"Last Wool and Testament (Knit & Nibble #12)" by Peggy Ehrhart takes place when spring is in full force. Mother's Day gets a mention. Gardens are in bloom and causing the annual fight over a pollinator lawn vs groomed lawns. Maybe one of these combatants had it over one two many bees or pollen in their yard. Then again relationships can get messy too. Pamela and Bettina are sticking their noses where they don't need to again.

This book is staying par for the course in being overly descriptive, a trend in this series. It could be a drinking game for naming where something came from each time an item (or dog/cat) is mentioned. Especially the phrase "wedding china." It comes across as trying to get a word count up more than informative or clever.

Speaking of a thing this series is consist with. Pamela and her neighbor's extremely slow boil. Pamela at least admits now that she'd like to try for something with him. However she keeps trying to force "naturally" encountering him and it's just not for me. I wont go into more detail about the situation so as not to spoil the full frustration these two are.

I've never read any of Peggy Ehrhart's books, but I felt like this was a really good and positive introduction to her work! The adorable cover roped me in, but the story kept me around. The small-town mystery is a real palette cleanser from the heavy thrillers/world building fantasies I normally read. It was a super quick read with a reveal that had me blindsided. I'll be reading more from Peggy! Thank you, NetGalley!

Ingrid Barrick is found dead in her house in Arborville by the mailman. The word moves fast in Arborville, and soon the Knit and Nibles group knows all about it. There is talk about Ingrid's former husband, Nestor, taking a lot of her ideas. Some of them think he had killed her to be able to sell her ideas. Bettina and Pamela become friends with Ingrid's neighbor Coco, who is ofter with another neighbor Simon. However, when Nester is found dead in Coco's garden house, they decide he couldn't have been the killer. Finally, the real killer is discovered, and by the end of the book, we note that Pamela is showing interest in Richard again, much to Bettina's glee. There is a lot about knitting and cooking in these books, as well as some interesting articles about fiber arts that Pamela is working on.

I thank Netgalley and Kensington Books for the ARC so I could read the book before publication.

A good cozy mystery, but there a lot of red flags or red herrings to go through too. Still though, kept my interest throughout and would recommend.

Pamela Paterson lives in a small town in New Jersey. She's a widow with a grown daughter, and lives with her three cats; and her best friend Bettina Fraser lives down the street. Pamela learns that a local artist has been killed, and she and Bettina visit the neighbor, who insists that it was a murder, not a burglary, as the police think. She shows them doodles that Ingrid Barrick has been doing, all of bees. But Pamela doesn't know what this has to do with the woman's death.

When she and Bettina attend a celebration of life for Ingrid, she hears two men arguing about her. It seems heated, but the conversation never really gets to the crux of the matter -- only that one wants to write a book, and the other wants him to leave part of it out. Later they discover that the men are an ex-boyfriend of Ingrid's, named Nestor, and the other is a professor, Eilert. But are they suspects in Ingrid's death?

Pamela soon discovers that not everyone was a fan of the woman -- including another neighbor, who hated Ingrid's garden because it caused her allergies to surge. Is that enough to kill? The neighbor on the other side, Coco, seemed to like Ingrid. However, Pamela isn't ruling anyone out, and when something else occurs, Pamela wonders if the two incidents have anything to do with each other. With the stakes raised, it's only a matter of time, but Pamela needs to put the pieces together sooner rather than later to find the truth...

This is the twelfth book in the series and I have read them all. I do think the stories have progressed, and I liked the storyline of this book, which basically centered around the murder (as it should) leaving the subplots as interesting, but not interrupting the solving of the crime.

Finding the killer was the main, and there are clues throughout the story, although they aren't easy to find, nor to put together. We discover that Ingrid -- although already deceased by the time the story begins -- was a multi-faceted woman, who loved her art yet had secrets of her own that she didn't wish to be revealed. But in death, they usually are, right?

It is in this that we look into why the murder occurred, and the reasons aren't easy to discover. I must say that I didn't know who the murderer was until the time that Pamela had it all figured out, so it came as a surprise, and I enjoyed that immensely. I do love mysteries, but sometimes it is easy to find out who did the deed; in this case, it was not.

The reasons, as they were, are rather sad, yet murder itself is also sad. In the end, the story was woven nicely and all threads came together at the end, leaving us an intriguing picture that left me feeling satisfied with the story. I eagerly await the next in the series. (There are also a couple of yummy recipes that I intend to try). Recommended.

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

small-business, small-town, local-law-enforcement, local-gossip, knitting-pattern, recipes, knitting, neighbors, friends, new-jersey, widow, murder, murder-investigation, amateur-sleuth, middle-aged, contemporary, fiberarts, magazine-editor

Pam and Bettina are quickly involved in investigating the case of a murdered textile/artist who lives in the neighborhood. While personal events keep life moving along another murder happens in this small town neighborhood. The characters are well developed and the investigations are good and sneaky. I always like seeing how the argyle socks are coming along and this time the knitting pattern is dollwear. Don't forget about the recipes!
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected proof copy from Kensington Books/Kensington Cozies via NetGalley. Avail Apr 29, 2025
#LastWoolandTestament by Peggy Ehrhart #KnitAndNibbleMysteriesBk12 @kensingtonbooks
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Another fun entry into this long running series. Although amateur detectives, Pam and Bettina work together and use their individual skills to flush out the murderer in the nick of time. The usual cast of characters all make an appearance and recipes and knitting instructions are appended.

#LastWoolandTestament #NetGalley is another great book addition to this very addictive series.
Pamela and Bettina are two of my favorite characters and catching up with them and the members of the knit and nibble group is always fun.
When a local fiber artist is found, dead, Pamela and Bettina are hot on the case.
Using their unique style of questioning suspects, they dynamic duo are busy with the investigation, until another dead body is found.
It's going to take some time for these ladies to get to the truth, but when they do, the outcome is revealed.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.
I'm always happy to recommend this series to others.

Another great book! This time, Pamela and Bettina are on the case of a murdered textile/artist. Twists and turns make this a fun mystery!

I enjoy Peggy Ehrhart's series. Pamela and Bettina are perfect friends/sleuths and the reader discovers just right amount of their personal lives and their Knit and Nibble groups projects. If you like older heroines, this series is for you! A big event, that I've been waiting for takes place - I'm not going to say what but it's great.! Enjoy!

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the opinions expressed are my own.