#KitoftheLivingDead. This is an installment of the a knit & nibble mystery. The story is a stand alone novel.

I found it difficult to get into the story. I am not a knitter which may attribute to this fact. The story itself has a slow build up. It revolves around a murder at the annual Halloween parade and bonfire. Subsequent murders only muddy up the investigation. Was the first person killed the intended victim or was it a case of mistaken identity. Pamela and her best friend, Bettina, are the second couple to find the body.

Numerous twists and turns take place as the knit and nibble crew work toward solving the mystery. The clues seem to make no sense. The only viable suspect is a sweet waitress that they have all taken a liking to. Which makes it harder to be objective.

A seasonal theme adds to the tale. Perfect if you seek a tale for the fall.

The town of Arborville is setting things up for a Halloween parade. As per normal for Pamela Britton and her trusty team of amateur detectives, another mystery has fallen into their lap, and they will not rest without solving the crime.

They are all wearing costumes, but one is more deadly than any of the others. Because the woman in a Little Bo Peep costume is found murdered. Pamela and best friend Bettina do whatever they can to find the person responsible for the murder, and at the same time, remaining safe from harm.

I have loved this series from the very first book. Pamela and the group that make up the Knit & Nibble team are quite endearing. Cozy mysteries are always quite enjoyable, as there is always a murder to two to solve, all while things are kept rather sweet, making for easy reads. That is exactly how I felt about this book and the rest of the series.

Many thanks to Kensington and to NetGalley for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion.

Knit of the Living Dead, the solid sixth entry in Peggy Ehrhart's Knit & Nibble cozy series, provides some Halloween murder and mayhem for the residents of Arborville, New Jersey. As much as I like this series, it's one that I shouldn't read more than once per year because of the author's repetitive use of vivid colors and the daily rituals her characters share. How repetitive? I know the color of Bettina's dishes faster than I can name my own, and I could take charge in Pamela's kitchen whenever Bettina comes over in the morning for coffee.

This is definitely a series that shows the power of friendship and of what can be accomplished when good people join forces. This latest book, however, isn't the strongest in the series. I knew the identity of the killer the first time the person was described, and the will-she or won't-she of Pamela's possible relationship with next-door neighbor Richard is getting tired. Even the knitting sessions that I so look forward to seemed a bit lackluster.

But every book in a series can't be a blockbuster, no matter how talented the writer. Ehrhart's Knit & Nibble series is one that I turn to whenever I need to spend some light-hearted sleuthing with good-hearted people, and Knit of the Living Dead certainly hasn't changed that.

Little Bo Peep lost more than her sheep at the Halloween parade in Arborville. Now Pamela, Bettina, and other members of the Knit and Nibble club are on the case to find out who did it. This is classic cozy territory but it's set apart a bit because it blends both craft and food themes. Pamela, who works as an editor for a knitting pub, discovers she has the clue to what happened to the blogger but not til the end when it all ties together. This would be fine as a standalone, especially for fans of the genre. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. No big surprises but it is a pleasant read with both recipes and a knitting pattern.

Great cozy mystery to get lost in.
Love the flow of the story, mixing the routine of day to day activities which gives a relaxing effect with the suspense of a killer on the loose.

This was my first trip to Arborville, NJ, but this is the 6th installment in the Knit and Nibble Cozy Mystery series. Pamela and her friends head over to the park for a Halloween evening of festivities. That is until a young woman comes screaming out of the trees. It seems like a amorous young couple had decided to wander into the trees for some time together when they came across the body of a woman dressed as the shepherdess Mary. With a piece of yarn left on her throat, Pamela and company know it’s going to be up to them to help solve the case. With a hat covering her face, they don’t know who the woman is, but they know who’d let it be known that they had the costume.
Finding out that it wasn’t the woman they thought it was, the women rush to warn her that her life might be in danger. Though they warn her in time, she doesn’t listen and ends up victim number two. Now the three friends need to figure out who’s behind the slayings before the next one happens. Aside from the murder, we learn more about Pamela, her college age daughter (who’s away at college, but emails regularly), her job, and the Knit and Nibbles group. They are a group of knitters who meet up to work on their projects and have some nibbles. Each meeting is held at a different knitters’ home, so there’s a different recipe for each one. After the end of the story, not only do you get the recipes made for the meetings, you also get a craft to knit if you’re so inclined.
The reason for the four star review is because at times the story lags. I actually got bored a couple of times and had to stop reading it for the rest of the day. I did manage to read through, and I was glad I did. I’d managed to figure out the killer not long before they were revealed.
*I received an ARC of this story from the publisher and NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This is a cozy mystery and part of a series. I was unclear about what the characters did for a living and the setting, as this was my first time reading this series. They acted.like they were in the UK, but it was set in New York. I found that odd. I enjoyed it but wasn't in love with the characters or storyline. I found it just ok. I am sure many will enjoy. 3 stars

