Knit Fast, Die Young: A Knitting Mystery (Knitting Mysteries)

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
She found the body. Again. Sensing a pattern?

Ariadne Evans swore her sleuthing days were over after her very own knitting shop became a crime scene a few months back. But she hadn't anticipated that the Freeport Wool and Yarn Festival would become the site of another murder -- with hers truly as a prime suspect. Since Ari was the one to find the body of Felicia Barr -- the much detested and influential owner of Knit It Up magazine -- with a knitting needle stuck in her back, the cops are needling Ari for answers. In a stitch, Ari dons her hand-knit detective cap and helps her on-and-off boyfriend, Detective Josh Pierce, untangle the day's events and solve a very woolly crime -- before the killer strikes again....

Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars

In a sentence, if this book was a guy, I wouldn't kick it out of bed May 29, 2007
12 out of 14 found this review helpful

After being very impressed with Died In The Wool, I was eagerly anticipating this, the second book in the series, and while it's not as good as it's predecessor, I'm glad I bought it, and happy to have it in my knitting library.
So; a high flying knitting magazine editor from New York with an attitude problem is slain at a wool festival, in, where-else? Ari's neck of the small town in Massachusetts, of course. With a knitting needle. But she survives long enough to die in guess who's arms? Splashing Ariadne firmly into the suspects pool. Again.
Low points: it's even slower than the first (which is really only a problem if you have the attention span of a goldfish. Like me.) I found myself drifting off on a few occasions.
Sometimes, it felt as if I was reading a screenplay, where practically every movement of each character is written; I'm not sure how much of that was necessary for us to read, it felt like filler.
The patterns in the back are 'meh'; the padded coat hangers were featured in book one. I mean, I get that they're a running joke-both in the author's family and Ariadne, the main character, but come on already-what a waste of space. Give us a decent pattern or two-one easy, one challenging, and preferably with schematics. The other pattern's a 'chemo cap', which I suppose some folks'll like.
Near the beginning, there's over-usage of the word 'wow'; nobody says 'wow' that many times.
While it starts a little eyeball rolling at first, once you recall the numerous t.v. episodes with a mystery writer, spinster and doctor among others, solving similar crimes, you can overlook the far-fetchedness and just enjoy this fun little distraction for knitters into whodunnits.
High points: there's a suprising little twist near the end, so even if you figure out (or take a wild guess) who did it, you probably won't see this coming.
The romance aspect is deftly handled.
There's more knitting talk in this, in just the perfect amount and it's an eye-opener for knitters who may've led a sheltered life and are eager to learn more.
Most of the characters from book one (though you don't need to read book one to enjoy this) are only briefly mentioned here-which'll make book 3 a treat brecause you won't have had over-exposure to them.

In short, it's no Agatha Christie, but it's far more superior to it's peers, competently written and I can honestly say, I look forward to getting the third installment.
Well worth the lettuce.

5 out of 5 stars

Another cozy mystery. June 10, 2007
10 out of 12 found this review helpful

This is my first book by Mary Kruger. I will be looking for more of her books. It takes place in Massachusetts, during a yarn festival in some drafty old barns. Well written with a twist at the end I wasn't expecting. A good mystery like this one does not have to have gory details to be enjoyable. Like an old black and white movie, it doesn't need to be in color or show all the details of a crime to be good.

4 out of 5 stars

Reap what you sew September 17, 2007
7 out of 9 found this review helpful

Second and hopefully not last book in Kruger's Knitting Series. Ari and her friend Diane are participants in the Freeport Wool and Yarn Festival when suddenly in the middle of a downpour a body literally falls into Ari's arms. And this isn't just any body, this is Felicia Barr, the much disliked owner of Knit it up!, a magazine that could either make or break a knitwear designer.

1 out of 5 stars

So disappointing July 23, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful

So, I like cozy mysteries. I like knitting. What more could I want than a cozy mystery involving knitting?

Turns out, a LOT. Now, I must admit, this is the first book I've read in a long time where I've not caught any spelling or grammar errors. But....

