Peggy Ehrhart

Pamela Paterson is lucky enough to work from home, a place she shares with her three cats and the occasional visit from her daughter, Penny. She spends a lot of time with her best friend Bettina, who lives across the street. Halloween night she, Bettina, and Bettina's husband Wilford, are enjoying the evening together when they hear a scream. Going outside, they discover a group of teens who tell them that there is a dead body on the porch of Bettina's neighbor, Adrienne.

Finding out that the dead woman is Adrienne's sister, Mel, everyone is wondering who could have killed her, and why; especially Adrienne herself. She asks for Pamela and Bettina to help her, and of course, their curiosity allows them to agree. Looking into Mel's current associates in the city, they discover that she was the head of a feminist group that eschewed men, and they wonder if one of the women could have killed her. But there's more at stake here when they start looking deeper, and now Pamela thinks that something -- or someone -- in Mel's past may have the answer...

I have read all but one of these books, and have followed Pamela along her journey of solving crimes. I did like the book, but I have to be honest and say: do we really need to know over and over again that Bettina has sage green pottery, Pamela constantly uses her wedding China, grinds her coffee beans for a pour over, and toasts multi-grain bread? Saying it once is enough; saying it as often as Pamela does is completely redundant and unnecessary.

Having gotten my 'little rant' out of the way, I found the mystery to be quite interesting. We have the usual meetings of the Knit and Nibblers, with their own snippets of gossip (sorry, Nell), that give Pamela some of the needed clues. There are, of course, plenty of descriptions of everything that is happening and everything everyone is wearing, so we have no questions in that area.

The pace starts out slow, but as the book progresses it moves forward, and, I am glad to say, that I connected the dots before Pamela as far as the motive for the murders; but -- and this is a big but -- I didn't know who the murderer was until they were unveiled, which is a very good thing indeed. In the end, it all came together well, and I enjoyed the book. Recommended.

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.… (more)

Knit and Nibble, a knitting club with delicious desserts, is always welcoming to new members. Unfortunately, new member Caralee isn’t a member for very long when a freak accident in the theatre kills her. Or maybe, it wasn’t an accident but murder. Pamela and the knitting group are on the trail of a killer, before someone else dies. The clues are there, but it takes a while to unravel them. This cozy is a quick read, entertaining and intriguing. The characters and their everyday lives are a big part of this story, and balance out the mystery part quite nicely.… (more)

Pamela is an editor for a craft magazine. She is also a widow, has one daughter who is now in college, and is the founder of a knitting club, Knit and Nibble. She gets irritated at her new neighbor for breaking the unwritten rules of the neighborhood, and wants to straighten him out. She invites an old friend, new to the area, to her knitting group. On her way for her first meeting, the friend is murdered with a knitting needle. Pamela soon realizes that she has spotted clues that the police can’t possibly know, but her desire to find the killer is a dangerous endeavor. This first installment in the series is quite interesting. The main characters are likable, and the plot is intriguing. A hint of romance adds to the enjoyment.… (more)