Reviews - On Skein of Death

65 reviews for:

On Skein of Death

Allie Pleiter

3.65 AVERAGE

atlasanatolia's review against another edition

3.25

lighthearted mysterious medium-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

This was a nice little cozy mystery to read after some heavier books. Sometimes after deep and upsetting literary classics like Giovanni's Room and Cat's Cradle, you just need something cute and chill. Despite being a murder mystery, this endearing little book did that for me.

There were some things that bothered me: mostly just a couple of consistency/logical nitpicks and specifics of pet treatment. To get the latter out of the way first, I wanted Libby to quit giving her dog people food >:( Bulldogs already struggle with obesity without eating pastries! It's also mentioned that the pet sweater pattern was used on a cat in at least one instance; some cats tolerate it more readily, but as a generalization, it's better to avoid dressing them up, since the full-body sensory contact can make them feel overstimulated like they would after an overly long petting session.

As for the consistency and logic, there were only two things I wrote down, but they're worth mentioning.

When Nolan is spilling the tea about Henrik trying to work with him behind Perle's back, he says that he sent a sketchy email, but then when Chief Reynolds asks about a digital paper trail, he says there are no emails. I'm not sure if he just meant that the initial email was vague enough to not be incriminating? But this might have been a missed detail. I also feel like, upon seeing Nolan's tattoo on the security camera being worn by someone else on the wrong arm, Chief Reynolds' first idea would've been to contact the parlor Nolan got it done at and ask for records of anyone else receiving the same design. Of course, it's revealed later that it was simply a removable sleeve, but that wasn't information the characters had at the time.

I did see a note in the acknowledgments, though, that even though Pleiter asked some relevant sources for details specific to their professions, any mistakes are on her and not her sources. I respect that kind of accountability! There was just something charming about the book in general, too. It felt like the higher end of Hallmark movies; nothing groundbreaking, but just a nice, cozy story with some fun twists and turns. Reading it really did feel like petting the texture of soft yarn. I like that it includes a knitting pattern! I also like how malleable of an acronym Y.A.R.N. is.

April is a busy month for me, which calls for some gentler reads, so I've gone ahead and thrifted the sequel! Excited to see if it holds up.

marynolan63's review against another edition

3.0

cute murder mystery involving a yarn shop.

meganreyann's review against another edition

1.5

mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

gina_bina's review against another edition

3.0

emotional lighthearted mysterious relaxing fast-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

It was cute and cozy, as a cozy mystery should be. Fans of knitting, yarn crafts, cozy mysteries or dogs should enjoy this light read.

anniepal's review against another edition

3.0

This was a cute book! All the reviews call it “cozy” and I agree fully. It was a nice book to read a chapter or two of before bed; it’s nicely paced and an interesting mystery. Its only crime is being full of cliches, but as long as you expect that going in, it’s all part of the charm.