This is my favorite of the series and a exciting atmospheric mystery ! Knot Dead Again is the 10th book in the "Yarn Retreat Mystery Series." I have enjoyed the entire series and was pleased to receive this for review. Thank you to Net Galley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity for review. My review opinions are my own. Casey is a smart savvy protagnist who readers can relate to. In this next in series she has suffered a set back in her relationship with Dane and is moving forward with her new retreat planning while supported by her friends. The author has created the perfect setting in fictional "Cadbury By The Sea" at the Alisomar Resort. which we locals know as Pacific Grove. The setting of a historic resort in the redwoods by the sea is brought to life beautifully for the reader by the author.
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Casey has a fun beginning crochet retreat planned at Vista Del Mar. The manager is out of town and she hopes for a smooth retreat . As the guest arrive for the other retreats of the week disagreements keep Casey and staff trying to keep the peace. One retreat manager is particulary disliked for his faux self help and previous attendees show up angry with him. When he is found dead and a torrential rain traps everyone at the resort Casey is on the case whille attempting to keep the guest calm and find the rightful suspect. A second murder occurs and Casey works to find the killer among them and keep every one safe.

I loved the setting of the guests trapped by a rainstorm. The multitude of characters are brillantly drawn to the plot and all add to the mystery. Mysterious motives arise with red herrings as Casey takes over the investigation. . Casey takes charge in this book while investigating the murder and maintaining order among the guest. This was such a exciting read I read it in one sitting. I highly recommend this next in series for your reading enjoyment. Well done to author Betty Hechtman. I look forward to the next in series.

Knot Dead Again is book #10 in the A Yarn Retreat Mystery series by Betty Hechtman.

A yarn retreat for crocheting sounds fun, until there is a terrible storm trapping everyone and then a man dies. I thought having the three retreats was a great way to bring in an assortment of characters into the story. I liked how there was actually crocheting in the book. Casey was able to get a taste of being a PI and also realize she can do more than bake. The mystery kept me guessing. I thought I’d figured it out, but I hadn’t. This was an entertaining book that has a crochet pattern and recipe at the end.

Thank you to the author, Beyond the Page Publishing, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

While I very much enjoy all of Betty Hechtman’s cozy mysteries, I think the Yarn Retreat ones are my favorite. This one was very well done. Casey has decided to give a beginners retreat to open up the hobby to novices. It is a quiet time in the late winter so few guests are around, but another retreat is running in conjunction with hers. As she prepares for a peaceful weekend, she encounters heartbreak when her boyfriend Dane suddenly reunites with an old flame. But, the death of the other group leader in the middle of a torrential rainstorm that traps everyone at the lodge, does not allow Casey much time to fret. She and her old boyfriend, now good friend, Dr. Sammy, try to solve the murder. The pace of the book is perfect and the description of the weather makes you feel like you are on-site with them.

I have to admit, I was pretty mad at Casey for assuming the worst about her and Dane’s relationship when she saw him with his high school girlfriend. I kept wondering how had it taken her ten books to not tell him how she felt before this, and now she’s jumping to conclusions. But by the time the book was ending, I forgave her for being close-minded and unwilling to talk with Dane. And maybe she realized that a guy who gives your spoiled cat the stinky old fish the cat likes seems like a real keeper to me lol.

That murder mystery had me guessing the entire time, the just when I was sure I knew... let’s just say the author’s a master of manipulation and I do mean that in a really good way. I really have more fun when I guess wrong and go “WOW!” when I read the reveal, which is just what happened with this book. The conclusion to the weekend was amazing and I have to believe that since weather was the reason the weekend was messed up and improvs had to be made, Casey’s fellow guests helped her come to a good decision. I was super happy with the very ending.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by Beyond the Page publishing via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

