Review: A Dark and Stormy Knit by Anne Canadeo

A Dark and Stormy Knit (A Black Sheep Knitting Mystery, Book #6)
by Anne Canadeo
Release Date: January 14th, 2014
2014 Gallery Books
Softcover Edition; 304 Pages
ISBN: 978-1451644807
ASIN: B00BSAZ4S4
Genre: Fiction / Cozy Mystery
Source: Review copy from publisher

3 / 5 Stars

Summary
Knitting graffiti, in Plum Harbor? Maggie Messina doubts it could ever happen in her quiet village. Until the new parking meters on Main Street are found covered with cat-faced cozies. In the dark of night, the mysterious Knit Kats have struck again! The infamous gang of stitching graffiti artists are totally harmless, and their pranks all in good fun. Or so Maggie and her friends think. Until a yarn-covered corpse is discovered a few days later, the tangles identical to Knit Kat handiwork.

These threads of evidence should be easy to follow. But the clever Knit Kats hide behind a website and secret identities.  But when Maggie's assistant, Phoebe, becomes the prime suspect, the knitting friends know the police have dropped a few stitches. With no time to rest on their needles, the Black Sheep set out to unmask the crafty killer. 

My Thoughts 
A Dark and Stormy Knit is the sixth book in the Black Sheep Knitting Mystery series and while it kept my interest and I thought the ladies were quite fun, I did find it a bit slower than the previous novels in the series and the mystery was too easy to solve.  

As always, the ladies of the knitting club are at the center of the story and are quite fun.  I like learning more about their personal lives and their motivations and desires.  I did find Maggie a bit on the preachy side in this one, and thought it didn't quite fit her personality from the previous novels.  I really like her spunk and her willingness to lay down everything for her friends, her loyalty and faith in her friends.  This more grandma-like Maggie wasn't quite what I was expecting, but because I have read all the other novels in this series, I could get past that and feel like she was going through a phase.  The other characters didn't play as much of a role in this novel other than Phoebe whom I adore.  She is quirky and fun, and I like how she acts her age and behaves as a college student; she definitely added an air of lightheartedness despite the darker subject matter.

Because I have read all the other books in the series, I can't help but compare this one to the others and I felt this one was slower and not quite as interesting, mystery-wise, as the previous ones.  It's not that it was boring, as it certainly wasn't, but I just felt like there was something that was missing.  And I solved the mystery quite early on which left out a bit of the suspense for me, despite the nice twists and turns.  Perhaps I am biased as I have read too many mysteries and it takes a real twist to set me back and go, "Oh my, how did I miss that!"  The novel has a more dark side to it though, and I did like that aspect as sometimes I feel that cozy mysteries can be a bit too fluffy for my liking.  

One of the good things about this novel is that you don't have to have read the previous ones in order to understand this one.  You can jump right in as the series can be read out of order quite easily, and you will feel at home with any of the characters; the author has that ability to draw you in and make you feel like you've been part of the group all along, which is nice.  Knitters will also appreciate some of the information in the novel; I don't knit but I did learn some of the rudiments from my mom when I was young and understood the gist of what was being discussed, which I liked.  

Verdict
A Dark and Stormy Knit is one of those books you read for fun, perhaps on the beach or on the plane, as it's a quick, fun read.  The characters are always interesting and quirky and it's probably the best part of the book.  I wasn't as crazy about the mystery aspect of the story this time, and felt there was something missing, perhaps a twist or two, that would have made it more difficult to solve.  I do plan on reading the next book in the series however, as there was a romance that began and I am curious to see where it leads, and I really enjoyed the previous novels.