What do you think?
Rate this book
A Knitting Mystery #12
Yarn Over Murder
It’s early summer in Fort Connor, Colorado, and a herd of alpacas requires rescuing from a raging wildfire. Kelly Flynn and the House of Lambspun knitters may be able to save the helpless animals, but not the unexpected victim of a cold-blooded murder…
Kelly and her knitting pals were checking out the wares at the annual Wool Market—one of the largest outdoor fiber and animal fairs in Colorado—when news spread about the wildfires raging across the canyon ranches. With temperatures scorching, Kelly receives word that the alpacas of her good friend, Jayleen, are in danger. Working fast, Kelly and her pals hightail the herd to the nearby pasture of one of Jayleen’s friends—rancher Andrea Holt. But their rescue mission is interrupted by a screaming match during which Connie, a longtime employee of House of Lambspun, snaps and accuses Andrea of stealing her husband.
Days later, Andrea is found dead at her ranch—and suspicion immediately falls on Connie. Now Kelly and her friends must untangle this yarn before Connie ends up dangling by a thread…
Kelly and her knitting pals were checking out the wares at the annual Wool Market—one of the largest outdoor fiber and animal fairs in Colorado—when news spread about the wildfires raging across the canyon ranches. With temperatures scorching, Kelly receives word that the alpacas of her good friend, Jayleen, are in danger. Working fast, Kelly and her pals hightail the herd to the nearby pasture of one of Jayleen’s friends—rancher Andrea Holt. But their rescue mission is interrupted by a screaming match during which Connie, a longtime employee of House of Lambspun, snaps and accuses Andrea of stealing her husband.
Days later, Andrea is found dead at her ranch—and suspicion immediately falls on Connie. Now Kelly and her friends must untangle this yarn before Connie ends up dangling by a thread…
304 pages, Hardcover
First published June 3, 2014
96 people are currently reading
1131 people want to read
About the author
Maggie Sefton
35 books779 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."
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 190 reviews
June 22, 2014
When last I read one of these books, I swore that I would never read another one. Two years later, I decided to give the new one a try, hoping that the writing might have improved. Unfortunately, this one was a poorly written as all the rest. This series has an insipid main character who is a CPA (but is constantly getting side-tracked from her work: how does this woman support herself?) fancies herself a sleuth, when all she does is talk on her cellphone and gossip. She divulges information about police investigations to other persons of interest (I was even hoping that this might lead to a plot twist, like the man she was gossiping with was the real killer: but NOOOOO.) I cannot even fathom the need for the softball game in the middle of the book. Even if you enjoy knitting, like I do, do not attempt this series. It will destroy your brain.
September 5, 2014
No, just no. Weak plot, cringeworthy dialogue, and painfully repetitive. In short, it's hot and Kelly now drinks iced coffee.
October 5, 2014
I don't know why I keep reading these books. At least I got this one from the library. There was barely any mystery here and little to no character growth. The hours spent reading this are hours of my life I will never get back . . .
November 29, 2014
This isn't a knitting mystery but a diary or chronicle of a fire. The exposition is far too long, characters lacking, and just plain stupid. No mention of what a yarn over is or anyone even knitting one for crying out loud! VERY disappointing read. VERY!
January 17, 2015
Yarn Over Murder is the 12th book in the Lambspun knitting murder series, featuring coffee-guzzling Kelly Flynn and her various friends. This book is set during the serious 2012 Colorado bushfire.
Let's be honest here: these books are terrible. The novel is almost entirely told in dialogue where the characters make repetitive declarative statements to each other over and over again. There was one chapter in which Kelly repeated the same piece of information to four other characters using the exact same phrasing. Why don't any of them ask each other questions like in normal dialogue? It is so annoying!
What's more, Kelly is an objectively horrible person. As well as being a terrible gossip who has absolutely no compunction about sharing personal and private information given to her in confidence with literally every single person she speaks to, in this book she told a 12yo girl who is no relation to her that her grandfather would never be leaving hospital. No one asked her to, it was none of her business, it was a really horrible and nasty thing to do, but she did it anyway. I'm surprised Kelly hasn't been murdered by someone trying to get her to shut the f*** up!.
In summary, this book is terrible, it's basically impossible to tell any of the characters apart because they all sound the same (except for Joelene, who kept on saying "Lordy lordy" and "Lord have mercy" all the time because apparently now she's churchy? IDK.) and Kelly is an appalling human being. However, I have read all 12 of them and, as much as I say I won't, I'm pretty sure I'm going to read the next one too.
Let's be honest here: these books are terrible. The novel is almost entirely told in dialogue where the characters make repetitive declarative statements to each other over and over again. There was one chapter in which Kelly repeated the same piece of information to four other characters using the exact same phrasing. Why don't any of them ask each other questions like in normal dialogue? It is so annoying!
What's more, Kelly is an objectively horrible person. As well as being a terrible gossip who has absolutely no compunction about sharing personal and private information given to her in confidence with literally every single person she speaks to, in this book she told a 12yo girl who is no relation to her that her grandfather would never be leaving hospital. No one asked her to, it was none of her business, it was a really horrible and nasty thing to do, but she did it anyway. I'm surprised Kelly hasn't been murdered by someone trying to get her to shut the f*** up!.
In summary, this book is terrible, it's basically impossible to tell any of the characters apart because they all sound the same (except for Joelene, who kept on saying "Lordy lordy" and "Lord have mercy" all the time because apparently now she's churchy? IDK.) and Kelly is an appalling human being. However, I have read all 12 of them and, as much as I say I won't, I'm pretty sure I'm going to read the next one too.
