I enjoy this writer but this was not one of her best. Good story but the mystery was so so.

It was all about her being pregnant. No mystery really and what there was didn't last long . It was just horrible

I regret that this title didn't live up to my expectations fro a Maggie Sefton mystery. The book seemed rather flat because it focused so extensively on Kelly's thoughts and actions. I liked hearing about all the characters that are part of the series, but that didn't add much to the mystery or it's solution. I don't want to give any spoilers so I'll stop there.

I started this book very excited. I love cozy mysteries, and cozies about crafters are my favorite. Unfortunately, this book never got started and I was very disappointed.

Kelly Flynn is 9 months pregnant and enjoying the final days of her pregnancy. I felt like nothing was happening for the entire book. It was slow and boring. The writing was very repetitive. I can't count how many times we had to hear about the baby "playing soccer."

The murder in this book was an afterthought. Something thrown in to justify calling this a mystery. At almost the 25% mark, Kelly reads about a murder in the newspaper. Another good chunk of time passes before she brings up the murder to her friends. Kelly does no real "sleuthing" other than repeating some gossip to the police. This apparently is enough for the police to get a confession and bring down the murderer.

The bulk of the book is the story of Kelly's last two weeks of her pregnancy. It is very repetitive. People asking her the same questions over and over. The only people I think would enjoy this books are fans of the series who want to see how Kelly and friends are doing. This is definitely not a book for people looking for a cozy mystery.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC of this book.
I do not know where Maggie Sefton has gone......someone must have stolen her. This book in no way resembles the early books in this series. I initially started reading because this series is about knitting and set in my town, at my local yarn store. It was fun to recognize places and people and it was all very familiar and comfortable. While mindless cozy mysteries, there were mysteries and many interesting people. I thought perhaps the ARC was an early draft and that it would perhaps be fixed before it was published. Not so. All I can say is "don't bother". The book is repetitively about pregnancy with very little mystery. So sorry. It used to be a fun readable series.

Only Skein Deep by Maggie Sefton is the fifteenth book in A Knitting Mystery series. It is May in Fort Connor, Colorado and everyone is anxiously awaiting the birth of Kelly and Steve’s son. Kelly is nine months pregnant and desperately misses coffee. Kelly is waiting out the arrival of her son by working on her client’s account, spending time with friends, watching Cassie’s games, and knitting a baby hat. One day Kelly arrives at House of Lambspun to find out that a body was discovered on the golf course. The victim turns out to be Giselle Callahan, the second wife of William Callahan. William, president of a local sports equipment company, had divorced his first wife, Meredith after a forty-year marriage. Meredith was so distressed by the divorce that ended up committing suicide. The investigation uncovers that Giselle was murdered. Kelly wonders who wanted Giselle dead, but she is unable to contribute much to the investigation in her current state. Curt and Jolene feel it is time for Kelly to make an honest man of Steve and they organize a wedding. The members of the Lambspun family come together for the wedding that they have been waiting years to witness. Will baby jack wait until after the wedding to make his arrival? Who killed Giselle Callahan?

Only Skein Deep is nicely written, has a good pace and is easy to read. It has been ten years since Kelly came to Fort Connor, Colorado. Only Skein Deep summarizes why Kelly came to the town and what has happened since her arrival. Readers get to hear how baby Jack is playing soccer in Kelly’s stomach (more than once in every chapter), the various sporting events the group participates in, the status of Kelly’s knitting project, how Kelly cannot have her normal coffee (in each and every chapter), Cassie’s final exams, food descriptions, the history of Fort Connor, Carl chasing the squirrel and the gorgeous yarn in House of Lambspun. If you have not read the previous books in A Knitting Mystery series, you should not start with Only Skein Deep. I recommend beginning with Knit One, Kill Two. I give Only Skein Deep 3 out of 5 stars. The mystery is so far in the background in this book that it is practically non-existent. It is discussed, but not investigated (everyone is too focused on Kelly’s pregnancy). The killer’s identity can be discerned early in the novel. No clues are needed to solve this one. It was nice to catch up with the characters, but I wanted more. I have read every book in A Knitting Mystery series, and this is the first one to disappoint me. Only Skein Deep needed a complex whodunit and less focus on Kelly’s pregnancy (I quickly tired of the many references to the baby playing soccer in her stomach). Only Skein Deep felt like it was written by someone else (or the author phoned in this one). It was disappointing to find out that Jolene and Curt as well as Greg and Lisa were married (done secretly and kept quiet). It felt wrong and out of place with this group of characters (they share everything). Only Skein Deep felt like the author was wrapping up the series and, after reading it, it should be the last one.

