A Stitch in Crime (Crochet Mystery, #4) by Betty Hechtman

A Stitch in Crime (Crochet Mystery, #4) Reviews

• 
  Luna Martin

  Am I the only one who wishes Molly would dump Barry? He's so controlling and condescending and never considers that Molly likes what she does and is good at it. He treats her like a child and does it in front of other people too. She should go out with Mason who admires her, supports her, and even helps with her investigations.
  
  I'm enjoying the series. It's fun to see how authors combine interests like crafts with murder. The stories flow from beginning to end and don't get stuck in boring loops about unrelated stuff. The main character, Molly, is believable: she's not superwoman, she has flaws, and knows that she can't control everything like her co-worker Adell. I always look forward to the next book.
• 
  Micky Cox

  The hookers are on the road for a convention trip when once again Molly stumbles across a dead body that may or may not be an accidental death. Great characters accompany an interesting plot for an entertaining read or listen as this book is also available via audiobook too. I do recommend that you read the books in order as that will help with the character's developments.
• 
  Barb Martin

  Molly Pink and her fellow Tarzana Hookers go to a rustic venue for a creative retreat, a familiar device from another of Betty Hechtman's cozy mystery series. Of course, murder follows. Molly steps up to solve the crime . . . before the weekend ends.
  
  Readers familiar with Hechtman's Crochet Mysteries and Yarn to Go series know how these books go. Molly seems destined to fail but manages to save the day just in time. It's a sweet little read.
• 
  Grey853

  This should be a great series. It's got crochet and crafts, which I love, but it also has a main character, Molly Pink, who annoys me. She puts up with so much crap from Adele, an assistant, that I can't help but want to scream at her. She'd probably just complain to her boyfriend that I was mean to her, Poor Molly.
  
  At any rate in this one, she's been put in charge of a creative retreat weekend, Adele in tow and complaining all the way. Things quickly go wrong, with people not showing up, a white out, and murder. Oh my.
  
  Predictable and not quite as entertaining as it should be.
• 
  Rachel

  I read the ninth novel in this series first, and now, I'm going through the series from the beginning. This fourth novel of the series was just as interesting and entertaining as the other books of the series I've read. As was also the case with the other novels in the series, I found the writing style to be good, and the plot was fun. I really enjoyed the novel and am looking forward to reading the whole series.
• 
  Christine (KizzieReads)

  Woah, didn't see that ending at all. Looking back, you can see giveaways, but for the most part, it was out of left field. I still don't like Adele. She is very infuriating and the standoffish way she is about Barry drives me insane. Oh well, it's good for distractions. Lol
• 
  Kathi

  This is the fourth in a crafty little cozy mystery series. (See what I did there?) Now that I've read four of the books, it is easy to keep the characters straight, and I'm enjoying seeing their personalities develop. I do agree with another reviewer about not liking Adele, and Barry definitely is controlling.
  
  I thought the murder was plausible in this one -- and appreciated Molly's hope for a "death-free" weekend. You just knew she wasn't going to get her wish. And the way the author had Molly solve it was very creative. (Except for the bubble gum and yarn part -- that was entirely unbelievable.)
  
  Can't wait to read the next in the series, have to see what is going to happen with the cats and her son!
• 
  Mayda

  It’s time for the annual retreat hosted by the bookstore. Molly was looking forward to a weekend having fun, but instead, she is put in charge at the last minute. There are many problems that could not have been predicted, including murder, and Molly must deal with them all. She eventually comes out on top, but it is hit or miss much of the time as she tries to unravel the deceptions to get to the truth of the matter. The mystery itself almost takes a backseat to all the shenanigans that these delightful characters go through. It’s a cute story and a nice addition to the series.
• 
  Joy Gerbode

  Although it's book 4 in the series, they are quite independent. I enjoyed this very much, and after reading it, bought more of the series. A fun crafters' camp turns into a murder solving ... lots of fun, a romantic trio (or two or three) and it was just a lot of fun! Lots of different crafts represented, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her!
• 
  Megan Mathison

  My favorite of the series so far!
• 
  Jess

  For some reason I was under the impression that this was the first book in a new series by Hechtman. I don't know where I got this idea however, because it's incorrect. It's the fourth book in the series starring Molly and the Tarzana Hookers.
  
  It was okay, I enjoyed it but honestly I find the characters and the situations a little forgettable. I picked this book up and it took me a little while to remember all the characters and the setting. Plus, Molly can be a little annoying at times. I'll still read the next in the series, but I will probably need a little refresher by that point.
• 
  chrisa

  A solid entry in the series, though the location did remind me rather a lot of Hechtman's other series. The relationship between Barry and Molly is a bit tiresome as far as I'm concerned and I can't wait until she dumps him, lol.
• 
  Kay

  Kind of annoyed that the reunion of the main couple wasn't explained after such a dramatic break up in the previous book.
• 
  Marsha

  A decided sense of humor permeates Ms. Hechtman’s stories of love and crime. Whether a fire breaks out within a store, a toilet floods when a fix-it author can’t fix it or someone dies of an apparent deadly reaction to peanuts, you find yourself smirking just a tad. The demise of a fusion craft artist smacks of the risible, what with long-separated twins, a woman certain that the death is somehow a whodunnit game for the tourists and the appearance of a man with the unlikely first name of “Commander”, to mention a few oddities.
  
