10.07.2009

For those of you who like to learn a skill while you read...

Did you know there is actually a market for mysteries revolving around knitting? And needlework? And crocheting? And scrapbooking? Well, now you know. Each of these below is part of a series.



From Amazon: When Angelina's body washes up in the cove, Izzy and her knitting group vow to discover who hated Angelina enough to want the woman dead. A knitting pattern for a scarf rounds out a cozy many will find an ideal beach read.

Dyer Consequences (A Knitting Mystery)

From Amazon: Readers may guess early on who’s responsible for the mayhem, but, happily, the why unwinds more slowly. Knitters will welcome the pattern for the same cloche hat that Kelly is knitting, and a recipe for pecan pie goes down easy, too.

Unraveled Sleeve (Needlecraft Mystery)


From Amazon: And when she dreams of a murder before it happens, she really isn't going to get any rest until she untangles the crime.
By Hook or by Crook (Crochet Mystery Series #3)

From BN.com: Meet the happy crafter who believes every mystery should be unraveled.

Death Swatch: A Scrapbooking Mystery (Scrapbooking Mysteries)
From Amazon: Well-developed main and secondary characters mesh nicely with the vibrant setting and with details on the design of scrapbook pages.

Now I'm not knocking these as hobbies -- I have actually knitted quite a few scarves in my time (and potholders, and anything else rectangular). But it never occurred to me to seek out knitting mysteries. I wonder if there's crochet sci fi? "As I crocheted the last few stitches to my new space suit, I thought ahead to how the needlework on my cargo captain patch might be designed...."

10 comments:

BFIrrera said...

This is a nice companion to the food mystery books, like Tamar Myers' "Penn Dutch Mystery" series (http://www.tamarmyers.com/novels.htm), which include about 4 to 5 recipes per book (usually revolving around the food involved in the food pun title and the food is usually served in the story by the characters at the Penn Dutch Inn where the mysteries take place).

JamiSings said...

Just cause I promised to get her more readers, Lyndee over at Cover Junkie did a snark on one called Knitting Bones awhile ago. (Right now I'm anxiously awaiting to see if Super Librarian will comment on the latest romance novel cover. LOL)

Anyway, now that I'm done pimping blogs - yeah, there's a ton of these books. Only mysteries there's more of is cooking mysteries. And recently I handled a couple that included not only a crocheting pattern but also a "delicious receipe" inside!

I wonder if there'll ever be novels that also include singing lessons or how to make jewelry.

Alissa Grosso said...

I once (I am not making this up just to be funny) had this idea for a mystery series that would revolve around furniture restoration. Well, chances are someone has already written one of these. Fortunately, I decided to head down a different literary avenue.

BikerPuppy said...

@JamiSings -- the second book in my posting has a pie recipe. :)

JamiSings said...

Biker - you can just call me Jami. I'm Jami and I sing. Therefore - JamiSings.

You know, someone should write a parody series where the main character is an undertaker so there could be a big "With free do it at home embalming instructions inside" and all that fun stuff.

Arvin said...

Wow, that is a sinister knitting cover right there alright.

Btw, for people who like ridiculous advertising, behold my new blog, The Amazing Spider-Ads, featuring the hilarious-est ads from old Marvel comic books from the 1960's to the present.

http://spiderads.blogspot.com (I swear this is my only time spamming)

Ms Avery said...

As a knitter, I'd just like to apologise profoundly. *facepalm*

Also, Death Swatch?

Marla said...

I'm guessing that there are so many millions of mysteries out there that it's hard to come up with anything original - the genre must have been completely saturated decades ago. So sub-sub-genre stories probably attract a new audience.

One reason I've never really enjoyed mysteries is that like cooking shows and workout programs they seem like the same old blah-blah, relying on the personality of the chef/instructor/detective to make them stand out.

Rex Parker said...

As a fan of crime fiction, pardon me while I scream into a pillow.

EVERY genre has been "saturated." Solution is not "Formula + cat" or "Formula + crosswords" or "Formula + knitting." It's "Change The Formula."

I know many knitters, and none of them would sit still for these books, though they might sit still long enough to make fun of their covers. How bored/sad do you have to be to read this @!#$!?

rp

Reesha said...

I know Monica Ferris personally and she had a lot of fun writing that book. I've never read it, but perhaps I will now that it's been brought to my attention again.