting from time to time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 20, 2017
Although was earlier in the series, I enjoyed how the characters got to where they are
July 31, 2019
The Heavens rejoice!
Kelly Flynn, Steve Townsend, Jennifer Stroud, Lisa Gerrard, Megan Smith, Marty Harrington, Greg Carruthers, Pete Wainwright and the Lambspun regulars of Mimi Shafer, Burt Parker, Curt Stackhouse and Jayleen Swinson have returned in
PURL UP AND DIE .
PEARL UP AND DIE is Maggie Sefton's thirteenth book in the series. It starts roughly a year after the devastating High Park wildfire (Cache La Poudre Canyon). And it deals with the backlash that can result when an innocent person is accused of sexually assaulting another.
Accountant and resident sleuth, Kelly Flynn's sense of justice is piqued and her catlike curiosity activated when Tommy Macenroe the son of Barb Macenroe, one of Lambspun's knitting class instructors, is accused a sexually assaulting a female patient who came intimidating clinic complaining about stomach pains.
When Laura Brewster, a coed is murdered in her apartment, it is revealed that she made the complaint. Tommy is now a murder suspect. Kelly and her Merry band of friends investigates Laura's background. It seems that she has a habit of making these complaints. A university professor for whom she wanted to do extra credit to increase her grade was the target of a similar false complaint when he denied her request. It ruined his life. Kelly, Jennifer, Lisa and Megan discover Laura wasn't a nice person.
The case narrows down to the college professor, one Professor Smith, with whom Laura filed a sexual assault claim, but choose not to file charges (made up them) and Dr. Tommy. But DNA clears the professor and shows similar markers with Dr. Tommy. This information allows Kelly to solve the crime.**(Spoiler alert)
This was another delightful book in the series. The author has a way of introducing new ensemble members of the series. In the previous one, Cassie was introduced as Jennifer Shroud's lover, Peter Wainwright's niece as her granddad had a stroke. She is now 13 and is becoming a joy to read about as one of the two younger new cast members. The other, Eric, is Curt Stackhouse's grandson.
This is one of my favourite ensemble series for the reason mentioned above, but also for :
Kelly's group of friends support, encourage and are there for each other when things go bad.
Steve, Kelly's lover has recently been made a partner in the architecture firm for which he works. Their relationship was on rocky ground due to the fall in Steve's architecture business (Kelly was successful) in the past, but since CAST ON , KILL OFF where Megan and Marty got married, they are now solid. Proving that love, understanding, versatility and patience win in the end.
Carl, Kelly's rottweiler and his adventures with Brazen Squirrel.
The summer baseball games. There's Kelly's team, Steve's team and the young people's games. Nice bit of nostalgia. I remember watching my cousins and brother play little league years ago.
The knitting shop, Lambspun. It's owner Mimi, is caring and motherly in the best ways. She really loves and enjoys fiber arts. She even makes me want to learn how to knit. There are several Kaffe Fassett patterns that I would live to make. I love the knit patterns included.
The coffee shop, Pete's Porch Cafe built-in to Lambspun. The staff is friendly. Kelly and all meet their, discuss stuff and Kelly does her accountant clients' business on her laptop while drinking her mainstay, COFFEE. Also knits and takes breaks there.
The fact that each and every one of the characters have a life. The mystery is not the paramount to end all. And although the story is told from Kelly's viewpoint, the author includes Mimi's, Jennifer's etal activities, even Cassie's are seen through Kelly's eyes. Mimi runs her store, teaches fiber arts and knitting classes, Cassie helps out at Lambspun, Jennifer is both a waitress and real estate agent, Megan a computer consultant, Greg a computer professor at the college, Lisa a message therapist and counsellor, Curt Stackhouse and Jayleen Swinson ranchers who run cattle (Curt) and the cute alpacas (Jayleen). Each of these wonderful bookfriends are a joy to spend time with.
And the ending BIG CHARACTER SPOILERS: Megan and Marty are going to have a little Charlotte or a little George. The power of life continues. BTW ANOTHER SPOILER: Tommy's grandmother, Madge, was also caught by Kelly in CLOSE KNIT KILLER.
Kelly Flynn, Steve Townsend, Jennifer Stroud, Lisa Gerrard, Megan Smith, Marty Harrington, Greg Carruthers, Pete Wainwright and the Lambspun regulars of Mimi Shafer, Burt Parker, Curt Stackhouse and Jayleen Swinson have returned in
PURL UP AND DIE .
PEARL UP AND DIE is Maggie Sefton's thirteenth book in the series. It starts roughly a year after the devastating High Park wildfire (Cache La Poudre Canyon). And it deals with the backlash that can result when an innocent person is accused of sexually assaulting another.
