Knit to Kill

By: Anne Canadeo

Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan

The first in a new series spinning off from Anne Canadeo's popular Black Sheep Knitting Mysteries, as four knitting friends and sleuthing heroines take some big steps in their lives.

As their beloved Black Sheep member Lucy Binger prepares to tie the knot, the closely knit group decide they need a weekend to unwind before the big day. Suzanne Cavanaugh has just the spot-her friend Amy lives in a luxury New England community on Osprey Island, renowned for its famous cliff walk and spectacular ocean views, and she would be happy to host the knitters.

Shortly after their arrival, however, the idyllic setting turns into a crime scene. The body of a prominent resident of Osprey Shores is discovered on the rocky coastline below the cliffs and evidence suggests his fatal misstep was no accident.

The well-known victim was not so well liked, it turns out, with many enemies eager to send him into an early-and permanent-retirement. When the investigation focuses on Amy's husband, the knitters step in to untangle the clues.

But with this crafty killer on the edge, the Black Sheep must walk a fine line - and look before they leap to any deadly conclusions.

Story Locale: The books are set in Plum Harbor, Mass. (where the knitting shop is) and the main characters go to the fictional island entitled Osprey Island (reminiscent of Block Island, MA).

©2017 Anne Canadeo (P)2017 Recorded Books

Girls' weekend gone bad

In Knit to Kill by Anne Canadeo, five friends from a knitting club go up the New England coast for a girls’ weekend in advance of Lucy’s upcoming marriage the following weekend. They stay at an expensive vacation home in Maine owned by the Amy and Rob, friends of Suzanne, and Maggie offers to give a special knitting lesson to residents of the posh community in their knitting club at the Mermaid Mansion the first night. But then the group of knitters gets interrupted by a group of men playing poker next door. Dr. Julian Morton is mocking a fellow player, Derek Pullman, for losing over $10,000 to the doctor, and Derek accuses Dr. Morton of having cheated, turning over the poker table as he storms out uttering threats.

The next morning, Lucy joins Maggie in attending a yoga class at the Mermaid Mansion, but the group is disrupted by the sounds of sirens as a line of police cars and an ambulance drives up the road. Before long, they learn that Dr. Morton has fallen off the cliff and died, but when a police officer questions the group of women staying at the house, they learn that his death is considered suspicious. The women decide not to get involved in the case, but when Rob becomes the chief suspect, they determine to help prove his innocence.

Knit to Kill was an enjoyable book, but I wish the first eight were on audio, as this is book nine, leaving me with some gaps in knowing the characters. I found it confusing, especially in the first half of the book, to keep straight the five women in the excursion group. Once I became able to keep the characters straight for the most part, the story became more interesting to me. I liked the way the women don’t insert themselves into the mystery but rather the way that they get involved because of circumstances that drag them into the case.

Alyssa Bresnahan performs the audio edition of this book, using excellent pacing to match the mood of the book. I would have liked more distinction among the voices of the characters, in particular the five women who go to the bachelorette weekend. But overall, I appreciated the quality of her narration.

I enjoyed listening to Knit to Kill. It was a pleasurable book without being intense. I found the denouement to be less than dramatic, a little bit of a let- down. I give this book four stars.

3 stars

This is an ok story but I don't like this group of women. I doubt I'll get the next one.

Knit to Kill

Very loving of misguided. A!! done with good intensions. A few surprises. Well written with A lot of heart.

not my genre

I must confess that I read this as part of my library's summer reading program: a book from a genre you don't usually read.

There's a reason I don't read this type of book. I keep trying these "cozy" mysteries, and feel anything but cozy. I do not want to hang out with these women. I struggle with trite conversations and lines like "The [champagne] tickled her nose." How original. Ridiculous lines like "That bird is a very clever resourceful builder; I'll bet she'll make a great mother." Heart-racing action scenes where one friend "rinsed her yogurt bowl and set it in the dishwasher." Yawn.

There are so many cookies, waffles, iced teas, pretty alcoholic drinks, you'd think this was a cookie murder. There's even a recipe at the end. And then there are the stupid dogs dressed in tux and gown at the wedding. Barf.

Here's one I don't know whether to blame on the writer or the narrator: She always wanted to be "married under a tressle of flowers." Snort.

The narration is pretty good for the parts.