Knitter Ellie Krueger and her husband Ben have started a
llama farm in Plum Harbor, having recently moved there from
Boston. They plan a fiber festival to kick off the grand
opening of the Laughing Llama Farm, and the members of the
Black Sheep knitting group decide to attend. Sadly, the
event is cut short when someone discovers that the llama
herd has been shot with a paint gun. Although the paint
itself is mostly harmless, the force of the shots injures
many of the llamas. But when the Black Sheep knitters stay
to help Ellie and Ben clean up and tend to the llamas, they
discover that this prank isn't the first to befall the Kruegers.
Ben is convinced that their next door neighbour Justin is
responsible for the pranks, owing to controversial "open
land" legislation that is pending in the area. Justin could
profit quite a bit should the Krueger's move out and he buy
the property. But before they can prove he is responsible,
Justin is murdered. Unfortunately, Ben becomes the top
suspect in the murder, and Ellie needs as much support as
the rest of the knitters can give her.
As everyone begins to use their collective skills to gently
prod into the mystery as much as possible without
interfering with the official police investigation, they
discover that there are nearly as many motives and suspects
as there colours of yarn. Could the group solve this
mystery before another death occurs and without further
jeopardising their already rocky relationship with the
detective on the case?
The characters in this book are lively and fun, even if
member of the group are prone to fawning over the
intelligence of the most educated member of one of the their
friends. While she has a PhD, the words she uses aren't
worth the over-adulation and don't merit the professed
confusion from her friends. Otherwise, though, the
chemistry amongst the group is dynamic and shows a loyalty
that is to be envied.
The mystery is well-written and contains a twist that I
never saw coming, although I was smugly confident I knew who
the culprit was as soon as the suspect appeared in the book.
My hubris wouldn't let me see any other suspects, although
there were plenty of clues sprinkled cleverly throughout the
rest of the book. I almost exclusively read mysteries and
thrillers so the fact that I got this completely blind-sided
is quite a compliment to Anne Canadeo, and it will
definitely keep me coming back to the series to see what
else the author has up her sleeve!
Ellie and Ben Krueger arrived in Plum Harbor eager to live
out their dream—tending a herd of gentle, friendly
llamas for fun and profit, on a farm just beyond the
village. Their grand opening fiber festival kicks off on a
bright note but abruptly ends in malicious mayhem. Knitting
shop owner Maggie Messina and her friends soon learn that
this is not the first time a vicious visitor has called.
The Kruegers suspect that Justin Ridley, their eccentric
neighbor, is the troublemaker. A misfit and loner, he's
known to roam the woods all night, though no one knows for
sure what he's hunting. Then there's Angelica
Rossi—the lovely owner of a rival fiber
farm—who's been as busy as a spider, spinning
spiteful lies about the Kruegers' yarns. Or, are the naïve
newcomers merely caught in the tangle of Plum Harbor
politics, and an intense land protection debate?
Suddenly, vandalism turns to murder—and the Kruegers'
dream descends into a nightmare. The Black Sheep knitters
must pull the threads together and uncover this crafty
menace . . . before more lives—and more llamas—
are lost.
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