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3.16 AVERAGE
3.16 AVERAGE
An ok beach read, but predictable. Forgot how many ways she describes Kelly's coffee. Ugh. I'll still read the rest of the series though, because I love knitting!
By far the worst in the series. Steve sucks, that last scene in the bar was just dumb, & everything that has them losing control in laughter never warrants more than a chuckle. There wasn’t even a confrontation with the killer! That’s basically mystery 101! I do intend to finish the series still, so hopefully the rest aren’t this bad.
Review originally published at The Bookwyrm's Hoard.
Cast On, Kill Off, the tenth in the Kelly Flynn series, is typical Maggie Sefton knitting mystery fare: a quick, light read, suited for summer reading and written for cozy mystery lovers.
CPA and hobby knitter Kelly Flynn and her friends are in the the midst of preparations for Megan's wedding. When the designer and seamstress of the bridal party's gowns is shot, Kelly is drawn into the investigation.
Fans of the series will be pleased to encounter the usual cast of secondary characters, including Kelly's former (and perhaps future) boyfriend, Steve. But they may be somewhat disappointed in the mystery itself, which is even easier to solve than in previous books. I spotted the true killer early on, and from a few other reviews I've read, I'm not the only one to have done so. In fact, the last several Kelly Flynn mysteries have lacked some of the sparkle and fun of the early books in the series, though I felt Cast On, Kill Off was better than its immediate predecessors.
If you love Sefton's knitting mysteries, you will probably enjoy Cast On, Kill Off. If you're new to the series, start at the beginning with Knit One, Kill Two.
A little background on the series: (adapted from a 2010 post about themed mysteries on The Bookwyrm's Hoard) Set in a thinly-veiled Fort Collins, Colorado, the Kelly Flynn mystery series features CPA and novice knitter Kelly Flynn and her growing circle of friends at the House of Lambspun yarn shop, which sits next door to the house Kelly has just inherited from her murdered aunt. (The shop, too, is based on a real store.) The series belongs in the cozy genre without being overly light, and the characters are, for the most part, not mere cardboard cutouts, a serious flaw in some other "light" mystery series. The books are entertaining and sometimes funny, although the crimes themselves are serious. Kelly herself is an engaging character: curious to a fault, impetuous and a bit too quick to jump to conclusions (and into dangerous situations), but courageous and fiercely loyal.
My main quibble with Sefton's books, and it's a small one, is that Kelly is a dangerous person to be around: book after book, her acquaintances keep turning up dead. Still, that's a fault of many amateur-detective series; if you're prepared suspend disbelief on that point, the books are quite fun, and the Colorado setting is a plus. A secondary quibble, as I alluded to above, is that several recent titles have fallen a bit flat. Despite these flaws, I've enjoyed Sefton's series enough to follow it through ten books as of this post.
Incidentally, you don't have to know how to knit to enjoy reading these books, but if you do knit, there is a free and simple knitting pattern at the end of each book.
FCC disclosure: I borrowed this book from the public library.
You can read more of my reviews at The Bookwyrm’s Hoard.
Cast On, Kill Off, the tenth in the Kelly Flynn series, is typical Maggie Sefton knitting mystery fare: a quick, light read, suited for summer reading and written for cozy mystery lovers.
CPA and hobby knitter Kelly Flynn and her friends are in the the midst of preparations for Megan's wedding. When the designer and seamstress of the bridal party's gowns is shot, Kelly is drawn into the investigation.
Fans of the series will be pleased to encounter the usual cast of secondary characters, including Kelly's former (and perhaps future) boyfriend, Steve. But they may be somewhat disappointed in the mystery itself, which is even easier to solve than in previous books. I spotted the true killer early on, and from a few other reviews I've read, I'm not the only one to have done so. In fact, the last several Kelly Flynn mysteries have lacked some of the sparkle and fun of the early books in the series, though I felt Cast On, Kill Off was better than its immediate predecessors.
If you love Sefton's knitting mysteries, you will probably enjoy Cast On, Kill Off. If you're new to the series, start at the beginning with Knit One, Kill Two.
A little background on the series: (adapted from a 2010 post about themed mysteries on The Bookwyrm's Hoard) Set in a thinly-veiled Fort Collins, Colorado, the Kelly Flynn mystery series features CPA and novice knitter Kelly Flynn and her growing circle of friends at the House of Lambspun yarn shop, which sits next door to the house Kelly has just inherited from her murdered aunt. (The shop, too, is based on a real store.) The series belongs in the cozy genre without being overly light, and the characters are, for the most part, not mere cardboard cutouts, a serious flaw in some other "light" mystery series. The books are entertaining and sometimes funny, although the crimes themselves are serious. Kelly herself is an engaging character: curious to a fault, impetuous and a bit too quick to jump to conclusions (and into dangerous situations), but courageous and fiercely loyal.
My main quibble with Sefton's books, and it's a small one, is that Kelly is a dangerous person to be around: book after book, her acquaintances keep turning up dead. Still, that's a fault of many amateur-detective series; if you're prepared suspend disbelief on that point, the books are quite fun, and the Colorado setting is a plus. A secondary quibble, as I alluded to above, is that several recent titles have fallen a bit flat. Despite these flaws, I've enjoyed Sefton's series enough to follow it through ten books as of this post.
Incidentally, you don't have to know how to knit to enjoy reading these books, but if you do knit, there is a free and simple knitting pattern at the end of each book.
FCC disclosure: I borrowed this book from the public library.