Kelly is in the last stages of pregnancy with baby Jack so she's trying to get her work in order before he arrives. When the young wife of a prominent older businessman is found murdered on the local golf course Kelly would love to investigate but in her condition she is limited in how she can help. Not to be deterred by pregnancy she asks around about those closest to the family and who might have had issue with the young woman. The few suspects that the police are looking at all have alibis and it looks like the leads are few and far between. Kelly wonders if the case will go unsolved but does her best to relay as much information that she comes across to the local police. She may have to investigate from the sidelines but she wants to help as much as she can without putting herself in danger. Will the case go unsolved? Jump in and find out the answer to that question and see whether or not baby Jack arrives. You'll definitely enjoy how easy the characters are to get to know and want to continue learn more about them!!!

I have loved this series for long time. I looked forward to reading Only Skein Deep, and visiting Colorado and the knitting group again. This book was really light on the mystery and heavy on the characters. I love all the characters and have enjoyed reading about how their lives have changed. In the beginning of the book I really got tired of everyone asking Kelly how her pregnancy was going and the answer she gave every time about the baby being a soccer player. Cute the first few times then got annoying. There was a few great twist with characters and the mystery did finally get good and the ending took me by surprise. I would recommend this book to lovers of this series, but if you haven't read any of the great books in the series I would say start from the beginning and you will like this book when you get to it in the series.

Pregnancy slows Kelly down but doesn’t stop her from wondering and asking questions in Only Skein Deep. The lack of active investigation makes this book far more “cozy” than “mystery,” but fans will enjoy spending time with Kelly and the Lambspun gang as they wait for the birth of baby Jack—and wonder who murdered a woman on the golf course.

The golf-course murder certainly has a place in the yarn shop conversation, but it’s not the focus of the book or the characters. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, is focused on the impending birth of Kelly and Steve’s baby. It’s the main topic of conversation and the first thing anyone says to Kelly. (If you find that a little annoying as a reader, imagine what it’s like to be an expectant mom in her ninth month, because the author isn’t exaggerating. When I was pregnant (decades ago), some form of “How are you doing” or “When are you due” was always the first thing out of anyone’s mouth when I encountered them. . . usually followed by reams of advice.)

Once those conversations are out of the way, though, the talk often turns to the murder, as various regulars and newcomers to the shop share what they know (aka, gossip!) about the death, the victim, her marriage, and her husband’s first wife. Unlike most of the mysteries in this series, Kelly neither finds nor views the body, and no one she knows is obviously connected to the murder in any way. While it’s certainly a more realistic scenario than in most cozy mysteries—how many of us stumble across dead bodies or become personally involved in murder cases, after all—it also serves to make the mystery feel distant, rather than urgent and immediate. Kelly’s interest this time is more academic; she’s necessarily on the outskirts of the investigation, and it takes up less than half her attention.

I’ve been a Lambspun regular (in the sense of reading the mysteries) since early in the series, so I enjoyed the chance to spend time with Kelly and her circle of friends, even if the mystery side of things felt a bit skimpy. I liked seeing Kelly and Steve’s relationship on such a solid footing, and the caring and support their friends exhibit toward both of them, especially Kelly. I could have done without several completely unrelated info-dumps, though: conversations in which one or more characters expounded on subjects having nothing to do with the mystery, Kelly’s baby, or knitting. I don’t think everything in a mystery needs to be connected to the mystery or even to the series theme, but to be honest, these scenes felt stilted and suspiciously like filler.

The bottom line? If you’re already a fan, read Only Skein Deep for the community of friends and the warm, comforting ambiance of the Lambspun knitting shop. If you’re new to the series, start with the first book; the early books feature more compelling mysteries, and you’ll get to know Kelly and the gang from the beginning.

I love Maggie Sefton's Knitting mystery series and the newest one comes out June 6th. This is book number 15 and it reads like you are catching up at a visit with old friends. This one is very exciting in that the main focus is really on main character Kelly and her rapidly expanding belly! Her son Jack is about to make his debut and even though Kelly is tying up loose ends with her accounting work and her knitting project she can not help but be interested in the latest unsolved murder mystery just behind her house. It was so enjoyable to read this story and feel like I was "home" visiting friends. This is a comfortable read and I love how Maggie Sefton wove the murder mystery as well as some lovely surprises and twists into Only Skein Deep.

Literally nothing happened in the first quarter of this book. DNF'd.

