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A Knitting Mystery #5
Dyer Consequences
Kelly's spring project: rehabbing an alpaca ranch. But someone has different ideas for keeping her busy, including slashing tires and cracking windshields. Then the House of Lambspun knitting shop is trashed, and a woman is found drowned in a tub of dye. Although it seems like a burglary gone wrong, Kelly suspects there's more to it. And as disturbing incidents pile up, she must pick up the stitches of these crimes before the killer strikes again.
332 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 3, 2008
112 people are currently reading
1431 people want to read
About the author
Maggie Sefton
35 books778 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 227 reviews
November 25, 2022
I just have to say because the other reviews of this book are so harsh — ! Fellow readers, know what you’re getting into when you choose a “cozy” knitting murder mystery…I mean, seriously. Not only is this incredibly niche as only knitters will read it, but it’s not meant to be taken seriously. These books are supposed to be easy, comforting, mindless reads — and that’s what they are. It’s not like I picked this book up expecting Anna Karenina. If you expected a literary masterpiece and not a fun simple read out of this one…..you’re just weird.
August 1, 2008
The mystery is basic and sloppy, and the knitting content isn't detailed or interesting enough to make up for it. The heroine isn't even much of a sleuth in this one. The character interactions are repetitive and mostly consist of teasing each other about the same things they teased each other for in the first four books.
Mostly I'm tired of reading the character names over and over. Sefton's characters constantly use each other's names during dialogue, even when only two people are talking. One used the name of the woman he was talking to twice in one short paragraph. It may be a strange thing to fixate on, but it sounds really unnatural and jerks me right out of the story.
There are a lot of people in the novel and most are barely characterized. We don't get a sense of many of them beyond one or two attributes. Mimi is tenderhearted, Burt is protective, and Steve is very, very patient. Dan and Don are two different people, but both are law enforcement officers and are talked about instead of showing up. The problem with having so many people around is that we don't know any of them well enough to consider them interesting. Even the main character comes across as bland.
I'm dropping this series.
Mostly I'm tired of reading the character names over and over. Sefton's characters constantly use each other's names during dialogue, even when only two people are talking. One used the name of the woman he was talking to twice in one short paragraph. It may be a strange thing to fixate on, but it sounds really unnatural and jerks me right out of the story.
There are a lot of people in the novel and most are barely characterized. We don't get a sense of many of them beyond one or two attributes. Mimi is tenderhearted, Burt is protective, and Steve is very, very patient. Dan and Don are two different people, but both are law enforcement officers and are talked about instead of showing up. The problem with having so many people around is that we don't know any of them well enough to consider them interesting. Even the main character comes across as bland.
I'm dropping this series.
July 24, 2010
I love knitting, so I suppose that's the only explanation I have for continuing to try to read this series. It's so poorly written, that it's hard to understand why a good editor hasn't worked harder to fix it.
The main problem I have is the dialogue. It's so unrealistic, that it makes it hard to really enjoy the story. Sefton is constantly repeating the names of the people talking to one another in the dialogue. I'm sorry, but people just don't talk like that!
So, even if she had a half decent mystery plot, the dialogue and narrative just kill it.
I try not to be so harsh with my reviews, but this one really annoyed me. I guess that's because I keep coming back and hoping it'll be better.
The main problem I have is the dialogue. It's so unrealistic, that it makes it hard to really enjoy the story. Sefton is constantly repeating the names of the people talking to one another in the dialogue. I'm sorry, but people just don't talk like that!
So, even if she had a half decent mystery plot, the dialogue and narrative just kill it.
I try not to be so harsh with my reviews, but this one really annoyed me. I guess that's because I keep coming back and hoping it'll be better.
September 26, 2011
This series has improved from the first book, which had some appealing elements, but was poorly-written and contained 2-dimensional characters. Dyer Consequences has a few more plot twists, though it was, as with all Sefton's books, very easy to spot the murderer. However, if you know someone who doesn't approve of sex, swearing or any other seamy real-life elements in books - and also enjoys knitting and descriptions of lovely Colorado scenery - this book may be enjoyable for them. Unfortunately, most of Sefton's characters talk the same way (with "Ooooh yeah" appearing very frequently), and Sefton's attempts to inject humour generally fall flat.
December 27, 2021
Spring is coming late this year and Kelly is looking forward to it so she can start renovating her new ranch. But then strange vandalism begins happening around her properties, and a new visitor to the knitting shop is found murdered. Kelly begins digging, but this time, it might be more than she can handle.
As usual, this mystery was predictable but the characters and their relationships continue to grow, making this a nice familiar place to visit, especially as a bedtime read. I didn't love seeing Kelly lose her dream ranch at the end, but I did find the rest fun.
As usual, this mystery was predictable but the characters and their relationships continue to grow, making this a nice familiar place to visit, especially as a bedtime read. I didn't love seeing Kelly lose her dream ranch at the end, but I did find the rest fun.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 12, 2016
Kelly Flynn and her friends are struggling to deal with acts of vandalism to their property when one of the customers of the House of Lambspun yarn shop is murdered, in Dyer Consequences, the fifth Knitting Mystery by Maggie Sefton.
Kelly is an accountant who has recently arrived in Fort Connor in Colorado. She has discovered the joys of knitting and spends a lot of time with her new friends in the yarn store next door. What’s more, the House of Lambspun is attached to Kelly’s favourite coffee shop Pete’s. Kelly’s cottage was bequeathed to her by her aunt and she is now also the owner of a ranch in a nearby Bellevue canyon (complete with 15 alpacas).
