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aspygirlsmom_1995's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kateycakee's review against another edition
4.0
A well paced mystery with a strong focus on craft, food, and crime. My three favourite things :)
ngreads's review against another edition
3.0
For context, this is not a genre I normally read. I was treating this more as a mix of a palate-cleanser and as a reintroduction to audiobooks, since I wanted to get back into listening to them and this was a nice and short pick that was available at my library.
Anyway, let's get into...
The Good:
- The concept was pretty cute, and though it was a fairly silly plot the story was still entertaining in a cozy way--which was the point, considering the genre. While not my normal cup of tea, I could definitely see the appeal of a cute plot like this. It felt a bit like watching a Lifetime movie--sure, it's not the best thing out there, but it's a pleasant enough diversion.
- As a cat lover myself, I enjoyed the "how to be adopted by a cat" subplot.
- The narrator of the audiobook was pretty good. I liked her narration.
The Not So Good:
- Holy crap. The sheer amount of extraneous, unnecessary details in this book was absolutely INSANE.
EVERY sandwich made. EVERY grocery shopping trip. EVERY meaningless piece of gossip and lawn decor. I didn't mind the knitting details (it's kinda expected, considering the entire thing revolves around a knitting club), but still. By the end I was begging the book to end, and it just kept adding more and more details that felt more useless by the word.
- I swear the characters in this book jump to the wildest conclusions based off minimal evidence. I have a hunch that's par for the course when it comes to cozy mysteries, but yikes. They would glimpse somebody in passing and make the most insane conclusions about who they are, what their lives are like, and what their connection to the murder might be.
- Speaking of conclusions, I gotta admit that the final unveiling of the killer and their motivations felt...lacklustre. Mostly the fact that they confessed everything so easily, and once they were caught they didn't even bother fighting back or trying to claim their innocence. It was a whole lot of "Oh no! I'm caught! I was ready to commit murders, but now that I'm hitting a setback I'll just go quietly to jail! Oh no!" and I wasn't down for that.
Overall:
This was fine. It was a fun and short read that had a bit of a lacklustre ending and way too much description of needless things, but it was an enjoyable enough palate cleanser and return to the world of audiobooks.
Anyway, let's get into...
The Good:
- The concept was pretty cute, and though it was a fairly silly plot the story was still entertaining in a cozy way--which was the point, considering the genre. While not my normal cup of tea, I could definitely see the appeal of a cute plot like this. It felt a bit like watching a Lifetime movie--sure, it's not the best thing out there, but it's a pleasant enough diversion.
- As a cat lover myself, I enjoyed the "how to be adopted by a cat" subplot.
- The narrator of the audiobook was pretty good. I liked her narration.
The Not So Good:
- Holy crap. The sheer amount of extraneous, unnecessary details in this book was absolutely INSANE.
EVERY sandwich made. EVERY grocery shopping trip. EVERY meaningless piece of gossip and lawn decor. I didn't mind the knitting details (it's kinda expected, considering the entire thing revolves around a knitting club), but still. By the end I was begging the book to end, and it just kept adding more and more details that felt more useless by the word.
- I swear the characters in this book jump to the wildest conclusions based off minimal evidence. I have a hunch that's par for the course when it comes to cozy mysteries, but yikes. They would glimpse somebody in passing and make the most insane conclusions about who they are, what their lives are like, and what their connection to the murder might be.
- Speaking of conclusions, I gotta admit that the final unveiling of the killer and their motivations felt...lacklustre. Mostly the fact that they confessed everything so easily, and once they were caught they didn't even bother fighting back or trying to claim their innocence. It was a whole lot of "Oh no! I'm caught! I was ready to commit murders, but now that I'm hitting a setback I'll just go quietly to jail! Oh no!" and I wasn't down for that.
Overall:
This was fine. It was a fun and short read that had a bit of a lacklustre ending and way too much description of needless things, but it was an enjoyable enough palate cleanser and return to the world of audiobooks.
crackingspines37's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
mariekew's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
suzireads11's review against another edition
3.0
Cute cozy mystery. Knittng and mystery make a fun read.
themichellegray's review against another edition
2.0
In theory, this sounds like the perfect book for any fiber artist but I can't in good conscious recommend it.
I’ve read plenty of cozy mysteries following "older" characters that DON'T feature fatphobic comments, glorified narcissism, slut shaming, and many other judgmental remarks (like around marjuana use). These negative views held no importance to the actual story and the author has no excuse for including them.
While the actual mystery was intriguing enough, I don't even want to give any praise to the author who I can only assume has the same hateful views as the characters she wrote. It’s really a shame that there is so much negativity woven throughout this book because the fiber art and thrifting content made this an ideal series for me to read while crocheting.
I’ve read plenty of cozy mysteries following "older" characters that DON'T feature fatphobic comments, glorified narcissism, slut shaming, and many other judgmental remarks (like around marjuana use). These negative views held no importance to the actual story and the author has no excuse for including them.
While the actual mystery was intriguing enough, I don't even want to give any praise to the author who I can only assume has the same hateful views as the characters she wrote. It’s really a shame that there is so much negativity woven throughout this book because the fiber art and thrifting content made this an ideal series for me to read while crocheting.
megwesley's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
It is an average murder mystery. It was fun to read. I found it harder to connect with the main character because of how she was written. Pamela is an older character, but she was written to sound like a grandma figure instead of an older woman who liked to knit. I kept imagining her with a cane, it felt like she was much older than she was supposed to be.