Needled to Death

Written by Maggie Sefton

Narrated by Jane Jacobs

Now that she's been knitting up a storm with the help of her new friends at House of Lambspun, Kelly Flynn can't imagine ever leaving Fort Connor, Colorado. But there's trouble in her adopted hometown—and not just with her new sweater project . . .



When Kelly volunteers to take a troop of tourists to visit Vickie Claymore's alpaca farm, she discovers Fort Connor isn't as sedate as it seems. Instead of a warm welcome, they find Vickie splayed out on her original hand-woven rug, her blood seeping into the design . . .



The police jump on the case, but Kelly can't resist doing a little investigation work of her own—even if it means taking a break from the sweater she's been knitting in the round. Because a murderer is lurking in Fort Connor—waiting for the right moment to strike again . . .

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: May 30, 2017
• ISBN: 9781541475311

Maggie Sefton

Maggie Sefton is the New York Times Bestselling author of the Berkley Prime Crime Knitting Mysteries. UNRAVELED, 9th in the series, made the New York Times Bestselling Hardcover Fiction List after its June 2011 release. UNRAVELED was also Barnes & Noble #4 Bestselling Hardcover Mystery. All of the mysteries in the successful series have been Barnes & Noble Top Ten Bestselling Mysteries. Publisher¹s Weekly has said about the series, "Readers will enjoy visiting with Kelly and her knitting buddies, who, in their carefree way, resemble the cast of Friends." Maggie was first published in historical fiction in 1995 with ABILENE GAMBLE, Berkley Jove, under the pen name Margaret Conlan. She had written over a million words of historical romance fiction before she ever wrote the first mystery. DYING TO SELL, with real estate agent sleuth Kate Doyle, was published by Five Star/Tekno Mysteries in 2005. Maggie Sefton was born and raised in Virginia, and she received her bachelor's degree in English literature and journalism from The George Washington University in Washington, DC. Maggie has been a CPA and a real estate agent in the Rocky Mountain West, but finds nothing can match creating worlds on paper. Mother of four grown daughters, Maggie resides in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado with a bossy Border collie and a playful Blue Tick Hound. Website/Blogs:www.maggiesefton.com, www.cozychicksblog.com, www.killercharacters.com. You can also visit Maggie on Facebook.

Reviews for Needled to Death

[sheila1957 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Kelly and Jennifer take a knitting group out to Vickie's farm to see her alpacas. When they get there Kelly finds Vickie dead. The police seem to look at Vickie's estranged husband for the murder. Kelly is not happy with that and starts digging deeper. When Vickie's daughter ends up dead, Vickie knows the police are not looking in the right direction. She figures it out as she is doing the books for the attorneys for Vickie's estate. But how does she prove who murdered Vickie? And who murdered Vickie's daughter? Why?

I enjoyed this story. I have read other stories in this series (out of order.) I like the main cast of characters. Each has their flaws and quirks. They are like old friends to me. This time I did figure it out (alright, so it was the last quarter of the book.) I also figured out the motive although it was circumstantial until the end. I liked the mystery and solution. Kelly is not afraid to ask questions but man, she came close this time. Good thing she had back-up.

I look forward to more of the series.

[melayla-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm finding this series very enjoyable. It took me most of the book to really warm up to the main characters, but that's not a negative for me.

I am a knitter and I understand how irresistible it is to feel all the different yarns, but it's getting a little tiresome hearing it so many times in each book. I find myself skimming through those pages.

I do like how these seem to be real mysteries. Many of these types of series are pretty light on the mystery side (which is okay because that's not the only reason I'm drawn to the genre). But these books have pretty good mysteries.

[drled_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Synopsis: Kelly is enjoying her friends in the knitting circle and is also doing well with her work as a CPA. She is enamored with alpaca yarn and is excited about visiting a working alpaca farm. However, on her first visit to the farm she finds that the owner has been murdered. This leads her to investigating financial affairs and learning more about what it might take to run her own ranch.
Review:This was a very nice cozy mystery. The well-designed story kept me guessing through most of the book.

[librarycin · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3.25 stars

Vickie, an alpaca rancher, is found murdered in her home when Kelly brings a group of fellow knitters by to see Vickie's alpacas. While Kelly is sorting out some personal inheritance business, she also decides to help Vickie's daughter sort out some of her mother's finances, while also finding out more about what happened to Vickie.

I liked it, though I'm not really into knitting so those parts of the book weren't as interesting to me. There are a couple of knitting patterns and a couple of recipes at the end of the book, as well. It was unfortunate I ended up reading it at the same time as listening to a different cozy mystery on audio. It made it a bit tricky to distinguish the two as I switched between them. I am liking the audio one just a bit better than this one, so I couldn't quite give this 3.5 stars (which is likely what the audio one will get), but I thought this deserved more than 3 stars (“ok” in my rating range). For a while, I thought I wouldn't continue this series, but I think I am going to give it another chance and read book 3. We'll see after that.

[kathy89_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I was disappointed in this the 2nd book in the series. Kelley is doing consulting work and enjoying her knitting friends and agrees to help out by driving a group to an alpaca farm in the mountains but when they get there they discover Vickie murdered. Kelley agrees to go over the books to help settle the estate and who killed their friend Vickie. The mystery was thin and there was way to much time and information on alpacas and farm life.

