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jenn_reads's review
This book is the 16th in a universe and usually that doesn't matter so much for murder-of-the-week cozy mysteries but it started with a lot of references to (I'm assuming?) past books and I wasn't really in the mood to just hop in
theavidreaderandbibliophile's review against another edition
2.0
Dyeing Up Loose Ends by Maggie Sefton is the sixteenth tale in A Knitting Mystery series. Kelly Flynn is married to Steve and her son, Jack is now a boisterous four-year-old in Fort Connor, Colorado. Kelly spends her days at Pete’s Porch Café and Lampspun working on her client’s accounts and enjoys evenings with her family and close friends. Julie, one of the waitresses at the café, takes accounting classes at the local university and is currently having some issues with her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriends and her money grubbing brother. One morning Jennifer and Pete arrive at the café to find Julie’s car already in the parking lot. It looks like Julie has worked her last shift. They find Julie dead in her car from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Kelly and the Lambspun crew have another theory and they set about untangling the clues. In between, the group has a wedding to organize for two special people. Join the Lampspun crew one last time in Dyeing Up Loose Ends.
All our favorite characters from A Knitting Mystery series returns in Dyeing Up Loose Ends. The book has a nice, steady pace and a conversational writing style that makes Dyeing Up Loose Ends easy to read. A Knitting Mystery series used to be one of my favorites and I could not wait for each new installment. The last couple of books, though, have felt like they were done by someone else. They lack the same depth and complexity of the earlier books in the series. Most of Dyeing Up Loose Ends is spent reminiscing (I ended up skimming through it since I have read every book in the series and I wonder if someone double checked their information). The various characters share recollections on the cases they have solved as well as discuss how Kelly came to Fort Connor, inherited her various properties, her accounting business, how Kelly met Steve, and how they other characters paired up and married. The murder mystery was simple and there was little investigating. Identifying the guilty party was a snap. There are cozy moments as Kelly spends time with her friends, a lot of eating, time with the children, a wedding, and time spent at Lambspun. There are lovely descriptions of yarn included in the story and I laughed at Carl’s continued determination to catch a squirrel (my dogs have given up). I believe this is the end of A Knitting Mystery series. I just wish the author had decided to go out as she started the series. If, like me, you have read all the books in this series, then you will want to read Dyeing Up Loose Ends (to find out what happens to the various characters). For those who are new to the series, I suggest starting with Knit One, Kill Two.
All our favorite characters from A Knitting Mystery series returns in Dyeing Up Loose Ends. The book has a nice, steady pace and a conversational writing style that makes Dyeing Up Loose Ends easy to read. A Knitting Mystery series used to be one of my favorites and I could not wait for each new installment. The last couple of books, though, have felt like they were done by someone else. They lack the same depth and complexity of the earlier books in the series. Most of Dyeing Up Loose Ends is spent reminiscing (I ended up skimming through it since I have read every book in the series and I wonder if someone double checked their information). The various characters share recollections on the cases they have solved as well as discuss how Kelly came to Fort Connor, inherited her various properties, her accounting business, how Kelly met Steve, and how they other characters paired up and married. The murder mystery was simple and there was little investigating. Identifying the guilty party was a snap. There are cozy moments as Kelly spends time with her friends, a lot of eating, time with the children, a wedding, and time spent at Lambspun. There are lovely descriptions of yarn included in the story and I laughed at Carl’s continued determination to catch a squirrel (my dogs have given up). I believe this is the end of A Knitting Mystery series. I just wish the author had decided to go out as she started the series. If, like me, you have read all the books in this series, then you will want to read Dyeing Up Loose Ends (to find out what happens to the various characters). For those who are new to the series, I suggest starting with Knit One, Kill Two.
chartsh's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
darcerenity's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoy the small village life narrative that makes up the bulk of the later books in this series. It doesn't really bother me that the murder aspect is underplayed to the point of being almost incidental. That is less true in this book than in some of the other later books because the victim has been a part of the daily interactions of the characters in most of the past books. I realize that in series, especially long-running series, some recap is necessary in case a volume is read out of order, but the amount of recap in this volume not only felt excessive (I believe it was around 30 or 40 pages!) but seemed to have been in need of a good consistency check, which I noticed, having been reading the series in order for a while. The murder doesn't even occur until around the half-way point of the book which seemed to be pushing the murder-as-incidental trope pretty far. Nonetheless, I would be willing to read further installments in the lives of these characters just because I enjoy them and their relationships.
hheartbooks's review against another edition
2.0
I want to know what happens to these characters, but it’s so hard reading these books now. The author spent way too long “reminiscing” over the previous books’ adventures for no good reason. The author also uses the same phrases repeatedly. This is the first of her book I read using an audiobook, and the repetition was glaringly obvious.
jeo224's review against another edition
slow-paced
2.0
I wanted to like this one, but it just did not work for me. I love that part of Colorado and am familiar with it, so that was a bonus, but the pacing was too slow for me. As always, I am sure other folks might enjoy it more - and also, it seemed like there was a time gap between this book and the last one. It may have been very different than the rest of the series.
ohthatmireille's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
jessalyn's review against another edition
1.0
Glad to see this is the last book in the series; its death is a mercy that no one need investigate.
The last six books beg this question: how *lazy* do you have to be to write a *murder mystery* but your protagonist never speaks to the suspects, law enforcement, or even confronts the killer? She speaks to one witness, hears a banal update through an intermediary, and... that's it. Two pages before the end, someone calls her to confirm the killer was arrested.
Instead, there are repetitious conversations that sound like an alien imitating a human about irrelevant details related to the lives of people wholly unrelated to the plot, rather than addressing subplots that were mentioned and then dropped entirely or the plot itself.
The last six books beg this question: how *lazy* do you have to be to write a *murder mystery* but your protagonist never speaks to the suspects, law enforcement, or even confronts the killer? She speaks to one witness, hears a banal update through an intermediary, and... that's it. Two pages before the end, someone calls her to confirm the killer was arrested.
Instead, there are repetitious conversations that sound like an alien imitating a human about irrelevant details related to the lives of people wholly unrelated to the plot, rather than addressing subplots that were mentioned and then dropped entirely or the plot itself.
betcei's review against another edition
2.0
This book felt like a rehash of all the books that came before it. Sometimes looking back works, but not as often as was done in this book.
annab33's review against another edition
2.0
A murder mystery where the mystery is in the background?? How boring!!!!