Died in the Wool

Knit & Nibble Mystery #2

by Peggy Ehrhart

When a murder shocks picturesque Arborville, New Jersey, Pamela Paterson and her Knit and Nibble knitting club suddenly find themselves at the center of the investigation—as suspects . . .

Pamela is ready to kick back and relax after a busy day selling stuffed aardvarks to benefit Arborville High School’s sports program at the annual town festival. But just as she’s packing up, she makes a terrible discovery—someone’s stashed a body under the Knit and Nibble’s table. The victim is Randall Jefferson, a decidedly unpopular history teacher after his recent op-ed criticizing the school’s sports program. But the primary suspect has an alibi, and the only clue is a stuffed aardvark found on the victim’s chest . . . Now the Knit and Nibblers must unravel the case quickly—before a crafty killer repeats a deadly pattern.

Knitting tips and delicious recipe included!

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Cozy, Audiobook, Knitting, Cats

286 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 28, 2018

About the author

Peggy Ehrhart is a former English professor with a Ph.D. in Medieval Literature who now writes mysteries. Her publications include a prize-winning nonfiction book; she has also won awards for her short fiction. Her blues mystery series, featuring blues singer "Maxx" Maxwell, was inspired by her guitar-playing hobby. She currently writes the very cozy Knit & Nibble mystery series for Kensington Books, featuring amateur sleuth Pamela Paterson, founder and mainstay of the Knit and Nibble knitting club in charming Arborville, New Jersey.

Series:
* Maxx Maxwell Mysteries

* A Knit & Nibble Mysteries

Reviews

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Died in the Wool by Peggy Ehrhart is the second book in the cozy A Knit & Nibble Mystery series. Again I will admit that I’m not a knitter but my attraction to this series is it reminds me of my grandmother who did love to knit and bake so with every turn of a page I think of her.

In this second book Pamela is back with her knitting group which includes her good friend and fellow knitter, Bettina. The group had been busy knitting up some aardvarks to sell to benefit the local school. But as the day is wrapping up they find that they are missing two of the aardvarks that didn’t sell.

As they are trying to pack up and figure out the dilemma of the missing critters something even worse is found, a dead body. Randall Jefferson who teaches history at the school seems to have been murdered but with the body is a missing aardvark so of course the town begins to suspect the Knit and Nibble group leading Pamela and Bettina to do their own investigating yet again.

While the Knit & Nibble Mystery series is not one that is overly quirky I have enjoyed the characters and this mystery yet again. With the first book of the series I thought the author had a tendency to go a little overboard describing the knitting process and while that didn’t seem to happen this go round it seemed to be replaced with step by step cooking. Now without a better way of putting this I have to just come out and say going a bit too far with that is a a bit boring and slows a story. Thankfully it wasn’t too much so in the end I’d give this second installment 3.5 stars and come back to see how the third goes.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Died in the Wool is the second book in the Knit and Nibble Mystery series. Pamela, Bettina, Nell and all the members of the knitting group have been hard at work knitting stuffed aardvarks to raise money for the local high school sports program. 25 cute little stuffed 'varks are for sale at the knitting club booth at a local festival. However, they come up two aardvarks short at the end of the day. Did some shoplifter make off with the goods? As they search around the booth for the missing stuffies, they find more than they bargained for. A dead body. With a cute stuffed turquoise colored aardvark posed right in the middle of his chest.

Oh no! Things do not look good for the members of the knitting club. Soon they are all getting side eye from the entire town. Can the knitters do a little sleuthing and repair the reputation of the club and stop the ugly rumors about a "Killer Aardvark''? Read the book to find out!

I really enjoy this series! I like the setting and the cast of characters. Plus there are knitting patterns and recipes at the back of the book! :)

On to book 3 -- I already have it checked out from the library and on my desk as I finish typing up this review!

