Browse Authors:
Choose

Anne Canadeo books in order

Anne Canadeo is a celebrated American author of mystery novels, best known for writing the acclaimed Black Sheep Knitting Mysteries Series.

She has also authored the New York Times bestselling Cape Light Series and Angel Island Series, under the pen name Katherine Spencer.

A holder of a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stony Brook University, and a Masters Degree from Columbia University, Anne started her career as the Denver correspondent for Environment Reporter, and as a reporter for Sun News, in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

She also worked as a fiction editor in New York for a number of years before turning to fiction writing.

Anne currently resides in Northport, New York with her husband, daughter and a shabby Retriever.

Her village of residence on Long Island is quite like the towns portrayed in her novels.

More about Anne Canadeo

Genres: Cozy Mystery, Mystery

Born: 1955

United States

Website: https://www.annecanadeo.com/

Non Series

  • The Goofy Gamble (1989)

Black Sheep & Co. Mystery

  1. Knit to Kill (2017)
  2. Purls and Poison (2018)
  3. Hounds of the Basket Stitch (2019)
  4. Strangers on a Skein (2021)
  5. Death on the Argyle (2022)

Black Sheep Knitting Mystery

  1. While My Pretty One Knits (2009)
  2. Knit, Purl, Die (2009)
  3. A Stitch Before Dying (2010)
  4. Till Death Do Us Purl (2012)
  5. Silence of the Llamas (2013)
  6. A Dark and Stormy Knit (2014)
  7. The Postman Always Purls Twice (2015)
  8. A Murder in Mohair (2015)

Non-fiction

  1. Warren G. Harding: 29th President of the United States (1990)
  2. UFO's (1990)
  3. Ghosts (1990)
  4. Ralph Lauren: Master of Fashion (1991)
  5. Sam Walton: The Giant of Wal-mart (1991)

Detailed book overview

Non Series

The Goofy Gamble

Losing a bet may mean losing their clubhouse to the Clovers when the Fifth Grade Stars compete against a rival clique on Field Day.

Author: Anne Canadeo
First Release: 1989
ISBN: 978-0679800620
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

Black Sheep & Co. Mystery

Knit to Kill

A relaxing girls’ getaway turns deadly for the Black Sheep Knitters when a pushy killer is on the prowl...

As their beloved Black Sheep member Lucy Binger prepares to tie the knot, the close-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. 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.

Author: Anne Canadeo
First Release: 2017
ISBN: 978-1496708939
Publisher: Kensington
Purls and Poison

When a fellow Black Sheep Knitter is suspected of poisoning her coworker, the group puts down their needles and takes up their friend's defense...

Suzanne Cavanaugh has just about had it with her office rival at Prestige Properties. It's bad enough that Liza Devereaux is constantly needling her at work, but when she shows up at one of Suzanne’s open houses to poach potential buyers, it’s the last straw. No one in the office fails to hear the two snarling at each other.

When Liza is later found dead in her office cubicle—poisoned by a diet shake—Suzanne becomes the prime suspect. The Black Sheep Knitters have no doubt their friend has been framed—but they need to prove it. Stirred to action, they get together to catch a sneaky killer who's trying to pull the wool over everyone's eyes...

Author: Anne Canadeo
First Release: 2018
ISBN: 978-1496708946
Publisher: Kensington
Hounds of the Basket Stitch

The Black Sheep Knitters come to the aid of two sisters—one a victim and one a suspect... 

Maggie Messina knows that knitting is not only enjoyable, it also calms both the mind and soul. She’s happy to visit two sisters, Holly and Rose Piper, and teach them some simple stitches, while the rest of the Black Sheep knitters tag along. Dana Haeger has known the young women since they were children and is the closest thing to family the Pipers now have.

Dana is especially concerned about Rose, who has been easily overwhelmed ever since a car accident many years ago. She is at her best managing the houseful of hounds that she rescues and shelters, while Holly runs the family nursery and remains devoted to Rose’s care. The lesson goes well, but the knitters are troubled about the sisters living alone in such a remote corner of Plum Harbor. 

Their worst fears are realized when Holly is attacked in her greenhouse and the building set ablaze. Rose is found unconscious nearby, her dogs running wild. When she wakes, her memory is blank. Holly is hospitalized and unable to offer even a clue.

The Black Sheep suspect a mysterious drifter who had talked his way into a few days of wages, and just as quickly, disappeared. Or was it their estranged stepbrother, Toby, full of family grievances and eager to make a claim on the estate? Or, heaven forbid...was it Rose? Hovering over all these questions like an ominous shadow is a dark secret from the sisters’ past.

While it seems everything is unraveling, the knitters will need to keep their wits as sharp as their needles to prove Rose’s innocence and stop a killer from striking again.