I have been a fan of this series for some years and have read most of the books at one time. I was looking forward to learning about my friends at Lampspun Knitters. I was sadly disappointed to find the format had changed from a mystery to a novel of family life. The story revolves around pregnancy and babies. Yes, there is a murder but it was secondary and seldom mention in the story. I got extremely tired reading about Baby Jack and his playing soccer. The mention of Carl's actions with the squirrel is found in most of the previous books.
Kelly is near her time to give birth. She and Steve are excited that Baby Jack will soon make an appearance. Her friends are determined that Kelly and Steve will be married before the birth. A small wedding is planned for them. Information about early settlers in Colorado is found. This includes Native Americans. The mystery is the second wife of a major corporate owner is murder on the golf course adjacent to the Lampspun building. No one saw it happen. The solution was easy to figure out.

I have read every single one of the books in this series and I think I'm finally finished. I only made it about 20% through this book. The writing has gotten extremely repetitive. Kelly is constantly repeating the same things over and over again whenever she talks to someone. There are better ways to put that information into a book and Maggie Sefton is just not doing it anymore. These books used to be very interesting but have gotten worse as the series has progressed. The final straw for me was Curt trying to make Kelly get married. This is the 21st century. People don't have to be married to have children "To make it legal". That conversation between Kelly and Curt really turned me off from finishing the book. I don't think I'll be continuing with this series.

I've read every book in this series. I am a cozy mystery lover. Unfortunately, this book really disappointed me. There was so much repetition. We heard the same conversations at least 5 times in a couple of instances. I am not so forgetful that I need a recap of what just happened in a previous chapter. The mystery was really lacking as well. We really had no investment in finding the killer. This book did feel like a series finale with reminiscences to the past. Very disappointing.

Unfortunately this book just was not for me. It took quite a while to finally get to the murder and even then, there wasn't very much discussion or looking into it going on. It felt like the majority of the book was just discussions about Kelly's pregnancy, the Lambspun shop, baby Jack's kicks feeling like he was playing soccer, and drinks that Kelly didn't like. Because of that, I found it really hard to keep my interest in the story and invest myself in the characters. I also wish there had been more talk of knitting. It's something I've taken an interest in lately and was hoping to learn a little more about it through this book.

Sorry to give this a poor review, but it started so slowly that I just didn't spend about time with it. It was repetitive and rather trite.

It was a struggle, but I finally reached the halfway mark. And sorry to say, it's over and out.

Honestly, I don't remember the last book that bored me so much that I couldn't force myself to finish - and it's never happened with a book I received as an advance copy in exchange for a review. Under those circumstances, I feel that it's only fair that I tough it out to the end so I tend to stick with it no matter what.

Not this time - and I'm truly disappointed. This is a cozy mystery, for gosh sake, so I certainly wasn't expecting knock-down, drag-out action. It's also something like the 15th in a series, so my thinking is that somebody must be reading them. Last but hardly least, I was intrigued because I'm a knitting enthusiast (want proof? Come look through the afghans I've got stashed away in a closet - and they're just a fraction of the ones I've given away through the years). This one, the title suggests, weaves around the House of Lambspun, a popular knitting shop in Colorado - with the lure of a golf-course murder of a filthy rich old guy's trophy wife. Okay, said I, count me in.

The murder, though, didn't even happen until a quarter of the way through the book - and precious little discussion of it had ensued by the time I hit 50% mark. The rest? Nothing but endless, excruciatingly repetitive conversations involving a very pregnant Kelly Flynn and her group of friends. I lost count of the times someone pointed out that Kelly is nine months pregnant but the baby - to be named Jack after her late father - hasn't yet "dropped," that he's playing soccer in utero, that he weighs 6 pounds and could come at any time, that Kelly hates having to drink weak black coffee, that her carrying bag is made of fabric, or that she escaped morning sickness but her also-pregnant friend is suffering with it. When I was treated to a lengthy explanation (more than once, of course) of how lucky Kelly is that she's in such good hands because her obstetrician has scheduled check-up appointments every week now, I really lost it. Weekly check-ups for the last month - sometimes two - was standard practice back when I was pregnant with my first child more than 50 years ago.

Supposedly, there are "delicious" recipes and a knitting pattern included, but I'm not all that interested in cooking now that there are just the two of us. And based on what I've been reading, my bet is that the pattern is for that tiny baby hat Kelly spent half the book working on. I've got zero interest in that as well, so neither was enough of an incentive to keep going.

I do, however, feel compelled to mention that at the 36% mark, Baby Jack had in fact dropped. Ironically, that happened just about the time I decided to do the same to the book.