November 29, 2014
Where do I even begin ? This is a series I love to hate. First of all if you took out the fire reports and Kelly sitting around drinking coffee and eating pesto pizza, the actual murder plot in the book would only have been about five pages. I tried to keep myself entertained by counting how many times Kelly drank coffee but after ten times even that got boring so I ended up skimming over the last few chapters. I wish the forest fire would have spread and burned down the knitting shop so that hopefully this series could come to an end.
November 28, 2014
After reading this series since book #1, I can finally say "I'm finished." It seems like the author is on autopilot with a check list of character traits, phrases, and descriptions ("coffee drinker," "Kelly girl," "pizza," "Fat Tire ale," "client spreadsheets," "Brazen Squirrel," "fibers in the latest seasonal colors"). The mystery now has to fit around all of the oft repeated descriptions and gets lost.
May 7, 2020
Kelly et al. help their friends evacuate the mountains when a wildfire sweeps through the area surrounding Fort Connor. Oh, and there's a murder, too, of course.
Yeah. I know I've said before that I like this series despite the less-than-amazing writing, and I do; it's a no-brains-required comfy read. But this entry very nearly made me give up. The writing is, I think, even worse than in the previous volumes: the dialogue is tired and repetitive, and I know Sefton wanted this to be a tribute of sorts to the people who fought the actual fire, but she dwells on it too much and without the vocabulary strength to vary her descriptions or her praises of the people she's trying to honor. It would have been more bearable if the fire theme had taken a back seat to the actual mystery, but it was the other way round, which makes it seem as if both threads were half attempts. Even for a series into which I dive with low expectations every time, this was disappointing.
Yeah. I know I've said before that I like this series despite the less-than-amazing writing, and I do; it's a no-brains-required comfy read. But this entry very nearly made me give up. The writing is, I think, even worse than in the previous volumes: the dialogue is tired and repetitive, and I know Sefton wanted this to be a tribute of sorts to the people who fought the actual fire, but she dwells on it too much and without the vocabulary strength to vary her descriptions or her praises of the people she's trying to honor. It would have been more bearable if the fire theme had taken a back seat to the actual mystery, but it was the other way round, which makes it seem as if both threads were half attempts. Even for a series into which I dive with low expectations every time, this was disappointing.
September 15, 2017
Twelfth in the Knitting Mysteries cozy amateur sleuth series and revolving around Kelly Flynn, her friends, and the yarn shop set in the fictional town of Fort Connor (standing in for Fort Collins) in Colorado.
My Take
I do love a cozy! And Sefton’s cast of characters are warm, supportive, and so very caring. A close-knit group, they open up to those who need help while they feed my soul with their craft and creativity.
It’s all about friendship and being there to help in negative times.
While Yarn Over Murder uses third person point-of-view, it’s all from Kelly’s perspective as she helps her friends and networks for information, for Kelly has a nose for clues.
I gotta say, it’s a real switch when the cops actually appreciate an amateur sleuth *grin*.
The Story
It’s a wild race with friends jumping up to help save herds of alpacas from raging wildfires in the mountains of Colorado.
Little do they know that they’re jumping from one actual fire into a metaphorical blaze.
The Characters
Kelly Flynn is an independent accountant who moved to Fort Connor when her aunt Helen died. Steve Townsend, a builder, is her boyfriend. Carl is her squirrel-crazy Rottweiler in a "battle" with Brazen Squirrel.
Her close friends include Megan and Marty Harrington (he’s a lawyer); Lisa Gerrard (physical therapist) and Greg Carruthers (works at the university); Curt Stackhouse owns a big spread and is dating Jayleen Swinson whose ranch and her alpaca herd (that includes Shasta and Blondie) are in danger of the wildfire; Cindy (Curt's daughter) is married to John, and Eric is their son, Curt's grandson; Jennifer Stroud (a real estate agent) and Pete Wainwright (he owns Pete’s Porch Café where Eduardo is the cook with the great coffee and Sandy and Julie are waitresses); and, almost-twelve-year-old Cassie Wainwright, Pete’s niece who moved in with Pete and Jennifer when Grandpa Ben had a heart attack.
Dennis Holt is a mountain man with a heart of gold, and Andrea Holt is the ex-wife he still loves. Jim Carson is Connie’s fed-up husband. Ellie is the donkey who led others to safety.
Lambspun is…
…the yarn shop across the way from Kelly’s former house and current office. Mimi Shafer, a.k.a., Mother Mimi, owns it, and she’s married to Burt Parker, a retired police detective with his own ranch. Employees include the clueless Connie Carson who’s in major denial, Rosa, and Sophie.
Hilda von Steuben and her sister, Lizzie, are patrons, knitters extraordinaire, and former schoolteachers — English literature and algebra, geometry, and calculus, respectively. Eustace is an historian in prison who has found a soulmate in Lizzie ( Close Knit Killer , 11).
Dan is Burt’s old partner. Officer Diane Warren is part-time these days and a barracuda in disguise. Lieutenant Morrison is their boss.
Arthur Houseman, a real estate investor, is one of Kelly’s clients. with his new-built dreamhouse in Poudre Canyon. Don Warner has a development company.
The Cover and Title
The cover is colorful as befits a festive Wool Market set up in the mountains in Estes Park. Surrounded by colorful tent canopies, sheep and an alpaca are staring at the table full of brightly colored yarns, specifically the overturned basket, skeins of yarn on the light green ground, one particular red yarn outlining a body’s silhouette. The author’s name is at the top in white against a red violet band while the title is in a lighter violet at the bottom left. The series information is in white inside a ball of orange yarn — four needles stuck through it.
