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Close Knit Killer
by
Maggie Sefton
It is part of the A Knitting Mystery #11 series and is a amateur sleuth, cozy mystery in eBook edition that was published by Berkley on June 4, 2013 and has 273 pages.
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Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Unraveled, Skein of the Crime, Cast On, Kill Off, Yarn Over Murder
Eleventh in the Knitting Mysteries revolving around a group of friends who enjoy knitting, baseball, and each other in a thinly disguised Fort Connor (known in the real world as Fort Collins), Colorado.
My Take
I’m really impressed Kelly ever gets anything done what with all those luscious yarns and Pete’s coffee right to hand.
Why does this Rizzoli come back to Fort Connor? Is he really that clueless?
I do enjoy the friend interaction and all the support they provide each other. And as a fiber artist, I can appreciate — and wallow — in all that lovely yarn.
There certainly isn’t any shortage on suspects in this one, but it is getting to be rather same ol’, same ol’. This one is just too smooth. Yeah, there is a bit of drama and tension with whodunnit, but the situation with Cassie is too easily resolved and Cassie herself is too perfect. In fact, the only real tension is in the whodunnit, and Sefton bringing Rizzoli back to an area where he destroyed so many lives just doesn’t make sense.
Nor is there as much interaction amongst the usual crew as I’ve come to expect. Maybe it’s just that real life is sifting into the Knitting Mysteries crew, and they don’t have the same amount of time to give each other…
Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a cute and fluffy read.
The Story
The gang is moving into Steve’s empty houses, renting them until the economy picks up or a house sells. It’s a particularly useful move when one of their group suddenly experiences an increase in family size, and not for a good reason.
It’s friends to the rescue as everyone pitches in to help Pete welcome his niece to Fort Connor. But all is not homeruns and sweet pitches in town, as a hated son has rolled up. Flashing his wealth, sneering at the many lives he destroyed with no remorse.
The Characters
Kelly Flynn is an accountant working with a few regular clients and doing quite well with her knitting. She and Steve, her architect boyfriend, are moving in to one of his houses, and she’ll use the cottage as her office. Carl is her squirrel-chasing Rottweiler.
Megan and Marty, a lawyer who also plays Spot the Wonder Dog, have moved into their very own home in Steve’s housing development — a low price was his wedding gift to them. Greg, he works at the university, and Lisa, a physical therapist, are two doors away. Jennifer is a realtor and works as a waitress at her boyfriend’s, Pete’s Porch Cafe, which is attached to Lambspun, the yarn shop where all the ladies met. Eduardo is the grill cook; Julie is one of the other waitresses. Bridget and Doreen are temps.
Pete’s grandfather, Ben, lives in Denver and is caring for Cassie, his granddaughter. His daughter Tanya is too self-absorbed in drugs and her “career” to care about her child, even when there’s no one else.
The married Mimi Shafer and Burt Parker, a retired Fort Connor detective, run Lambspun. Barbara is one of Mimi’s part-time instructors; Madge Bennett is her mom, and she’s helping with Burt’s spinning class. Connie and Rosa work at Lambspun.
Hal Nelson is a compassionate contractor who hires from the rehab program at the Mission. Curt and Jayleen, a couple who each has their own ranches, are involved in it as well. Eric is Curt’s grandson. Malcolm Duprey is Hal’s assistant from the rehab program; he helped solve a murder a few years back.
Don Warner and Arthur Houseman are two of Kelly’s regular clients. Chet Brewster is the supervisor on Kelly’s Wyoming property; he’s getting married.
Detectives Geller and Lasky will be investigating the death.
Jared Rizzoli ran an investment firm but was using a Ponzi scheme to defraud a lot of Fort Connor residents. He destroyed a lot of lives and families and is not at all repentant.
The Cover and Title
I do love the covers in this series, and this one is no exception with its colorful basket of yarn and the vase of tools sitting on the wooden table outside Lambspun. I’m not sure which is brighter, the yarns, the tools, or the masses of flowers. It’s enough to cheer anyone up!
The title is a metaphor that connects both the killer and how close that person is to the rest of the usual cast, for it’s a Close Knit Killer.