It is now the beginning of February and Kelly is eager to start the refurbishment of her new ranch house. Steve (her boyfriend and architect/builder) is happy to help her out with the design and construction. Unfortunately there has been a spate of vandalism in the Fort Connor area and it seems that Kelly is the latest victim. There has been graffiti daubed on her cottage walls and her car has had its windscreen smashed and tyres slashed!
The House of Lambspun’s owner, motherly Mimi, dyes and sells yarn in the yarn shop. Kelly is so in love with the soft colourful yarns that she has joined Mimi’s yarn dying course. She is taking the classes along with her estate agent friend Jennifer. Sadly the yarn store and coffee shop also becomes the target of vandalism. With the properties both trashed the community of knitters are only too willing to help restore order. But nothing can put right the deed that they discover in the hot dye bath in the basement; the body of a young knitter, her head and torso submerged in the Aztec blue dye!
The disturbing incidents continue to mount up and at first the whole community are at a loss as to what to do. Then a remark from Jennifer sets Kelly, the amateur sleuth, on the road to unravel this case which has already had such dire consequences for her and her friends.
Kelly is knitting a tweed alpaca scarf for Steve and making heavy weather of it. Nonetheless, her knitting chums persuade her that it‘s time to be a bit more adventurous with her knitting. With the choice of socks or hat, Kelly takes the easier option of knitting a simple hat, with pattern picked by her friend Megan. The book has a fair amount of reference to the knitting projects that the friends are undertaking. At the back of the book there is a straightforward pattern for a collapsible cloche hat although I have not tried knitting this pattern.
I enjoy the cosy family type atmosphere that Maggie Sefton creates in her Knitting Mysteries series. The characters are not overly described, which I like as too much narrative can make a story drag. Kelly and her pals are a nice friendship group who care for each other as we grow fonder of them. Our heroine has grown more likeable to me in this book as her irrepressible character comes to the fore. And I am glad to see that Steve and her relationship has become a regular thing.
There can’t be many better settings for a mystery series than a knitting shop, if you love knitting like I do. You can just imagine yourself wandering through the displays of colourful yarns and fibres, and then sitting down for a chat with the other shop regulars before heading next door for a coffee and pastry. Sigh… For Kelly coffee is a necessity that she cannot live without. But in this volume she considers for the first time whether she would be willing to move to her ranch and away from her knitting buddies and the yarn store.
This series is an easy read. The mysteries are not the most complicated in the world of literature. However, I do enjoy a book that you can read quickly and that has a good cast and setting. The story was, for the most part, fast paced, with more plot twists tan previous episodes and I think that Sefton’s story telling is improving. The pace of the narrative at the end keeps you gripped as, this time, Kelly faces some very real dangers.
I like that fact that there are no gory descriptions of the murders in these books. The police competently followed the evidence and Kelly, through a police contact, is able to follow their investigation and create her own theories, which leads to her getting thoroughly involved. The murderer was not revealed until later on in the book, though possible to guess if you pay attention to the clues. Nevertheless, the mystery did have a ring of truth to me. This tale was a little slow at first as the vandalism storyline did not really grip me. Despite the leisurely build up, there was not much time to get to know and care about the murder victim before she is killed. There are a lot of characters in the series and some can be a bit confusing; for example Dan and Don are separate people and both policemen, whilst Curt and Burt are both helpful friends.
Some of the dialogue can be a bit immature at times; for example the way the characters are often “teasing” each other and the reference to the caffeine, knitting and anxiety “lobes” of Kelly’s brain. This story was a little lighter on the knitting content, although I liked the description of Megan’s knitting time not increasing in proportion to the size of her larger yarn stash. Also a minor thing, though, when Burt works a wool fleece for spinning the terms should be batt or roving rather than batten as used by the author. Dyer Consequences by Maggie Sefton is an enjoyable quick read. I would have liked a bit more knitting this time, but the mystery was good and the characters keep bringing you back for more. The pecan pie recipe at the back of the book also looks like it is worth a try.
My review is available at: http://www.theknittingsquirrel.com/dy...
Kelly is an accountant who has recently arrived in Fort Connor in Colorado. She has discovered the joys of knitting and spends a lot of time with her new friends in the yarn store next door. What’s more, the House of Lambspun is attached to Kelly’s favourite coffee shop Pete’s. Kelly’s cottage was bequeathed to her by her aunt and she is now also the owner of a ranch in a nearby Bellevue canyon (complete with 15 alpacas).
It is now the beginning of February and Kelly is eager to start the refurbishment of her new ranch house. Steve (her boyfriend and architect/builder) is happy to help her out with the design and construction. Unfortunately there has been a spate of vandalism in the Fort Connor area and it seems that Kelly is the latest victim. There has been graffiti daubed on her cottage walls and her car has had its windscreen smashed and tyres slashed!
The House of Lambspun’s owner, motherly Mimi, dyes and sells yarn in the yarn shop. Kelly is so in love with the soft colourful yarns that she has joined Mimi’s yarn dying course. She is taking the classes along with her estate agent friend Jennifer. Sadly the yarn store and coffee shop also becomes the target of vandalism. With the properties both trashed the community of knitters are only too willing to help restore order. But nothing can put right the deed that they discover in the hot dye bath in the basement; the body of a young knitter, her head and torso submerged in the Aztec blue dye!
The disturbing incidents continue to mount up and at first the whole community are at a loss as to what to do. Then a remark from Jennifer sets Kelly, the amateur sleuth, on the road to unravel this case which has already had such dire consequences for her and her friends.
