Book 9 – and as I read none of the others, I was pleasantly surprised that I could just jump in and enjoy.
Casey Feldstein hosts yarn retreats (and solves mysteries on the side) – the venue she uses is Vista Del Mar and one of the owners suggest to combine a yarn retreat with a murder mystery. All is well until a real body is found and the retreat participants rather solve a real crime then a made up.
It’s a fun, quick to read to cozy.

Casey Feldstein is approached by Madeleine Delacourt to combine one of her yarn retreats with a mystery weekend. Casey organizes the event with the help of the assistant manager of Vista Del Mar, Cloris. The slots quickly fill up. The guests are excited when the game begins. The group is busy discussing the clues when they hear a scream. The housekeeper found one of the guests dead in his room. Casey’s group is thrilled to have a real crime to solve. They work to gather clues and intel so they can identify the killer. Knot a Game by Betty Hechtman is the ninth A Yarn Retreat Mystery. It can be read as a standalone for those who are new to the series. I like the author’s writing style. It made the book easy to read. The characters, though, are another story. I have become frustrated with Casey. Her character is at a standstill. She is still unsure about the yarn retreats (she should really have the hang of it by now) and her relationship with Dane has not moved forward. Dane is ready for them to go to the next step, but Casey has put on the brakes. If I ran a yarn retreat business, I would spend my spare time working on my skills. Casey is still at the beginner stage (she can make a scarf using the knit stitch). I would love to see her host a retreat using knitting looms (those plastic looms which can make hats, scarves, blankets, socks, and so much more). I liked that Casey was hosting a mystery weekend. I would love to attend one. Casey, though, is hesitant (of course). Thankfully, she gets help from Cloris, but I have to wonder if Casey has ever heard of the internet. Casey also needs to work on her organizational skills (the weekend was a bit disorganized). The whodunit did not begin until I was a third of a way into the book. There are a couple of suspects, a red herring, and obvious clues. There is a secondary mystery involving a woman staying at Vista Del Mar. When Casey is not baking, handling her retreat, feeding her cat the stinky fish food, talking to Dane, or searching for clues, she unravels the mystery woman’s secret. Let us not forget that the retreaters still need to solve their fake murder. There is too much repetition. Do we really need to know each time Casey feeds Julius (her cat) his stinky fish food? Or how stinky the food is, and that Casey uses multiple layers of clear wrap to keep the smell out of her fridge (did she ever hear of Ziploc bags or buy the small cans that are one serving). We are told several times about Dane offering free karate lessons to local teens and about his delectable spaghetti sauce (I will stop my rant now). These are just a couple of examples. I would like to see the characters grow and for the stories to have more substance. Knot a Game takes readers to Cadbury by the Sea where there is a mystery retreat, hand warmer woes, tasty treats, a furtive visitor, scrumptious spaghetti sauce, stinky fish food, and a messy murder.

I love Betty Hechtman mysteries but this one didn't keep my attention as I found it confusing.
Not my cup of tea
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

As a food loving knitter who enjoys a good murder story, I was hopeful for this book.
Personally I found the story slow and repetitive and just not gripping enough for me to really enjoy it, or care about anything going on.
As this book is part of a series, I don't know if I'd have enjoyed it more if I'd read the previous ones. However based on this book I'd not rush to read others from the series.
I do like the inclusion of a knitting pattern and recipes at the end of the book.

A reasonably enjoyable cosy mystery with the main character, Casey, deciding to broaden her guests' horizons by adding in a murder mystery of the "Colonel Mustard in the library with the pistol" type. Her guests came for this and to learn or consolidate knitting skills allegedly. A slightly strange mix as neither event seemed to have been given a lot of thought and it was all mixed up with Casey baking for various related/non related events as if her life depended upon it. . A hotel/spa/retreat without mobile phone signals, wifi/internet or TV sounds good though. The guests were a mixed bunch of course, all of whom had secrets that may or may not relate to the real murder that occurred. Casey had to do her best to teach her guests about knitting when most seemed not to know one end of the needle from the other, to keep them part focussed on her "murder" whilst keeping them out of investigating the real murder - at least she had the sense to try to do that, and to provide them with an awful lot of tea in the drink and "meal" sense. Still, all ended well even if unexpected - but I like that. Get rid of the endless stinky fish cat food repeats. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Knot A Game is the 9th book in this charming cozy series set in picturesque coastal Pacific Grove CA . The author captures all the charm and beauty of Pacific Grove which is renamed Cadbury by the Sea for the series. I have enjoyed this series as one of my top five favorite cozy series. Thank you to the publisher, to Net Galley and to the author for the opportunity for review. My review opinions are my own.