[LORI CASWELL · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dollycas’s Thoughts

We’re back in Arborville just in time for a fundraiser for the sports program at the high school. GO VARKS! The Knit and Nibblers have created 25 stuffed aardvarks to sell in their booth. When the day is winding down Bettina and Pamela realize 2 knit aardvarks have gone missing. Frustrated they start to pack up. When they start to remove the canvas around their table they find one of the missing aardvarks . . . on the chest of a very dead Randall Jefferson, a history teacher at the school. He had been quite vocal in his criticism of the sports program most recently in an op-ed in the paper.

Because of where the body was found and the presence of the fuzzy turquoise aardvark the community blames the group of knitters for the death even though they have no motive. To clear the group the knitters are going to have to knit together all the clues. Will finding the 2nd missing aardvark lead them in the right direction? or will they need a new pattern to follow? Will their snooping lead someone to needle them . . . fatally?

The Knit and Nibbler’s knitting group is an eclectic group. All with their own strengths and weaknesses. A new enthusiastic member has joined the group. Holly Perkins is about the age of Pamela’s daughter, Penny. A tiny woman with purple streaks in her hair and an unusual knitting project in the works using needles as “thick as drumsticks”. One member has a big announcement. Pamela is struggling on a decision for a new project after knitting so many aardvarks. I love the characters in this group. They are people I can identify with and would love to be their friend and part of their knitting group. I remember many years ago I pulled out my broomstick thick needles to work on a quick knit sweater pattern and my mother thought I was crazy. Until I finished it and made her one too.

This author has a super descriptive writing style which sometimes can turn me off or goes too far, but everything she describes are things I wanted to be described. The knitting projects, the food, the flower gardens, Penny’s vintage clothing finds, and the scenes needed to help solve the murder. It is said the “devil is in the details”. Peggy Ehrhart is excellent in giving us the necessary details along with dropping the clues judiciously to keep readers and her characters on the trail or divert us to another way of thinking. She also knows how to knit in humor in all the right places. OMG, Pamela’s cat, Catrina’s antics had me in stitches.

I found the mystery to be well-plotted and entertaining but I hated the people’s reactions and actions regarding the knitters. Sad at how judgemental the residents of Arborville were with no real evidence. While I would love to be around the Knit and Nibble group, I am not sure about the rest of the town’s residents. Of course, you have this type of people in any town, and I did like that the group took the high road in dealing with the rath.

Strong characters, a captivating mystery, and a great theme are found within these pages. A very enjoyable read. A Cozy Cat pattern and Strawberry Shortcake recipe can be found at the end of the book for all knitters and nibblers. I look forward to book 3, Knit One, Die Two.

[Barb Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This murder was too easy to solve. I knew exactly who did it the moment the character first appeared. I had no basis for my belief that this was the murderer except for the fact that the character existed. The numerous red herrings did not deter me. I was right.

I enjoy the Knit & Nibble series. They're very much like most of the other cozy mysteries I read. I don't expect great literature. I don't expect a difficult mystery. I expect good friends, yarn and food. That's exactly what we get.

In this book, a local teacher disliked by most is discovered dead beneath the Knit & Nibble table at a local fundraising festival. Horrors! To add to the invasive nature of the murder, one of the group's stuffed critters is poised on the victim's chest.

We're getting closer to a romance between Pamela and her handsome neighbor. Everyone is pushing for it . . . except Pamela, perhaps.

I do have a major beef with this book, though. We discover that a local teacher had an inappropriate relationship with a student. Pamela and her daughter disparage the student as always being "wild." Nope. As the relationship was portrayed in the book, the teacher was a sexual predator, and the student a victim. There's no excuse for a teacher having this type of relationship with a student. As the adult, the onus is on the teacher. The power rests with the teacher.