I have no clue as to the title, Yarn Over Murder.
My Take
I do love a cozy! And Sefton’s cast of characters are warm, supportive, and so very caring. A close-knit group, they open up to those who need help while they feed my soul with their craft and creativity.
It’s all about friendship and being there to help in negative times.
While Yarn Over Murder uses third person point-of-view, it’s all from Kelly’s perspective as she helps her friends and networks for information, for Kelly has a nose for clues.
I gotta say, it’s a real switch when the cops actually appreciate an amateur sleuth *grin*.
The Story
It’s a wild race with friends jumping up to help save herds of alpacas from raging wildfires in the mountains of Colorado.
Little do they know that they’re jumping from one actual fire into a metaphorical blaze.
The Characters
Kelly Flynn is an independent accountant who moved to Fort Connor when her aunt Helen died. Steve Townsend, a builder, is her boyfriend. Carl is her squirrel-crazy Rottweiler in a "battle" with Brazen Squirrel.
Her close friends include Megan and Marty Harrington (he’s a lawyer); Lisa Gerrard (physical therapist) and Greg Carruthers (works at the university); Curt Stackhouse owns a big spread and is dating Jayleen Swinson whose ranch and her alpaca herd (that includes Shasta and Blondie) are in danger of the wildfire; Cindy (Curt's daughter) is married to John, and Eric is their son, Curt's grandson; Jennifer Stroud (a real estate agent) and Pete Wainwright (he owns Pete’s Porch Café where Eduardo is the cook with the great coffee and Sandy and Julie are waitresses); and, almost-twelve-year-old Cassie Wainwright, Pete’s niece who moved in with Pete and Jennifer when Grandpa Ben had a heart attack.
Dennis Holt is a mountain man with a heart of gold, and Andrea Holt is the ex-wife he still loves. Jim Carson is Connie’s fed-up husband. Ellie is the donkey who led others to safety.
Lambspun is…
…the yarn shop across the way from Kelly’s former house and current office. Mimi Shafer, a.k.a., Mother Mimi, owns it, and she’s married to Burt Parker, a retired police detective with his own ranch. Employees include the clueless Connie Carson who’s in major denial, Rosa, and Sophie.
Hilda von Steuben and her sister, Lizzie, are patrons, knitters extraordinaire, and former schoolteachers — English literature and algebra, geometry, and calculus, respectively. Eustace is an historian in prison who has found a soulmate in Lizzie ( Close Knit Killer , 11).
Dan is Burt’s old partner. Officer Diane Warren is part-time these days and a barracuda in disguise. Lieutenant Morrison is their boss.
Arthur Houseman, a real estate investor, is one of Kelly’s clients. with his new-built dreamhouse in Poudre Canyon. Don Warner has a development company.
The Cover and Title
The cover is colorful as befits a festive Wool Market set up in the mountains in Estes Park. Surrounded by colorful tent canopies, sheep and an alpaca are staring at the table full of brightly colored yarns, specifically the overturned basket, skeins of yarn on the light green ground, one particular red yarn outlining a body’s silhouette. The author’s name is at the top in white against a red violet band while the title is in a lighter violet at the bottom left. The series information is in white inside a ball of orange yarn — four needles stuck through it.
I have no clue as to the title, Yarn Over Murder.
January 16, 2016
It’s early summer in Fort Connor, Colorado, and a herd of alpacas requires rescuing from a raging wildfire. Kelly Flynn and the House of Lambspun knitters may be able to save the helpless animals, but not the unexpected victim of a cold-blooded murder…
The Annual Wool Market is interrupted with news of a huge wildfires raging through the canyon. Kelly’s friend Jaylene’s ranch seems to right in the projected path of the fires. Kelly gathers as many of her friends as possible with pickups and trailers and heads to the ranch to rescue Jayleen’s and Kelly Alpacas and get them moved to a safe place. Jayleen’s friend, Andrea Holt, has offered space at her ranch for some of the animals and the rest will go to Curt’s ranch. But before they barely start loading animals Connie, a longtime employee of House of Lambspun storms up the driveway accusing Andrea of stealing her husband.
Days later, Andrea is found dead at her ranch—and suspicion immediately falls on Connie. Now Kelly and her friends must untangle this yarn before Connie ends up dangling by a thread…
Dollycas’s Thoughts
The author left us with quite a cliffhanger in Close Knit Killer so I couldn’t wait to read this book and she didn’t disappoint. This was story was quite exciting. Maggie Sefton drew on the actual wildfires in Colorado back in 2012 and created a very engaging mystery. There were more than a few nail biting moments, most with the fire but with tracking down the murderer too.
I really love the friendship the blooms in every one of these Knitting Mysteries. Cassie has been brought right into the fold and has quickly become part of the Lambspun family. I have to say Burt, the retired police detective and Lambspun “spinner in residence” was everywhere in this story. He was running between all the shelters making sure people displaced by the fires had everything they needed. He also was the go-between for Kelly and Dan, the local police officer on the case, and he still taught his spinning classes at Lambspun. I wish I had half of his energy. All the rest of the gang was there too doing what they could, whether it be feeding the firefighters or knitting things to replace clothes lost in the fires. They were also doing all they could to help Connie.
I have enjoyed each and every visit to Fort Connor, Colorado and can’t wait to return next year to see what Kelly and the gang get tangled up in next. Yarn Over Murder is Smokin’ Hot!!!
