Mary KrugerCríticas

Although I did love the means of murder (a knitting needle), the characters werren’t very engaging. By the end of the novel, I still wasn’t sure who was whom. Not my favorite knitting mystery series!

I like this series and the characters, unfortunately there's only two books. This time Ari is at knitting and yarn fair when the publisher of a knitting magazine stumbles into her and dies from a knitting needle stabbed into her back. Ari wants to play it safe and not be involved but she has knowledge that the police don't have and agrees to help with the investigation while starting a relationship with the detective, Josh and juggling her ex-husband's, friends and mother's questions about her private life.½

Fun fast read. Women with a yarn shop goes to work and finds the body of a friend/customer on the floor. Enter eligible detective who takes an interest in her while she plays Nancy Drew. Everyone, including Ari's ex-husband the boring tax-lawyer, tells her that the cop got the "hots" for her but she insists that's not true. Meanwhile, Ari sizes up the suspects(who are all friends or customers) and not recognizing the danger.½

Edith Perry is found dead on the floor of Ariadne’s Web, a small yarn shop owned by Ariadne Evans. Diane’s homespun purple yarn is wrapped around her neck. Ariadne, who has been going through a divorce and worrying about her daughter, feels she must start investigating when she seems to be under the suspicion of detective Joshua Pierce. Or is she?

While a cute little cozy, this book was nothing special. I would have liked more engaging characters. I enjoyed the “talk” of yarn and sweater projects, but the patterns provided at the end were dull. The author admits that she is not a knitting designer and that shows.

Enjoyable cozy mystery set around knitters and yarn crafters. Felicia Barr, owner of Knit It Up! Magazine, is murdered at a yarn fair. She stumbles into Ariadne as she dies. Ariadne can talk to the yarn people in a way the police cannot. She is warned not to get involved but who has more experience with these crafters?

I enjoyed this book. I liked the characters. The mystery was believable. I figured out the motive but not the who. I was surprised when it came out. I liked that Ariadne was plain spoken and that Josh may now begin to romance her.

A fun quick read

Really liked this book, even though I figured out whodunit fairly early on. Very light read, hard to put down.

There was "inside dirt" on running a specialty yarn store and some detail on creating yarn from the sheep up. There was also some semi-heavy-handed "commentary" on pattern copyright and internet usage. The "free patterns" included in the back weren't anything to write home about, but there were interesting knitting-related passages throughout the book.

I could have completely done without the main character's family - ex is a loudmouthed controlling ass, mother/aunt are irritating butt-inskys, the child is glossed over unless it can create angst for the mother/main character (and nothing really gets resolved with the child).

All that and I still liked the book a whole lot. I'll be looking for the next one in the series right away!

It's OK as far as a mystery goes and the author does know her knitting so that helps.

Police Detective Matt and wealthy socialite Brooke are married and on their honeymoon aboard a cruise ship out of NY going to Southampton. While taking a stroll around the deck, they hear man go overboard. The captain asks Matt to investigate and Brooke urges him to do so thinking she'll help him with his inquiries. Lots of petty bickering between them before the case is solved.½

Police detective and society young woman solve the murders of several of Newport's maids in a very Upstairs/Downstairs class distinction mystery. Not quite as good as Victoria Thompson's Gaslight series but a nice little mystery set in the Gilded Age of 1896.

I enjoyed the first book in this series when I read it several years ago (even though I figured out who the murderer was before the end of the book), and was really looking forward to reading this one. Unfortunately, part of the appeal of the last book was that it was set in the knitting shop owned by Ari, the main character. This book was set at a knitting festival and it just didn't pull me in. I got tired of Ari's partner, Diane, sniping at Ari. Then a major event happened about three-quarters of the way through the book, but it wasn't mentioned again for awhile because the next chapter focused on the relationship between Josh, the policeman, and Ari. I think this book lost a star just because of this exchange: "Where's Barn C?" "Between Barn B and Barn D." Duh!

There are (so far) only two books in the series. Maybe that's because at the end of this book, Ari promises Josh "no more murders."

A pleasant and typical mystery of the 'amateur + professional' genre, with a little romance thrown in. It takes place in Freeport. MA, so it also qualifies as a small-town mystery, and since it has to do with a knitting shop, I suppose that makes it a cozy too!