Accountant and resident sleuth, Kelly Flynn's sense of justice is piqued and her catlike curiosity activated when Tommy Macenroe the son of Barb Macenroe, one of Lambspun's knitting class instructors, is accused a sexually assaulting a female patient who came intimidating clinic complaining about stomach pains.
When Laura Brewster, a coed is murdered in her apartment, it is revealed that she made the complaint. Tommy is now a murder suspect. Kelly and her Merry band of friends investigates Laura's background. It seems that she has a habit of making these complaints. A university professor for whom she wanted to do extra credit to increase her grade was the target of a similar false complaint when he denied her request. It ruined his life. Kelly, Jennifer, Lisa and Megan discover Laura wasn't a nice person.
The case narrows down to the college professor, one Professor Smith, with whom Laura filed a sexual assault claim, but choose not to file charges (made up them) and Dr. Tommy. But DNA clears the professor and shows similar markers with Dr. Tommy. This information allows Kelly to solve the crime.**(Spoiler alert)
This was another delightful book in the series. The author has a way of introducing new ensemble members of the series. In the previous one, Cassie was introduced as Jennifer Shroud's lover, Peter Wainwright's niece as her granddad had a stroke. She is now 13 and is becoming a joy to read about as one of the two younger new cast members. The other, Eric, is Curt Stackhouse's grandson.
This is one of my favourite ensemble series for the reason mentioned above, but also for :
Kelly's group of friends support, encourage and are there for each other when things go bad.
Steve, Kelly's lover has recently been made a partner in the architecture firm for which he works. Their relationship was on rocky ground due to the fall in Steve's architecture business (Kelly was successful) in the past, but since CAST ON , KILL OFF where Megan and Marty got married, they are now solid. Proving that love, understanding, versatility and patience win in the end.
Carl, Kelly's rottweiler and his adventures with Brazen Squirrel.
The summer baseball games. There's Kelly's team, Steve's team and the young people's games. Nice bit of nostalgia. I remember watching my cousins and brother play little league years ago.
The knitting shop, Lambspun. It's owner Mimi, is caring and motherly in the best ways. She really loves and enjoys fiber arts. She even makes me want to learn how to knit. There are several Kaffe Fassett patterns that I would live to make. I love the knit patterns included.
The coffee shop, Pete's Porch Cafe built-in to Lambspun. The staff is friendly. Kelly and all meet their, discuss stuff and Kelly does her accountant clients' business on her laptop while drinking her mainstay, COFFEE. Also knits and takes breaks there.
The fact that each and every one of the characters have a life. The mystery is not the paramount to end all. And although the story is told from Kelly's viewpoint, the author includes Mimi's, Jennifer's etal activities, even Cassie's are seen through Kelly's eyes. Mimi runs her store, teaches fiber arts and knitting classes, Cassie helps out at Lambspun, Jennifer is both a waitress and real estate agent, Megan a computer consultant, Greg a computer professor at the college, Lisa a message therapist and counsellor, Curt Stackhouse and Jayleen Swinson ranchers who run cattle (Curt) and the cute alpacas (Jayleen). Each of these wonderful bookfriends are a joy to spend time with.
And the ending BIG CHARACTER SPOILERS: Megan and Marty are going to have a little Charlotte or a little George. The power of life continues. BTW ANOTHER SPOILER: Tommy's grandmother, Madge, was also caught by Kelly in CLOSE KNIT KILLER.
October 11, 2015
Sometimes a series just needs to end. I think I’ve reached my limit with this one.
Kelly and her band of friends are back for yet another knitting mystery novel in the make believe town of Fort Connor, CO (which seems a LOT like Fort Collins, CO – home to three of the largest girl’s fastpitch softball tournaments each June/July – you’ll understand my annoyance later in the review). I’ve decided this wanna-be Scooby-Do gang of do-gooders have a tendency to stick their noses in situations where they weren’t asked to help. I didn’t see anything in the book where Big Barb, mom of the accused, asked Kelly and her nosy pals to start investigating the murder before Kelly takes it upon herself to start asking questions about University tenure policies, what classes the murder victim was taking, and talking to the victim’s friends. If you have so much free time on your hands that you can investigate a murder on your own without being asked. Maybe you need some more accounting clients so Kelly can spend time in her own home office working instead of mooching cups of coffee at the café next door, ordering her friends to refill her cup, and never paying for coffee. In other series, the main character is usually ASKED to assist with the murder investigation; they don’t just start investigating for someone they don’t know.