The Annual Wool Market is interrupted with news of a huge wildfires raging through the canyon. Kelly’s friend Jaylene’s ranch seems to right in the projected path of the fires. Kelly gathers as many of her friends as possible with pickups and trailers and heads to the ranch to rescue Jayleen’s and Kelly Alpacas and get them moved to a safe place. Jayleen’s friend, Andrea Holt, has offered space at her ranch for some of the animals and the rest will go to Curt’s ranch. But before they barely start loading animals Connie, a longtime employee of House of Lambspun storms up the driveway accusing Andrea of stealing her husband.
Days later, Andrea is found dead at her ranch—and suspicion immediately falls on Connie. Now Kelly and her friends must untangle this yarn before Connie ends up dangling by a thread…
Dollycas’s Thoughts
The author left us with quite a cliffhanger in Close Knit Killer so I couldn’t wait to read this book and she didn’t disappoint. This was story was quite exciting. Maggie Sefton drew on the actual wildfires in Colorado back in 2012 and created a very engaging mystery. There were more than a few nail biting moments, most with the fire but with tracking down the murderer too.
I really love the friendship the blooms in every one of these Knitting Mysteries. Cassie has been brought right into the fold and has quickly become part of the Lambspun family. I have to say Burt, the retired police detective and Lambspun “spinner in residence” was everywhere in this story. He was running between all the shelters making sure people displaced by the fires had everything they needed. He also was the go-between for Kelly and Dan, the local police officer on the case, and he still taught his spinning classes at Lambspun. I wish I had half of his energy. All the rest of the gang was there too doing what they could, whether it be feeding the firefighters or knitting things to replace clothes lost in the fires. They were also doing all they could to help Connie.
I have enjoyed each and every visit to Fort Connor, Colorado and can’t wait to return next year to see what Kelly and the gang get tangled up in next. Yarn Over Murder is Smokin’ Hot!!!
August 4, 2014
I've read all of Maggie's knitting mysteries, and after the last one I was left with a bad taste in my mouth. I picked this one up from the library purely because as someone who lived in the area during the fires the summer of 2012 (I actually was at the Wool Market in Estes when I heard the news), I was curious as to how she would handle it.
Money grab. That's all I can say. Next it will be a book based on the deadly flooding we had last September.
I'm sick of "Ft. Connor" (but using the real names of Loveland and Estes Park are ok...) where every other named detail of the town matches Ft. Collins. Why bother to change it if you were going to use the local landmarks?? And why change LaPorte to Landport?
Enough of Lambspun, (I'd rather go to the Loopy Ewe anyway, they're much more friendly and helpful. The real shop Lambspun is based on seems very high school cliquey to me and nearly turned me off of knitting back when I was first learning!) enough coffee, for crying out loud. As ditsy and distracted by coffee and the restaurant as Kelly seems lately, how in the world does she actually support herself, let alone solve crimes for the police? Why isn't she in jail for interfering with an investigation (disclosing details to a person of interest, for crying out loud!)?
After so many trips for coffee and one too many reference to Landporte, I finally just said to heck with it and skimmed through the rest of the book.
Money grab. That's all I can say. Next it will be a book based on the deadly flooding we had last September.
I'm sick of "Ft. Connor" (but using the real names of Loveland and Estes Park are ok...) where every other named detail of the town matches Ft. Collins. Why bother to change it if you were going to use the local landmarks?? And why change LaPorte to Landport?
Enough of Lambspun, (I'd rather go to the Loopy Ewe anyway, they're much more friendly and helpful. The real shop Lambspun is based on seems very high school cliquey to me and nearly turned me off of knitting back when I was first learning!) enough coffee, for crying out loud. As ditsy and distracted by coffee and the restaurant as Kelly seems lately, how in the world does she actually support herself, let alone solve crimes for the police? Why isn't she in jail for interfering with an investigation (disclosing details to a person of interest, for crying out loud!)?
After so many trips for coffee and one too many reference to Landporte, I finally just said to heck with it and skimmed through the rest of the book.
August 16, 2014
If it was possible to give a negative star rating, this series would surely deserve it by now. My first thought as usual: VERY immature writing and the same problems that never get fixed. I have to wonder if she realizes she's writing to an audience of adults? Knitters, spinners, crafters aren't stupid! We can follow a story without constant repetition of names, places, and stupid phrases. I think a child could do a way better job of character dialogue and storytelling than this.
It amazes me that Ms. Sefton doesn't at least browse comments to try to glean what's so often said of her work. Or that someone around her hasn't been honest enough to her face to tell her how badly these are written (publishers? editors? family or friends?). An artist should GROW at their craft with time, she's stuck in the mud and seems to just keep sinking deeper. Maybe she's bored with this and is just fulfilling a contract but someone should stop the crazy train at some point, they aren't doing her any favors. ETA: I did not finish it, it was torture just getting past a few chapters.
It amazes me that Ms. Sefton doesn't at least browse comments to try to glean what's so often said of her work. Or that someone around her hasn't been honest enough to her face to tell her how badly these are written (publishers? editors? family or friends?). An artist should GROW at their craft with time, she's stuck in the mud and seems to just keep sinking deeper. Maybe she's bored with this and is just fulfilling a contract but someone should stop the crazy train at some point, they aren't doing her any favors. ETA: I did not finish it, it was torture just getting past a few chapters.
July 5, 2014
I don't know how it's possible that these keep getting worse, but the characters were even more two-dimensional and the murder plot even weaker than in previous installments. The writing is so poor that I wonder how many sets of eyes were on this before publication. Wordy, repetitive phrases (everywhere! Awful!) and too much exposition in dialogue. Plus, and this cannot be stressed enough, no normal person just happens to know this many murder victims. Ever. Suspension of disbelief is no longer feasible. Kelly is the only common element in all these deaths!