Author: Anne Canadeo
First Release: 2019
ISBN: 978-1432883003
Publisher: Wheeler Publishing
Strangers on a Skein

Romantic entanglements and handcrafted murder tie the Black Sheep knitters in knots when the local farmers' market becomes a haven for a killer…

Phoebe Myers, Black Sheep Knitting Shop's assistant manager, finally comes out from behind the counter to sell her own creations—Socks by Phoebe—at the Plum Harbor Farmers' and Crafts Market, a lively, colorful venue that draws shoppers from miles around. But her excitement cools when she learns the previous tenant of her booth, farmer Jimmy Hooper, committed suicide. She's barely raised her Grand Opening banner when Hooper's death is upgraded to murder.

Phoebe worries that her stall is jinxed when things go from bad to worse. The last person she wants to see, her ex-boyfriend Harry “The Potter” McSweeney, appears in the stall across the aisle to sell his wares. The Black Sheep advise Phoebe to be strong and resist the handsome artist's spell. But romantic sparks and tempers explode in a very public scene—and a pile of broken pottery. Before Phoebe can get back to business, her stall is trashed, her Facebook page hacked, and another vendor is found dead.

The Black Sheep worry for Phoebe's safety, especially when Harry becomes the prime suspect in both crimes. Phoebe refuses to believe he's a killer and is determined to prove him innocent. Her friends are not convinced, but for Phoebe's sake—and her safety—the Black Sheep puts their wits together to catch the crafty marketplace killer who's hiding in plain sight…

Author: Anne Canadeo
First Release: 2021
ISBN: 978-1432894917
Publisher: Wheeler Publishing
Death on the Argyle

As one of the Black Sheep Knitters prepares to become a mother, a new member becomes a suspected killer...

Spring has reached Plum Harbor, Massachusetts, and the weather isn't the only thing that's changing. Eight months pregnant, Lucy prepares to enter an exciting phase in life while weaving together loose threads from her past. It feels like fate when she reconnects with college friend Rebecca Hurley, whose eclectic Happy Hands Café is the perfect locale for Black Sheep gatherings. But just as charming Rebecca joins their closely knit circle, she's suspected of murder.

It appears to be an accident when Rebecca’s writer husband, Colin, is crushed by a fallen bookcase at the café. But his death is quickly determined to be murder. Adding to the horror, police believe Rebecca committed a heinous act of revenge against Colin for planning to end their marriage—a move that would cut off Rebecca’s contact with the stepdaughter she adores. Despite the incriminating evidence growing faster than her belly, Lucy is convinced that she must prove her old friend's innocence.

As her due date approaches and a dangerous mystery unravels, Lucy and the Black Sheep shift from knitting baby booties to chasing down the cunning culprit who’s always a few steps ahead.

Author: Anne Canadeo
First Release: 2022
Ebook: B09MZSHCHR
Publisher: Kensington

Black Sheep Knitting Mystery

While My Pretty One Knits

The Black Sheep Knitters—Maggie, Lucy, Dana, Suzanne, and Phoebe—meet once a week without fail, sharing the varied and colorful skeins of their lives as much as knitting tips, recipes, and small-town gossip, and creating an intricate, durable pattern of friendship.

Now a shocking murder has peaceful Plum Harbor, Massachusetts, in knots —and the Black Sheep women must herd together to protect one of their own from a scandalous frame-up.

Maggie Messina, beloved owner of the Black Sheep Knitting Shop, is thrilled to be hosting a workshop for one of her former students, now a celebrity in the knitting world. But the celebration is upstaged when Amanda Goran, the owner of the rival Knitting Nest, is found dead in her shop on the other side of town.

Maggie had reasons to dislike Amanda, a thorn in her side ever since Maggie's shop surpassed Amanda's in popularity. Then again, it wasn't hard to dislike Amanda—the contentious woman, whose marriage was on the rocks, seemed to specialize in causing misery all over town.

But the pointed evidence has a detective casting a suspicious eye on Maggie. She may be a whiz at knitting, but can she keep the police from needling her before her shop, her reputation, and her circle of friends become unraveled?

Author: Anne Canadeo
First Release: 2009
ISBN: 978-1416598091
Publisher: Gallery Books
Knit, Purl, Die

Gloria Sterling had it all—money, looks, and a new sexy young husband. So when she's found floating face down in her own swimming pool, shock waves ripple through tiny Plum Harbor. At the Black Sheep Knitting Shop, Maggie Messina and her circle are devastated to lose their dear friend—a woman as colorful as her fabulous yarn creations.

The police are quick to call it an accident, but sorting out Gloria's final hours leaves too many loose ends to satisfy her friends. The vivacious, fiftysomething cougar had her French manicured tips in more than a few pots, and the threads of some inside deals stashed in her chic knitting tote.

Who was the last person to see Gloria alive on that quiet summer night? Two empty wine glasses suggest she wasn't home alone knitting the entire evening... The Black Sheep need to know the truth and set out to unravel— stitch by stitch—the weighty secrets that pulled poor Gloria under.