Not the best knitting mystery out there, to say the least. The dialogue in particular was rather painful, very unrealistic and laden with bad puns (and I normally really enjoy horrendous puns -- these ones are just BAD bad and not funny bad). Also the plot was a typical eye-roll-inducing cozy plot, with an unexpected detective taking on an investigation instead of leaving it to the police, and all the characters being absurdly willing to help (and if she's so busy running a yarn store, where does she find the time to solve mysteries?). The narrator's voice was also very irritating. I read this only because Julia had read it and said it was so bad that I had to read it for myself. I wouldn't recommend inflicting this on yourself unless you REALLY enjoy knitting mysteries or you have absolutely nothing else to read.

The last thing knitting store owner Ariadne Evans expects to find when she opens her store one morning is a dead body - strangled to death with yarn from her shop. The police have plenty of suspects and Ari thinks they'll solve the case soon but she is none too happy when suspicion quickly falls on close friends of hers. Ari knows they are innocent but she needs to convince Detective Joshua Pierce that he needs to look elsewhere for the murderer. Soon Ari is heavily involved in investigating the murder - but as she gets closer to the truth she herself may be in real danger.

"Died in the Wool" is an okay first book in a new cozy mystery series by Mary Kruger. While Kruger does follow some traditional cozy mystery "rules" - notably a police detective as a potential love interest - she does shake things up a bit. The book is written in the third person, not the first, and from the viewpoints of both Ari and Joshua - a unique device that works most of the time. While having a mystery set in a yarn store is also a familiar cozy mystery device, Kruger again takes it up a notch with the addition of hand made yarn and the work that goes into it. The characters - Ari, her friend Diane, her Aunt Laura, Josh -are all well done (although Laura comes close to being a cliché). For the most part the mystery is well written with plenty of suspects and red herrings. However, the mystery does have some moments where plot turns are awkwardly written and a second murder is telegraphed way ahead of time. Finally, while the identity of the killer will come as a surprise to most readers, the motive for the murders is totally unbelievable.

"Died in the Wool" is an okay mystery and I suspect subsequent books in the series will be better as Kruger gets a real feel for her characters and setting.

Ariadne Evans owns Ariadne's Web, a knitting shop in the fictional town of Freeport in Bristol County, Massachusetts. One morning she discovers the body of a woman (Edith) who enjoyed browsing but rarely purchased any of her designs although she could afford them. Detective Josh Pierce is called in to investigate. Suspicion immediately falls to Ariadne and her closest friend's families. Of course Edith was not well-liked by most people in the town so suspects really do abound. Ariadne and Josh find themselves attracted to one another. The solution to the case was fairly obvious to me fairly early. I found many of the actions of the characters, particularly of the investigating officer, to be out of character and rather implausible. I also find it difficult to believe that even when this book came out in 2005 that dial-up Internet would still be in use by a shop owner (who is launching a web site for her business) at home and work. Broadband and DSL connections were in widespread use at that time. I will not be going out of my way to find future installments in this series.½

Knitting has come a long way since the days when it was associated with gentile grannies in rocking chairs. Yes, knitting can still be quiet and meditative. But it can also be wild, creative, sensuous, earthy. In Mary Kruger’s "Knit Fast, Die Young," the knitting is as tedious as the murder at the center of this knitting-themed mystery. Felicia Barr---the glamorous and infamously cruel editor of an influential magazine---a sort of Anna Wintour of the knitting set---is stabbed in the back with a knitting needle at a small-town wool festival. The police round up their suspects, including local yarn store owner Ariadne Evans, who had the misfortune of being the lone witness to Felicia‘s momento mori. Ari’s innocence is never in doubt---by the police or the reader---nor is she ever in any real danger. Indeed, it’s a rather forgone conclusion that Ari will solve the mystery through her knitting knowledge and all will end well---including her budding romance with Detective Josh Pierce. In the meantime, the lack of character development, absence of suspension or stakes, and plodding plot leave the reader counting stitches in time until the inevitable reveal (which admittedly does include an unexpected twist). Kruger would have done well to have frogged* this tale back to the beginning.

*In knitting parlance, to “frog” something is to rip it apart, usually because of a fatal error.

