Review - A Stitch Before Dying by Anne Canadeo

A Black Sheep Knitting Mystery

TITLE:    A Stitch Before Dying
AUTHOR:    Anne Canadeo
INFO:    Paperback, Fiction, 268 pages
PUBLISHED:   Gallery Books, 2011
ISBN#:   978-1-4391-9139-2
HOW I GOT IT:   Received from Publisher for Review

FROM GOODREADS:  Stitching it together . . . The Black Sheep Knitters: a fivesome with a knack for knitting—and for solving crimes.


When Maggie Messina, owner of the Black Sheep Knitting Shop, is invited to give knitting workshops at a Berkshires spa resort, she manages to negotiate a cottage that fits all five of the Black Sheep for what promises to be a weekend of knitting bliss. But while the friends are expert at counting stitches, they haven’t counted on murder.


Guests and staff at the Crystal Lake Inn are as varied as a mixed bag of yarn, but most colorful is certainly the owner, charismatic self-help guru and former psychiatrist Dr. Max Flemming. The doctor may have told all in a revealing autobiography, but from his ex-wife to the widow of his former business partner—both employees at the inn—Max seems mired in shad­ows from his past. And when a killer strikes during a mountaintop retreat, the Black Sheep wonder what the good doctor might be hiding.


The police seem to be following the wrong thread. But while Maggie’s workshops have given the knitters a unique view of the tensions at the little inn, can they make sense of a crime that is as complexly stranded as a Fair Isle sweater? When the killer murders a second time, the Black Sheep won­der if they’ve dropped a stitch and put themselves in mortal danger. . . .


MY TAKE:    Lori at Dollycas's Thoughts is the one to blame for getting me started reading cozy mysteries.  I won a drawing at her lovely blog some time ago and she got me hooked on one of her favorite genres.  So when this book was offered to me for review, I jumped at it.  I am really glad I did.

Anne Canadeo has created a wonderful mix of ladies who populate the group known as "The Black Sheep Knitters".  Each of the women has their own unique personality and their own set of problems.  It was fun to follow the five of them as they trek off to a holistic getaway for the weekend where their fearless leader, Maggie will be teaching some knitting classes.  None of them are prepared for the adventure and mystery that awaits them.

The plot was very well done and I must admit that I didn't have it figured out until close to the end.  I'm usually pretty quick to solve most of the mysteries I read, but the author did a great job of "bait and switch" in this story.  I'd think it was heading one direction and then she'd deftly change the entire trail.  It was fun to try to stay ahead of her!

I highly recommend this story.  It is the third in the series, but is a treat on its own.  I am ordering the first two books shortly as these women are a lot of fun! 

I do want to mention that there are recipes in the back of the book that are DIVINE!  My mouth had been watering while they were talking about I made "Lucy's Very Crummy Fruit Crumble" for the hubby and Dad ~ they ate it ALL!  I got one serving.  Needless to say, it was a hit. 

                

While My Pretty One Knits       Knit, Purl, Die

Out of 5 JEWELS, I give it:

WHERE TO BUY IT:    Amazon, The Book Depository, Powell's Books, IndieBound

~~~~~ Disclaimer:  All opinions expressed on this blog are 100% my own.  I do not receive monetary compensation for my reviews but do utilize affiliate links.  I may receive books in  order to facilitate a review, but this does not guarantee a good review - only a completely honest one.  Each review post denotes how I obtained the book.