Kelly is knitting a tweed alpaca scarf for Steve and making heavy weather of it. Nonetheless, her knitting chums persuade her that it‘s time to be a bit more adventurous with her knitting. With the choice of socks or hat, Kelly takes the easier option of knitting a simple hat, with pattern picked by her friend Megan. The book has a fair amount of reference to the knitting projects that the friends are undertaking. At the back of the book there is a straightforward pattern for a collapsible cloche hat although I have not tried knitting this pattern.
I enjoy the cosy family type atmosphere that Maggie Sefton creates in her Knitting Mysteries series. The characters are not overly described, which I like as too much narrative can make a story drag. Kelly and her pals are a nice friendship group who care for each other as we grow fonder of them. Our heroine has grown more likeable to me in this book as her irrepressible character comes to the fore. And I am glad to see that Steve and her relationship has become a regular thing.
There can’t be many better settings for a mystery series than a knitting shop, if you love knitting like I do. You can just imagine yourself wandering through the displays of colourful yarns and fibres, and then sitting down for a chat with the other shop regulars before heading next door for a coffee and pastry. Sigh… For Kelly coffee is a necessity that she cannot live without. But in this volume she considers for the first time whether she would be willing to move to her ranch and away from her knitting buddies and the yarn store.
This series is an easy read. The mysteries are not the most complicated in the world of literature. However, I do enjoy a book that you can read quickly and that has a good cast and setting. The story was, for the most part, fast paced, with more plot twists tan previous episodes and I think that Sefton’s story telling is improving. The pace of the narrative at the end keeps you gripped as, this time, Kelly faces some very real dangers.
I like that fact that there are no gory descriptions of the murders in these books. The police competently followed the evidence and Kelly, through a police contact, is able to follow their investigation and create her own theories, which leads to her getting thoroughly involved. The murderer was not revealed until later on in the book, though possible to guess if you pay attention to the clues. Nevertheless, the mystery did have a ring of truth to me. This tale was a little slow at first as the vandalism storyline did not really grip me. Despite the leisurely build up, there was not much time to get to know and care about the murder victim before she is killed. There are a lot of characters in the series and some can be a bit confusing; for example Dan and Don are separate people and both policemen, whilst Curt and Burt are both helpful friends.
Some of the dialogue can be a bit immature at times; for example the way the characters are often “teasing” each other and the reference to the caffeine, knitting and anxiety “lobes” of Kelly’s brain. This story was a little lighter on the knitting content, although I liked the description of Megan’s knitting time not increasing in proportion to the size of her larger yarn stash. Also a minor thing, though, when Burt works a wool fleece for spinning the terms should be batt or roving rather than batten as used by the author. Dyer Consequences by Maggie Sefton is an enjoyable quick read. I would have liked a bit more knitting this time, but the mystery was good and the characters keep bringing you back for more. The pecan pie recipe at the back of the book also looks like it is worth a try.
My review is available at: http://www.theknittingsquirrel.com/dy...
May 7, 2025
I feel like these just keep getting better and better honestly. Like these last two I've read from this series i've enjoyed so much! I would say I liked them about the same amount. This one I felt was a bit more suspenseful because things were actually happening to our main character as well instead of her just sleuthing in other situations. I'm still getting really annoyed by her friends teasing and pushing her to move things along with her boyfriend, like please let them just take things at their own pace and stay out of their relationship please? That's the only thing that I get just so annoyed by while reading these. Other than that, loved!
June 22, 2022
Another decent read in the Knitting mystery series.
A rather unusual--dare I say creative?--method of murder this time around. There are so many secondary characters, I need a chart to keep them straight. A villain from one of the previous books in the series comes into play again, in a way.
I do like the series and plan to keep reading them.
A rather unusual--dare I say creative?--method of murder this time around. There are so many secondary characters, I need a chart to keep them straight. A villain from one of the previous books in the series comes into play again, in a way.
I do like the series and plan to keep reading them.
July 12, 2009
Kelly is an accountant who loves to hang out at her local yarn shop. She is in the middle of buying a ranch when she become the target of vandalism. After one of the customer at the yarn shop is murdered, the vandalism increases, and Kelly realizes that someone is trying to prevent her from living on the ranch. She'd better work quick and figure out who is behind it all.
I broke one of my own rules with this book - I started in the middle of the series. It sounded like a fun read, so I thought I would give it a chance, then go back and read the rest if I enjoyed it. Well, I won't be bothering with the rest of the series.
I will admit that I don't knit. But that had nothing to do with why I didn't like the book. My basic problem is that the whole story is sort of like the yarn the writer describes - soft and fluffy and easy to unravel. The characters are flat and undeveloped. The setting is nice enough, the writing is fine. But the plot was a little unbelievable and again, the characters just weren't convincing. At the end of the book, I felt I hardly knew them any better than I did at the beginning. And she could have just named her main character Mary Sue and let her readers know where she stood from the very start.
It really wasn't a horrible read. I did stay up to finish and to see if I had guessed the murderer right. I did. Before anyone was even dead. But I might still give an author another chance after that. Maybe I just got lucky. But really, there are so many books out there, that I don't see any reason to read a mediocre book when I could read something really well done.
I broke one of my own rules with this book - I started in the middle of the series. It sounded like a fun read, so I thought I would give it a chance, then go back and read the rest if I enjoyed it. Well, I won't be bothering with the rest of the series.
I will admit that I don't knit. But that had nothing to do with why I didn't like the book. My basic problem is that the whole story is sort of like the yarn the writer describes - soft and fluffy and easy to unravel. The characters are flat and undeveloped. The setting is nice enough, the writing is fine. But the plot was a little unbelievable and again, the characters just weren't convincing. At the end of the book, I felt I hardly knew them any better than I did at the beginning. And she could have just named her main character Mary Sue and let her readers know where she stood from the very start.
