Knit One, Kill Two - Maggie Sefton

I really like cosies and I really like crafts so this seemed the ideal book for me. However in the end I'm feeling very disappointed by it.

Despite the fact that her aunt was an expert knitter, Kelly Flynn never picked up a pair of knitting needles she liked—until she strolled into House of Lambspun. Now, in the first in a brand-new series, she learns how to knit one, purl two, and untangle the mystery behind her aunt's murder.

Kelly Flynn would be the first to admit her life in Washington, D.C. is a little on the dull side. But coming back to Colorado for her beloved aunt's funeral wasn't the kind of excitement she was seeking. The police are convinced that her Aunt Helen's death was the result of a burglary gone bad, but for the accountant in Kelly, things just aren't adding up. After all, why would her sensible, sixty-eight-year-old aunt borrow $20,000 just days before her death? With the help of the knitting regulars at House of Lambspun, Kelly gets a few lessons in turning out a sumptuously colored scarf and in luring a killer out of hiding.


I thought the action takes too long to find an interesting pace. In the first chapters it just drags. Kelly arrives for her aunt’s funeral and discovers the aunt had taken a big loan on the day she died and that said money and an heirloom quilt had disappeared. I wasn't particularly interested in Kelly or her aunt; they never really came alive for me. Things became more interesting when we are introduced to the mystery from the past, I love it when books take us on a visit to the past of the characters, however in the end that was very disappointing too. Nothing really came of it as Kelly does confront her aunt's killer but in an indirect way. Meaning she discovers his relation to her aunt true but that didn't have to make him the killer. It was just one big coincidence. And her aunt's reaction to said person seemed really odd, cold and unfeeling. On the whole the mystery plot just did not convince me.

Regarding the knitting, Kelly learns to knit after she arrives. She never tried it before even though it was one of her aunt's favourite things. Throughout the book there are several knitting scenes in which Kelly learns to knit in the yarn shop. I'm not sure if this common in the States but here people don't usually knit on yarn shops. That could have created an interesting atmosphere though, like a knitting club but the characters didn't seem very interesting and strong and now I can't even remember who was who.

Kelly is apparently to have a love interest in the future in Steve. That relationship could have brought some depth to her character but it never takes off.

Grade: C

I do like the covers very much; I think they (this and the others in the series) really look cosy!