You can read more of my reviews at The Bookwyrm’s Hoard.
I love the idea of a locally set series, and I've enjoyed most of Maggie's books, but I am having a hard time settling into this one. We'll see how it goes.
Linguistically clumsy. Too many flat characters; nothing differentiated their voices.
Charming setting. Loved the pattern and recipes that went with the book. I appreciated that the murderer and the heroine did not end up in some cheesy near death show down at the end. However, I knew who dunnit from the very beginning and found the cast of characters simply okay.
I love this series and I love this book. We keep getting to know the characters and there is just enough (can never really be enough) yarn-related goodness to keep a fiber lover happy. This mystery was a little easier for me to figure out than some previous ones, but was still so enjoyable.
Predictable, redundant, and boring.
I can't believe crap like this gets published. The following are just a few of the things that annoyed me:
An entire paragraph on the autumnal equinox and the explanation that there will be 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. And now the darkness will be longer than the daylight. Gee, thanks, Maggie Sefton. I'm so glad you explained that. I apparently missed that lesson in elementary school.
Four paragraphs on a character's arthritic knee. Four! A character that has nothing to do with the rest of the story and didn't make an appearance before or after these four paragraphs.
Kelly's cell phone "jangles" at least seven times in this book. Really, Maggie Sefton, cell phone's ring. You don't have to jazz it up. And if you do, break out the thesaurus and find some different words!
The "mystery" was lame, not remotely original and I figured out who the murderer was half way through the book.
In the past, I actually liked some of the characters, but now they are all one dimensional and obnoxious.
I read somewhere that this is the last in this series. I certainly hope so, as the books have gotten progressively worse. I'd hate to see what would come after this.
I can't believe crap like this gets published. The following are just a few of the things that annoyed me:
An entire paragraph on the autumnal equinox and the explanation that there will be 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. And now the darkness will be longer than the daylight. Gee, thanks, Maggie Sefton. I'm so glad you explained that. I apparently missed that lesson in elementary school.
Four paragraphs on a character's arthritic knee. Four! A character that has nothing to do with the rest of the story and didn't make an appearance before or after these four paragraphs.
Kelly's cell phone "jangles" at least seven times in this book. Really, Maggie Sefton, cell phone's ring. You don't have to jazz it up. And if you do, break out the thesaurus and find some different words!
The "mystery" was lame, not remotely original and I figured out who the murderer was half way through the book.
In the past, I actually liked some of the characters, but now they are all one dimensional and obnoxious.
I read somewhere that this is the last in this series. I certainly hope so, as the books have gotten progressively worse. I'd hate to see what would come after this.
Kelly Flynn's friend Megan is getting married. They have found the perfect seamstress in Zoe Yeager to create the wedding and bridesmaids dresses. Each bridesmaid is knitting their own shawl to drape over the top of their beautiful dresses.
Megan has planned her wedding with the precision of a surgeon or a drill sergeant depending on which day you catch her. Nothing is going to ruin her wedding day. Not even when their seamstress gets enough courage to leave her abusive husband. The ladies all rally behind her to keep her safe. They help her get tucked away at a shelter and move her supplies right into Mimi shop so she will never be alone.
The plan works great until it doesn't and Zoe is found dead in a parking lot. Of course the key suspect is her husband but their are others who may have wanted her dead.
Kelly and her knitting friends are on the case. They are going to stitch everything together to catch the killer. Then they are going to get all dolled up to escort Megan down the aisle so she can start living happily ever after.
Dollycas's Thoughts
I have enjoyed this entire series very much. My excursions to Fort Connor always but a smile on my face. The characters have become old friends and I am always anxious to see what they are up to.
When I picked up this one what I really wanted to know is if Kelly and Steve were going to get back together. I can't tell you because you will have to read the story. I did figure out the murderer this time very quickly but the drama of Megan's wedding still made this a good yarn. Carl, the rottweiler, and the ongoing adventures with the backyard squirrel were funny and cute.
This is not my favorite story of the series. Sometimes there needs to be a book to keep the story lines moving along and Cast On, Kill Off is exactly that. The mystery wasn't as complex and did not have the usual twists but we are set up nicely for the next edition.
Megan has planned her wedding with the precision of a surgeon or a drill sergeant depending on which day you catch her. Nothing is going to ruin her wedding day. Not even when their seamstress gets enough courage to leave her abusive husband. The ladies all rally behind her to keep her safe. They help her get tucked away at a shelter and move her supplies right into Mimi shop so she will never be alone.
The plan works great until it doesn't and Zoe is found dead in a parking lot. Of course the key suspect is her husband but their are others who may have wanted her dead.
Kelly and her knitting friends are on the case. They are going to stitch everything together to catch the killer. Then they are going to get all dolled up to escort Megan down the aisle so she can start living happily ever after.
Dollycas's Thoughts
I have enjoyed this entire series very much. My excursions to Fort Connor always but a smile on my face. The characters have become old friends and I am always anxious to see what they are up to.
When I picked up this one what I really wanted to know is if Kelly and Steve were going to get back together. I can't tell you because you will have to read the story. I did figure out the murderer this time very quickly but the drama of Megan's wedding still made this a good yarn. Carl, the rottweiler, and the ongoing adventures with the backyard squirrel were funny and cute.
This is not my favorite story of the series. Sometimes there needs to be a book to keep the story lines moving along and Cast On, Kill Off is exactly that. The mystery wasn't as complex and did not have the usual twists but we are set up nicely for the next edition.