It really wasn't a horrible read. I did stay up to finish and to see if I had guessed the murderer right. I did. Before anyone was even dead. But I might still give an author another chance after that. Maybe I just got lucky. But really, there are so many books out there, that I don't see any reason to read a mediocre book when I could read something really well done.
July 6, 2017
This is the third Knitting Mystery book I've read so far. It's a 'cozy' series, with a pleasant cast of characters and an idyllic setting (an LYS with it's own line of yarn, attached to a really good local coffee shop/bakery, in a small town in Wyoming, come on!). The books each include a recipe and a simple knitting pattern (the sleuth is a beginner).
The mysteries are not too complicated (the guilty party was high on my list of suspects, mainly for meta reasons, from early on), but approached in an unusual way. The police are competant, following the leads thoroughly. The amateur sleuth has a friend with connections on the force, so many of the clues she works from come from the police investigation. In this book in particular, the police actually have all the information, but they're working methodically while Kelly (our knitter sleuth) is running around, putting herself into danger and forcing a confession because she's impatient and angry. Honestly, she didn't find out that the police had the last clue until the end (but she should have realized it, given the information she did have...). Definitely a fun read, if not an intellectual challenge.
I should think of this series next time I'm looking for a 'beach book'.
The mysteries are not too complicated (the guilty party was high on my list of suspects, mainly for meta reasons, from early on), but approached in an unusual way. The police are competant, following the leads thoroughly. The amateur sleuth has a friend with connections on the force, so many of the clues she works from come from the police investigation. In this book in particular, the police actually have all the information, but they're working methodically while Kelly (our knitter sleuth) is running around, putting herself into danger and forcing a confession because she's impatient and angry. Honestly, she didn't find out that the police had the last clue until the end (but she should have realized it, given the information she did have...). Definitely a fun read, if not an intellectual challenge.
I should think of this series next time I'm looking for a 'beach book'.
November 2, 2020
I just really enjoy this series and the characters in it. There were some predictable moments in this book but even at the end when you knew something was going to happen it was still kind of creepy and unpredictable. Can't wait to see what happens next! #readforkimberly
Read
August 11, 2013know I read this before - re-reading
May 23, 2016
mindless read that is all
July 6, 2017
Parts of the book might have been three star but there were so many instances of the protagonist being TSTL (too stupid to live) and way too many cookie cutter flat characters. I know I’ve read others in this series but not sure I liked them very much either. Kelly is not a very patient person which comes up a the end when she decides the cops are going too slowly (at least this book has my favored situation in a cozy, the amateur on good terms with the police). And oh for those who don’t like their cozies with swears, there are a few in this. I will probably spoil a few things because they play into why I rated this low. I’ll put up warnings.
Kelly, accountant and knitter (who five books in on a knitting series is still stuck on scarf) has been suffering vandalism at her home which might be linked to similar situations across town. She introduces a young college student Tracy to Mimi who teaches dyeing because Tracy has an interest in it and is a chemistry student. In fact she’s taking ‘only two classes because it’s all she can afford’ (the same thing Kelly’s ranch hand, Bobby said word for word and I thought this had to be a clue because that’s so not how college works. It’s not that common to do it piecemeal and you’d never get thru a chemistry degree that way. It would literally take twice the time, it’s why we have loans. Yes yes I know not everyone can/wants to get a loan).
Before long, Tracy is dead in Mimi’s shop’s basement and Carl, Kelly’s rottweiler is nearly killed. It becomes clear that Kelly’s ranch in the canyon might be why Kelly’s been targeted as at least two previous owners had similar mishaps. Then Kelly is nearly killed (does everyone HAVE to do the omg my brakes have been cut on a mountainside, I’m going to crash thing? There is an emergency brake in your car. This is literally what it’s for) and everyone wants her to sell the property so she puts it up for sale cheap to hopefully lure out the person behind the attacks. Her realtor friend, Jennifer, thinks ‘gothboy’ is behind it and sorry, I’m having trouble seeing anyone working in real estate in full goth dress (having been goth). It’s like oh let’s pick out a marginalized group and cast them as the villains again (thank you NCIS for showing goths and D&D playing geeks in a positive light, you’ll never know how much that means).
Needless to say this works, Kelly then does something incredibly stupid and should have died. Frankly she barely does any sleuthing herself (as she broke her ankle in that car crash) and there are far too many characters in this sitting around eating, talking and knitting. Literally there are three major scenes where there are nearly a dozen people eating and teasing each other about how much they eat. One of them might have been nice, three it’s so repetitive it’s not funny.
Kelly annoyed me so many times in this. For one, she owns a large dog with devastating bite/grip strength and has done nothing to train Carl. He runs off, he steals food, he listens to no one. This is incredibly irresponsible behavior for her and finally Rosa (another knitter? A knit shop employee? I have no idea because I don’t remember the previous books and the characters are so thinly fleshed out I can’t tell most of them apart) says I train dogs and quickly teaches Carl (and no I’m not saying Rottweilers are dangerous but any dog can be if not trained. I love rotties and would be sad to see one in this condition training wise).
Then she seems to think being an athlete means she should heal bones faster, being so very proud of herself for getting down to just one crutch in just a few weeks and figures the cast comes off in only 6. the foot doctor in me is cringing. that’s not how bone healing works.
I don’t see me running out to get another of these. They aren’t that great and the editors really should have said ‘wow, this ending is stupid. Rewrite it.’ It made Kelly truly TSTL. So let me spoil the ending a bit (without naming the villain but still). Take that as your cue to bail if you don’t want to see it.
