Book Review: Knit One, Kill Two

I’m back, with another book review about a novel featuring yarn! This month I’ve moved from romance to cozy mystery novels.

Book cover showing a rocking chair and yarn by a fire with an arm appearing behind the table laying on the ground.

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This month the book is Maggie Sefton’s book Knit One, Kill Two, the first in a series of cozy mysteries featuring a yarn shop.

Kelly’s Aunt Helen has been killed, and Kelly and her dog Carl head back to her family’s hometown in Colorado to handle the affairs. While the police believe Helen’s murder was done randomly by a passer-by they have in custody, Kelly isn’t sure.

Kelly hangs out at the local yarn shop, a favorite place of her aunt’s. The friends she makes there insist she learns to knit and assist her in investigating Helen’s murder. Notable friends include Jennifer, a real estate agent who is able to give context to some suspicious property dealings, and Steve, a builder who is set up to be a love interest in future books.

Along the way, Kelly finds unknown family members and long-buried secrets. I won’t spoil the details for you, but as expected Kelly and her friends find the murderer and get a confession.

The author clearly knows how to knit and has taught knitting to beginners. The sections describing learning how to knit are detailed, and the experienced knitters at the always-bustling shop (unusual but welcome in a small town) guide her to yarn and needles and help her correct her common mistakes.

The book is a little older — published in 2005 — so there was some nostalgia for me as it describes how popular brightly-colored eyelash yarns are. Kelly falls in love with the colors and textures of the yarn at the shop, and there’s plenty of descriptions of lovely combinations of merino and silk.

The mystery itself is satisfying but fairly predictable. There’s just enough blood at the crime scene for DNA tests to be run, but it’s not gory and is not described in detail. There’s a couple of scene where Kelly thinks she might be in a little danger, but like most cozy mysteries there’s not enough to make the reader scared for her. The characters could be fleshed out more, and I hope they are in subsequent books in the series.

The end of the book has a beginner scarf pattern, a very basic shell pattern made in bulky yarn (with a schematic), and a cinnamon roll recipe.

Shaded box with book title "Knit One, Kill Two" and "Click Here" next to an image of the book cover

The publisher’s blurb about Knit One, Kill Two is:

Despite the fact that her aunt was an expert knitter, Kelly Flynn never picked up a pair of knitting needles she liked—until she strolled into House of Lambspun. Now, Kelly is about to learn how to knit one, purl two, and untangle the mystery behind her aunt’s murder…

Kelly would be the first to admit her life in Washington, D.C., is a little on the dull side. But coming back to Colorado for her beloved aunt’s funeral wasn’t the kind of excitement she was seeking. The police are convinced that her Aunt Helen’s death was the result of a burglary gone bad, but for the accountant in Kelly, things just aren’t adding up. After all, why would her sensible, sixty-eight-year-old aunt borrow $20,000 just days before her death? With the help of the knitting regulars at House of Lambspun, Kelly’s about to get a few lessons in cranking out a sumptuously colored scarf—and in luring a killer out of hiding…

The One and Only, Marly

Marly is a knitwear and crochet designer (and yarn addict) that is here to help you learn how to knit and crochet in a way that's fun and approachable.

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