Last Wool and Testament
A Knit & Nibble Mystery #12
By Peggy Ehrhart
ISBN 9781496749598
Author’s Webiste: peggyehrhart.com
Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Jeanie
Synopsis:
Spring has sprung in Arborville, New Jersey, and Pamela Paterson and Bettina Fraser are keeping busy with their knitting group, Knit and Nibble. But it looks like April showers have brought May murders . .
Fiber artist Ingrid Barrick has just been found dead in her ransacked house, but the fact that she’d seemed a bit troubled lately—and had been obsessively doodling pictures of bees—has the Knit and Nibblers wondering if this was really a burglary gone bad like the police think. There had been tension with a neighbor who was fuming (and sneezing) over the ragweed in Ingrid’s garden—but allergies don’t seem like grounds for murder.
As they chat with a local beekeeper, learn more about Ingrid’s knitwear-designer ex, and look into a suddenly cancelled tapestry exhibit, Pamela and Bettina are intrigued to find more nature-themed sketches by Ingrid. The question is which of these many threads will lead to the truth about her unnatural death . . .
Knitting tips and delicious recipe included! (From Goodreads)
Review:
Welcome to this 12th episode of the Knit & Nibble Mystery series! One can enjoy this cozy mystery whether a knitter or a baker of tasty nibbles of homemade treats like those served at the knitting group. I find something interesting in every cozy in the thriving community of Arborville, New Jersey.
Pamela, a middle-aged widow, and her best friend Bettina are long-term homeowners in their well-established neighborhood. Bettina’s husband is retired, and Wilfred has become the chef and baker in their home.
Bettina and Pamela have helped solve several murders. Even when trying to not get involved, they end up in the thick of it. Pamela’s daughter, Penny, didn’t want her mother involved. There were cases in which Pamela and Bettina could have been seriously hurt or worse. Penny had already lost her father to a construction accident and didn’t want to lose her only beloved parent.
The police think that the very recent death of well-known fiber artist, Ingrid, was the result of a robbery gone wrong, but at least one of her friends won’t believe it. Bettina knew some of Ingrid’s neighbors, being only a short walk away. She met several of them when writing articles for the Arborville Advocate, a weekly free paper.
Coco, one of Ingrid’s closest friends, invited Bettina and Pamela to Ingrid’s funeral, then to the celebration of her life at an artist’s studio. Bettina hoped they would hear something that might point to a murderer. Most of the attendees were artists, set apart by attire, appearance, and attitudes. Refreshments were primarily pizza and wine, and one of the activities was dancing. They overheard a disagreement between two men behind a screen. One was trying to talk the other into excluding a substantial portion of Ingrid’s early career, and when the man doing a retrospective of her life and art refused, was given a veiled threat.
Later, they met Nestor, a long-ago lover of Ingrid and the father of her only daughter, Mari. They recognized his voice as the man who wanted the specific time period in Ingrid’s life to be omitted. The man writing the retrospective a travelling professor, Eilert, who had met with Ingrid a while before her death and borrowed many items regarding her art career for use in his future publication. Eilert contacted Pamela, having learned she was an associate editor for the Fiber Arts magazine. He wanted to write about Ingrid for the publication prior to his retrospective, both for his career and as the writer of Ingrid’s works.
Pamela and Bettina, with input from Coco, researched and asked questions about aspects of Ingrid’s life. They learned she began as a fashion designer before developing a love of and talent for fiber arts, including rich, yet troubling, tapestries. Pamela’s daughter, Penny, while at a vintage shop in a nearby town, unknowingly purchased one of Ingrid’s designs from the nineteen eighties.
Ingrid’s love of bees and butterflies was evident in her art, in many recent doodles, and in her front yard. Years earlier, she raised various plants that attracted beautiful butterflies, including monarchs, between their migrations. The “weed garden” also nourished the bees of a nearby beekeeper. Could her severely allergic neighbor have killed her accidentally, demanding the yard be changed? Or were the police correct in assuming that she was killed by an intruder?
This is one of the best mysteries in the series so far! There were several interesting elements, between insects, artwork, and various writings Pamela evaluated, copy edited, or reviewed for Fiber Arts. Descriptions of various food dishes awakened this reader’s appetite as Pamela savored new dishes of Wilfred’s and fellow nibblers, discerning ingredients and seasonings through the flavors. Ingrid’s murder was a challenge to consider, especially without an obvious motive. The regular characters continue to grow throughout this series, and I noted differences in Pamela this time, one being her changing attitude about her next-door neighbor, Richard. She had resisted going out with him throughout the series. She will always love her husband, but finally has a sense of peace after a long period of grieving.
When the ladies had a few more pieces of the puzzle, a new motive became real until the suspect was killed in a similar fashion. The real killer was a sad surprise, regarding who killed Ingrid and Nestor and why. I was very satisfied with the ending. I am looking forward to the next in the series, and highly recommend this mystery.