I read a lot of cozy mysteries and every so often I come across one that I want to stay up all night reading. “Knot Dead Again”, the tenth book in Betty Hechtman’s Yarn Retreat Mystery cozy mystery series, was one of those books. Main character Casey Feldstein has inherited her aunt’s yarn retreat business which she runs out of a resort across the street from her house and in this book she and other guests at Vista Del Mar are trapped by torrential downpours that flood the streets to the extent that Casey can’t even get to her nearby house. As if that isn’t bad enough, one of the guests is found dead in his room and it may be murder. Since the police can’t get there, Casey has to investigate. I loved this whole story and quickly became wrapped up in the storyline and felt like I was working alongside Casey as she not only investigated the death, but tried to keep the guests occupied and fed. The mystery was well done with plenty of suspects – I thought for sure I had the killer figured out but I was totally wrong – very well done by Hechtman! All in all a nicely done cozy mystery.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

crochet-pattern, recipes, amateur-sleuth, contemporary, local-law-enforcement, small-business, small-town, California, relationships, relationship-issues, yarn-crafts, dessert-chef, women's-fiction, cozy-mystery, self-worth-issues, friendship, friends, flooding, unpleasant-guests, unpleasant-pet, closed-circle-mystery****

I've missed a couple of books in this series but I think it stands alone quite well.
Interesting collection of characters of all sorts and the murder occurs when the retreat lodge is enisled by torrential rains and flooding. Good read on a rainy day.
I requested and received a free temporary EARC from Beyond the Page via NetGalley.
#YarnRetreatMysteriesBk10

I discovered Betty several years and a different series ago and fell in love! I am a self taught crocheter and so loved the idea of a cozy based around a hobby I was quickly falling in love with. Betty has a easy style that is fast to read but so easy to fall into the story.

The Yarn Retreat series is a wonderful concept that in the book got off on bad footing that kept galloping away from poor Casey when she goes to the hotel to begin her retreat, one of a few, only to have torrential rains and storms completely close off the hotel from other retreaters and food vendors from arriving! Now stuck, those in residence must try to come to grips with being stuck for an indeterminate amount of time, with no kitchen staff, no room staff, nada. Its all hands on deck! And then the first body turns up, one of the other retreat presenters! And Casey must put her detective hat on and try to gather clues, rescue clues, and solve a mystery before it all gets washed away! And help with preparing meals and act as housekeeping too! What is a poor girl to do?!? Pick up your hooks, ladies, a mystery abounds! And will her erstwhile romance continue or fizzle?!? Read on and find out!

A great read! I know I need to get caught back up!

Knot Dead Again by Betty Hechtman This was the least enjoyable book in this series for me. So much wasn’t believable and the lead character never seems to mature in her thinking. An awful lot of repeated history. Thanks NetGalley.

Knot Dead Again by Betty Hechtman
Rating: 4/5

Casey Feldstein thought her yarn retreat would be just like any other, but when a mighty storm, dead body, and murderer are added into the mix, it throws her for a loop (get it?? Loop?!?) and subsequently, Casey finds herself and a few of the early arrival guests trapped… and so begins the closed-room mystery.

This book was an absolute page turned that kept me, as the reader, guessing right until the end. The characters and plot were both developed

If you’re looking for a cozy mystery, then this one is for you.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Beyond the Page Publishing for providing me with an ARC copy in exchange for an honest and fair review.

Knot Dead Again is a fun "locked-room", cozy mystery with entertaining characters and a woodsy-camp setting. Casey is hosting another yarn retreat at Vista del Mar. Two other groups are scheduled for the same weekend. As hosts and guests start arriving, it soon becomes apparent that many of the attendees know each other (and not in the friendliest of manners). A terrible storm turns the first evening into a nightmare, as the guests realize that they are stranded at the lodge. Then, one of the hosts turns up murdered. Now, Casey is forced to find out who among the groups is the killer. And she must solve the mystery before someone else winds up dead.

Knot Dead Again is a cute cozy mystery that takes advantage of the popularity of the "locked-room" thriller. The characters are fun, and Vista del Mar totally reminds me of the camps I attended in my youth. The author does a great job with the setting, the characters, and the mystery. The ending was a bit anticlimactic; I wasn't overly surprised with the identity of the killer. However, overall, I enjoyed Knot Dead Again.