[Cozybooklady · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay story. I had a difficult time relating to the characters. They didn't have any certain thing that drew me in and I was bored halfway through the story.
Normally I love books of this type, but this one was just not it for me.
I volunteered to read and review an ARC of this book provided by the publisher and NetGalley.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this second outing of the Knit & Nibble Mystery series, we’re back in Arborville just in time for a fundraiser for the sports program at the high school. The Knit and Nibblers have created 25 stuffed aardvarks to sell in their booth. Believe it or not, the aardvark is the school mascot. When the day is winding down Bettina and Pamela realize 2 knit aardvarks have gone missing. As they pack up, they remove the canvas around the bottom of the table and find one of the missing aardvarks, unfortunately, that is not all they find. They also find a very dead Randall Jefferson, a history teacher at the school, who has been a vocal opponent to the sports program, and their aardvark is on his chest. Because of where the body was found and the presence of the aardvark the community blames the group of knitters for the death even though they have no motive. To clear the group the knitters, Pamela and her friend and sidekick, Bettina, are going to have to figure out what really happened and who was behind this heinous act. Will finding the 2nd missing aardvark lead them in the right direction? Will they find the second aardvark with another body?

The Knit and Nibbler’s knitting group is an eclectic group. All with their own strengths and weaknesses. I enjoyed visiting with this group again and getting to know their newest member, Holly, a young woman who reminds Pamela of her daughter, Penny. I enjoy the characters in this group. They are people I can identify with and would love to be their friend and part of their knitting group (even though I don't knit). I found the mystery to be well-plotted and entertaining, with a lot of clues to follow, red herrings along the way and a few suspects to consider. The story is well-written with a lot of description, which at times can be a bit too much, but it is still interesting. The townsfolk in this small town, are not as friendly or helpful as in some of the other cozies I have read. They were pretty quick to point fingers without any evidence and blame the knitters for a pretty flimsy reason. All is well at the end, and I enjoyed following Pamela and Bettina in their sleuthing to figure out who was responsible.

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second book in the Knot and Kibble series is a good relaxing read. Katrina, the recuse kitten from the last book has only a minor plot in this one. I found it hard to rate and rounded it off to 5 stars but it really is only 4.5 stars. The plot is good but It didn't resonate with me.
Pamela Patterson is startled when she clean-up the Knit and Nibble's booth as there is a body under the table. He was strangled and an an arrdvark lying on his stomach. The victim is unpopular professor at the college. The term ' Kill Aarvark becomes popular and the Club takes a lot of teasing. Pamela and Bettina become interest in solving g the murder to clear the club's reputation. This takes them on a journey to New York City where they find an answer to the questions. I recommend this book and series.
Recipes and knitting hints are included.

DISCLOSURE: Many Thanks to Kensington Books for a review copy. The opinions expressed are my own.

[Chris Velazquez · Rating 1 out of 5]

In this second book of the Knit & Nibble series, Pamela and Bettina have to find out who killed an unpopular teacher after his dead body is found underneath their booth at a local fair where they were selling stuffed aardvarks. So how did this book fair?

I really hate writing negative reviews, but I have to be honest, and much to my dismay, this book was a massive downgrade from the first one, which I enjoyed despite a few flaws. The writing feels flat and both the narration and the dialogue feel pedantic, way too formal and old fashioned, combined with the very annoying practice of having characters refer to other people by their full names very often, even if said people are friends and neighbors, as it feels like the author thinks the readers can't keep up with who's who in the cast. The dialogue and narration was formal in the first book, but not overly so, with the most blatant example being the overuse of the word "lothario", but this one went way overboard. The use of words like "borne" instead of "taken", "ponderous" instead of "heavy", "gaudy" instead of "full", "supplied her name" instead of "introduced herself", and many others such as "sojourned", "thence", "barbered", "unprepossessing", just to name a few, make this book very annoying to read. When I read a book, I don't want to have to keep stopping constantly to consult a dictionary. English is not my native language and I won't say no to learning more of it, but I'll learn at my own time and pace, not when I'm trying to enjoy a story.

