A Wicked Yarn
Mother’s Day should be a cinch for the good folks of the Crandalsburg Craft Fair, and knitting enthusiast Lia Geiger has a good feeling about this year’s yield. But things quickly get knotty when Lia’s daughter announces she’s quit her job, and Lia finds herself tangled up in the murder of her best friend’s ex-husband. While Belinda’s alibi quickly gets her off the hook, nasty rumors spread throughout Crandalsburg that shroud the entire fair in suspicion.
Could the vendors be responsible for the murder of a man hell-bent on unraveling the fair just days before his death? Lia and her crafty group of Ninth Street Knitters must put down their needles to gather clues and save the crafting community they’ve grown to love.
Series: A Craft Fair Knitters Mystery – Book #1
Author: Emmie Caldwell
Genre/Catagory: Cozy – Amateur Sleuth/Hobby
Publisher: Berkley
Page Count: 304
Rating: 
In this new series from Emmie Caldwell/Mary Ellen Hughes, “A Craft Fair Knitters Mystery,” the first book is a wonderful start to a new type of crafting cozy. A Wicked Yarn is filled with new characters, many of whom readers will love instantly, others they may not take to as easily. The small-town atmosphere is delightful, and the knitting crew is what most of us imagine it would be like to be a part of this type of group. Add in a craft fair and you have a winner.
Lia is not usually an amateur sleuth; she actually knows nothing about tracking down a killer. But she jumps in when her best friend is the prime suspect in the murder of her ex-husband. There are quite a few suspects and motives to keep track of, so readers will need to keep on their toes. The murderer is not caught easily, it takes everything Lia and her knitting group has to find the evidence and keep a killer from escaping justice.
This book is an excellent start in this series. Readers will enjoy the interaction between Lia and her daughter and the knitting crew. The scenery is picturesque with enough detail to make you want to spend a few hours roaming through the quaint little town. A Wicked Yarn is the first book in a new series, so there is a lot of setup and introductions; for some readers, this can be a turnoff, but in order to get to the good stuff, and for future books, it is necessary. Overall, however, I found the characters likable, the setting soothing, and the mystery believable. I look forward to the next book in this series.
Other comparable craft/hobby-based cozies include Sally Goldenbaum’s thrilling “Seaside Knitters Society” or Peggy Ehrhart’s amateur sleuth knitters series “A Knit & Nibble Mystery”.
About the Author:
Emmie Caldwell/Mary Ellen Hughes took a circuitous route to mystery writing, but the constant of it all was her love of books. Growing up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she studied piano along with all the more usual subjects, and she was aware of certain ease and pleasure in writing. But practicalities of earning a living led her into the sciences. She earned a degree in Medical Technology at Alverno College and worked in hospital laboratories, including clinical chemistry at the National Institutes of Health, but eventually found her way to what she enjoyed most: writing mysteries.
As a break from all the time spent at the computer doubles tennis is Mary Ellen’s favorite activity, followed by travel and, you guessed it, reading.
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