Newport, Rhode Island 1895. Three maids have been murdered along the Cliff Walk path but when another women is killed, a socialite wearing a maid's uniform, the wealthy residents are up in arms. Matt Devlin is the detective assigned to the case. He does not like the wealthy residents of Newport and they won't talk to him. Brooke Cassidy is one of the residents that will talk to Matt. Her father used to be a cop but when he and Brooke's mother died, she went to live with her wealthy aunt an uncle. Now Brooke is part of the world that Matt deplores. But he needs her help if he is going to solve this mystery.

my review:
I enjoyed Kruger's knitting mysteries and was excited to find that she had another series. While I liked the plot and her characters, I found that the setting left something to be desired. Despite the fact that it takes place in Newport 1895, it could have been anywhere at anytime for all the detail that other gives. Other than a couple references to horse and buggies, the author really dropped the ball on atmosphere and description which are important in any novel, especially a cozy mystery where the plot isn't usually brilliant.
I was disappointed and most likely won't read the next in this series. I hope Kruger write another knitting mystery. Those were wonderful.

my rating 2.5/5½

Ariadne's Web is the setting of this cozy mystery which is cleverly woven around the owner of a knitting shop where a dead body is found one bright fall morning. At first, Ariadne Evans, the owner, is the chief suspect, but after getting an alibi for her, Detective Josh Pierce instead enlists her help in solving the crime since it appears that knitting has something to do with the crime and he doesn't know the difference between a cable stitch and purling.

Ari and Josh are drawn to each other but profess that they are just working on the investigation. This light-hearted "romance" is used to gather information while throwing the murderer off track. The clues that are presented are ingeniously threaded throughout and unless you are carefully tracking all the hints, you will be surprised at the ending.

This is one of the better cozy mysteries that I have read recently because it all seem to be more realistic since Ari doesn't go out to question everyone about what they did and what they saw. It was more using her own intelligence to figure out what actually happened and why. I definitely will be looking for the next one, hopefully soon!½

One of my favorite cozy mystery theme is knitting mysteries. And Died in the Wool is one of my favorite cozies of all.

Ariadne Evans is the owner of Ariadne's Web, a successful knitting shop. Cranky Edith Perry is a difficult customer and not beloved in their Massachusetts town. But then she is found dead; strangled in some homespun wool. Edith was about to buy the building that housed Ariadne's Web and raise the rent on Ariadne's shop and that makes Ari a prime suspect, at least according detective Joshua Pierce.

my review: Though this follows the usual cozy mystery formula, it does so with a nice amount of humor and plenty of interesting characters: her Aunt Laura, ex-husband Ted, their seven year old daughter, Megan, her friend Diane and her husband Joe, part-time employees Kaitlin and Summer, Edith's son, and the usual small-towners to keep you guessing to the end as to the real killer. The story is from the point of view of Ari and Joshua, which makes it different from the usual cozy. While formulaic, it stands above others that I have read as it is better written and engaging. This comes with a few basic knitting patterns but nothing really interesting. But it makes me want to knit!

I definitely recommend this for cozy fans. I also recommend her next book, Knit Fast, Die Young

my rating 4/5

A nice bit of fluff. The story is largely nonsense, but the characterization - of the heros and the villains - is beautifully done and perfectly consistent throughout (after Border Lord, that's _such_ a relief). A nice twist on the 'oops, she's compromised' Regency. I like both Serena and Charles - nice people with interesting depths. I think I've enjoyed other Regencies by Kingsley, too - just a bit of research makes a big difference. Though I don't think Joaquim is all that easy to pronounce…

I enjoyed this first in a series and look forward to future volumes.

When Ariadne Evans enters her yarn shop one morning and discovers the
body of elderly Edith Perry strangled with homespun yarn, her own life
changes forever. Of course, she's a prime suspect herself, but then,
nearly everybody in town had reason to dislike the miserly old gal, and
a few downright hated her. It doesn't make it any easier when she's
questioned by the new police detective, Josh Pierce, who may or may not
have designs on her. Eager to clear herself and her best friend, Diane,
she discovers there are a few more things that tie her to the victim,
and there's a lot more to this than she ever knew. Staying a step ahead
of Detective Pierce, Ari realizes that if she doesn't untangle this mess
pretty soon, she's apt to be the next victim.

This is the beginning of another cozy series and comes out of the gate
with good strong characters and complicated mystery. Both Ari and I
were a bit surprised at the final outcome, I think. I'll be
reading more in this series.½