And speaking of the story, while I appreciated the slower pace and the casual details in the first book, this one was way too slow and way too detailed. I am a sucker for details, just seeing/reading characters going through casual day to day stuff can be nice, it can let us get to know the characters better, but this book took it to an unappealing level. Too many instances of describing what characters are wearing, or going shopping, or how a place looks, or what people are wearing (with Pamela's daughter Penny especially having a really tacky fashion sense), of the preparation and eating of food, such as all the times Pamela makes herself breakfast, even when it's always the exact same breakfast of toast and coffee, which barely sounds like a snack, not a breakfast. The ironic thing is that the one thing that has the least amount of details in the book is the knitting, even though the book's main draw is about a knitting club, so there's another glaring flaw.

If you trimmed a good chunk of the details out of the story, you'd be left with a very short book, because there's barely any sleuthing done, and what little there is, it's pretty badly done, because Pamela and Bettina are absolutely clueless and constantly throw wild guesses, being pretty sure of themselves about those wild guesses, only to be proven wrong time and again. The sleuthing in general was boring and tedious, there was nothing engaging or exciting about it, especially because it's too obvious who the killer is from early on, the red herrings are not convincing. Pamela suddenly figures out who the killer is, just in an out-of-nowhere moment of remembering the tiniest, most insignificant little details that, honestly, felt like a stretch, which leads to the eventual showdown with the killer. Normally this should be an epic moment in front of a crowd as the killer is revealed to all, or a tense situation where the killer menaces the main character, but what we got here was something that felt like a parody of the genre, or something you'd see in a particularly bad slapstick cartoon, it was just embarrassing.

The main characters sure didn't help make this bearable. Pamela and Bettina were particularly boring this time around, and they had other bad moments, such as Pamela's idiotic behavior with her pet cat, a stray she brought in and apparently it never occurred to her to take her cat to the vet for the usual procedures, so Pamela is absolutely shocked when her cat escapes while she's in heat. So irresponsible. Bettina annoyed me, especially with her never-ending insistence that Pamela hook up with their neighbor, Richard. The first book had a very positive part for me in that Pamela was not interested in romancing Richard and made it very clear to both Penny and Bettina, but while Penny dropped the subject, Bettina has been insisting on it for months on end, which in my opinion, that's grounds for terminating a friendship, considering she's not respecting Pamela's wishes. Add to the fact that Pamela and Bettina commit crimes themselves, such as breaking and entering as well as tampering with and even stealing possible evidence, it made them both quite unlikable and made me not want to root for them, seeing them acting like they're above everyone and the rules don't apply to them.

As for the rest of the Knit & Nibble group, I appreciated that Nell had a bigger role in this book compared to the first, but the same can't be said for the rest of the group, who may as well not even have been in the story. Karen and Robert are barely in the book as it is, and new member Holly has a very perky and upbeat personality, but her intense gushing over every single thing regarding Nell comes across as creepy. Other characters were okay, I guess, with the exception of neighbor Richard, who seems to be interested in Pamela, but his general demeanor makes him come across as a weird creeper, and the author seems very intent on making him and Pamela a couple, because Pamela had not shown any interest, but then suddenly and out of nowhere she shows interest in a way that feels like it's two entirely different women being written. When there's a barbecue party and Richard takes a watermelon and starts to slice it, Pamela reacts as though he's performing life-saving surgery on a child, it's utterly ridiculous and clearly the author is trying way too hard to get these two together, and it doesn't work at all, because her interest in him comes out of nowhere and they have zero chemistry.

Overall, this book was a massive disappointment. The main characters were not likable, the mystery was more like an afterthought, there's barely any knitting and half of the knitting group is too out of focus, the attempts at trying to create a romance fall flat, there was way too much focus on mundane things to the point that the story got boring, and the narration and dialogue was stilted and felt old fashioned and dated. This felt more like someone trying to show off their extensive vocabulary rather than trying to tell an engaging story, and it's especially disappointing for me because I genuinely enjoyed the first book and was looking forward to continuing this series. But between this book and reading reviews of upcoming ones, where it's made clear that all this book's flaws continue along the series, I have to drop this. Hopefully I can find a better cozy mystery series with a focus on knitting.