I thought I'd spend the month reading things taking place in cool climes or other seasons. The Pamela Paterson series takes place in northern New Jersey, my old home. I'd read the first and enjoyed it enough that I thought I'd read the latest offering. Pamela is probably in her 40s, a widow with a daughter in college, and lives alone with her two cats, is a copy editor, and organizer of her local knit night. Sounds like me, so I'm exactly the reader the author and publisher want. She has a couple of very good friends who are also older, and they form the core of Knit and Nibble, the premise around the series. Knit of the Living Dead opens on Halloween, when fictional Arborville's civic Halloween party is ruined by murder. Unfortunately for this reader/knitter/middle-aged woman, the author's tendency to either cut and paste, or limited descriptive skills, began to irritate me so much that I started tracking how many times the same phrase was used. Tell me once that Pamela had decided after her wedding to use the china they were given. I love the idea of living beautifully on a budget and using your stuff. Once tells me all I need to know about Pamela--that she loves pretty things but has a practical streak and a romantic side. Do NOT tell me every single time Pamela has a cup of coffee that she uses her "wedding-china cup." And food is put on her "wedding-china plate." Would you like to know how many times that phrase was used in a book 271 pages long? Seventeen. Yes, 17. That means, on average, every 16 pages we read that description. We also read, in detail, multiple time, the exact same way she makes coffee with her carafe. Look, I love detail, and descriptive evocations of scenes are a delight to me, because I like to visualize what I'm reading as I'm reading. But badgering me with the same descriptions over and over just makes me start to dislike the book and character, when what I really dislike is the author's limited vocabulary. This book would have benefited greatly from a tight edit to weed that issue out, and tighten other aspects (she's an editor at a fiber magazine, but I don't need a treatise on every topic she's reading about; an entire long paragraph on what a ham and Swiss on rye sandwich looks like?) Also, does the author actually knit, or is she writing a description of knitting she's found elsewhere? Llama and alpaca wool was thriving in the real world knitting community prior to the pandemic, and Germaine could have easily found a shearer in NJ, especially if there were as many llama farms as Jordan said there were. My friend with llamas has no trouble finding a shearer to come to her place once a year. And please, enough with the old-fashioned and not at all realistic stereotype of female professors as frumpy, allowing their hair to go gray and wearing shapeless clothes. Has Ms. Ehrhart been on a college campus lately? This former professor can attest that tattooed and pierced profs are as common as tattooed and pierced undergrads (and we're capable of and expected to clean our own coffee mugs in the faculty lounge). Oh, and at least in Essex and Passaic counties in NJ, where I and my family lived/still live and pretty much exactly where this story takes place, fallen leaves have to be bagged, not just piled at the curb, for municipal collection (a pile would just blow around, Ms. Ehrhart, and Pamela and her neighbors would be out there 24/7 doing nothing but raking leaves). Readers of this blog know how much I detest this attitude in my amateur detectives "But we could look into it too. Sometimes the police put people off, or they don't ask the right questions" (Nell). Yes, probably true, especially at the forefront in readers' minds in 2020, but I hate this supercilious attitude. Who asks if you eat doughnuts with a fork or fingers, and all landscapers speak Spanish (ugh), and the abstracts for each article Pamela reads for Fiber Craft are sometimes interesting but I feel sometimes they just take up valuable space (we get it, Pamela is an expert in everything)--my list could go on of things that need to be tempered or eliminated. The author wastes too much time on these details and not enough on making the mystery better--I knew who had done it as soon as the murderer's character was introduced. The other suspects were just not as suspectful or legitimate enough, and what happened with the anonymous letter? I really want to like Pamela and the series, but I would hate to visit her knit night, and her lifestyle is just too formal and stiff. Why did I spend so much time nitpicking? Because the editor should have done this.

A good little mystery. Pamela and Bettina are having a great time at a Halloween celebration when they hear screams. One of the citizens lies dead. Nell thinks it is her neighbor because of her costume, but it is a local hairdresser. When the neighbor and her husband end up dead days later, Pamela and Bettina know they have to help find the killer. Will they find the killer before another person is dead?

Pamela has a flexible work from home job, a merry band of friends who meet for "Knits and Nibbles" on a regular basis, a daughter in college, and a pleasant home in a small town.

