Dead Men Don't Crochet

Molly Pink is a widow who worked for her husband's PR firm. Now she works at a bookstore as an event coordinator. She's also a member of the Tarzana Hookers, a group of women who crochet items for charity. As a novice crocheter, she's also the target of sarcastic remarks from Adele, another bookstore worker who dislikes Molly because she got the job that Adele wanted. One morning another crocheter named Sheila shows up miserable because she'd been crocheting beautiful scarves and giving them to a shop across the street for consignment. It turns out that the old owner had passed away, and her nephews took over the shop; one of the brothers refused to give her the set upon price telling her that they weren't selling as well.

Sheila needs show more the money to make ends meet as she doesn't make enough working at a gym and is staying in a woman's home in return for part-time babysitting. So the women agree to come with her for moral support while she demands the full amount owed her. So they all head over to the Cottage Shoppe and wait for an opening. After talking with Drew, Sheila comes downstairs disheartened that he laughed at her. But then they hear a woman's scream and all run up to his office and find him dead. While Sheila is afraid that the police suspect her, and no one seems to be looking in any other direction, Molly knows she can't abandon her friend. Especially when they tell Sheila that she'll find the killer. Now, Molly's in the middle of a situation she can't get out of: she needs to find a killer and keep her homicide detective boyfriend from finding out about it. And, of course, the killer, who might be closer than she thinks...

This is the second book in the series and is a bit of an improvement over the first, but still there were things that bothered me. I just can never get over the fact that amateur sleuths think it's perfectly fine to go snooping into homes and offices and they never seem to get caught, no matter what they do. It's rather uncomfortable to read about. Then, I wondered why Barry showed up when Molly and Dinah were suspected of being robbers. Isn't he a homicide detective? Why would he show up? He wouldn't even have been notified since there was no dead body.

Aside from that, it was a decent book. There weren't a whole lot of clues to the murderer, which was fine; but the worst thing is Adele. I really, really dislike her as a person. She's what I call the 'evil nemesis,' and it's just not needed in a book. What's worse is the fact that she's trying to take over Molly's job, and Molly's okay with that. She doesn't even see what Adele's really doing. Either Molly has no backbone or she's just numb altogether.

Then there's her relationship with Barry. She's sleeping with him, but wants a casual relationship, knowing that he wants more. She's allowing him into her life which is giving him hope (he wants to marry her) but she's not figured anything out. You know, if you find a nice guy and don't snap him up, someone else will eventually. I got tired of her playing games with Barry and Mason, even though we're given a hint in the end.

All in all, the murder itself wasn't bad, and everything came together nicely in the end, and I really did like the way it all tied together. So, saying that, I will continue with this series and hope that it improves over time. show less

"Crime Scene Groupie" Molly Pink (bookstore manager) seems to frequently be in the wrong place at the wrong time but mainly because she's just trying to help a friend. In this second installment of the Crochet mysteries, Molly goes to the Cottage Shoppe to support her friend Sheila who is having troubles with the new owner of the consignment shop that handles her scarves and blankets. When that owner turns up drown in his tomato bisque soup shortly after a private confrontation between Sheila and the deceased, Molly sets out to find the true murderer before Sheila is slapped in jail by Molly's rival Detective GIlmore.

The murder mystery is fun and entertaining as well as the characters getting into hilarious predicaments. The subplot show more rivalries/family-dating issues definitely give you a good chuckle. This series could get to be addicting! show less

When one of the hookers gets paid less for her handmade scarves than was first agreed upon, she confronts the store owner. Her courage comes from the hookers who stand behind her. And when the store owner is found murdered, the hookers, mostly Molly with Dinah’s help, endeavor to find the real killer, thus stopping the suspicion that surrounds their friend. The book is an entertaining and quick read. The characters are lively and well thought out, and the plot is intriguing enough to keep readers flipping the pages.

Molly heads over to a consignment shop with her friend Sheila, a quite timid person, who is finding herself at odds with the new owners. When he ends up face down in a bowl of soup, Sheila becomes a suspect because her scarf is on the desk and because she had handled the paperweight on the desk while talking to the man. No one in the stitching group believes Sheila is capable of murder. Taking her cues from The Average Joe's Guide to Criminal Investigation, Molly sets out to investigate, completely ignoring her detective boyfriend's warnings. There are some humorous moments in the investation. As in the first book in the series, Molly's boyfriend removes himself from the case because she was present at the time of the crime. A light, show more but pleasant read. show less

This is the second book in the Crochet Mystery series. By now amateur sleuth and bookstore worker Molly Pink has developed something of a local reputation as a `crime scene groupie' which is made even worse when she finds herself caught up in another murder investigation! Much to her annoyance and smug Detective Heather's pleasure (who is determined Molly and her group of crochet buddies will be brought down a peg or two), timid Sheila, a fellow `Tarzana Hooker' is suspected of the crime. Molly and the fellow hookers immediately set about trying to clear Sheila's name; the question is whether or not they will succeed.

Fans of well-written cosy crime novels will welcome this cute little series- I can't wait to read the rest of them show more either. The characters are believable and though this is a murder mystery is quite light hearted in tone and not too sinister, which makes it a great quick read. There's a nice splash of humour with the knitting/crochet rivalry touched upon again, as well as a bit of ongoing on/off romance with Molly and her Police Detective boyfriend, Barry (who I'm not sure I like too much to be honest). I have a bit of a soft spot for snarky Adele, it is nice getting to know the characters a bit more as this series progresses. Molly is an interesting character with a lot of dimensions and a good back story which makes her a fun protagonist, but the secondary characters too, are well written.

I would say that though it isn't essential, you might benefit from reading these books in their intended order just to get a feel for who is who. As far as cosy mysteries go, this is definitely a stronger series than a few others I have tried in the past, with a nice crafty feel to it. You also don't have to be a fan of crochet to like these books, so don't let that put you off!

*This review also appears on Amazon.co.uk* show less

I bought Dead Men Don't Crochet from the author at the Printer's Row Lit Fest a few months ago. At the time I did not remember that I did not like the first book in this crochet series. I must admit though, that the readability of Betty Hechtman's writing is 100% improved but it still has a slow pace and dull characters.

Here is the book's summary from the back page blurb: "The Tarzana Hookers are a motley crew of women, all of whom are not afraid to speak their minds. Except Sheila. She's a timid, anxiety-ridden crocheter whose is desperate need of money, so she sells her beautiful scarves at a local antique and consignment store. But when the new owner stiffs Sheila, the boisterous ladies rally and offer their support. The real trouble show more begins when the tightly wound shop owner is found dead - unraveling Sheila's quiet life. Molly ignores the warnings from her homicide-detective boyfriend and, with the help of her stitch mates, sets out to clear Sheila's name. It's up to them to sort through the skeins of evidence before someone gets away with murder."

I have given the author 2 tries but she has not been able to snag my interest. This will be the last book of hers that I will read. show less

Good story line but as a crafter, I was a little put off by the anti-knitting attitude of some of the characters. Kept my attention to the end & it was nice to have pattern and recipe included.