[james ☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

this installment had everything i loved from the first book, plus a new and exciting mystery! so excited to continue on with these books.

[Robin Loves Reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pamela Paterson can’t seem to catch a break. While at her town's annual festival, proudly selling her stuffed aardvarks, Pamela happens upon a dead body. The body was found under the Knit and Nibble table. Knit and Nibble is a knitting group that Pamela is a part of. What really stinks for Pamela, and the other members, is that they are suspects in the murder.

The victim is the high school’s history teacher, Randall Jefferson. The twist is that Pamela’s knitting group was planning to use its proceeds to assist the school’s sports program, which was something that Mr. Jefferson clearly maligned. So Pamela is determined to investigate things, even though some of her friends highly disapprove.

There is a bit of humor in Died in the Wool, which is the second book in the Knit and Nibble series. As in the first story, the investigation is rather delightful. I enjoyed Pamela’s thought processes, techniques and questions. As previously, knitting techniques and even a recipe or two are offered.

Although part of a series, this book can be read as a standalone. So, pick up this book and read of the antics of Pamela and fellow amateur sleuth Bettina.

The first book in the series is Murder, She Knit, to be followed by Knit One, Die Two. The next in the series are Silent Knit, Deadly Knit, scheduled for release in October, and A Fatal Yarn, with a release date in March, 2020.

[Jerri Cachero · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series!

I waited for this book so long and I wasn't disappointed! I love everything about the series - an entertaining mystery that keeps you reading, the relatable and strong main character, likable friends, a charming setting, wonderful food and recipes !

I can't wait for the next book!

[Toni (T.C.) LoTempio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute cozy. There wasn't much explanation at the end regarding motive, how it was done, etc, but it was enjoyable.

[Kristina Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Died in the Wool by Peggy Ehrhart is the second novel in A Knit & Nibble Mystery series. Pamela Paterson along with Bettina Fraser have been selling knitted aardvarks at Arborfest all day with the proceeds to benefit the Arborville high school athletic program. During the afternoon, Bettina noticed that two of the little knitted critters have gone missing and, as Pamela removes the canvas from around the table, she finds one of them—on top of a dead body someone stashed under the table. The victim is local high school history teacher, Randall Jefferson who managed to rub many people the wrong way and angered many people for his critical op-ed regarding school sports programs. When the knitting club members and their knitted creations become persona non grata, Pamela must work to unravel the clues. After a search of Randall’s home, they come up with two likely suspects. Someone is not happy with Pamela’s questioning and leaves her an unusual warning. Pamela will not be deterred, and she soon uncovers the second missing aardvark along with another victim. Can Pamela connect the clues and identify the wily killer?

Died in the Wool can be enjoyed if you have not read Murder, She Knit. The author provided the necessary background on the main character and the knitting club. I had some trouble getting into the book because I found Died in the Wool to be a slow starter. They eat frequently in this book and the food is described in detail (the ingredients, how it is prepared, every item in the meal, sitting down to eat, etc.). There are also detailed descriptions of plants as the various members maintain their perennial beds and purchase new plants. Readers are also entertained with every outfit that Penny Patterson wears to work (she has an interesting wardrobe). The group has a new member, Holly who is very perky. I liked that she is knitting with larger needles and yarn (similar to roving). The ruby red yarn that Pamela picked up for her new sweater sounded beautiful. The mystery had Pamela and Bettina breaking into Randall’s home, questioning suspects, tailing thieves and tampering with evidence. Any forensics that could have been obtained from the evidence was lost by the time this group was done with it. There are pointed clues to aid readers in solving the crime and the killer can be pinpointed early in the book. In Died in the Wool more time is devoted to food than the mystery and the murder mystery was lacking in substance. I did get a good laugh when the cat in heat noises were described (it is very distinctive). Pamela had no clue what the caterwauling indicated. There is a knitting pattern at the end for a cozy cat and a recipe for strawberry shortcake. I am giving Died in the Wool 3 out of 5 stars. If you are looking for a light cozy mystery with charming characters, then you should check out Died in the Wool.