Casey has a new challenge with a murder mystery yarn retreat set at the historic retreat center where she holds her retreats for those that want to escape , go off line and learn more about knitting in a team setting. Her retreats are proving successful as a new business venture for her. Casey also is a dessert chef for the restaurants in town and a skilled baker. As the weekend is set in motion a real murder occurs and everyone that was present at the retreat center is a suspect.

The sleuth was well crafted and kept me guessing. The setting is mysterious and atmospheric in this California Coastal region. The charcters are all fun and add to the series. I look forward to the next in series as the author always delivers a fun interesting sleuth that is a great read and keeps this reader turning pages to conclusion. Well done to the author.

Knot a Game was a fun read. Casey Feldstein is the main character who lives in the town Cadbury by the Sea, CA. She owns a yarn retreat business that she inherited from her Aunt Joan. Casey is also a dessert chef at a local restaurant and bakes muffins for the coffee shops. Lucinda Thornkill, a good friend and her husband, Tag own the restaurant The Blue Door. Her boyfriend, Dane Managano is a cop, The Vista Del Mar hotel and conference center is owned by the Delacorte family. It had originally been a camp and social hall. Casey uses the hotel for her weekends devoted to yarn crafts, and more. Madeline Delacorte has asked Casey to met her at the hotel cafe. She wants the next retreat to be a mystery game called Murderous Yarn. Madeline wants to be Mrs. Marble. Casey can't say no so she has to organize it. Kevin St. James is the manager of the hotel and wants to take over the yarn retreats. He makes things difficult for Casey. Cloris Dunphy is the assistant manager who Kevin doesn't like and is looking for a reason to get rid of her. Gwen Selwyn who owns Cadbury Yarns the knitting part of the retreat. Gwen was the love child of Edmond Delacorte, late brother of Madeline and Cora. The sister's accepted her and has part in the hotel. She has a son Cory who works at the hotel.

Casey calls her old boss, Frank Shaw a PI who she worked for when she lived in Chicago. She asks about how to put together a murder. She puts together a mystery story and gets the employees at the hotel to participate in the story, The people who have paid for the mystery retreat arrive. They are Victor and Leslie Ackroyd, Sandra and Bruce Elliot, Mary Smith, Rose Wilburn, Manda Oliver. Jenn and Emily Van Ness, Mother and daughter and Milton Carruthers a mystery writer. They are given their package to go with the story but are told not to open until after the murder. The story starts with the murder of Sammy, friend of Casey who is helping with the story. He is on the floor oozing red stain on his shirt with the knife on the ground next to him. There is so much that goes on in this story I will leave the story for the reader. At the hotel there are a few other groups, one an insurance adjusters, Brooke Tanner and Gary Moser who seems very interested in their group. All goes well until the murder of Gary Moser who is found in the bathroom naked. He was killed by a hairdryer on an orange extension cord. Kevin comes in and tells them to all go downstairs. Police arrive along with Detective Borgnine who has it in for Casey. The think that this is also part of the mystery murder until they are told differently. They are all suspects. They all decide that they would rather solve this murder instead of the one for the retreat. Again I will leave all of this to the reader as it gets very interesting. The story comes to a surprised ending with the discovery of the real killer.

I enjoyed the story and look forward to the next book in this series.

Thank you NetGalley and Beyond the Page Publishing for this ARC.

I enjoyed the story up to the 60% mark. The story became a little repetitive and slow. I felt like there were too many “non eventful events” I.e. the tea, afternoon tea, the cream tea, the prep and baking the goods for the following day tea.
Also struggled to keep track of all the characters, three of which all had similar names.
The plot is a great idea, as someone who likes baking, knitting and reading cozy mysteries, but it could have been shorter.

Knot a Game is the ninth book in the yarn retreat mystery series. Casey is asked to combine a murder mystery game with her weekend yarn retreat. When a real murder happens, everyone at the hotel becomes a suspect. Casey is suspicious of some of her guests and also some of the hotel guests. She has her hands full trying to keep her yarn retreat guests from meddling in the police investigation, while also doing some sleuthing on her own. I enjoyed this book. Thank you to Beyond The Page Publishing and to netgalley for providing me with an advance readers copy.

