Author: Peggy Ehrhart
Genre: Mystery
Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book (Audiobook Available)
ISBN #: 9781496749574
Kensington Cozies
336 Pages
$8.99; $7.99 Amazon
August 20, 2024
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Pamela Paterson and Bettina Fraser call their crafting group Knit and Nibble, in honor of its two main activities. But on a stormy Halloween night, their peaceful chat over spiced cider and cookies is interrupted by homicide...
With the houses of Arborville, New Jersey, decked out in festively frightening decorations, it's easy to mistake a real dead body for a fake. But Pamela and Bettina are alerted by the screams of teenage trick-or-treaters to the corpse next door. Their neighbor Adrienne's sister, visiting from New York City, is slumped on the porch, fatally stabbed. And with countless people traipsing around in costume, the killer might be as elusive as an apple in a bucket of water.
The victim was a charismatic college professor and fierce feminist, and soon the women are infiltrating her social and academic circles to collect clues. But some scandalous local gossip also suggests that Adriene, not her sister, might have been the target. Now, Pamela and Bettina will need all their creative skills to solve this ghoulish crime...
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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 on Peggy Ehrhart's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/e/peggy-ehrhart/
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