IRISH KNIT MURDER

A widow and her best friend are once again magnets for murder.

Since the death of her husband, Pamela Paterson has raised her now–college age daughter in their home in Arborville, New Jersey. A knitter with little regard for outward appearances, she supplements her income by editing articles for Fiber Craft magazine. Her best friend, fashionista Bettina Fraser, is a reporter for the local weekly whose husband, Wilfred, prepares excellent meals that are enjoyed by both Bettina and Pamela. At a St. Patrick’s Day dinner for seniors, the friends are treated to a concert by Isobel Lister, the black sheep of a wealthy family with deep roots in the community. When Isobel’s found dead after the concert, Pamela and Bettina, no strangers to murder, decide to do a little sleuthing. Pamela’s love life takes an interesting turn when the neighbor she likes becomes suddenly available and the handyman she hires to fix her screens turns out to be a wealthy man tired of his high-powered job who wants to take her out for a lavish dinner. Isobel, it seems, was not very popular with most of her family except for her niece Imogene, who’s joining Pamela’s knitting group. Bettina wants a scoop and Pamela wants answers as they discover and discard promising prospects. When they find the murdered body of Isobel’s sister-in-law, Barb Lister, the pressure is on to unmask a killer who could strike again.

The tempting descriptions of food eclipse both the likable characters and the mystery.