Book Review: Wound Up in Murder by Betty Hechtman

With two yarn retreats in the bag, Casey is looking forward to running her third one at Cadbury by the Sea’s Vista Del Mar hotel on the Monterey Peninsula. This time, each knitter will get a Mystery Bag of knitting materials to turn into a personal project. 

But Casey gets tangled up in another retreat at the same hotel, when the organizer and his wife have a very public spat. As Casey is delivering her baked goods later that night, she finds the woman dead in the bushes with a magician’s silk scarf nearby—just like the scarf Casey’s ex-boyfriend, Sammy, used during his magic act at the retreat. As Sammy takes center stage as the prime suspect, Casey and her friends will have to stitch together the clues before the real killer pulls a disappearing act...[summary via Goodreads]

For more than 20 years I've been a knitter and a crocheter. I love working with yarn to create something warm and cozy, but also sometimes quirky and cute! As such, I love cozy mysteries that centre around crafts, especially yarn crafts. When I first discovered Betty Hechtman's Yarn Retreat mysteries, I was excited. Here was a series that was just for me! Crochet, knitting and a mystery altogether in one fantastic package!!

Since then I've read the first, second and now the third book in the series and I'm absolutely hooked. With each book I've enjoyed visiting Cadbury by the Sea. Casey, our amateur sleuth, is always up to something exciting and it usually involves a interesting mystery, and also something tangled on her knitting needles too!

In Wound Up in Murder, she is organizing her third yarn retreat. At the same time another retreat is occurring at Vista Del Mar hotel, that centres around the year 1963. Casey becomes involved in a murder case, when someone from the 1963 retreat ends up dead, and all fingers point to her ex-boyfriend, Dr Sammy. Casey is determined to clear Sammy's name, and starts to investigate.

I couldn't get enough of the mystery in Wound Up in Murder, especially as it is intertwined with a cold case Casey is investigating on the side. It was fun trying to untangle the two mysteries!

The Yarn Retreat mysteries are fun, interesting mysteries, and would appeal to knitters and crocheters of all ages. Even if you're not a knitter or crocheter, I recommend giving them a try. After just one book, I'm sure you will be wanting to learn to knit and crochet, and join in the fun!