[janetarmentani · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

very good. I almost gave up sleep to finish it.

[drebbles · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Kelly Flynn is staying in Fort Connor, Colorado until she settles the estate of her late aunt and cousin. She was left a great deal of property and it may take months to settle the estate, and Kelly is beginning to think she may never leave. She is doing accounting work from her house, making friends, and enjoying learning how to knit. Since she is learning about different types of wools, she volunteers to take a group of tourists to visit Vickie Caymore's alpaca farm. To her shock, she finds Vickie's body. As the police investigate the murder, Kelly helps Vickie's daughter Debbie settle her financial matters. Debbie is convinced that her stepfather killed her mother because she was in the process of divorcing him, but he swears to Kelly he didn't do it and she begins to believe him. When the murderer strikes again, Kelly realizes she has to do what she can to stop the killer before someone else is killed.

While it had some good points, I found "Needled to Death" to be a disappointing mystery. For the most part, Kelly was a good heroine - still dealing with her aunt's death and trying to decide if she should stay in Colorado or go back to Washington, D.C. I loved her golf ball stealing dog, Carl. Her tentative romance with Steve was sweetly done. Some of the secondary characters such as Debbie, Jayleen, and Burt were well written. But much of the book was unbelievable. Kelly constantly worries about money, wondering whether she can afford to quit her D.C. job and work as a consultant in Colorado, yet she never seems to work instead spending her time knitting with her friends, drinking coffee, or playing softball. And considering the size of the estate her aunt left her, including a ranch in Wyoming with plenty of cattle, the constant fretting about money seemed overdone. The writing is sloppy - having characters named Burt and Curt confused me. As for the mystery itself, while the identity of the murderer may come as a surprise to readers, the second murder is so obviously telegraphed that readers will know which character is doomed long before the murder takes place. The book has some major editing issues - early in the book one of the suspects approaches Kelly at her cottage after she came home from Vickie's funeral, but at the end of the book she says he approached her while she was still at the funeral. That's sloppy writing and editing.

With some good editing and tighter writing "Needled to Death" could have been so much better.

[cyderry · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Kelly Flynn is still in Fort Connor, CO telecommuting to her business office in Washington while she finishes sorting out the estate of her late aunt and her subsequent inheritance. Having made friends with the ladies at the knitting shop across street, these relationships with the different ladies gets her involved in the investigation of the murder of Vickie Claymore, an alpaca rancher in the canyon.

This is a light and fun cozy mystery with just the right amount of knitting and yarn inserted to handle all the tangled clues and characters. Definitely a fun read - going on to the next one!

[bookladychris · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Once again I have enjoyed Maggie Sefton's wonderful series about Kelly Flynn and her friends at the House of Lambspun. Kelly volunteers to take a group of tourists to tour Vickie Claymore's alpaca farm in the mountains above Fort Connor. When they arrive, unfortunately, they find that Vickie had been murdered in her house. Kelly begins investigating along with the police. The sections in the story about Kelly struggling through knitting a sweater in the round were not humorous, but hit close to home for me. I learned quite a bit about alpacas (which I thought were llamas). The book is a real page turner learning more about Vickie (who was quite the business woman) and hoping that she won't give up on the sweater. To make matters worse, Vickie's only daughter arrives and meets with an untimely death as well. I totally encourage anyone who loves mysteries and loves knitting to read this book!!!

[lexxa83 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Loved installment #2 in Maggie Sefton's Knitting Mysteries. I think what I enjoy so much about this series is that it feels like a grown-up version of my much beloved Nancy Drew mysteries. Yes, it is a bit ridiculous that someone manages to die in every book, but I love the characters, setting and the writing. They are certainly a "guilty pleasure" type of read, especially with the fun addition of knitting. If you are looking for a deep murder mystery novel look elsewhere, but if you are looking for a fun series to read over coffee while wrapped in your latest knitted creation, you will certainly enjoy.

[ovistine · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Second in the Maggie Sefton knitting mysteries series, this one follows the death of someone more contemporary to Kelly, which makes it an interesting change of pace. The yarn porn is still definitely at a high!

[brsquilt · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Like this series. This is book 2. Good characters.

[elphaba71 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The second in the Series set around a group of knitting friends. The characters are developing, another good plot, another great little cozy read.

[dreaminginfiction · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The description on the back of the book doesn't even begin to cover this story! There was so much more then just the mystery of who killed Vickie..

Kelly is also inheriting a ranch and the descriptions (and fun) that took place there were written in such a way that you could just picture the cattle, sheep and alpaca roaming around.. And of course there is all that knitting fun! The way the author describes the colors and textures of the yarns still has me dying to "fall down that rabbit hole" into the yarn & knitting wonderland too!

The series is really amazing and gives you a great feeling of sitting down with a group of friends every time you pick up the book.. At first I was thinking that there were way too many characters, but getting into this second book I just don't see how we'd get that feeling of being surrounded by friends without them all! Sure the story could be told with probably half the characters, but it just wouldn't be the same, and I have to say I'm pretty sorry I said that in my first review!!
Can't wait to get to Deadly Yarn!