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chloesbookspot's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
mappymaps8's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
boosmummy's review against another edition
3.0
took a while to get into this book, not a bad read but I didn't enjoy it as much as I do the Monica Ferris series.
spaghettification's review against another edition
I couldn't do it. The writing was just bad and the main character wouldn't stop talking about her weight and calories at completely irrelevant points. Also, who sets a cozy murder mystery in LA? Cozy reads are set in small towns so that they're, y'know, COZY. The audiobook's narration sadly only made everything worse; if you told me an AI had narrated this I probably would've believed you considering how utterly robotic Strom's performance was! Safe to say, this did knot have me hooked.
serena_h's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Eating disorder
fwog19's review against another edition
2.0
Oof. Thank goodness for being able to change the playback speed on audio books.
I figured I would give this cozy a chance since it had to do with crocheting and almost DNF'd it because of a few things. First, the narrator sounded like a robot with hiccups. I don't know if it was the writing causing her to sound so stilted and Shatner-esque, but holy wow. Also, HOW MANY TIMES do you need to describe how to do a chain stitch? Even if you know NOTHING about crocheting and feel the need to "talk it out" to figure it out (I do that too at times) - do you REALLY need to remind people how to do a chain? Really? Then you have the whole, "Knitters are better than crocheters!" garbage. I knit and crochet both and there was a time when I would say "I don't knit" because I didn't care for it at the time. I've never understood the whole animosity bit between the two groups. I swear, they're as bad as rabid vegans.
Molly is middle aged, widowed, with two grown sons and a "sort of" boyfriend (who is actually one of my favorite characters in the book and much too good for her picky ass) who works in a bookstore. She stumbles on a murder victim and gets pegged as the killer.
Most of the book seemed like the author was typing away and let out a huge sneeze, jumbling everything up. It seemed disjointed at times and most of the characters were just flat out annoying. I *did* like how it kind of came together in the end, but really, it's like Molly just stumbled into everything and complained about Barry, her weight, and WHY CAN'T SHE FIGURE ANYTHING OUT?
The only reason I didn't figure out who did it right away was because the character wasn't even really mentioned after a while. Think of the standard group of people and you have three out of the seven or so that the focus is on. You have one who is there (like a red-shirt) and then just isn't. BOOM. There you go. Kind of the inconsequential space filler and the author is trying to be all sneaky and clever, but ends up seeming like a teenager who just realized that they have a 500 word essay due the next morning and it's midnight on a Sunday.
I don't really want to check out the other books in the series, but part of me is a bit curious to see if Molly actually gets her head out of her butt and grows a brain.
I figured I would give this cozy a chance since it had to do with crocheting and almost DNF'd it because of a few things. First, the narrator sounded like a robot with hiccups. I don't know if it was the writing causing her to sound so stilted and Shatner-esque, but holy wow. Also, HOW MANY TIMES do you need to describe how to do a chain stitch? Even if you know NOTHING about crocheting and feel the need to "talk it out" to figure it out (I do that too at times) - do you REALLY need to remind people how to do a chain? Really? Then you have the whole, "Knitters are better than crocheters!" garbage. I knit and crochet both and there was a time when I would say "I don't knit" because I didn't care for it at the time. I've never understood the whole animosity bit between the two groups. I swear, they're as bad as rabid vegans.
Molly is middle aged, widowed, with two grown sons and a "sort of" boyfriend (who is actually one of my favorite characters in the book and much too good for her picky ass) who works in a bookstore. She stumbles on a murder victim and gets pegged as the killer.
Most of the book seemed like the author was typing away and let out a huge sneeze, jumbling everything up. It seemed disjointed at times and most of the characters were just flat out annoying. I *did* like how it kind of came together in the end, but really, it's like Molly just stumbled into everything and complained about Barry, her weight, and WHY CAN'T SHE FIGURE ANYTHING OUT?
The only reason I didn't figure out who did it right away was because the character wasn't even really mentioned after a while. Think of the standard group of people and you have three out of the seven or so that the focus is on. You have one who is there (like a red-shirt) and then just isn't. BOOM. There you go. Kind of the inconsequential space filler and the author is trying to be all sneaky and clever, but ends up seeming like a teenager who just realized that they have a 500 word essay due the next morning and it's midnight on a Sunday.
I don't really want to check out the other books in the series, but part of me is a bit curious to see if Molly actually gets her head out of her butt and grows a brain.
blackrose2366's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
3.0
BEFORE YOU READ:
If you've never read a cozy mystery before, then welcome to a new genre. Cozy mysteries aren't supposed to be genius works of literature. Instead they are cheesy but cute mystery stories that are clean and easy reads. A majority of them involve pets, some of which are more or less responsible for solving the crime. The main theme in this series is crochet and if you're not into crochet you most likely aren't going to enjoy this series. But there i think this proves that there's a cozy series or there for everyone (pet lovers, coffee enthusiasts, small town dreamers, etc.).