  The emphasis on crochet is decidedly heavier in this novel than in
  By Hook or By Crook and that’s mainly because of the spotlight shining on the preening, self-aggrandizing, posturing Adele Abrams (Abrasive Abrams, I call her). She’s awful, what with her constant opinionated outcries of the joys of crochet versus that of knitting, but she has her points and in this novel she really gets to shine.
  
  So if you like mystery with a thread of humor running through it, you’ll enjoy this crime yarn.
  
• 
  Kristina Wilson

  A disappointing 2.5 stars for this installment.
  
  The Tarzana Hookers find themselves in a different situation than the previous three books, attending a weekend retreat instead of staying at their usual bookstore for crochet meetings. I enjoyed the author taking a new spin on what had become a predictable formula, and the mystery was certainly less predictable than the rest have been. However, the regular cast characters were incredibly annoying. Barry especially is showing himself to be all wrong for Molly with his distrust of her and insistence to be involved in all of her business from afar. The one character I enjoyed in this was Mason and I hope Molly will drift closer to him as the series progresses. Adele, despite being constantly bossy, jealous of Molly and egotistical, actually redeemed herself at the end. I know she'll go back to being the annoying character she has become, but it was nice to see a more human side of her for a chapter.
• 
  Jean

  I picked this up at a used book sale for a light read. I had not read any other books in the series so at a slight disadvantage as to character development. However, enough background is provided so I wasn't completely lost. I was interested because I have stayed at the location of her retreat , Asilomar, several times and know the area well.
  I liked the concept of a multidisciplinary retreat. I don't knit or crochet so I doubt I'd have come to this series otherwise.
  The writing style and the mystery was just okay. Several characters were completely annoying (Adele, Barry and at times, yes, Molly).
  I love cozies - I've read worse, but I've read much better and will stick with those authors instead of continuing this series.
• 
  Anna Hanson

  Molly’s boss hands her the leadership of an annual retreat at the last minute, while she runs off on a cruise with her partner; battling nerves, a jealous co-worker, bad weather, and other last-minute stand-in workshop leaders, she just prays there won’t be any dead bodies to deal with this time. Ah, if wishes were horses… When she and best friend Dinah literally stumble over the body of one of the workshop leaders, the all-too-familiar questions arise in their minds - was it an accident, or intentional? The M.E. rules it accidental, due to a severe allergic reaction to peanuts - but when Molly finds the woman’s Epi-pen some distance away, she can’t help but think someone interfered. Who could it have been? And how can Molly convince the police that it wasn’t just an accident?
• 
  Maddie

  It was exactly what I expected and that’s why I loved it.
  
  It felt like the book was longer than it needed to be. Once the murder was solved there were another 40 pages of story that personally felt entirely unnecessary. This is the first I read in the series so I wasn’t attached to any characters emotionally so I bet the longer story was intended for that audience.
  
  Also, Pink is kind of the worst. I know it’s a common cozy trope to have two men fighting over her but she’s so dang flippant about it, it feels like she doesn’t genuinely care about either of the men.
• 
  Tori

  This cozy mysteries brand of snobbery (a trope that's usually coffee in these sort of things) is that crochet is better than knitting, which I'm sure is a real thing in these circles, but it's random and funny enough to be charming here. There was a lot here that does cozy mystery right.
  
  That being said, the murder didn't happen until over 3 hours into this only 8ish hour audiobook, which meant that first half just wasn't memorable or hold any suspense.
• 
  Holly Keimig

  Molly unexpectedly leads the year's creative retreat. Adele is rather jealous and not hiding it. Molly has to run the retreat, deal with romantic tangles, keep Adele in line, and somehow solve a murder at the same time! This one was a bit slower going than the others, but I didn't expect the ending!
• 
  Pat Salvatini

  3.5 Stars. Although the "body" doesn't appear until further along in the story than a typical cozy mystery I enjoyed the pace of this book more than the previous three entries of the series. Not quite certain why, but there was a different quality to the book. Hopefully the remainder of the series follows pace and doesn't revert back to earlier stories.
• 
  Lisa Richards

  I think maybe mysteries aren't my thing, so it's probably unfair of me to review this book. The writing was okay, but formulaic. The characters were interesting and the author made me chuckle as I followed the antics of these crochet-crazy people. Good light reading.
• 
  Kim

  Yet again, a stitching good time. Although the main character didn't get to stitch as much as she'd like. She's right, leading these things doesn't allow for as much fun. Especially when you trip over dead bodies.
• 
  Traci Haley

  Seriously loving this series! I liked the new locale and new characters in this one, and while I usually don't like love triangles in these cozies, I have to admit that even *I'M* having a hard time choosing between Barry and Mason!
• 
  L.M.

  I love mysteries where the characters travel! The setting for this book was a quaint beach retreat, complete with crafters, workshops, and of course, murder. The identity of the killer was well-disguised in more ways than one.
• 
  Sheila Burke

  This book reminded me a great deal of "Yarn 2 Go", by the same author. An enjoyable story, with a nice happy ending. Well-written, well-paced, and entertaining. I'm hoping my library obtains the other books from this series. Well worth the time to read.
• 
  Linda

  This was an enjoyable entry in the series. The retreat setting is fun and Molly rose to the occasion of being in charge. The mystery kept me guessing and I was surprised at the ending. I like how there is a love triangle that isn't and unfortunately I'm on the side of the guy she isn't with.