July 15, 2014
I have read many of her books. This book could have started at page 51 (Chapter 4). It was so confusing with the various names of the canyons and the story was all about the fires. The fires should have been briefly mentioned and maybe one or two canyons named. Kelly was not very involved in the actual murder solving. I wanted to hear more about the main characters. Kelly's boyfriend Steven was barely mentioned except that they had a hard time sleeping worrying about the fires. I was very disappointed in this book.
March 11, 2023
Normally love these easy read books but this is just reporting a wildfire with loads of phonecalls that are repetitive and boring to vaguely introduce the murder storyline . The author even says she wanted to capture the fires she experienced realistically. Would have been an interesting backdrop but it took over the novel.
June 12, 2015
Yarn over murder was about who your true friends really are even in the face of an uncertain future. The Fort Connor, Colorado wildfires are raging and author Maggie Sefton characters friendships and true love for each other shines through when they are faced with their friend, Jayleen's having to evacuate her ranch because of wildfires are spreading. It's a mad rush to get Jayleen's animals, her alpaca's and her posessions to safety but danger is not far behind when a murder occurs.
They head to a friend who owns a pasture nearby, her name is Andrea and she agrees to let Jayleen store her alpacas there for the time being. When a argument ensues between Connie a life long knitter and employee at Mother Mimi's House of Lambspun and Andrea. Connie wants her husband back and she acuses Andrea of stealing him away.
Andrea is soon found dead at the bottom of her steep stairs at her ranch but with all the police and firefighters attention on the wildfires her death is put on the back burner. When the police start looking into Andrea's death they discover all is not what it seems. When Kelly, accountant and friend of Mother Mimi at House of Lambspun starts her own investigation when Connie is suspected of Andrea's murder, it's all like a soap opera playing out and a love triangle that turns deadly.
A touching and heartfelt edition to this series. This was a fictional story but based on a real true life wild fire. With all to real and genuine characters and you can't help but hope for the best for these close knit friends in the face of an uncertain future they are up against. My only struggle was relating to the characters that I found I had nothing in common with any of them but my heart went out to Jayleen and to Andrea and to Kelly to finding the killer with her unrelentless sleuthing. Maggie Sefton sets the tone for this emotionally charged 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.
They head to a friend who owns a pasture nearby, her name is Andrea and she agrees to let Jayleen store her alpacas there for the time being. When a argument ensues between Connie a life long knitter and employee at Mother Mimi's House of Lambspun and Andrea. Connie wants her husband back and she acuses Andrea of stealing him away.
Andrea is soon found dead at the bottom of her steep stairs at her ranch but with all the police and firefighters attention on the wildfires her death is put on the back burner. When the police start looking into Andrea's death they discover all is not what it seems. When Kelly, accountant and friend of Mother Mimi at House of Lambspun starts her own investigation when Connie is suspected of Andrea's murder, it's all like a soap opera playing out and a love triangle that turns deadly.
A touching and heartfelt edition to this series. This was a fictional story but based on a real true life wild fire. With all to real and genuine characters and you can't help but hope for the best for these close knit friends in the face of an uncertain future they are up against. My only struggle was relating to the characters that I found I had nothing in common with any of them but my heart went out to Jayleen and to Andrea and to Kelly to finding the killer with her unrelentless sleuthing. Maggie Sefton sets the tone for this emotionally charged 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.
September 18, 2014
I can't remember the last Sefton book I read in the series, I think Unraveled, but I know it has been a few years since I read a Knitting Mystery book. When I saw this one at my library, I thought I would give it a try to see if maybe the series had improved. Unfortunately it didn't.
While helping move alpacas away from the dangerous forest fire, Kelly and her friends witness a fight between Connie, an employee at Lambspun, and rancher Andrea. Andrea had started dating Connie's ex-husband, and Connie wasn't happy about it. A few days later, while the canyon was being evacuated, Andrea's body was found with a broken neck. First Connie was made a suspect then Andrea's ex-husband. Kelly is convinced neither is the killer, so its up to her to figure out who did it.
I'm actually amazed Kelly figured out who the killer was. There really wasn't much story past knitting, going over the the cafe for iced coffee, some work, more iced coffee, and chatting with the other characters about the progression of the fires or the murder case. Did I mention the iced coffee? I'm pretty sure it was a complete fluke Kelly was able to figure out the killer, and even then her involvement was more giving her information to Burt who passed it along to his old police buddy who was working on the case. By the end everything was wrapped up in a neat little bow, perfect timing to get together with the gang for celebratory BBQ.
I know cozy mysteries tend to be a little soft on the crime solving side, but usually the story revolves more around the mystery and less about everything else happening. It seemed like the author wanted to write the story with the fires as a backdrop, and couldn't really come up with a mystery that would fill the book.
While helping move alpacas away from the dangerous forest fire, Kelly and her friends witness a fight between Connie, an employee at Lambspun, and rancher Andrea. Andrea had started dating Connie's ex-husband, and Connie wasn't happy about it. A few days later, while the canyon was being evacuated, Andrea's body was found with a broken neck. First Connie was made a suspect then Andrea's ex-husband. Kelly is convinced neither is the killer, so its up to her to figure out who did it.