Casey has her hands full with this yarn retreat. Flooding has occurred and she as well as a couple of other retreat leaders are trapped at the resort with only a handful of early arrivals that showed up for the weekend. Unfortunately, not all are there with good intentions and things are going from bad to worse all while Casey is also trying to hold back her own personal problems as it seems Dane has decided to move on without telling her. Once again, excellent characters that come to life on the page and draw you into their lives and emotions. A well thought out plot with ample red herrings and clues to lead you in the right or wrong direction, depending on what you focus on. The multiple plots merging into one seamless plot make this story engaging and entertaining. As always, I am left wanting more, more, more!

No spoiler alerts here, but if Dane does decide to pull his head out of the fog of his old flame, he needs to do a lot of begging to make up for the fact that he supposedly loves Casey, but seemed to quickly fall back into rhythm with his old flame pretty fast. Not someone I would trust in the long haul unless he proved himself worthy in some manner. After all, the entire town knows he had taken back up with his old flame without bothering to tell Casey about it. I'll be curious to see how this aspect of Casey's story plays out in the future! One more reason I need more, more, more!

Casey Feldstein thinks the retreat she's planning will be just like any other. Crocheters and knitters will gather at Vista Del Mar, enjoy some yarn crafting, eat delicious meals, and enjoy camaraderie in a relaxing environment. But when a deluge surrounds the resort with water and she's stranded with her assistant and the few early arrivals for two different retreats, things quickly break down. When someone is murdered, Casey quickly suspects it was no accident and if that's the case then she's trapped with a killer.

I picked this book because I thought it was one of Hechtman's Crochet mysteries. This was the first Yarn Retreat mystery I've read and I found it extremely hard to follow. There were a lot of characters and they weren't really introduced in any great detail. This is not something that I would find problematic if I had read the rest of the books in the series but for someone just getting started with the series it was very hard to figure out who was who. It wasn't until probably 3/4 of the way through the book that I felt like I had a good handle on who the main characters were, I never really did get the retreat attendees straight. I also found Vista Del Mar hard to figure out. Everything seemed to be in different buildings. Given the constant pouring rain I didn't really understand why everyone didn't just stay in one building, or spend as much time as possible in one building, but the characters were constantly putting on their garbage bag ponchos and going outside.

Despite these issues I did enjoy the story. I love the closed-room mystery and each of the characters had their own motives and opportunities. The killer was fairly transparent and the red herring was quite obvious (which is pretty much how it should be for a red herring). I really liked Casey, though I felt she was giving up a bit too easy. Lucinda got a bit annoying with her constant phone calls to Tag and Cloris was pretty much worthless. I wish we could have seen a bit more of Madeline, she was an interesting character and was going through a stressful time, storms notwithstanding. Though I didn't really understand the layout of Vista Del Mar, it was a fun setting.

While I didn't love this book, it definitely piqued my interest. I own several books from the series and am looking forward to going back to the beginning and reading them in order.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Betty Hechtman for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Knot Dead Again coming out May 14, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own. My

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I haven’t read the other books in the series, but I felt it was easy to dive in. I love cozy books about sewing, so I thought this would be a good one. Overall, I really enjoyed it. There were a couple parts where it felt a little too much like a therapy session. I’m not sure if that’s the norm with this series. But I thought Casey’s character was fun and I’d read more books in the series.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys cozy yarn mysteries!

An engaging cozy mystery. Interesting look at the resilience of some people. Fun to see how they cope with the various situations that arise. Some surprises along with confirmation of my suspicions. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

Knot Dead Again by Betty Hechtman has Casey Feldstein dealing with a beginner’s yarn retreat, a destructive storm, a nervous assistant manager, and boyfriend troubles. We get to catch up with the regular characters (Casey, Lucinda, Tag, Sammy, Madeleine, Dane, Cloris, Kevin, and, of course, Julius) plus we get to meet the guests staying at Vista Del Mar (there are three retreats taking place including Casey’s). The story moves at a languid pace. The pacing needed to be peppier, and action would have helped. There is too much repetition (spaghetti is mentioned ten times) and unnecessary details (discussing meal, preparing meals, cleaning up from cooking, lack of food—I wonder if the author hungry when she wrote this story). When we are told for the second time how Casey wraps Julius’s stinky fish cat food in layers of clear wrap, aluminum foil, and baggies, I wanted to tell her to buy smaller cans (such as single meal cans) and has she never heard of a cat food can cover (put on the cover and stuff it in a baggie or two if needed). Casey’s romantic problems overshadowed the mystery (it dominates her thoughts). The mystery was simple. The killer can be identified before anyone is murdered. The why takes just a little longer to uncover. Casey enjoys having a leading role in solving the crime (thanks to the storm). She recruits her friends to help her unravel the whodunit. Knot Dead Again is the tenth A Yarn Retreat Mystery. It can be read as a standalone as the author provides all the background information a new reader needs. There is a pattern at the end for the heart garland (it would look cute on a Valentine’s tree) and the recipe for the Happy Days Retro Cake. Knot Dead Again takes us to Cadbury by the Sea with a rainy retreat, stinky fish food, romantic troubles, a murdered man, corrupted clues, and an overwhelmed assistant manager.

