Stitched in Crime
The Craft Fair may have hit a few snags lately, but knitting enthusiast Lia Geiger is hopeful her quiet life will return to its usual patterns in no time. Her daughter has officially moved back home, and sure, the house is a little crowded with Hayley’s take-home work from the alpaca farm, but that’s a price Lia will happily pay. All seems well until Cori Littlefield, a new vendor with a gift for crochet is found dead, sending shock waves through all of Crandalsburg.
What begins as a tragic accident turns into a snarled spool of lies that only the combined efforts of the Ninth Street Knitters can untangle. When Lia makes a connection between Cori’s death and a decades-old murder, it’s up to her to weave together the clues and find the truth.
The Details
Series: A Craft Fair Knitters Mystery – Book #2
Author: Emmie Caldwell
Genre/Category: Cozy – Hobby/Older Sleuth
Publisher: Berkley Publishing
ISBN: 593101707
Page Count: 304
Rating: 
The Review
“A Craft Fair Knitters Mystery” series is what I term laid back. The characters are mostly older mature individuals who are still growing old, but some are still young enough not to worry about it too much. Lia is a mom who cares about her daughter Hayley’s future but doesn’t want to look like she is interfering. She is also a knitter who is good at her craft and enjoys working with the Ninth Street Knitters, who are also her best friends. The knitters help Lia investigate mysteries and solve murders, and they have fun doing it. The craft fair where Lai and the knitters sell their material keeps Lia busy, and she, like many other vendors, depends on it for an income. Thankfully, the array of talent and products is enticing and keeps buyers returning. They can purchase anything from sculptures to knit sweaters and crocheted flowers, and so much more. Of course, it helps that Lia’s best friend runs the craft fair. All in all, this group of characters always leaves readers happy and wanting more, and in Stitched in Crime that hasn’t changed.
When a new talented crochet vendor at the fair, Cori, dies unexpectedly, everyone is willing to accept that it was a tragic accident, but it doesn’t sit right with Lia. She doesn’t think it was an accident at all. She also suspects that Cori’s death ties in with another “accident” long ago. It doesn’t take long for Lia to develop a few suspects and possible motives. The Ninth Street Knitters jump in to help Lia figure out who the killer is and find clues that will tell everyone that Cori’s death was not an accident but a murder. In the meantime, Hayley is having issues at work, and she and Lia’s living arrangements are starting to show signs of stress. Dealing with Hayley, the craft fair and Cori’s death keeps Lia hopping.
The Ninth Street Knitters are a group of people I wouldn’t mind spending time with. Lia and her craft fair friends track down the clues in a smart and quick manner. Cori was a talented crochet artist who had a past that seemed to haunt her, and it was easy for people to believe that her death was an accident or suicide; even Lia has moments when she isn’t certain. But with tenacity and stubbornness, she finds that she is right and does what it takes to capture the murderer. Stitched in Crime is a fun and entertaining read. The writing is wonderful, the characters are believable and enjoyable, and the setting is memorable. Readers will love Lia, the knitters, a desire to learn knitting or crochet, and the action.
The Author
Emmie Caldwell/Mary Ellen 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 and 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.
I recommend that readers check out the first book in the “A Craft Fair Knitters Mystery” series, A Wicked Yarn, and check out other books from this author, written under the name Mary Ellen Huges such as A Fatal Collection from the “A Keepsake Cove Mystery” series.
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