Knit to be Tied by Maggie Sefton is the fourteenth book in the Knitting Mystery series. Kelly Flynn is an freelance accountant in Fort Connor, Colorado. Kelly lives with her boyfriend, Steve and her dog, Carl. House of Lambspun is the yarn shop (plus much more) across the street. Kelly is over at the yarn shop when the group is introduced to Nancy Marsted by Lisa Gerrard. Nancy is a graduate student who is pregnant and her boyfriend has just dumped her. Thanks to the boyfriend, Neil leaving, Nancy has had to move in with her father, Felix. Nancy would like to learn to make some baby items. The group happily welcomes her and assists her. Soon, though, Neil ends up dead the result of a hit-and-run accident and Greg Carruthers (a member of their group) ends up inured. Kelly and the gang set out to solve the mystery (in between softball games) and find the driver of the car. It turns out that the suspect list is longer than they thought (Neil Smith was not a nice guy). Pete and Jennifer have been guardians of Cassie for the last two years. Her mother, Tanya, has returned and wishes to have visits with her. They reluctantly allow her visits, but then an incident happens. The two quickly apply for custody to keep Cassie safe. What will be the outcome of the custody hearing?

The Knitting Mystery series is the third cozy mystery series I discovered many years ago (when there were few cozy mysteries). I have read every book in the series, and I was so excited when I got an ARC of Knit to be Tied. Knit to be Tied is an easy book to read (easy breezy), and it is nicely written. We get to reacquaint ourselves with familiar characters that we have come to love and get lovely descriptions of yarn (they all sounded gorgeous). However, this book is more like the life of Kelly and friends (they are like one big family) than a mystery (especially during the first half of the book). There is a mystery (as you read above), but it takes place later in the book and it is not the primary focus of the novel (and a child could solve it). The epilogue was sweet and wonderfully romantic (I loved it). I just anticipated and wanted more. This book is not what I have come to expect from Maggie Sefton. I give Knit to be Tied 3.5 out of 5 stars. Will it stop me from reading new books to the series? Definitely not. I like the series too much. Knit To Be Tied is really not a stand-alone novel (not this far into the series). You really need to read the first book in the series (at least) to enjoy Knit To Be Tied (though I recommend all the prior books in A Knitting Mystery series).

I received a complimentary copy of the novel in exchange for an honest evaluation of the novel. I will always provide a forthright review whether I paid for the novel or received it at no charge. ( )