So Kelly knows (or thinks she does) who is behind the attacks on her in order to get the ranch so when our villain calls and says they’ll be away from the ranch, she goes up there without telling anyone (even though she’s supposed to be at home with her busted ankle, not driving) not even the cop, Burt, (who she also didn’t tell she accidentally called the villain after finding the victim’s phone). So hoping to get evidence Kelly goes alone and naturally the villain is there waiting for her. Frankly I was rooting for the villain because this was so stupid she deserved whatever she got. And at the end, she still sells the ranch at a loss after literally bitching the entire book about not having enough money. She shrugs and says we’ll find it somewhere. Okay I could see selling it because of bad memories but why not put it up at the real retail price? Well she is stupid….
Kelly, accountant and knitter (who five books in on a knitting series is still stuck on scarf) has been suffering vandalism at her home which might be linked to similar situations across town. She introduces a young college student Tracy to Mimi who teaches dyeing because Tracy has an interest in it and is a chemistry student. In fact she’s taking ‘only two classes because it’s all she can afford’ (the same thing Kelly’s ranch hand, Bobby said word for word and I thought this had to be a clue because that’s so not how college works. It’s not that common to do it piecemeal and you’d never get thru a chemistry degree that way. It would literally take twice the time, it’s why we have loans. Yes yes I know not everyone can/wants to get a loan).
Before long, Tracy is dead in Mimi’s shop’s basement and Carl, Kelly’s rottweiler is nearly killed. It becomes clear that Kelly’s ranch in the canyon might be why Kelly’s been targeted as at least two previous owners had similar mishaps. Then Kelly is nearly killed (does everyone HAVE to do the omg my brakes have been cut on a mountainside, I’m going to crash thing? There is an emergency brake in your car. This is literally what it’s for) and everyone wants her to sell the property so she puts it up for sale cheap to hopefully lure out the person behind the attacks. Her realtor friend, Jennifer, thinks ‘gothboy’ is behind it and sorry, I’m having trouble seeing anyone working in real estate in full goth dress (having been goth). It’s like oh let’s pick out a marginalized group and cast them as the villains again (thank you NCIS for showing goths and D&D playing geeks in a positive light, you’ll never know how much that means).
Needless to say this works, Kelly then does something incredibly stupid and should have died. Frankly she barely does any sleuthing herself (as she broke her ankle in that car crash) and there are far too many characters in this sitting around eating, talking and knitting. Literally there are three major scenes where there are nearly a dozen people eating and teasing each other about how much they eat. One of them might have been nice, three it’s so repetitive it’s not funny.
Kelly annoyed me so many times in this. For one, she owns a large dog with devastating bite/grip strength and has done nothing to train Carl. He runs off, he steals food, he listens to no one. This is incredibly irresponsible behavior for her and finally Rosa (another knitter? A knit shop employee? I have no idea because I don’t remember the previous books and the characters are so thinly fleshed out I can’t tell most of them apart) says I train dogs and quickly teaches Carl (and no I’m not saying Rottweilers are dangerous but any dog can be if not trained. I love rotties and would be sad to see one in this condition training wise).
Then she seems to think being an athlete means she should heal bones faster, being so very proud of herself for getting down to just one crutch in just a few weeks and figures the cast comes off in only 6. the foot doctor in me is cringing. that’s not how bone healing works.
I don’t see me running out to get another of these. They aren’t that great and the editors really should have said ‘wow, this ending is stupid. Rewrite it.’ It made Kelly truly TSTL. So let me spoil the ending a bit (without naming the villain but still). Take that as your cue to bail if you don’t want to see it.
So Kelly knows (or thinks she does) who is behind the attacks on her in order to get the ranch so when our villain calls and says they’ll be away from the ranch, she goes up there without telling anyone (even though she’s supposed to be at home with her busted ankle, not driving) not even the cop, Burt, (who she also didn’t tell she accidentally called the villain after finding the victim’s phone). So hoping to get evidence Kelly goes alone and naturally the villain is there waiting for her. Frankly I was rooting for the villain because this was so stupid she deserved whatever she got. And at the end, she still sells the ranch at a loss after literally bitching the entire book about not having enough money. She shrugs and says we’ll find it somewhere. Okay I could see selling it because of bad memories but why not put it up at the real retail price? Well she is stupid….
July 11, 2025
"Dyer Consequences," the fifth book in Maggie Sefton's A Knitting Mystery series, pulls us back into the world of Kelly Flynn and the House of Lambspun knitters in Fort Connor, Colorado. This time, Kelly's big spring project involves rehabbing an alpaca ranch, but her plans are quickly derailed by a series of unsettling incidents—slashed tires, cracked windshields, and then, much more seriously, her beloved knitting shop gets trashed. The mystery really deepens when a woman is found tragically drowned in a tub of dye.
The premise here is certainly intriguing, especially for a cozy mystery. The idea of a murder in a dye vat immediately grabs attention and provides a unique hook for the investigation. Sefton does a good job of setting the scene, bringing the alpaca ranch and the familiar comfort of the House of Lambspun to life. Kelly, as always, is a determined and likable protagonist, and her suspicion that there's more to these incidents than just a botched burglary drives the narrative forward. The recurring cast of knitting friends adds warmth and collaborative energy to the sleuthing.
The mystery itself is well-plotted, with a steady stream of disturbing incidents that keep Kelly (and the reader) on their toes. As the clues accumulate, Kelly finds herself having to "pick up the stitches" of these crimes, connecting seemingly disparate events. The tension builds as she races against time to identify the killer before they strike again. There are enough red herrings and suspect developments to keep you guessing, though some of the connections felt a little less intricate than I might have hoped.
