Maggie Messina owns the Black Sheep Knitting Shop, and like
most knitting shops, Black Sheep has a dedicated group of
knitters that make up a regular knitting group. When local
bride-to-be and knitter Rebecca Bailey has to push up her
wedding plans, Maggie volunteers the knitting group to help
out. This seems pretty reasonable until they discover that
Rebecca is not only knitting her own wedding gown, but
shrugs for the bridal party and an outfit for the flower
girl, as well. But they all industriously set to work,
eager to help. The hard work pays off when Rebecca and her
bridal party all march down the aisle in matching knitted
outfits.
But Rebecca and her new husband, Jeremy, don't live happily
ever after. Shortly after the wedding, he is killed in an
explosion at his office (he had to wrap some things up
before the honeymoon). As the Black Sheep knitters comfort
Rebecca and their family, they can't help but wonder if
there's more to this story than meets the eye, especially
after Maggie ends up sitting near Jeremy's family and
overhears some particularly juicy gossip about the woman
Jeremy dated prior to Rebecca.
Despite her best efforts and being warned not to, Maggie
slowly but surely pokes her nose into the investigation.
Maggie is intrigued by the man who used to be Jeremy's
father's partner in the chemical business that exploded --
the same man who is caught burglarizing Rebecca's apartment.
Are Jeremy's death and this burglary related? And what
does it mean when Maggie's car is vandalized? Who is trying
to warn her off?
In the meantime, the rest of the knitters in the group are
dealing with the tragedy in their own ways, each while
coping with their own lives. Lucy has just agreed to let
her boyfriend Matt move in, and she's trying to remember how
to co-habitate with someone. The other women in the group -
most of them either married or divorced - are all too happy
to offer advice.
This was a fabulous mystery, and it kept me guessing. I
thought the red herring character was a bit heavy-handed,
but that may have been on purpose. I actually found myself
wanting to know more about the women in the knitting group
than I did about Maggie, who seemed to be main character.
My main criticism, though, is that this book is set
primarily in a local yarn store, but Ms. Canadeo misused
common knitting terms. For instance, as an experienced
knitter, it took a moment to figure out that she was
referring to "circular needles" (or "circs") when she wrote
about "round needles" (because there actually is such a
things as "square needles").
Maggie Messina, owner of the Black Sheep
Knitting Shop, has volunteered her knitting circle to help a
local bride who is barely holding her wedding plans together
by a thread. With the big day rapidly approaching, perhaps
Rebecca Bailey was a bit ambitious when she decided to knit
her own gown. Most girls dream of wearing pearls . . . but
purls? Fortunately, the five close-knit pals can
easily stitch their way through this challenge. The shocking
events after the ceremony are not so easily untangled.
Wedding bouquets are quickly exchanged for funeral
wreaths when a mysterious explosion rocks the chemical
company owned by the groom’s wealthy family. As the Black
Sheep knitters offer comfort, they are drawn into a
complicated pattern of deception, secrets, and betrayal. Is
the blushing bride spinning a yarn? Or are her privileged
new in-laws a very crafty clan? It’s clear someone in Plum
Harbor has donned sheep’s clothing, and the knitters must
unravel the clues before this wolf strikes again . . . and
picks off one of their own./b
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