A Stitch Before Dying

This is light and fun cozy mystery. I find it very interesting how murder can be described as fun and light but this genre had totally done that. I have enjoyed the other books in the Black Sheep Knitting Mystery series because they are written well. Even with a rather large character list, the mystery is still tight and woven fluidly throughout the story. I totally guessed wrong as to who the murderer was and I was quite pleased about it. It's never fun when you guess it too early.

What I liked best about the story was the details. I really like stories that take place in spa resorts because they are always very soothing and peaceful for me. However most books, especially mysteries, tend to skim over the description of the resort and show more its activities in order to get the other parts of action. In this book however, Canadeo allows the reader to enjoy massages, wraps, facials, and other treatments with the characters. Even after the murders, in order to calm themselves down, they still have time to pamper themselves. In turn, it made me like the story better and enjoy it even more.

The only small thing that bugged me was Lucy's passive aggressive behavior towards her boyfriend. She is mad at him for not doing something that he has no idea about. She never told him about the murders that happened on the trip yet she's angry at him for not calling to ask if she's ok. Even being called out on it doesn't change her attitude. Then it drives me nuts when she gets home and she STILL doesn't tell him how she really feels but continues to get angry and irritated at him. It's eventually resolved but I'm still iffy about someone dating someone when the divorce isn't finalized yet. Her whole attitude really annoyed me.

Knitting fans will probably enjoy this book as there is quite a bit of knitting talk in the story. There's not too much that non knitters will get bored but just enough to drum up interest. I'm hoping there will be more books in this fun series. While this is the third book in the series, it can be read completely as a standalone. show less

I am a huge fan of cozy mysteries, and "A Stitch Before Dying" hooked me from the first pages, with a great story that kept me guessing who the killer might be.

The Black Sheep Knitting Shop is where the five members of The Black Sheep Knitters meet. The group consists of Maggie Messina, the shop owner, and Lucy, Suzanne, Dana and Phoebe. While there love of knitting is what drew them together, they have become great friends, and they use their weekly meetings to knit, gossip and share their lives in general.
When Maggie is invited by her old friend Nadine to teach a few knitting workshops at the Crystal Lakes Inn, she agrees. The inn is under new ownership, and the owners are New Age, and are having a Creative Spirit Weekend. Part of her show more pay is a guest cottage, so she asks the ladies of Black Sheep to join her for the weekend!
Their weekend of relaxation, quickly turns into much more, when two murders take place can the Black Sheep Ladies figure out who the killer is?

While this is the third installment of the Black Sheep Knitting Mysteries, it can easily be read as a stand alone work. The author adds a neat little meet the knitters page at the beginning of the book that quickly gives you the background you need so you can dive right into the story. The ladies are fun to read about, and their distinct personalities add to the story. An added bonus is a few recipes for readers to try.

A fantastic book for mystery lovers, where you will feel like your visiting old friends. I am anxious for my next visit to the Black Sheep Knitting Shop. show less

A cozy mystery that centers around a knitting group of friends. In this book they are all going on a retreat together to an exclusive spa owned by a famous author. I felt that, for a group of friends, there were a lot of nasty comments between them. The mystery itself was somewhat stereotyped. I won't be looking for the rest of the series.

Releasing just in time to help you wind down from the rush and bustle of the holidays, Gallery Books brings a cozy mystery to us.

This book is number 3 in the Black Sheep Knitting Series, and although I did not read the first two in the series, it was great to find out that I didn't have to, as this book stands perfectly well on it's own (the other two cases are mentioned in passing in the book, but THIS mystery stands alone).

At the very beginning of the book, we are introduced to the 5 ladies of the Black Sheep Knitting group, which is helpful for those of us just now reading this series.

Maggie, the proprietor of the Black Sheep Knitting Shop, has been contacted by an old friend (Nadine) and asked to be a last-minute fill in to teach show more the scheduled knitting shops at the "Creative Spirit Weekend" at Crystal Lake Inn, a resort spa in the Berkshires. She is able to finagle a guest cottage with 2 bedrooms and a pullout couch and invites her friends to join her for the weekend. Sidenote: One of the workshops she is asked to lead is called "Mindful Knitting", a combination of meditation, yoga, and knitting. Sounds pretty Zen-like to me!

Dr. Max, a charismatic holistic practitioner, has appeared on Oprah and is relatively famous and well-off. He runs Crystal Lake and is in the process of attempting to expand and add two more resort spas to his list. Not only will he be staying at the Inn throughout the weekend, he will be holding an investor's meeting on Sunday.

Crystal Lake Inn appears to be "all in the family", as Dr. Max's ex-wife Joy, works there. Nadine, the guest coordinator, is sister to Alice, the hotel manager. The maintenance guy is Brian, Alice's son, whose father was Dr. Max's former business partner. Alice appears to be more than an employee to Dr. Max, and Brian seems to resent Dr. Max's success at the expense of his own father.

During an overnight mountain retreat led by Dr. Max, one of the guests is killed while everyone else is asleep. Why would someone want to kill a seemingly innocuous guest? Was the guest really the intended victim? Is everyone in danger?

Read this book with a cup of hot cocoa, curled up in bed or on the couch. It is the type of mystery that makes you appreciate the friendship of women, and you will look forward to seeing how this mystery winds up. It's like getting two for the price of one: a novel that introduces you to some rather interesting women that you wouldn't mind having in your own social circle, and a nice whodunnit to boot!

(And for you knitters and foodies, the back of the book contains a couple of yummy recipes as well as some knitting ideas!)

QUOTES:

Dana was very proud of her full-breed Maine Coon cat, but Arabelle was clearly crazy. In fact, Arabelle's feline social dysfunction was pretty obvious. To everyone but Dana.

"I can't say that it was fun exactly," Suzanne added. "But if I have to be trapped in a hotel for the weekend with a killer on the prowl, I'd always want to be with you guys." show less

A friend (AC) sent me a number of books from this series.

I enjoyed the idea of a retreat with friends--though I might have chosen a different one if given the choice as this one felt a bit too new-agey for me. However, I can't really fault Maggie for wanting to help out a friend when the original instructor canceled, and I'm glad Maggie thought to include her knitting group friends.

I think I might have liked some of the spa treatments (massage) but not all (seaweed wrap) and I wold have enjoyed the lake and maybe some walking/hiking. Learning to knit might be interesting--I tried learning to crochet and keeping consistent tension in the yarn was difficult. I don't know if it would be easier with 2 needles vs. one crochet hook.

Once again I'm "traveling " with the Black Sheep knitters to another adventure. This time to a mountain retreat with another murder to be solved. An enjoyable series. I'm looking forward to the next book!

This is the third book in the Black Sheep Knitting Mystery Series. But you definately don't need to read the others to enjoy this book. Although there is reference to the other books it doesn't distract fom this one. You will probably want to read the other books though. I, myself have already bought the first in this series to read.

Maggie is the main character but the other members of this knitting club each has their own voice. Maggie is offered a job teaching knitting workshops at a New Age getaway and has asked her fellow friends to come along with her for the weekend. She is to teach such classes as Random Knitting (knitting without a pattern). They also offer spa treatments and other New Age workshops.

One of the programs is a show more trip to the top of the Mountain for an overnight session to see the stars. Lead my the owner Dr. Max Fleming the tranquil retreat turns deadly when one of the participants is found dead in their sleeping module the next day.

There are plenty of people who would like to see Crystal Lake to fail so the suspect list is quite long.

This charming cozy kept me guessing to the very end and I didn't know who did it till the very end.

Great Book!!

I was sent a review copy from Gallery Books. show less