I'm actually amazed Kelly figured out who the killer was. There really wasn't much story past knitting, going over the the cafe for iced coffee, some work, more iced coffee, and chatting with the other characters about the progression of the fires or the murder case. Did I mention the iced coffee? I'm pretty sure it was a complete fluke Kelly was able to figure out the killer, and even then her involvement was more giving her information to Burt who passed it along to his old police buddy who was working on the case. By the end everything was wrapped up in a neat little bow, perfect timing to get together with the gang for celebratory BBQ.
I know cozy mysteries tend to be a little soft on the crime solving side, but usually the story revolves more around the mystery and less about everything else happening. It seemed like the author wanted to write the story with the fires as a backdrop, and couldn't really come up with a mystery that would fill the book.
June 2, 2015
Author Maggie Sefton has spun another exciting yarn in the Knitting Mystery series.
First let me say that I love that Ms. Sefton includes a cast of characters list at the beginning of her books. For new comers to the series it’s a wonderful guide to help you catch up and keep on track. Or, if you have a Swiss cheesed memory like mine, it will help those returning to the series with a remindful nudge.
Readers might think a series that is on its twelfth installment may be the same ole, same old. That is far from true with this series, and book number twelve, YARN OVER MURDER. While returning us to familiar character and settings, Ms. Sefton manages to keep things fresh and exciting. A true sign of a gifted writer.
The horrible High Park wildfire near Fort Collins, Colorado, serves as part of the backdrop in this story. Author Sefton deftly intermingled protagonist Kelly and her knitting group into the real life drama. She created an electrifying murder mystery in this story and proved yet again her why she is an admired author. And she has solidified the future of this wonderful series.
If you’ve never read another book in this series, please do read YARN OVER MURDER and enjoy a truly exciting story. (Warning: Reading this book will make you want to read the rest of the series. )
And don’t stop reading once the story is done or you’ll miss a knitting pattern, a recipe, and a sneak peek of book number lucky thirteen, PURL UP AND DIE!
First let me say that I love that Ms. Sefton includes a cast of characters list at the beginning of her books. For new comers to the series it’s a wonderful guide to help you catch up and keep on track. Or, if you have a Swiss cheesed memory like mine, it will help those returning to the series with a remindful nudge.
Readers might think a series that is on its twelfth installment may be the same ole, same old. That is far from true with this series, and book number twelve, YARN OVER MURDER. While returning us to familiar character and settings, Ms. Sefton manages to keep things fresh and exciting. A true sign of a gifted writer.
The horrible High Park wildfire near Fort Collins, Colorado, serves as part of the backdrop in this story. Author Sefton deftly intermingled protagonist Kelly and her knitting group into the real life drama. She created an electrifying murder mystery in this story and proved yet again her why she is an admired author. And she has solidified the future of this wonderful series.
If you’ve never read another book in this series, please do read YARN OVER MURDER and enjoy a truly exciting story. (Warning: Reading this book will make you want to read the rest of the series. )
And don’t stop reading once the story is done or you’ll miss a knitting pattern, a recipe, and a sneak peek of book number lucky thirteen, PURL UP AND DIE!
Read
March 1, 2021I know that I read this one because I remember the fire as a plot device. But the rest of the book was pretty formulaic and predictable based on the books that had come before. I don't remember much about it (including exactly when I read it), but I remember enough to know that this will be my last of the Knitting Mysteries. If I want to read another book with Kelly and friends, I'll re-read one of the earlier books. I really enjoyed those.
May 14, 2017
In spite of all the coffee consumption on every page, I still went to sleep reading this book.
April 7, 2022
Normally I enjoy "cosy" mysteries that take place in a small town, solved by someone who is not a professional--not in law enforcement, not a private detective, and who has no background in such. All they have is being in the right place in the wrong time, an understanding of human nature, and a natural curiosity. There is usually a group of quirky characters and, lately, there is a craft or some location where they all congregate.
Yarn Over Murder promised to be such a book. Kelly Flynn is a financial account who spends a lot of time working and drinking copious amounts of coffee at Pete's Porch Cafe and the Lambspun, a knitting and specialty yarn shop. Kelly also owns several alpacas which her friend, Jayleen, cares for at her ranch. When wildfires threaten Jayleen's ranch, Kelly and several of her friends gather to move the alpacas to another ranch, which they hope will be out of the range of the fires. There is some drama at the ranch, care of the owner, Andrea; Connie, a worker at Lambspun; Dennis, Andrea's ex-husband; and Jim, Connie's estranged husband.
The next day, Andrea's body is discovered at the bottom of the stairs from her deck. Was it murder or did Andrea fall down the steep stairs? There are plenty of suspects, but the raging wildfires have the attention of most of the town and first responders.
Set in Colorado, most of the novel is devoted to descriptions of wildfires in the different canyons and how that affects the ranchers. Kelly drinks a lot of iced coffee and drags her laptop all over, working either in the Cafe or in the Lambspun, but doesn't seem to actually get much work done. Ms. Sefton does provide a list of the main characters and their relationship to each other, which is really helpful, but it's incomplete.
Part of the problem is this novel is part of a series, so there is a lot of implied backstory. Not a lot of time is spent on the actually mystery. Suspects seem rather casually introduced, then dismissed with no real explanation. I found the ending to be deus ex machina and it wrapped up way too quickly, leaving me with several questions. And I never felt there was any real connection between the characters; they seemed to be there just to be moved around like chess pieces. I don't care about any of them enough to read the other books in the series.