Author: Anne Canadeo
First Release: 2009
ISBN: 978-1416598121
Publisher: Gallery Books
A Stitch Before Dying

When Maggie Messina, owner of the Black Sheep Knitting Shop, is invited to give knitting workshops at a Berkshires spa resort, she manages to negotiate a cottage that fits all five of the Black Sheep for what promises to be a weekend of knitting bliss. But while the friends are expert at counting stitches, they haven’t counted on murder.

Guests and staff at the Crystal Lake Inn are as varied as a mixed bag of yarn, but most colorful is certainly the owner, charismatic self-help guru and former psychiatrist Dr. Max Flemming. The doctor may have told all in a revealing autobiography, but from his ex-wife to the widow of his former business partner—both employees at the inn—Max seems mired in shad­ows from his past. And when a killer strikes during a mountaintop retreat, the Black Sheep wonder what the good doctor might be hiding.

The police seem to be following the wrong thread. But while Maggie’s workshops have given the knitters a unique view of the tensions at the little inn, can they make sense of a crime that is as complexly stranded as a Fair Isle sweater? When the killer murders a second time, the Black Sheep won­der if they’ve dropped a stitch and put themselves in mortal danger...

Author: Anne Canadeo
First Release: 2010
ISBN: 978-1439191392
Publisher: Gallery Books
Till Death Do Us Purl

The Black Sheep Knitters new project is helping a bride-to-be knit shawls for her upcoming wedding. Days after the ceremony, the groom dies in a freak accident. As the knitters comfort the family, many secrets and betrayals—both business and romantic—are revealed.

When the groom’s body turns up after the funeral in a motel room, dead again, the newlywed widow is the prime suspect, The Black Sheep must prove her innocence and find the real killer among a large circle of family, friends, and foes.  

Author: Anne Canadeo
First Release: 2012
ISBN: 978-1439191408
Publisher: Gallery Books
Silence of the Llamas

Llama Drama!

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.

Author: Anne Canadeo
First Release: 2013
ISBN: 978-1451644791
Publisher: Gallery Books
A Dark and Stormy Knit

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. The murderer could be anyone. A familiar face in town, even a copy Kat. 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. No simple task, when all Knit Kats look the same in the dark.

Author: Anne Canadeo
First Release: 2014
ISBN: 978-1451644807
Publisher: Gallery Books
The Postman Always Purls Twice

When the cast and crew of a Hollywood movie arrive to film on location in quiet Plum Harbor, the village is aflutter at the A-list actresses. The Knitters are dazzled by the glamour and since Maggie’s shop is an important set, they are privy to the backstage excitement and inside gossip.

But from the first day of filming, accidents and menacing coincidences abound. The show must go on, but no sooner have the lights, action, and stitching begun when the killer strikes again—this time, cutting one character from the script for good.

The Black Sheep, an attentive audience to this tangled drama, are determined to unmask the real villain of this story before they can eliminate another member of this deadly cast.

Author: Anne Canadeo
First Release: 2015
ISBN: 978-1476767499
Publisher: Gallery Books
A Murder in Mohair

When Jimmy Hubbard, the manager of the local cinema, is murdered in a robbery gone wrong, the residents of Plum Harbor are mystified. Everyone liked Jimmy, and the struggling theater seems an unlikely target for burglars.

The Black Sheep Knitters are surprised and saddened by the crime, but are more suspicious of psychic-medium Isabel Waters, who has recently set up shop in town. Isabel has hoodwinked one of their friends into shelling out big money every week to keep the memory of a lost loved one alive.

Determined to reveal Isabel as a fraud, the knitters are pulled in the web of Isabel’s world and find themselves in a tangle of secrets and lies. They must solve two murders before the truth about all of Isabel’s clients—past and present—are revealed.

Author: Anne Canadeo
First Release: 2015
ISBN: 978-1476767505
Publisher: Gallery Books

Non-fiction

Warren G. Harding: 29th President of the United States

Presents the life of Warren G. Harding, including his childhood, education, employment, and political career.

Author: Anne Canadeo
First Release: 1990
ISBN: 978-0944483640
Publisher: Garrett Educational Corp
UFO's

Presents opposing viewpoints on the existence of unidentified flying objects and the question of whether they have ever kidnapped human beings.

Author: Anne Canadeo
First Release: 1990
ISBN: 978-0802769275
Publisher: Walker & Co
Ghosts

This book discusses ghosts, haunted houses, ghost hunters, hoaxes, seances, poltergeists, and telepathy

Author: Anne Canadeo
First Release: 1990
ISBN: 978-0802769299
Publisher: Walker & Co
Ralph Lauren: Master of Fashion

A biography of the man whose early interest in clothes grew and developed into fashion designing for men, women, children, and the home.

Author: Anne Canadeo
First Release: 1991
ISBN: 978-1560740216
Publisher: Garrett Educational Corp
Sam Walton: The Giant of Wal-mart

This is a  biography of Samuel M. Walton, whose ingenuity and persistence contributed to his becoming one of the wealthiest men in America.


Author: Anne Canadeo
First Release: 1991
ISBN: 978-1560740254
Publisher: Garrett Educational Corp