I've finished 5 books out of this series so far so I'll put in my two cents on overall writing. The author is quite repetitive, to the extent that there are a couple lines that are word for word in more than one book and moments when something will be explained via the main character's inter dialogue then started out loud by one character or another. The crochet within these books is pretty basic, and that includes the written patterns at the end of the books. The other thing that gets me is the timeline of this series. Molly starts out at 48 and a few books later it talks about the murders she's seen over the last few years but she's still 48, if not just turned 49. Also, sometimes she talks about her late husband as if he passed barely a year ago, while other times it seems like he's been gone for 5+.
Overall, I enjoy the series though. It's cute and fun, and Molly reminds me slightly of my grandma.
If you've never read a cozy mystery before, then welcome to a new genre. Cozy mysteries aren't supposed to be genius works of literature. Instead they are cheesy but cute mystery stories that are clean and easy reads. A majority of them involve pets, some of which are more or less responsible for solving the crime. The main theme in this series is crochet and if you're not into crochet you most likely aren't going to enjoy this series. But there i think this proves that there's a cozy series or there for everyone (pet lovers, coffee enthusiasts, small town dreamers, etc.).
I've finished 5 books out of this series so far so I'll put in my two cents on overall writing. The author is quite repetitive, to the extent that there are a couple lines that are word for word in more than one book and moments when something will be explained via the main character's inter dialogue then started out loud by one character or another. The crochet within these books is pretty basic, and that includes the written patterns at the end of the books. The other thing that gets me is the timeline of this series. Molly starts out at 48 and a few books later it talks about the murders she's seen over the last few years but she's still 48, if not just turned 49. Also, sometimes she talks about her late husband as if he passed barely a year ago, while other times it seems like he's been gone for 5+.
Overall, I enjoy the series though. It's cute and fun, and Molly reminds me slightly of my grandma.
literary__escapism's review against another edition
5.0
The Crochet Mystery series has been in my TBR for quite a few months now. I love to crochet and the idea about a murder mystery series set around a group of crocheters tickles my crafty heart.
The first book in the series is HOOKED ON MURDER, and it sees bookstore event co-ordinator, Molly Pink, in the hot seat after she is suspected of murdering Ellen Sheridan, the leader of the crochet group. Now it's up to Molly, with her trusty sidekick in the form of best friend Dinah, to try to solve the crime before she gets sent away to jail for good!
HOOKED ON MURDER is everything that I love about series debuts. It sets up a great cast of characters (not too many so that I'm constantly losing track of all the characters, and not too few that I feel like something is missing, just the right amount!), with a murder practically on the first page, and lots of crafty goodness.
I really enjoyed Molly as the amateur sleuth. She's feisty and independent and is trying to get her life back on track after her husband passed away. She's determined to solve the crime and clear her name, and even uses a self-help how-to-be-a-investigator type of book to help her along the way!
I've been crocheting for about 15+ years, and I liked the way Betty Hechtman included the crocheting stitches as part of the book. It was fun watching Molly and Dinah learn how to crochet, and also to see the rivalry between crocheters and knitters.
I found HOOKED ON MURDER to be a fantastic read. It is well and truly worthy of 5 stars rating, and a definitely must-add to any cozy mystery readers library.
(Also check out my blog for a picture of my own crochet project: http://cozymysterybooks.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-hooked-on-murder-by-betty.html)
The first book in the series is HOOKED ON MURDER, and it sees bookstore event co-ordinator, Molly Pink, in the hot seat after she is suspected of murdering Ellen Sheridan, the leader of the crochet group. Now it's up to Molly, with her trusty sidekick in the form of best friend Dinah, to try to solve the crime before she gets sent away to jail for good!
HOOKED ON MURDER is everything that I love about series debuts. It sets up a great cast of characters (not too many so that I'm constantly losing track of all the characters, and not too few that I feel like something is missing, just the right amount!), with a murder practically on the first page, and lots of crafty goodness.
I really enjoyed Molly as the amateur sleuth. She's feisty and independent and is trying to get her life back on track after her husband passed away. She's determined to solve the crime and clear her name, and even uses a self-help how-to-be-a-investigator type of book to help her along the way!
I've been crocheting for about 15+ years, and I liked the way Betty Hechtman included the crocheting stitches as part of the book. It was fun watching Molly and Dinah learn how to crochet, and also to see the rivalry between crocheters and knitters.
I found HOOKED ON MURDER to be a fantastic read. It is well and truly worthy of 5 stars rating, and a definitely must-add to any cozy mystery readers library.
(Also check out my blog for a picture of my own crochet project: http://cozymysterybooks.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-hooked-on-murder-by-betty.html)