I'm a big fan of Betty Hechtman and her other cozy mystery series, however, I was unimpressed with Knot a Game.
Casey has been putting on yarn retreats for ages, so her self doubt in this book was irritating.
The actual murder mystery yarn retreat sounded fantastic, and it's something I would love to do, but it seemed incredibly disorganized.
I really hope this is just a one off, and that the next book will absolutely thrill me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.
#KnotaGame #NetGalley

I liked the gift of the pattern for the fingerless gloves at the end but I found the story confusing with too many characters and too padded out with lists of the food that Casey was baking and the rigmarole of feeding her cat.

The newest yarn retreat mystery finds Casey agreeing to host a yarn retreat that involves a murder mystery party. She is reluctant to say yes, but one of the influential people within her town is determined to have it and be involved. Things seem to be going ok until an actual murder occurs. Casey must investigate so that the weekend is not completely bust.

I wish there had been more background on Casey for those of us new to the series (like I was). Otherwise, a fine cozy mystery, especially if you are already acquainted with the series.

Murder All Too Real..
The ninth Yarn Retreat mystery finds Casey hosting a murder mystery weekend which swiftly becomes all too real. With the whole hotel under suspicion how will Casey find a way out of this one? With an eclectic and often eccentric array of characters, a frothy plot and an engaging setting. Another entertaining entry in the series.

Knot a Game by Betty Hechtman is book #9 in the Yarn Retreat Mystery series. Casey Feldstein, who runs a knitting retreat gets talked into combining the knitting retreat with a murder mystery weekend by Madeline Delacorte who is one of the owners of Vista Del Mar where Case holds her knitting retreats. During the retreat an actual homicide occurs and the retreat attendees choose to investigate the actual crime. Casey has to think fast to keep the attendees from interfering with the police investigation. She keeps them busy and out of trouble. I like this storyline and how the author kept me guessing until the end. The characters are all well-developed and their interactions are quite interesting. I look forward to the next book in the series.

At the urging of Vista Del Mar’s owner, Casey Feldstein takes on the job of combining a murder mystery game with her next weekend yarn retreat. Enlisting the help of the hotel’s staff to play the roles of victim and suspects, she lays out a plot and plants some red herrings. And as her intrigued guests watch the murder play out and the clues unfold, Casey is certain she’s pulled off the perfect make-believe murder—until a real murder intrudes and everyone at the hotel is named as a suspect.
As her retreat guests turn away from the fake murder to solve the real one, Casey has her hands full trying to keep them from meddling in police business. But even as they’re dead-set on unraveling the mystery in their midst, Casey has her eye on a few of them, some of whom don’t seem to be who or what they claim. With time ticking down on her weekend and her guests more interested in nabbing a killer than knitting, Casey will have to stitch together her own solution before the killer can stop her and declare game over .
A staked mystery that turns into a real murder mystery. This is an awesome story that is not a happy tale.. .
Betty Hechtman is a new author to me. I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

I was super excited when I heard about this series, as it combines some of my favorite things- food, crafts, and cozy mysteries. I first tried to start with book 1 of the series before reading this one, but I didn’t get very far before the book irritated me to the point I couldn’t finish, so I decided to just read this one, and it seems like things haven’t changed in nine books. The things I didn’t like about book 1 are still present in this book (like how Lucinda talks about her husband), and there were many things in this book pertaining to the plot that got on my nerves (like book 1). I only got through the first few chapters before my annoyance cause me to abandon this one too. The main character acts like putting on a weekend murder mystery is this big, mystifying project, when these activities are pretty common, totally fit her retreat, and is actually a really good idea. It still feels like she doesn’t know what she’s doing, with either this project or the business she inherited from her aunt. For example, she acts like Frank (PI) is the only one she can ask for advice on putting together a fake crime, but he barely gives her any advice, and she’s dating a cop!! The idea for this book instantly attracted my attention, but the writing and execution leaves much to be desired

With a murder mystery as part of her yarn retreat, Casey Feldstein believes her participants will have a great time at the retreat. Unfortunately when a real murder occurs, the participants are too busy solving the real murder to clear their names than the one Casey worked so hard to perfect.

Who to trust and who to look into further? Time is running out with a killer on the loose in their midst. Can Casey figure out whodunit before anyone else is looped in for the next murder?

A great series that always has a a mystery along with a yarn project and a recipe. I’ve never been disappointed on a “retreat” yet. Betty Hechtman crafts a solid mystery with multidimensional characters the are well developed and has you sitting on the edge of your seat trying to figure out the clues before the final reveal.