Casey was a different type of detective than I have gotten used to in cozies. She seems a time a little flighty because she has had so many starts and stops in her story to become the person she is meant to be. At one time, she thinks again about moving on to another adventure. Fortunately, she decides to stick it out in Cadbury for another yarn retreat and this one leaves her tied in knots trying to unravel the puzzle. We get what is becoming a stable in the genre a trapped with the killer story that further amps up the drama of the guests who are not a happy together bunch. The floodwaters churn as another body drops and it is up to a yarn aficionado and baking gem to untangle the story and find the killer.
Along the way, Casey is also dealing with tangled emotions as the man she finally realizes she loves may be slipping away. I'm not a huge fan of the return of the ex-girlfriend. I think I may be a bit of a romantic and I don't like anyone who interferes in the love that is supposed to be. Saying that I'm sure that is the author's intention to keep us wondering if the ship has sailed for Casey and Dane. He did seem a little too focused on Stacy at least at the beginning when she returned. Loved how the small time gossip vines were working in high gear and everyone knew what was going on and could share that with Casey. Reminds me of so many other small tight knit towns including my own. Can't story the gossip even if it is painful to be on the receiving end of bad news.
Before i wrap this up, Madeline has grown so much as part of this series and found myself with a case of the feels when she felt rejected by Milton. In my opinion, having great side characters who we care about makes the book stronger and feeling bad for Madeline is a good example of that.
This is a nice series to read even though I personally will not be trying any of the yarn projects. I love crafts but an not a knitter.
Thanks to NetGalley and Beyond the Page Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC.

"Knot Dead Again (A Yarn Retreat Mystery #10)" by Betty Hechtman has a little bit Valentine's Day and a lot of the classic trapped in House/Resort with the Murder mystery. When the retreats get rained in with cars and trees blocking all the roads chaos ensues. The retreat attendees who are there don't all seem to get along. Particularly with one specific person. Then the mystery begins and it's up to Casey to help keep it all together while figuring out who the culprit is.

I had one personal in particular in mind. However, I wasn't quite right. I had the relationship to the deceased correct but not the actual person. In the end, all is revealed and all the relationship dramas too are resolved.

This is a fun, entertaining read. I enjoyed Casey and her fellow residents of Cadbury along with the various retreat guests. They added to the fabric of the story. The story is easy to get into and read. I really like that Casey played a major role in solving the mystery as apposed to having it land in her lap. The romance subplot is an added bonus.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#KnotDeadAgain #NetGalley is another page turner that will keep the reader guessing until the end.
Casey is running another yarn retreat, but this time, a raging storm renders them all isolated and a dead body and a murderer add a lot of pressure to her frayed nerves.
This was a good addition to this series, I liked the way the story played out and the mystery was well done.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.

Casey is hosting her yarn retreat at Vista Del Mar and dealing with Dane’s ex-girlfriend being back in town…and in Dane’s life, apparently. There are other groups at the resort, but before everyone arrives, a heavy storm hits and the resort is cut off from the town. With no staff able to get to work, everyone must help out, especially Casey. First, a guest dies overnight, perhaps of a heart attack. Then, another death occurs and Casey is narrowing down the suspects.
This is a fun series with knitting, crocheting, and baking…a great combination. Casey is becoming part of the community and has made friends and may be putting down roots finally. The mystery is well-plotted and I was kept guessing until the end.
Thanks to Beyond the Page Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.