Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Killer Hooks: A Crochet Mystery by Betty Hechtman. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!
Killer Hooks: A Crochet Mystery
by Betty Hechtman
Killer Hooks: A Crochet Mystery
Cozy Mystery
15th in Series
Setting – California
Beyond the Page (September 18, 2023)
Number of Pages: 229
When a baby girl is dropped off on Molly Pink’s doorstep, her life is thrown into disarray as she is putting together a troublesome author event at the bookstore where she works.
The author is a demanding former Hollywood columnist whose book is filled with upbeat stories, but who wants to promote a true crime podcast she is about to launch based on the dark side of what she left out of her columns.
At the same time, Molly’s son has asked her to investigate a potential investor in his production company. The baby, who happens to be Molly’s estranged granddaughter offers her an opening into an elite mommy group, a member of which is the wife of the person Molly is to investigate.
When the columnist dies suddenly, Molly finds herself in the crosshairs of an unfamiliar detective who considers her the prime suspect. Molly recruits the help of the Tarzana Hookers to help with all.
Crochet and Crime—Where Did the Idea Come From?
People often wonder where I get ideas. In the case of the Crochet Mysteries, it all started with a granny square. I’m sure you’ve seen them sewn together in afghans. The are usually made of assorted colors and often have rows of black yarn around them to set them off.
I have loved the motif since the first time I saw one at a family friend’s house out in the country in Indiana. It probably helped that she was a magical sort of person who did things like make candied rose petals and drink exotic tea. She is actually the basis for a character in a new series I’m working on.
Ever after that I had an affinity for anything made of the yarn squares. When I finally taught myself how to crochet enough to make a beanie, I became interested in making the squares myself. But I couldn’t imagine how you could make something with open spaces that didn’t collapse.
Then my whole world changed one day in Las Vegas. My husband was there for a conference and I had gone to the Forum Shops in Casear’s Palace. Although it is all inside the building, it is set up to appear like a real street with a sky that gets dark and then light again. My destination was the large FAO Schwartz store since I love toys more than designer clothes or fancy shoes. I was on my way to look at dolls and had to cross the whole second floor to get to the escalator up to the doll department. As I was on my way, I happened to look off to the side, which turned out to be a major moment in my life. My gaze fell on a little blue suitcase with a banner around it that said something like learn to make granny squares. Without the slightest hesitation or even looking at the price, I knew I had to have one. If the kit could teach a kid to make a granny square, then surely, it could teach me.
I waited until I got back home and was not going to be disturbed, and then I opened the suitcase. I found some yarn, a crochet hook and some directions that seemed like they were written by someone
whose native language wasn’t English. My first try, got me a three sided square, but it was close enough that I understood the technique. And then on my own, I made one with four perfect corners. I looked at it with awe. It was as if the golden door to crochet had opened to me.
I wanted to write a mystery series and got the idea of mixing the yarn craft with a murder, thinking if nothing else, working on the book would inspire me to expand my crochet skills.
It all worked out beyond my wildest dreams and now the fifteenth book, KILLER HOOKS is coming out. You don’t have to know how to crochet or have my fascination with granny squares to read the books. You don’t have to start with the first book either. Each book is a standalone and has murder, romance, friendship and fun. For those who do crochet, there’s at least one pattern included in each book.
I’m going to reveal a secret here that I have not gone public with before. I had created Molly Pink and some of the other characters for another mystery that was about a woman’s gym class. I was calling it Dead Men Don’t Diet, but was having no luck finding a publisher. So, I had Molly and the group drop the dumbbells and leave the spandex behind so they could move over to become the Tarzana Hookers with the backdrop of a bookstore. Now as the 15th book, KILLER HOOKS comes out, I know for sure it is a lot more fun to write about a group of crocheters than a bunch of people doing aerobics. I still love granny squares, though now I prefer to make afghans out of one giant granny square.
About Betty Hechtman
Betty Hechtman is the national bestselling author of the Crochet Mysteries, the Yarn Retreat Mysteries, and the Writer for Hire Mysteries. Handicraft and writing are her passions and she is thrilled to be able to combine them in all of her series. Betty grew up on the South Side of Chicago and has a degree in Fine Art. Since College, she has studied everything from improv comedy to magic. She has had an assortment of professions, including volunteer farm worker picking fruit on a kibbutz tucked between Lebanon and Syria, nanny at a summer resort, waitress at a coffee house, telephone operator, office worker at the Writer’s Guild, public relations assistant at a firm with celebrity clients, and newsletter editor at a Waldorf school. She has written newspaper and magazine pieces, short stories, screenplays, and a middle-grade mystery, Stolen Treasure. She lives with her family and stash of yarn in Southern California. See BettyHechtman.com for more information, excerpts from all her books, and photos of all the projects of the patterns included in her books. She blogs on Fridays at Killerhobbies.blogspot.com, and you can join her on Facebook at BettyHechtmanAuthor.
Website: https://www.BettyHechtman.com
Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Kobo
Killer Hooks TOUR PARTICIPANTS
September 18 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR GUEST POST
September 18 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
September 18 – Bigreadersite – REVIEW
September 18 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
September 19 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT
September 19 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT
September 19 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
September 19 – The Mystery Section – SPOTLIGHT
September 20 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
September 20 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT
September 20 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW
September 21 – Angel’s Guilty Pleasures – SPOTLIGHT
September 21 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT
September 21 – Brooke Blogs – CHARACTER GUEST POST
September 21 – Cozy Up WIth Kathy – AUTHOR GUEST POST
September 22 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – RECIPE POST
September 22 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW
September 23 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
September 23 – Maureen’s Musing – SPOTLIGHT
September 23 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
September 24 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – SPOTLIGHT
September 24 – Lady Hawkeye – SPOTLIGHT
September 24 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
Thanks for hosting me on my blog tour.
You’re welcome! Thanks for stopping!