She also has a habit of running into murders.

I really like the Arborville knitters. I like Pamela's orderly life, Bettina's fashion sense, Wilfrid's hedonistic cooking, Nell's charitable knitting, and the occasional romantic adventures various townsfolk enjoy.

In this installment, a fiber blogger turns up dead at a community Hallowen festival -- or everyone thinks that's what happened, but there are wheels within wheels. The friends can't seem to persuade the police to take their inside knowledge on yarns seriously, but they also can't give up their investigations until they figure it out.

The book is well written and gently paced, with interesting relationships and details. There's a simple knitting pattern and a recipe, too.

I was eager to try a cozy set in New Jersey. This is book six in the "Knit and Nibbler" knitting series. I only had one moment of unfamiliarity regarding characters and to whom they were referring near the end of the book. Otherwise, it was easy to get to know each character's personality and style.

Pamela Patterson is the main sleuthing character as the protagonist; but it's really her best friend Bettina Fraser who gets nearly as much space who can liaise with the police since she's a local reporter for a weekly paper, The Arborville Advocate. Pamela's profession as an assistant editor for Fiber Craft magazine is instrumental in the final twist and reveal.

At first, this book felt like the suspect pool was weak and the alibis held up so theories were such a stretch. Alas, it's not until 90% through that the clues are put together and I admit I did not decode them earlier. When there's a cozy theme like knitting, a reader does expect a lot of references to that subject so another mention of a character who may be a knitter or needle artist didn't necessarily make a suspect. The way the killer tied in to the triple homicide was a cerebral high.

There's a bit of repetition that I feel could have been scaled back like Pamela's morning routine of toast and coffee using her fancy china. Literally every morning, Ehrhart detailed the exactness of Pamela's toast and coffee and china. We get it -- she likes routines. I did appreciate the couple of notes about Pamela having some frugality in her life like not being afraid to pick up discarded trash and make it into a treasure for herself.

One thing that showed -- and perhaps this is because the setting is in a part of New Jersey across the river from New York City. Although Arborville is a fictitious town, Ehrhart showed how some characters are so invested in their image. One of the knitting club members, Roland, is the only man and he absurdly comes to their Knit and Nibble gatherings in three-piece suits, starched shirts, always wearing and expensive watch, and brings his knitting in a leather briefcase. Even rich people own casual wear. Roland isn't the only whose image is constantly brought up. In this regard, I felt there was a lot of judgment about people's looks which I could have done with something reworded to sound like annoying. I haven't lived out in that part of New Jersey since I was a child so perhaps, it's all accurate about how people are over there. I know I certainly don't feel connected to them.

In the end, the identity of the real killer made me a happier reader. There could have been more clues earlier on for the killer. Introducing yet another suspect of an already unrealistic pool of characters at 80% seemed like that had be "the one" that stuck. But it was a superfluous addition adding that particular suspect. Had it been cut and more clues placed about the real killer, I would give it five stars. 

Rating: 4 stars

This is the first book in the Knit and Nibble Mystery series that I have read. It's the 6th book in the series. I don't often jump into a series in the middle....if fact, I pretty much always start at book 1 and go from there. But...I made an exception for this one! The front cover and the cute title sucked me right in....and I dove right in and read it! Glad I did...this was a fun Halloween theme cozy!

Arborville is having its annual Halloween parade. Costumes, candy, crowds of revelers....the festivities are all good fun until....

There's always an "until'' in a mystery novel....

Little Bo Peep is found dead....right in the middle of the party.....strangled with loops of yarn wound tightly around her neck.

Who strangled the peep right outta Bo Peep?? Pamela and her bestie Bettina....and the rest of the Knit and Nibble gang.... are on the case!

This book was so much fun to read that I'm backtracking to start this series at the beginning! The characters are fun and I like the background theme. The book also includes knitting instructions and recipes! :)

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Kensington. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

An enjoyable, quick read. Reading about familiar characters as they solve another mystery is an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon.

This is a must read for cozy mystery fans. The story is well plotted and the characters are fun. I love the small town setting and the sense of community. And of course the knitting!
Many thanks to Kensington Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I enjoyed this book and will be purchasing a copy for my personal collection. I recommend it to my friends who like knitting mystery books. This is first Knit and Nibble mystery that I have read and now I want to read the rest.

