Libby Beckett is ready for her hometown festival. As the owner of the local knit shop, Y.A.R.N., in Collinstown, Maryland, she has invited a special guest to her store. While the rest of the town is celebrating the See More Than Sea Food Festival, the mayor’s idea for showing people that there is more to Maryland eating than just crabcakes, Libby has come up with an idea of her own. She has set up her Wield More Than Wool weekend, where she focuses on plant-based yarns to showcase how beautiful and versatile they can be.
As part of her weekend celebration, Libby has invited well known fiber artist Julie Wilson to show off her vibrantly dyed yarns. In fact, Libby talked Julie into creating a custom batch of hand-dyed yarn for Libby and her customers, named Riverbank, that she is dyeing in town. She’s also going to do a hands-on class on yarn dyeing for Libby’s customers, and Libby is very excited about it all. Julie is nationally known and Libby getting a custom color from her is quite a triumph. But Libby starts to have some second thoughts when she learns more about her reputation.
Libby knew that Julie had some detractors. Her stand against wool has been spread across the internet, and even the local farmers around Collinstown have joined in. Libby finds herself staring at several sheep as they make their way towards her shop. A few farmers are with them, and they have spray-painted their feelings on the sheep, Wool Is Good. Libby tries to head them off (the sheep as well as the farmers), but they pass by the yarn shop and the police station to get to the Riverside Inn, where Julie is staying.
Libby figures out a way to defuse the situation, by agreeing to show Julie the sheep outside of her hotel window, and the farmers head back home with not too much damage done. However, when a terrible accident occurs while Julie is dyeing her first batch of custom yarn for the shop, Libby worries that her shop’s reputation and the town’s festival will suffer because of what happened.
But when she finds out that is wasn’t an accident at all, Libby has to wonder who hated Julie so much to kill her. Could it have been the sheep farmers? Julie’s sister is a celebrity chef, and she is also in town for the festival. They have argued since they both got to town. Could she have hated her sister enough to kill her? Or did someone kill her to get their hands on her unique recipes, the ones that created the vibrant colors that every knitter wanted? Libby doesn’t want to be the one who investigates, but she does want the answers. Will her search for the truth of Julie’s death put her in danger too?
Knit or Dye Trying is the second book in the Riverbank Knitting Mystery series. Author Allie Pleiter has created characters that are smart and interesting. Libby is the type of amateur detective who understands the danger she’s putting herself in. She knows that her questions could be interfering with the official investigation. But she (carefully) keeps asking those questions anyway, knowing that the sooner the crime is solved, the safer they will all be.
I really loved Knit or Dye Trying. I thought it was small-town sweet, with a charming yarn store and a nearby bakeshop (sounds like heaven to me!), but these are business owners who are also interested in keeping up with the latest trends and are bringing a modern twist to their small town. The mystery has an old-school feel to is, so longtime readers of cozies will find comfort there, but there is also a contemporary feel to these characters, which will appeal to newer readers of murder mysteries.
One of my favorite things about Knit or Dye Trying is how the characters interact. Libby has a potential love interest in mayor (and high school boyfriend) Gavin, but they are in so hurry to move things forward. Gavin has a 14-year-old daughter Jillian, and she is developing a relationship with Libby’s mother that is pure sweetness. Each of the main characters acts with respect and thoughtfulness toward each other, and I really love that. Actually, there is a lot of thoughtfulness throughout this book that I really love. If you’re a yarn person (crocheter here) or you know someone who is a yarn person and a reader, then this is a series not to be missed!
Egalleys for Knit or Dye Trying were provided by Berkley Publishing Group through NetGalley, with many thanks.