While the story is very enjoyable and delivers on the cozy mystery promise, the focus sometimes felt more on the personal incidents leading up to the murder rather than the murder itself. However, it’s a solid entry in the series, offering a satisfying blend of knitting, community, and a puzzling crime. If you're a fan of craft-themed cozies with an engaging lead, "Dyer Consequences" is a good one to add to your list.
★★★★☆
#DyerConsequences #MaggieSefton #AKnittingMystery #CozyMystery #BookReview #Bookstagram #KnittingMystery #AlpacaRanch #FortConnor #AmateurSleuth #Whodunnit #CraftMystery #MurderMystery
The premise here is certainly intriguing, especially for a cozy mystery. The idea of a murder in a dye vat immediately grabs attention and provides a unique hook for the investigation. Sefton does a good job of setting the scene, bringing the alpaca ranch and the familiar comfort of the House of Lambspun to life. Kelly, as always, is a determined and likable protagonist, and her suspicion that there's more to these incidents than just a botched burglary drives the narrative forward. The recurring cast of knitting friends adds warmth and collaborative energy to the sleuthing.
The mystery itself is well-plotted, with a steady stream of disturbing incidents that keep Kelly (and the reader) on their toes. As the clues accumulate, Kelly finds herself having to "pick up the stitches" of these crimes, connecting seemingly disparate events. The tension builds as she races against time to identify the killer before they strike again. There are enough red herrings and suspect developments to keep you guessing, though some of the connections felt a little less intricate than I might have hoped.
While the story is very enjoyable and delivers on the cozy mystery promise, the focus sometimes felt more on the personal incidents leading up to the murder rather than the murder itself. However, it’s a solid entry in the series, offering a satisfying blend of knitting, community, and a puzzling crime. If you're a fan of craft-themed cozies with an engaging lead, "Dyer Consequences" is a good one to add to your list.
★★★★☆
#DyerConsequences #MaggieSefton #AKnittingMystery #CozyMystery #BookReview #Bookstagram #KnittingMystery #AlpacaRanch #FortConnor #AmateurSleuth #Whodunnit #CraftMystery #MurderMystery
March 28, 2025
I love a cozy mystery. I love a CHEESY cozy mystery…. But this one really just didn’t do it for me. I liked the other books in the series, as mindless comfort reads. This one was just too much and it didn’t feel like it fit with the beginning of the series. The characters have become so much more cartoony than they were in the first book. And it’s far too heterosexual for my taste. Not one of these women is a lesbian? Mmmmmm…. Also, I finally started to get confused by the Bert/ Kurt, Dan/ Don similar name situation, and I feel like everyone’s dialogue started to sound the exact same, like no one had their own voice.
The main character, Kelly, went from pointlessly confronting every antagonist in the other books to being just plain old too stupid to live. Also the killer in this called her a bitch way too many times in the end. Like three or four times is plausible but I feel like it became every time he spoke. Felt off to me. *SPOILERS*And I don’t feel that his character’s explanation of a former killer in the series being his mother and her hatred of Kelly didn’t match up at all with the characterization of Jerry at the end of Needled to Death.
Idk if I’ll continue with this series, this one kinda bummed me out. I’m off to find a cozy mystery with a little more….. anything honestly.
Edited to add: I definitely won’t miss the CONSTANT ED talk. It was exhausting to hear about how the athletic main character should stop eating pie bc it’ll make her fat or how the other female characters are complaining about this or that convincing them to be fat. It was grating from book one but it seems to be ramping up.
The main character, Kelly, went from pointlessly confronting every antagonist in the other books to being just plain old too stupid to live. Also the killer in this called her a bitch way too many times in the end. Like three or four times is plausible but I feel like it became every time he spoke. Felt off to me. *SPOILERS*And I don’t feel that his character’s explanation of a former killer in the series being his mother and her hatred of Kelly didn’t match up at all with the characterization of Jerry at the end of Needled to Death.
Idk if I’ll continue with this series, this one kinda bummed me out. I’m off to find a cozy mystery with a little more….. anything honestly.
Edited to add: I definitely won’t miss the CONSTANT ED talk. It was exhausting to hear about how the athletic main character should stop eating pie bc it’ll make her fat or how the other female characters are complaining about this or that convincing them to be fat. It was grating from book one but it seems to be ramping up.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 9, 2022
I took almost 6 years off from this series, but I’ve been reading some pretty atrocious cozy mysteries on kindle and figured I’d give these another shot since I have the entirety of this series on my shelf (an homage to my grandma and our mutual love of knitting).
I remember disliking Kelly’s lack of faith in her knitting abilities, the over-description of her caffeine addiction, and her distance from Steve who she’s clearly meant to be with.
Thankfully, she’s much more confident in her knitting AND her love-life (finally- 5 books in) though her coffee concentration still stands strong and now her fear of gaining weight has taken up space. It sounds dramatic, but the comments on stress eating, weight gain, appetite, and the need to exercise almost triggered my semi-dormant EDs. I also wonder why the women at the yarn shot treat Kelly like their child (and she allows it) while she’s very much a professional adult.
That said, book 5 is finally a step up in this series. I can see how lots of people may not have made it this far, but this particular mystery was interesting and honestly kind of suspenseful (if not frustrating with all of Kelly’s going with then AGAINST her intuition). With 11 more to go, I’ll continue this series and smile thinking of my grandma drooling over House of Lambspun and socializing with its unique cast of characters.
I remember disliking Kelly’s lack of faith in her knitting abilities, the over-description of her caffeine addiction, and her distance from Steve who she’s clearly meant to be with.
