Dyer Consequences

by: Maggie Sefton

Published by: Berkley Hardcover

Reviewed by Patty Inglish

The fifth installment of The Knitting Mysteries Series in the Colorado Rockies centers on the knitting shop that was CPA Kelly Flynn’s childhood home and on a new college student, Tracy, who volunteers to help with yarn dying classes. A rash of destruction attacks Kelly’s newly purchased alpaca farm, her dog, her car, and her garage; then to a worse degree, the yarn shop and the café behind it. On top of that, Tracy, who had become an employee of the shop, drowns in a tub of extremely hot dye in the basement of House of Lambspun during the night.

Events worsen as increased incidences of vandalism and attacks that are more direct occur on Kelly’s life, and no one can decipher who the perpetrators are, until Kelly latches onto a clue and connects some unexpected foes. She finds Tracy linked to the alpaca farm through a devious boyfriend out to make a “killing” in the real estate market.

Dyer Consequences contains vivid descriptions of the scenery, the Rocky Mountain culture, the yarn shop, the alpaca farm, and the actions of the characters involved in the multiple mysteries that amass in this story. The murder by hot dye is a new brand of homicide and the rash of strange acts of vandalism and attempted murders is intriguing.

The book is advertised as molding the knitting fellowship of Fort Connor into TV’s “Friends,” but it is not quite successful in doing so. In attempting to be more “with it” to the “Friends” generation, the characters seem to lose some depth, a few becoming a bit tedious and unlikable, even slightly crude in comparison with characterizations in the first two books of this series: Knit One, Kill Two and Needled to Death. Still, fans of The Knitting Mysteries Series will particularly appreciate the odd chain of property and personal damages and the manner in which the crime spree comes to an end.

Armchair Interviews says: Dyer Consequences is a good read for fans of the “cozy” mystery genre and readers that enjoy a variety of exciting crimes presented in one crime story.