The characters are beyond wooden. You can't tell them apart at all. I literally had to keep flipping back to earlier chapters to keep straight which of the possible Suspects had done what. They were entirely unmemorable. No idea what they looked like, no distinctive speech tags or accents, nothing. Just a bunch of generic women. The only one I remembered was the pink beret.

Second, the 'love' plot is so trite it's unbelievable. I literally cringed as I read it. Thankfully that only took up about two pages before everyone was over it and back to watching ice skating. (Guess he wasn't that great a kisser?)

Third, these cops are apparently morons. Now, I'm no cop, but I've read the odd criminal justice textbook in my day. Heck, if you even watched Law & Order (pick your flavor thereof) you'd know more about police procedure than Ms. Kruger does. As the mystery unfolds, turned entirely into the competent (?) hands of a yarn store owner (hey, she's miles brighter than the fuzz here), it would be ENTIRELY impossible to prosecute in court. But these cops don't know what they're doing, so they'll just hide behind rafters and let our Ari have her Hercule Poirot moment.

Fourth, the dialogue. When I teach, the textbook and I both hammer home the idea that people generally don't go up to strangers and spill their life story. Especially when that stranger is accusing them of murder. When the dialogue isn't completely banal, it's info dumps, such as "Do you know what 'suicide by cop' is?" (No, please tell me....is the upshot of her reply. Which he does, for about three pages. And this, by the way, is the flirtation scene.)

As for plot, well, at the risk of being a spoiler, just pay attention to who never speaks and never gets mentioned. Ding ding ding! Crikey. The motivations were weak, there were no real credible red herrings, and frankly, I only finished it because I took a vow with myself back in high school as punishment for not reading Joyce. We have unresolved issues (what about Mr. Barr?) and the 'tension' between the State Police and local never materializes--it would have brought some very-much-needed conflict.

Look, I like knitters, and I like to support knitters whenever and wherever possible. But I can't abide writing this bad. The story wasn't original, the characters were undifferentiated beyond 'types' (the hunky cop, the brusque Chief of Police, the Burbly Best Friend, the Spunky Heroine); it was *boring*. And when two people die and it's *Boring*, someone's doing something wrong.

5 out of 5 stars

a fine and delightful cozy June 11, 2007
3 out of 11 found this review helpful

Ariadne "Ari" Evans, the owner of Adriane's Web, is a vendor in the Freeport Yarn and Wool Festival; a small event in Massachusetts. Thus she is stunned to see Felicia Barr, owner-editor of the prestigious Knit It Up! Magazine, accompanied by her assistant Debbie Petrino attend this minor show. Also there is Beth Morley, Felicia's former assistant who she fired. The two women have a very public argument with threats from both sides and plenty of witnesses.

Although Ari is unafraid of Felicia, most of the vendors fear her because she has the power to destroy their careers; one of them resents her as she blames her for not obtaining a position she coveted due to Felicia's criticism of her designs. When Ari goes for coffee, she finds an even more powerful jolt when she finds a dying Felicia stabbed with a knitting needle. Ari realizes instantly that there are a myriad of suspects with strong motives including the latest heir apparent Debbie. A police detective asks Ari, who has a reputation for solving crimes, to help investigate the homicide as she has a rapport with most of the attendees and knows which questions to ask.

Mary Kruger's exciting second mystery flows smoothly one stitch at a time making it easy for the audience to follow the whodunit investigation. The tale is told by Ari for the most part although others heavily involved in the case give their first person viewpoint too; this enables readers to understand motives as a frustrated crowd of vendors feel fear as they are crushed under the thumb of a power yielder and after her death there are feelings of relief. Thus like Ari the reader has plenty of suspects to choose from. Although why the police would request a civilian amateur sleuth to help them beyond advice on knitting seems a stretch, KNIT FAST, DIE YOUNG is a fine and delightful cozy that will appeal to the audience who prefer no blood and no gore.

Harriet Klausner

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