I picked this book up off the library's sale shelf because it was a cozy mystery. I've not read any other books in this series. I was aware that this probably wasn't the first one in the series.

I usually like to figure out how the book title fits in to the story--in this case, I'm guessing the title is a play on "only skin deep" using skein because of the connection to knitting.

I was quite disappointed in this book.

Though it does say that Kelly and Steve are girlfriend/boyfriend in the book blurb, I must have missed that because I was quite surprised to find that they weren't married but were having a baby together. (I'm not sure if the previous issue with Steve proposing and Kelly declining and them breaking up was covered in a previous book in the series or not.)

There is information repeated over and over: Kelly's 9 months pregnant; the baby hasn't dropped yet; she's fine and fat; she's seeing her OB weekly; Kelly's friend Lisa is also pregnant but having morning sickness; Kelly carries a fabric bag.

Early on in the book I thought Kelly lived very near the knitting shop/cafe (like across the street or next door near). But later in the book, she claims the knitting shop is closer to the hospital than the house.

Kelly does a lot of sitting in this book. Sitting in the cafe, sitting in the yarn shop. About the only good thing I can say is that she does pass on what she learns to Burt who passes it on to the police (Dan) which is a welcome change from most of the amateur sleuths who make silly choices and try to take on the murderer on their own. ( )

This one was just...bad. And I don't say that lightly. Having enjoyed the first half of Maggie Sefton's amazing series, I was disappointed to see it go downhill. This book was repetitive and boring with no plot and a bunch of drama. Also, no description of yarn, which made this series so interesting in the beginning. ( )

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. ( )

Only Skein Deep in the fifteenth book in The Knitting Mystery series.

This book is light on a mystery, but that is all right as Kelly is 9 months pregnant and is definitely looking forward to the day when Baby Jack will make his appearance. The mystery centers around the death of Giselle Callahan, whose body is found on the golf course that abuts the property of House of Lambspun.
William Callahan had divorced his wife of 40 some years, to marry his trophy wife. Kelly has sworn off investigating and the staff of House of Lambspun is keeping their eyes on her to make sure does. But that doesn’t mean that she can’t talk to her fellow knitters and relay that information thru Burt at Lambspun to the police.

The lack of sleuthing by Kelly was all right with me as it gave Ms. Sefton a chance to review and bring the readers up to date with the friends and employees at House of Lambspun.

Knitting pattern and a delicious recipe are also included in the book.

I looking forward to reading the next book in the 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. ( )