What I loved: I like the brazen squirrel who torments Carl, the dog, in every book. I may miss him.
What I didn’t love: If you’re going to write about something, please do the research to make sure you have it correct because you will really annoy people who do understand the thing you’re trying to explain if you get it wrong. Case in point – Maggie Sefton knows very little about the softball. First of all, you don’t lose by 2 points – you either lose by 2 or by 2 runs. Runs. Not points. Second of all, when she is describing Cassie’s at bat (page 76 in the hardcover edition), she does not draw a walk but has struck out. The pitching sequence was written as: ball, ball, called strike, foul ball, ball, swing and miss, ball. In softball, according to ASA (Amateur Softball Association) rules, a foul ball is a strike unless the batter already has 2 strikes on the count. Once a batter has 2 strikes, they can foul off as many pitches as they want without it counting against them. Cassie struck out. Petty ? Perhaps, but as a mother who has kept the scorebook for the nine years my daughter has played softball I am annoyed that a basic rule of the game was not followed. Third – you practice hitting in what is either called the batting cages or a pitching machine – not a ball machine.The judges would even accept “hitting machine”. Unfortunately, these passages really left a bitter taste in my mouth and possibly have soured my feelings towards any future books in this series.
What I learned: Some people should stick with what they are an expert at (knitting).
Overall Grade: D
www.fsam15.wix.com/fluffsmutandmurder
July 2, 2017
This book is appallingly bad. The writing is repetitive and constantly lapses into long descriptions of coffee orders, softball games, the behaviour of the protagonist's dog, and other things which have absolutely no bearing on the plot. In fact, one of the most frustrating things about this book was the total separation of the mystery from the rest of the protagonist's life; it often feels like chapters from a mystery story have been spliced together with mundane episodes from a different book about the day-to-day life of a thirty-year-old accountant. There was no sense of tension and no reason to be invested in the non-mystery portions of the book (which account for well over half of the story).
However, more troubling than the apparent lack of editing is the irresponsible way in which Sefton handles the subject of sexual assault. In real life, false accusations of sexual assault are exceedingly rare, but the tendency to disbelieve survivors leads to enormous social stigma for victims and a lack of punishment for offenders. Sefton entirely disregards this reality by writing an entire book about a vengeful college student who accuses men of assault in order to 'get back' at them for offences such as denying her the opportunity to complete extra credit assignments. Even after the student is choked to death, the reader is encouraged to sympathize with the men she accused; we are constantly told how she ruined a college professor's life and how none of the characters can imagine being so unspeakably cruel, etc, etc. Even once the murderer is identified, the author still maintains that the student's allegations were false, and I often got the uncomfortable feeling that we were supposed to see the actions of the murderer as justified under the circumstances. It's frankly disgusting that Sefton would make up this kind of story with no regard for how it might influence a reader's beliefs about the rarity of false accusations in real life. There may be a place to discuss the phenomenon of false accusations--rare as they are--but it is certainly not in a lazily-written cozy mystery which exploits the concept for drama.
However, more troubling than the apparent lack of editing is the irresponsible way in which Sefton handles the subject of sexual assault. In real life, false accusations of sexual assault are exceedingly rare, but the tendency to disbelieve survivors leads to enormous social stigma for victims and a lack of punishment for offenders. Sefton entirely disregards this reality by writing an entire book about a vengeful college student who accuses men of assault in order to 'get back' at them for offences such as denying her the opportunity to complete extra credit assignments. Even after the student is choked to death, the reader is encouraged to sympathize with the men she accused; we are constantly told how she ruined a college professor's life and how none of the characters can imagine being so unspeakably cruel, etc, etc. Even once the murderer is identified, the author still maintains that the student's allegations were false, and I often got the uncomfortable feeling that we were supposed to see the actions of the murderer as justified under the circumstances. It's frankly disgusting that Sefton would make up this kind of story with no regard for how it might influence a reader's beliefs about the rarity of false accusations in real life. There may be a place to discuss the phenomenon of false accusations--rare as they are--but it is certainly not in a lazily-written cozy mystery which exploits the concept for drama.
October 21, 2016
If I can defer even one person from reading Seaton's awful books, I will have contributed to leaving the world a better place. I am absolutely serious. There are SO many great cozies out there, that I shudder to think of anyone wasting time on this author's daft offerings.
This is by far the worst in this series, which has had a continual decline. It is so awful that I wish there was a negative star rating. The plot is really weak; only a very few people couldn't have guessed the killer within just a few chapters. The dialogue is trite, repetitive, and endless. Within a few paragraphs, the same comments are made, sometimes with the exact same wording. Sometimes, she included events or descriptions she had already burdened us with a few pages or a chapter before. She is obviously slapping together intact portions of her previous books, just plugging in updated plot lines here and there. Obviously, she considers her readers stupid, and I whole-heartedly concur. I MUST BE MYSELF because I keep reading her horrible books (but library copies - I only bought the first one). Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is, well, you know the quote.
As an avid knitter, I had hoped the knitting descriptions would improve as the lead character, Kelly, proceeds from her brand-new knitting status to someone with years of 'experience'. Groan....never gonna happen. And last but not least, I have come to strongly dislike the main character and her idiotic, one-dimensional friends whom she even dares to charge in a separate ebook on Amazon for their bios (Who Are These People?). I would have to ask the same questions of the people who are rating this book positively. ARGH! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE give up on this author, and shame on her editor for putting this mess on the market. Someone is asleep at Penguin books, as havng this author on the NY Times bestseller list is a farce.
This is by far the worst in this series, which has had a continual decline. It is so awful that I wish there was a negative star rating. The plot is really weak; only a very few people couldn't have guessed the killer within just a few chapters. The dialogue is trite, repetitive, and endless. Within a few paragraphs, the same comments are made, sometimes with the exact same wording. Sometimes, she included events or descriptions she had already burdened us with a few pages or a chapter before. She is obviously slapping together intact portions of her previous books, just plugging in updated plot lines here and there. Obviously, she considers her readers stupid, and I whole-heartedly concur. I MUST BE MYSELF because I keep reading her horrible books (but library copies - I only bought the first one). Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is, well, you know the quote.
As an avid knitter, I had hoped the knitting descriptions would improve as the lead character, Kelly, proceeds from her brand-new knitting status to someone with years of 'experience'. Groan....never gonna happen. And last but not least, I have come to strongly dislike the main character and her idiotic, one-dimensional friends whom she even dares to charge in a separate ebook on Amazon for their bios (Who Are These People?). I would have to ask the same questions of the people who are rating this book positively. ARGH! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE give up on this author, and shame on her editor for putting this mess on the market. Someone is asleep at Penguin books, as havng this author on the NY Times bestseller list is a farce.
February 17, 2021
this was pretty bad. I dont know if the author had a minimum number of pages she had to write but it was repetitive and had lots of pointless scenes and dialog. Parts were like Dick and Jane. "Hi Dick. Hi Jane. How are you Dick. I am good Jane" I didnt read them in order so maybe I am not up on the character development that people seemed to like, but I thought there were too many random people passing through with no purpose other than to give her a hot dog or coffee and I gave up trying to keep them straight. Even the main characters seemed to have a pointless existence. Kelly seems to be an important accountant running big companies spreadsheets, but working out of a coffee shop all day seemed inconsiderate, plus she never really worked. She took out her stuff and then people came over and she closes her laptop about 50 times in the book. There was essentially no knitting (I dont care because I dont knit but still) which was weird, the focus seemed to be on softball, which isnt even properly described. Along those lines, people dont ever go to medical school part time and then get to finish early because they took an extra anatomy class. It was poorly researched and edited and reminded me of something a high school kid would turn in for college prep english
October 22, 2019
I tend to enjoy the books in A Knitting Mystery series by Maggie Sefton. I've read them all up to this point and have felt decently comfortable forging ahead despite the fact that I have been able to tell in various situations throughout the series that Sefton does not have first-hand experience with various scenarios that she's writing about. The way she talks about drug addiction and alcohol abuse in past books in this series comes across as stereotypical and out of touch. And what made me put this book down was a large amount of sympathy for the alleged perpetrator of a sexual assault.
While I'd argue that elements of sexual assault and the consequences can be nuanced and complicated, the way Sefton approaches the conversation in this book is insensitive, victim-blaming, and largely unrealistic. I'm not sure if it gets better towards the end, because I didn't care to finish it. I didn't get to a murder, so I'm not sure if it gains momentum but even the way Kelly's investigation was beginning put a foul taste in my mouth. I'm undecided if my journey with this crew of knitters is over or not, but for now it's on hold. I have better things to read.
While I'd argue that elements of sexual assault and the consequences can be nuanced and complicated, the way Sefton approaches the conversation in this book is insensitive, victim-blaming, and largely unrealistic. I'm not sure if it gets better towards the end, because I didn't care to finish it. I didn't get to a murder, so I'm not sure if it gains momentum but even the way Kelly's investigation was beginning put a foul taste in my mouth. I'm undecided if my journey with this crew of knitters is over or not, but for now it's on hold. I have better things to read.
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