The Knit and Nibble club members seem like a congenial group to spend time with as a reader follows the series. The group is mostly female, but there is a male knitter. The club members seem to be mostly married while Pamela is a widow with a college-aged daughter. The only quibble I had was that although Pamela is the lead character, she was frequently overshadowed by stronger and more active personalities in the group. I found the secondary characters like Bettina Fraser far more interesting to read about.

Bettina is Pamela’s best friend and the oldest member of the club. Since Bettina has a professional stake in solving the mysteries - she’s a reporter for the town’s weekly paper - her interest in sleuthing feels more relatable. It distracted me somewhat from the story that Pamela didn’t seem to have any particular reason for getting involved.

In this particular installment in the series, the club members are attending a bonfire party on Halloween night in costumes, along with much of the rest of Arborville. The evening ends with the discovery of a body - a woman costumed as Little Bo Peep. Pamela and Bettina investigate the crime.

The author has a smooth voice that’s easy to settle into; I was immediately absorbed in the story and following the investigation, although I did soon begin skimming any scenes that didn’t contain Bettina. I enjoyed the author’s ability to set a scene and ability to describe:

“Sweet as the chocolate cookie was, it’s flavor still hinted at the slight bitterness of the cacao bean, and that bitterness tamed the excruciating sweetness of the candy corns studded here and there."

“Wilfred was standing at the end of his driveway in a plaid bathrobe, apparently having a conversation with a Ilama. The woolly creature, a creamy shade of white, stood on the strip of grass between the sidewalk and street. Its graceful neck was extended to its full height and its long ears were tilted attentively in his direction.”

Recipes included with the book are Pumpkin-Spice Crumb Cake and Roland’s Easy Candy-Corn Halloween Cookies. Knitting pattern included is the Trick or Treat Tote.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3456582654

Knit of the Living Dead - Peggy Ehrhart

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley.

When I started reading this book, I didn’t realise that it was book 6 of the series. I was attracted to this book as both a knitter and a fan of Halloween.

As soon as the book starts there is a murder which means that there isn’t time to properly introduce the characters for people that are new to the series, however this doesn’t detract from the story. The book focuses on the investigation carried out by three members of the local knitting club - Knit and Nibble; Pamela, Bettina and Nell. The developments in the investigation come at a steady pace and keep the reader interested throughout.


Rating: 4/5
I would recommend this book to fans of the series, I will be on the look out for the first five books of the series so I can give them a read and get to know the characters better.

This is the sixth book in the series, and it was my favorite so far.
I am not usually a fan of "knitting" cozies, but I quite enjoy this one.
The characters are appealing, and the whodunit kept me guessing until the final reveal (I did not guess correctly!)
I look forward to reading the next in the series.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

I received an ARC copy of Knit of the Living Dead through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Knit of the Living Dead is the sixth installation of the Knit & Nibble mystery series. In this cozy knitting mystery, Pamela Paterson, along with fellow Knit & Nibblers, Bettina and Nell, goes about solving the murders that stem from the town Halloween party.

I have read the Knit & Nibble series since the beginning and have loved every book so far, this one was no different. There is so much I loved about this mystery, the characters, the town, the Knit & Nibble get togethers and especially the fall setting. Knit of the Living Dead is a great cozy mystery that is very well written and drew me in from the very first page. The biggest thing that makes me love this series is the main character, Pamela Paterson herself, I would love to be her when I grow up! If you are looking for a cozy mystery that will get you in the mood for fall, this book is for you.

I definitely recommend reading Knit of the Living Dead and the whole Knit & Nibble series if you haven’t given it a try yet!

The Knit and Nibblers strike again. Always on the ball always solve the mystery. great new story in this series.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Knit of the Living Dead is the first book I have read in the Knit and Nibble series. I thought it would be interesting to read a book featuring two things I enjoy, namely knitting and Halloween. The book begins with the murder happening almost right away. I was expecting a little more time spent setting up the situation and characters involved. It was surprising, but it did not reduce the quality of the mystery. The storyline was interesting, and I really wanted to know who the murderer was, as well as the reason that motivated it. The main characters in this book are Pamela, Bettina and Nell. They are the ones investigating the murder, while the other members of the knitting group do not have much to do. It took me a while to get used to the characters, as I thought that they were a bit odd at first. After a few chapters, that feeling was gone. There are are a few interesting suspects, and new developments arise at a steady pace to keep the story moving. However, I thought that the story was peppered with unnecessary details, such as the fact that Pamela wears the same clothes many days in a row (is her washer in need of repair?), as well as Bettina's outfits and hair. Aside from that, the book is very enjoyable, and I will check out the previous books in the series. Also, the book cover is so cute! It really catches the eye.