Knit Fast, Die Young: A Knitting Mystery

I love Mary Kruger's knitting mystery series!! Her plots are so well developed and intertwined with the knitting facts. Her main characters are well developed and interesting. The only problem I have is that-she has to write faster!!!! As soon as I finish one book I want to jump into another!!

Having been to a wool festival in Colorado -- and going to another one in the Fall -- I could imagine the entire setting in my mind ! The characters were "real" and it made me chuckle that they all had their knitting with them (and multiple projects !) -- something another knitter can appreciate. I enjoyed the setting and the story -- and how it was concluded. It was a quick read -- but one that I totally enjoyed !

As an avid knitter and reader, I love reading books that include knitting or fiber related events. I love the wool festival setting of this mystery. Kruger's description of the wool festival rings true, as does her description of designing and the knitting world. I enjoyed the second book in her series, and look forward to the next as well.

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

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.