But first things first. Kelly and Megan are visiting Santa Fe to cheer on their friend Allison at a competition. Allison has just won an internship with a design house in New York City and is going home to pack the next night. When Megan and Kelly arrive to pick her up at the airport, Allison doesn’t answer the door and Megan and Kelly find her dead. The police suspect suicide or an overdose, but neither Megan nor Kelly could imagine why someone as talented and possibly on the brink of success as Alison was, would kill themselves.

Kelly hears stories of an abusive boyfriend, jealous classmates and mentors and begins snooping around on her own. Retired detective, weaving instructor Burt ferries Kelly’s information to the police department The more Kelly learns about Allison’s past, the more she is certain Allison was murdered and she thinks she has just the plan to trap a murderer.

While it does seem unlikely someone with all Allison has going for her would kill themselves, Kelly didn’t know Allison all that well and doesn’t entertain the possibilities that perhaps she was the one stealing designs and was wracked with guilt. Nonetheless, Kelly is very astute and notices details carefully, making her the perfect amateur sleuth.

In this third book in the series, readers are privy to much more insight to Kelly than before as she begins to reveal her dreams about staying in Colorado and building a new life there. Kelly has quickly developed a group of friends who share her interest in knitting and softball, but also allow Kelly’s dreams to become theirs. Kelly has been tentative up to this point in her relationship with Steve, but now she seems more willing to let it go.

There are several good suspects, and while it would be easy to pin the murder on one of them, Kelly is interested in justice being served for Allison. Filled with plenty of knitting and a lot of caffeine (Kelly is a self-admitted addict), A Deadly Yarn continues a terrific series with a heroine who grows more and more likable with each investigation.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry