Update: Kashka Book Review Video

     Part 2!

     This book is the prequel to "Taash and the Jesters," but it was written after the fact. Also, I may or may not have filmed this review several months in advance. How's that for a confusing timeline?

Update: Taash and the Jesters Book Review Video

     Part 1!

   
     Hello all! I'm super excited for this upcoming set of videos! Not only do I get to talk about some great reading material, but in the third installment Kay and I will be talking about a somewhat controversial issue in today's society. Stay tuned for more!

Book Review: Dead Men Don't Crochet

Book: Dead Men Don’t Crochet
Author: Betty Hechtman
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 278 pages

General Setup: Molly Pink works at a bookstore as the event curator and is involved in a local crochet guild. When a member of the guild becomes a suspect for the murder of a local business owner Molly jumps in to solve the crime.

Characters: This book has a large cast of characters - too large, in fact. As I was reading through I had trouble keeping all of the characters straight. Some seem to be holdovers from the prequel, but there were too many and I thought some of their roles could be combined to lighten the cast. Molly is unique, if not particularly memorable. She seems to be a middle aged housewife with mad cooking skills who is not afraid to ask strangers investigative questions or follow them on the way home. I did like how the author made her very real and down to earth in her snooping tactics - no James Bond hijinks for Molly Pink!

Plot: For this being a mystery novel, I was surprised at how slow the plot proceeded. Days didn’t have clear definitions, so I’m not entirely certain how many in-book days it took for Molly to find out ‘who dun it’. What kept me reading were the crochet references, some interesting subplots, and a morbid curiosity of, what social construct will Molly break next?

Ending: I am happy to say that I did not expect ‘who dun it’ and was surprised to discover the identity of the culprit. On the upside, everything came together and made sense. However, this isn’t a mystery that the reader could solve on their own because all of the clues didn’t come in until the very end. This doesn’t necessarily detract from the story, so I wouldn’t pay it too much mind.

Things to Watch For: Some adult themes are referenced.

Other Media: Betty Hechtman has written several other mysteries involving yarn and needle arts, including an ongoing series with Molly Pink and the Tarzana Hookers. As of this writing, Dead Men Don’t Crochet is the 2nd of 12.

Reader's Rambling: Why I Read Eragon

It's the beginning of a long and enduring saga of love for books!