[Carol Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am new to this series and requested to read it based on the cover. I enjoyed reading this mystery and seeing how the group came together to solve the murder. It was interesting to see how the put together the clues and I will probably go back to read the first one.

I received a copy to read from the publisher, the review is mine.

[Trish · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is really more than a two and a half than a two, but not as much as a three. While I liked a lot of it, bits of it really annoyed me. I mean, seriously, if someone appears to be stealing boxes from the house of a murder victim, in plain sight of the street, it's irrelevent that you've been snooping behind the police's back. They're doing it publicly, and you should report it. Especially when there's a murderer around. Also, the whole business about poor little Catrina getting out at the wrong time when there was a tom around just seemed so unnecessary.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pamela and her friend from the Knit and Nibble Knitting club are selling Aardvarks at the Arborville, New Jersey local festival when a high school teacher is found murdered under their knitting booth. The festival was to raise money for the school and the teacher was a big fan of ending the sports programs to save money. This is book 2 in the Knit and Nibble Knitting Club series and it's a great addition. This should appeal to the fan of crafts series with lots of knitting references and of course a pattern and recipe included. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[terpkristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was a little better than the first. I'm still not entirely certain that the reader (listener) had all of the information to solve the mystery, though if not, there was more of it than in the first book. That said, I still liked it well enough. It was a quick diversion when I discovered I didn't really like my main read as much as I expected.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot for the story was good but it did drag in parts. Pamela spent the day selling stuffed aardvarks as a benefit for the school sports. When it is over she finds a Body under the table with a stuffed aardvark sitting on it. The knitting club starts to investigate before another death can appear.

[Bookish_predator · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come

[Emmalynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cozyish

[Kodie Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow wow wow what a twist this series completely shocks me every time

[RO G'ma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Died in the Wool is the second book in Peggy Ehrhart’s Knit & Nibble Mystery series. The writing flows smoothly, but slowly and several things were repeated multiple times. The well-developed characters are likeable, and the interesting mystery kept me guessing until the final reveal. I’m looking forward to reading more books in this series.

Pamela Paterson is a widow who lives in Arborville, New Jersey and has one daughter, Penny, who is in college but home for her summer break. Pamela’s an associate editor of a craft magazine who is able to work from home and the founder of the Knit and Nibble knitting club. The knitting club, which consists of Pamela, Bettina Fraser, Nell Bascomb, Roland DeCamp, and Karen Dowling, knit twenty-five turquoise aardvarks, the school mascot, to sell at Arborfest, the town’s annual festival, to benefit Arborville High School’s sports program. Their sales were good and Pamela and Bettina were pleased that only one aardvark remained, but when the money was counted, they were puzzled because it reflected that only twenty-two were sold. As Pamela and Bettina dismantle the knitting club’s booth, the body of Randall Jefferson is discovered under their table, with one of the missing aardvarks sitting on his chest. Officer William Anders was one of the two responding officers and once Pamela spoke with him, she went to sit on a bench in the library’s rock garden, where she noticed the ground was disturbed and a rock had a dark spot on it. As she was walking toward the parking lot, she ran into Detective Lucas Clayborn who wanted to interview her. Before she went home, she shared the information about the rock with him. Randall was a high school history teacher and while it’s said he was a respected teacher, he wasn’t well liked. The authorities arrest Brad Striker, the high school’s football coach, because his wife retracted her statement that provided his alibi, but had to release him when someone else came forward and provided a new alibi. People in the community unjustly pointed their fingers at the knitting group saying they were involved because the aardvark was found on the body, and Pamela and Bettina are determined to find the truth.

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

[Cathy Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm continuing to enjoy Peggy Ehrhart's cozy series for its marvelous sense of fellowship, its knitting, and its delicious food. I also like reading about the articles Pamela edits for the fictional Fiber Crafts magazine; there's always something to learn there.