Thankfully, she’s much more confident in her knitting AND her love-life (finally- 5 books in) though her coffee concentration still stands strong and now her fear of gaining weight has taken up space. It sounds dramatic, but the comments on stress eating, weight gain, appetite, and the need to exercise almost triggered my semi-dormant EDs. I also wonder why the women at the yarn shot treat Kelly like their child (and she allows it) while she’s very much a professional adult.
That said, book 5 is finally a step up in this series. I can see how lots of people may not have made it this far, but this particular mystery was interesting and honestly kind of suspenseful (if not frustrating with all of Kelly’s going with then AGAINST her intuition). With 11 more to go, I’ll continue this series and smile thinking of my grandma drooling over House of Lambspun and socializing with its unique cast of characters.
December 30, 2023
Kelly's spring project: rehabbing an alpaca ranch. But someone has different ideas for keeping her busy, including slashing tires and cracking windshields. Then the House of Lambspun knitting shop is trashed, and a woman is found drowned in a tub of dye. Although it seems like a burglary gone wrong, Kelly suspects there's more to it. And as disturbing incidents pile up, she must pick up the stitches of these crimes before the killer strikes again. [amazon synopsis]
WHen Kelly needs money to buy the alpaca ranch, after 2 other people have backed out, she makes arrangements to sell some of her females. But, after all of the above mentioned happenings, she is beginning to wonder if she should back out also. When her life is put in danger driving down the steep back country road, she makes arrangement with Jennifer to put it back on the market.
Her relationship with Steve, I do not care about. So she can't make up her mind - big deal. The excessive amounts of coffee consumed are ridiculous. Every other paragraph has them seeking out the coffee. Leave the dog at home - or get rid of it. There is not crude/foul language in this book, but some of the characters seem to not be able to express themselves as adults.
WHen Kelly needs money to buy the alpaca ranch, after 2 other people have backed out, she makes arrangements to sell some of her females. But, after all of the above mentioned happenings, she is beginning to wonder if she should back out also. When her life is put in danger driving down the steep back country road, she makes arrangement with Jennifer to put it back on the market.
Her relationship with Steve, I do not care about. So she can't make up her mind - big deal. The excessive amounts of coffee consumed are ridiculous. Every other paragraph has them seeking out the coffee. Leave the dog at home - or get rid of it. There is not crude/foul language in this book, but some of the characters seem to not be able to express themselves as adults.
May 8, 2024
Live free or 'DYE' Hard!
Kelly is on the hot seat now! Her home and car have been vandalized several times and even her beloved dog Carl got harmed. The only connection Kelly and her friends could see was that someone wanted her to sell the ranch property she just bought. However, things take a turn for the worse when the Lambspun shop's newest dye student, Tracy is found dead. Could it be the same vandals who have been targeting Kelly?
I get the feeling that Kelly is not just dealing with one villain, but a whole family of villains. I absolutely love the friendship Kelly has with everyone in this small town of Colorado, but her friend Jennifer brings up a good point. Since Kelly has helped put several people behind bars now, there's a chance there are people in Colorado who don't like her. That's one thing I notice about cozy mysteries is that so far there hasn't been a revenge story when the amateur sleuth has to deal with someone who was closed the last case's murderer.
Really love this story, very thriller and once again, Kelly is a badass, even on crutches.
Kelly is on the hot seat now! Her home and car have been vandalized several times and even her beloved dog Carl got harmed. The only connection Kelly and her friends could see was that someone wanted her to sell the ranch property she just bought. However, things take a turn for the worse when the Lambspun shop's newest dye student, Tracy is found dead. Could it be the same vandals who have been targeting Kelly?
I get the feeling that Kelly is not just dealing with one villain, but a whole family of villains. I absolutely love the friendship Kelly has with everyone in this small town of Colorado, but her friend Jennifer brings up a good point. Since Kelly has helped put several people behind bars now, there's a chance there are people in Colorado who don't like her. That's one thing I notice about cozy mysteries is that so far there hasn't been a revenge story when the amateur sleuth has to deal with someone who was closed the last case's murderer.
Really love this story, very thriller and once again, Kelly is a badass, even on crutches.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 29, 2018
This is the 5th book in the series While Kelly is anxious to remodel and build on her new farm property, she is plagued with vandalism that becomes increasingly violent and spreads to her community. A student who has been taking the dyeing class ends up dead and it is unclear if it was accidental as part of the vandalism of the shop and cafe or if there is a deeper motive. As the threats become more personal and dangerous, Kelly works with her friends to figure out who might be behind the threats and what might be gained. She begins to suspect that past events may hold the key to solving the mystery, but her life path may have to take a different route. The book contains a knitting pattern and some other fun additions.
August 23, 2018
I really like this series, but I have to say I liked this edition the least. Everything was fine until (spoiler) that knucklehead took off by herself with her foot in a cast and using a crutch in an isolated canyon with snow and mud. If she were so deadset on spooking around the canyon home to find evidence, why wouldn't she take someone with her? She owns the place so she had a perfect right to go in there, not to mention the fact that she could have alerted the deputy that the inhabitant was going to be away for the day -- it was clear that law enforcement was working.
Just seemed like the author dropped all credibility to wrap up the plot.
But I'll keep reading. I like that she's independent of the boyfriend, but lots of superheroes have sidekicks to help out. This Batman needs her Robin.
Just seemed like the author dropped all credibility to wrap up the plot.
But I'll keep reading. I like that she's independent of the boyfriend, but lots of superheroes have sidekicks to help out. This Batman needs her Robin.