Yarn Over Murder promised to be such a book. Kelly Flynn is a financial account who spends a lot of time working and drinking copious amounts of coffee at Pete's Porch Cafe and the Lambspun, a knitting and specialty yarn shop. Kelly also owns several alpacas which her friend, Jayleen, cares for at her ranch. When wildfires threaten Jayleen's ranch, Kelly and several of her friends gather to move the alpacas to another ranch, which they hope will be out of the range of the fires. There is some drama at the ranch, care of the owner, Andrea; Connie, a worker at Lambspun; Dennis, Andrea's ex-husband; and Jim, Connie's estranged husband.
The next day, Andrea's body is discovered at the bottom of the stairs from her deck. Was it murder or did Andrea fall down the steep stairs? There are plenty of suspects, but the raging wildfires have the attention of most of the town and first responders.
Set in Colorado, most of the novel is devoted to descriptions of wildfires in the different canyons and how that affects the ranchers. Kelly drinks a lot of iced coffee and drags her laptop all over, working either in the Cafe or in the Lambspun, but doesn't seem to actually get much work done. Ms. Sefton does provide a list of the main characters and their relationship to each other, which is really helpful, but it's incomplete.
Part of the problem is this novel is part of a series, so there is a lot of implied backstory. Not a lot of time is spent on the actually mystery. Suspects seem rather casually introduced, then dismissed with no real explanation. I found the ending to be deus ex machina and it wrapped up way too quickly, leaving me with several questions. And I never felt there was any real connection between the characters; they seemed to be there just to be moved around like chess pieces. I don't care about any of them enough to read the other books in the series.
May 1, 2024
Spoiler alert: Kelly switches to iced coffee because its too hot out to drink hot coffee.
That was a joke, there aren’t really any spoilers in this review, if you’ve read one book from this series, you’ve read them all - the books are all alike. Kelly is a gossip who drinks too much coffee. Mimi ends every conversation by being pulled away for a phone call from a vendor she’s been trying to reach. Burt and Curt’s names are mixed up and missed by the editor. Everyone’s personality has the depth of a snail and the characters are all immature and solve everything by hitting and yelling like they’re three years old. There’s too much repetitive dialogue back and forth. Everyone drinks beer with a Favorite Colorful Label. It’s Not Fort Collins! (Except, when it is.)
This episode’s Terrible Trauma is the forest fire. Unfortunately (and as usual) it’s so poorly written that it is really difficult to follow what’s going on. There are too many canyons and rivers and ridges and they all blend together. The fire is irrelevant to the murder and that’s a huge miss for me. Even the murder is confusing! (Is it or isn’t it even a murder?) I read pretty fast but this book took longer because it was so boring and was not engaging enough to hold my attention.
That was a joke, there aren’t really any spoilers in this review, if you’ve read one book from this series, you’ve read them all - the books are all alike. Kelly is a gossip who drinks too much coffee. Mimi ends every conversation by being pulled away for a phone call from a vendor she’s been trying to reach. Burt and Curt’s names are mixed up and missed by the editor. Everyone’s personality has the depth of a snail and the characters are all immature and solve everything by hitting and yelling like they’re three years old. There’s too much repetitive dialogue back and forth. Everyone drinks beer with a Favorite Colorful Label. It’s Not Fort Collins! (Except, when it is.)
This episode’s Terrible Trauma is the forest fire. Unfortunately (and as usual) it’s so poorly written that it is really difficult to follow what’s going on. There are too many canyons and rivers and ridges and they all blend together. The fire is irrelevant to the murder and that’s a huge miss for me. Even the murder is confusing! (Is it or isn’t it even a murder?) I read pretty fast but this book took longer because it was so boring and was not engaging enough to hold my attention.
August 1, 2023
I loathe to give a book a bad review, but this book was not for me. The pacing felt awful, everyone is in a nervous rush in the beginning but it feels slow and drawn out. The dialogue feels unnatural, the worst I've seen in a long while, and for a book that's apparently 12th in a series(I found it at my library and didn't realize it was part of a series when I borrowed it) the author gives an absurd amount of time noting where things are in town, which lends itself to the artificial dialogue. Also, after twelve books, you'd think the world building would have been nicely set so readers wouldn't need all that background information.
Now that I know this is book number TWELVE in a series, I won't be checking out any of this author's books. If this is what their writing has progressed to after twelve books, I shudder to think of how the first felt to read.
Thankfully, my digital library renewals reset last night, so I'm going back to the needlecraft series.
It gets two stars because I don't have the heart to go lower and I didn't finish it, although I did get about three quarters of the way through, so that's wiggle room in case it somehow redeems itself. #dumpthatbook!
Now that I know this is book number TWELVE in a series, I won't be checking out any of this author's books. If this is what their writing has progressed to after twelve books, I shudder to think of how the first felt to read.
Thankfully, my digital library renewals reset last night, so I'm going back to the needlecraft series.
It gets two stars because I don't have the heart to go lower and I didn't finish it, although I did get about three quarters of the way through, so that's wiggle room in case it somehow redeems itself. #dumpthatbook!
February 2, 2023
Fiery flashes
Jayleen’s ranch and alpacas are in danger from a fast-moving wildfire in Bellevue Canyon, so Kelly and all her friends, plus Jayleen and Curt’s extended family and friends, swarm the ranch to move the herd to safer pastures and save what they can of Jayleen’s possessions. The whole area of Fort Connor is held in horrified fascination as they watch the fire devour their hills, praying and hoping for some reprieve. The number of families displaced is staggering, and folks rally to help the survivors. Things take a sobering turn when they learn one of Jayleen’s friends has died, apparently of an accidental fall; with all the rescue and police have to do, it’s some time before they can look at the circumstances of her death, but when they do, there are some disturbing questions that need to be answered. Kelly’s inquisitive nature digs in to the problem, and her access to the parties involved, in a non-threatening way, leads to information the police need to know.