Ehrhart has created a strong cast with the members of the knitting group, and the subplots involving various characters can be every bit as interesting as the main action of the mystery-- although I couldn't quite believe Pamela could be so clueless about her cat, Catrina (and no, I'm not a cat owner). I should also probably admit that there's a yarn shop in a nearby town that Pamela frequents that makes me wish I lived there so I could go on spending sprees to add to my yarn stash.

The only thing to dull my enjoyment of Died in the Wool was the identity of the killer. This person popped up so often I felt as though I was caught in a game of Whack-a-Mole. But in the entire scheme of things, this was a minor quibble because all the other elements hit just the right note to keep me smiling and reading. I'm looking forward to my next visit with the Knit & Nibblers.

[Hilary (A Wytch's Book Review) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Knit and Nibble team took a break from their usual knits to make mascots of the High School team (the aardvarks) to sell to raise funds for the sports programme, when Pamela and Bettina are counting up the cash they discover they are $40 short, meaning that two of the aardvarks appear to have been stolen, the Knit and Nibblers are somewhat resigned thinking that if someone wanted a mascot so badly but couldn't afford the $20 then so be it.  Unfortunately when they are dismantling the stall they discover one of the aardvarks, unfortunate as he is sitting on the very dead body of a local history teacher! The police seem to think they know who did the deed, only to discover that they couldn't - now people are handing in the Killer Aardvarks (luckily NOT demanding their money back as it has already been handed to the High School!) and then there is another corpse with the other missing aardvark on it.  Now Pamela and Bettina need to figure out who is the murderer so they can get back to Arborville being safe.

[Valerie · Rating 1 out of 5]

While the mystery itself was not bad I was enraged at the stupidity of the MC for not spaying her cat! How stupid can a person be to not realize this has to be done? What an irresponsible thing to write about as if all will be well because the kittens if there are any will be adopted. Problem solved. Shelters are overwhelmed with cats because of the stupidity of people. This is not ok to excuse this stupidity and neglect of her cat. Who brings a cat into the house and not take it to the vet for a health check at which time the vet would have spayed it. If you are that stupid you should not own a pet

[Angela (Kentuckybooklover) Brocato-Skaggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wooltastic

This series is fun to read. Pamela is an amateur sleuth most of us can relate to in some form or fashion. She is widowed with a teenage daughter in college. She tries to stay busy with her job and hobbies. Her main hobby is knitting but she also likes to cook. Every book has featured deviled eggs and I believe I have fixed them every time I’ve read a book. Her friends are her family.

I find these are quick reads for me and I am left with a smile on my face after I turn the last page.

[Jeanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd give it more like a 2.8; it was competent, I like the main character who is sensible, but the pacing is off. I like the hint of romance, Catrina the cat, Bettina the friend, etc. but it can be very slow. There is a lot of meal preparation, for example. It was a nice book but I didn't rush to pick it back up which is why it took me so long to read it. Will I read another in the series? Quite possibly.

[Reagan Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sadly, I couldn’t finish this one. I made it to the end of the 4th chapter, but I was overwhelmed by the number of characters introduced in the first chapter (it didn’t help that they seem to look the same as well) and I had to keep scrolling back to keep them straight. Also, there were some scenes that didn’t seem to advance the plot at all which was frustrating. The characters seem lovely, and I’m sure many cozy lovers will enjoy this book, it just wasn’t for me.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This second book in the series is even better than the first.
I am not usually a fan of "knitting" cozies, but I quite enjoyed this one.
The characters were appealing and the whodunit kept me guessing until the final reveal.
I look forward to reading the next in the series.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advanace Reader Copy of this book.

[M.L.D. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Harsh, but I'm docking this for the irresponsible pet ownership, and, apparently, a worthless veterinarian--the owner is a selfish, clueless idiot so they can put cute kittens on the next cover. Get your fucking cats fixed, people.

(Also, I solved the murder as soon as they appeared on page, so...too obvious.)