April 16, 2019
This series seems to be getting very repetitive. While the story tends to keep my interest and the secondary characters are fairy enjoyable, the writing and the MC Kelly were getting on my last nerve. Maybe it was only because Kelly was injured and on crutches that her frustration was coming out in the way she was written, because while she is always ridiculously impatient, too impressed with her own "sleuthing" brilliance, predictable and balancing on the knife's edge of TSTL, this time there was no charm to her. There was too much copy/paste in the writing and the action. And my own personal pet peeve. The woman runs every day and never takes her poorly behaved giant dog with her for exercise. She doesn't even walk him. Why not just have a houseplant for a pet?
May 23, 2024
After reading the first four books, since I love mysteries and knitting, I finally quit with this book. And I am usually not a quitter. However, I could not stand the weight talk (the fit heroine just _needs_ to run further to eat the dessert, and her slightly overweight friend is always fretting about eating but does it anyhow (I thought we’d come farther than this?) and meaness to one of the new caracters in the book (WHO stands POINTING to a new friend as a group while telling him they want to kill him, and he still wants to be friends with them?) any longer, and one grows tired of hearing about lucious yarn and coffee nectar when the same words are used to describe the objects multiple times in the same book. No more of this.
December 26, 2017
Another reliable cozy in this pleasant series, a quick, easy book to read. In this one, the textile aspect of the story focuses on hand-dying yarn. I've dabbled with this and I think it is much harder than in was portrayed in the book.
I have enjoyed others in the series more for two reasons. I thought he potential bad guy was identified too early in the book. The other things I didn't like was that Kelly, the protagonist, does one of the too-stupid-to-be-believed things. In the other books in the series, she has shown more sense and notified the authorities instead of taking things into her own hands.
But, all in all, I enjoyed the book and plan to keep reading the series.
I have enjoyed others in the series more for two reasons. I thought he potential bad guy was identified too early in the book. The other things I didn't like was that Kelly, the protagonist, does one of the too-stupid-to-be-believed things. In the other books in the series, she has shown more sense and notified the authorities instead of taking things into her own hands.
But, all in all, I enjoyed the book and plan to keep reading the series.
April 9, 2020
I started this book but didn't end up finishing it (Actually, I skimmed the last half of the book but just so I could at least know who the culprit was.) Honestly, I didn't really like any of the main characters. They were all kind of annoying and not that likable. I haven't read any other books in the series so I might be willing to try another one but I have so many other books in my to-be-read pile that I might pass on this series altogether. While I didn't care for it, others might enjoy it! Yarn and knitting are a big part of the book (if you hadn't already guessed that from the book title haha!) so that might grab someone else's interest.
October 14, 2022
Did not enjoy as much as I had hoped.
The craft element was not really integral to the story. The amateur sleuth is learning to knit but most of her mental energy is devoted to thinking about her relationship with her boyfriend and whether she wants to move into a remote farmhouse and how she can afford it. The crime is decidedly craft-related, but the passion for creating things somehow seemed to be missing.
Reading about the northern Colorado setting was the thing I enjoyed the most. Setting is important but it was not enough to make me want to read the other books in the series. This was the earliest one in the series on the library shelf.
The craft element was not really integral to the story. The amateur sleuth is learning to knit but most of her mental energy is devoted to thinking about her relationship with her boyfriend and whether she wants to move into a remote farmhouse and how she can afford it. The crime is decidedly craft-related, but the passion for creating things somehow seemed to be missing.
Reading about the northern Colorado setting was the thing I enjoyed the most. Setting is important but it was not enough to make me want to read the other books in the series. This was the earliest one in the series on the library shelf.
March 4, 2018
The last book I read in this series was riddled with inconsistencies and errors of the worst possible kind, and the mystery wasn't very good. In this installment, the mystery is just not very good.
Seriously. The motivations of the bad guy are so mustache twirlingly bad and opaque that it leaves one going back to see if there were clues at the beginning. Nope.
And once again the main character isn't very interesting (love of coffee is not a character trait!), and the side characters are so flat that I mix them up all the time.
Oh well.
Seriously. The motivations of the bad guy are so mustache twirlingly bad and opaque that it leaves one going back to see if there were clues at the beginning. Nope.
And once again the main character isn't very interesting (love of coffee is not a character trait!), and the side characters are so flat that I mix them up all the time.
Oh well.
August 11, 2022
I like cozy stories after reading something stressful so for all of it’s plot devices I like reading these. This one just seemed too sloppy. What struck me most was coming upon the victim’s jacket buried under trash with the cellphone in the pocket. She was murdered nearby and the area would have been considered a crime scene. The police would have looked thoroughly especially since there were no viable suspects, at least I think they would. Oh well. I’ll go knit a scarf and have a cup of coffee.
January 28, 2023
Kelly has finally been able to buy the ranch in the canyon, but not able to enjoy it yet because of the winter weather; a series of vandalism attacks on her cottage and car threaten her renovation funds, but when a fellow yarn shop student is found murdered in the basement of the shop, where they’d been learning to dye wool, she begins to wonder if there’s a connection. An accident that puts her in crutches convinces her to give up on her dream and sell - but who was behind it all? Kelly doesn’t like being played - can she find the one pulling the strings?
July 2, 2024
This one gets three stars because I felt the culprit was so obvious the entire time and yet our super sleuth who has solved so many murders already seems to miss all the clues entirely all while her ex-cop buddy somehow doesn’t think the string of similar crimes is at all related to the crimes that happened to the other ranch homebuyers. It was just unbelievable at that point. Do they have no instincts at all? So this was good for the continuing relationships with the existing characters and just ok for the actual mystery.
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