Jayleen’s ranch and alpacas are in danger from a fast-moving wildfire in Bellevue Canyon, so Kelly and all her friends, plus Jayleen and Curt’s extended family and friends, swarm the ranch to move the herd to safer pastures and save what they can of Jayleen’s possessions. The whole area of Fort Connor is held in horrified fascination as they watch the fire devour their hills, praying and hoping for some reprieve. The number of families displaced is staggering, and folks rally to help the survivors. Things take a sobering turn when they learn one of Jayleen’s friends has died, apparently of an accidental fall; with all the rescue and police have to do, it’s some time before they can look at the circumstances of her death, but when they do, there are some disturbing questions that need to be answered. Kelly’s inquisitive nature digs in to the problem, and her access to the parties involved, in a non-threatening way, leads to information the police need to know.
July 24, 2017
Yeah. I mean. This is the 12th in a series. I'm not sure if editors and authors figure at this point "fans" will literally read anything or if they're just out of the energy to care, but this is pretty poor. It takes more than 100 pages for the murder to even maybe potentially BE a murder. By that point, I know more about wildfires, pesto pizza, Fat Tire ale (which, spoiler alert, isn't anything special) and the squirrels in Kelly's yard than I do about this crime. You know what else doesn't get talked about for way too many pages? Knitting. Of any sort. Aside from getting her coffee at Lambspun, Kelly could literally be anywhere doing anything, since she is neither sleuthing, knitting or accounting. This book was basically an excuse to write, badly, about Colorado wildfires. And while I'm all for catharsis in writing, I kinda feel like editors should have said "oooh, no, let's try this one again." Sadly, no one did,
June 3, 2023
It's funny to me how one can so easily tell who will end up innocent in these books. A character acts horribly and all anyone wants to do is clear their name... it makes no sense.
I have to say, I'm also not super interested in Cassie as a character. I'm not into children and I don't really know how an 11-year-old acts, but her dialogue seems unrealistic and she's doing way too much manual labor for a kid. IMO.
Overall, though, this was an excellent book in the series. The wildfire storyline made it a real page-turner- even if the flames jumping and wind turning and hot shots needed were a bit confusing. It really strayed away from the tired "the boys gotta eat" "Kelly needs coffee" "food is sinful" rhetoric from previous books and even the dialogue felt less forced (besides Kelly constantly talking to a child). Gives me hope for the rest of the books.
I have to say, I'm also not super interested in Cassie as a character. I'm not into children and I don't really know how an 11-year-old acts, but her dialogue seems unrealistic and she's doing way too much manual labor for a kid. IMO.
Overall, though, this was an excellent book in the series. The wildfire storyline made it a real page-turner- even if the flames jumping and wind turning and hot shots needed were a bit confusing. It really strayed away from the tired "the boys gotta eat" "Kelly needs coffee" "food is sinful" rhetoric from previous books and even the dialogue felt less forced (besides Kelly constantly talking to a child). Gives me hope for the rest of the books.
December 6, 2022
Of the many critiques one can make about these books, here's a small gripe: If you're going to spend 70% of a book repeating the same facts about wildfires, how is it that you did not use the wildfire setting to factor into the murder? Maybe the wildfire was started by the murderer? To mask up the murder? Or the body was thrown in the way of the wildfires, as though to hide the murder took place? It is my genuine belief, after 12 books of this, that the author wants to write about the mystery as little as possible.
But then, I also believe that she wants to write as little as possible anyway. How else do you explain one character having a meaningless conversation, and in the immediate scene following, that character recounts, in detail, the conversation she just had?
But then, I also believe that she wants to write as little as possible anyway. How else do you explain one character having a meaningless conversation, and in the immediate scene following, that character recounts, in detail, the conversation she just had?
June 3, 2024
Kelly and her knitting pals were checking out the wares at the annual Wool Market when news spread about the wildfires threatening the canyon ranches. With temperatures scorching, the alpacas belonging to Kelly’s good friend Jayleen are in danger. Working fast, Kelly and her pals hightail the herd to the nearby pasture owned by rancher Andrea Holt. But their rescue mission is interrupted by a screaming match where Connie, a longtime employee of House of Lambspun, accuses Andrea of stealing her husband. [amazon synopsis]
The fire actually was a big part of people's lives that year. However, it took up far too much of the book. Murder didn't happen until well into the book. Okay read.
The fire actually was a big part of people's lives that year. However, it took up far too much of the book. Murder didn't happen until well into the book. Okay read.
September 10, 2018
Very disappointing. Though I realize the importance of the fires, and while they were described very well in the book, I was still disappointed. The yarns weren't described as well as in earlier volumes. In addition, even though Steve and Kelly are back together, they could just be two acquaintances, as they don't even have banter in this book like in the others. Also, Kelly doesn't really do any sleuthing. She and Burt just discuss the case as the police figure it out. And then at the end, they kind of go "Oh yeah. That's what I thought."
Very disappointing.
Very disappointing.
February 23, 2023
Another entertaining cozy with Kelly and her friends. Wild fires are raging in the canyons near Fort Connor. Kelly and her friends help to move Jayleen's herd to another canyon, to the property of Andrea. The whole group is involved plus Andrea's friends. After the herd is moved, Andrea is murdered. Why, it seems to senseless. The cops are looking closely at Andrea's ex-husband. Something just doesn't feel right to Kelly. So she starts asking questions.
This is an easy to read cozy. It is a nice escape.
This is an easy to read cozy. It is a nice escape.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 190 reviews