Kelly Flynn and her knitter friends from the House of Lambspun in Fort Connor, Colorado, are busy helping alpaca farmer Jayleen save her alpacas from the raging wildfires that are sweeping across the land. Moving the animals isn't the easiest thing, since racing an unpredictable fire isn't easy and people are also being forced to evacuate. As everyone is loading the alpacas to move them to a safer place, a heated argument breaks out. Connie, a Lambspun staffer, accuses Andrea of stealing Jim, her husband. However, it's well known that Connie has a truculent personality, which made her relationship with Jim a difficult one. Unfortunately, the scene is repeated later as the crew is getting the alpacas settled into their temporary home.

While the wildfires seem like a big enough problem, endangering homes, land, and animals, a bigger problem falls upon the group just a few days later. Andrea's body is found in her home, and Connie becomes the prime suspect. The group can't believe that Connie would have actually killed Andrea, although things look bad since Connie won't talk to anyone except for the detective investigating Andrea's death. Kelly, who has a propensity for getting involved in local murder investigations, just can't help but get involved in this one, as well. Fortunately, Kelly, as always, has the support of local law enforcement.

YARN OVER MURDER by Maggie Sefton is a little darker than most of the books in the Knitting Mystery series due to the wildfire subplot. In fact, while there is no doubt that the wildfires in Colorado are a serious issue, and it is reasonable that Ms. Sefton wanted to integrate that real world issue into her series, the subplot nearly becomes more of a plot than the actual plot. The characters spend most of the book (understandably) being concerned about their homes, their friends' homes, and Jayleen's alpacas, which gives the book a very dark tone. This tone is very unexpected for a cozy and seemed more appropriate for a standard mystery.

The emphasis on the wildfire seems to detract from the mystery in YARN OVER MURDER, as the red herring character could not have been more obvious. Unfortunately, this makes the culprit obvious, as well. As usual, the Lambspun knitters are full of humour, grace, and warmth throughout the book, especially Mimi, the owner of Lambspun. As the series continues, I have especially grown to like the relationship that each of the knitters has with Cassie, a young girl from Denver one of the crew had to take in because Cassie's grandfather (who was raising her) fell ill. Overall, I'm looking forward to the next Knitting Mystery novel being lighter and having a more in-depth plot.

Book Summary

It’s early summer in Fort Connor, Colorado, and a herd of alpacas requires rescuing from a raging wildfire. Kelly Flynn and the House of Lambspun knitters may be able to save the helpless animals, but not the unexpected victim of a cold-blooded murder…

Kelly and her knitting pals were checking out the wares at the annual Wool Market—one of the largest outdoor fiber and animal fairs in Colorado—when news spread about the wildfires raging across the canyon ranches. With temperatures scorching, Kelly receives word that the alpacas of her good friend, Jayleen, are in danger. Working fast, Kelly and her pals hightail the herd to the nearby pasture of one of Jayleen’s friends—rancher Andrea Holt. But their rescue mission is interrupted by a screaming match during which Connie, a longtime employee of House of Lambspun, snaps and accuses Andrea of stealing her husband.

Days later, Andrea is found dead at her ranch—and suspicion immediately falls on Connie. Now Kelly and her friends must untangle this yarn before Connie ends up dangling by a thread…