Cover Image: One for the Hooks

One for the Hooks

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Member Reviews

Molly Pink, bookstore employee and the Tarzana Hooker 's crocheting club are at it again! When the interior designer of a rental property is murdered, the suspicion falls on the neighborhood folks who didn't want it in the first place. Molly has to solve the mystery before the murderer finds another target!

The series is enjoyable and has so many interesting characters - like the Tarzana Hookers, Molly's friends, kids and boyfriends. There's never a dull moment. The only thing is like to see is Molly be more firm with her adult children. Other than that, it's a fun series, especially if you enjoy crafting cozies!

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

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Aargh, this woman had me grinding my teeth, she was such a pushover, allowing her son and his girlfriend to demeaned her like that. Molly Pink’s character gave me a frustrating headache, she seemed to be missing some backbone, but no matter, this cozy had some gum to it even though Molly was annoying. It was indeed a cozy, captivating, intriguing, and entertaining read.

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So much to offer the reader. The yarn shop is a cleaver idea, yummy treats from the cafe, a mystery, and a romance. The characters are a nice blend of people to like and a few annoying ones thrown in for interest. The grown son coming home was funny. Had that happen to me in the past so could relate. The mystery was a good one with a twist at the guilty party. I thought the book was interesting and I liked it.

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This was so much fun to read and the first book I have read in this series but after the ending I want more! Molly Pink works for a Bookstore that the Tarzana Hookers met out for crocheting. She is helping a friend Miami get rid of some yarn from a house that they are selling. While over there at the house Sloan gets hit by a drone and dies. Was it murder or an accident Molly sets out to find out? Molly hooks up with her old boyfriend Barry who is a detective to help him figure this murder out. But Molly is involved with Mason now and Mason is not real happy about Molly helping Barry. Mason is trying to get Molly to go to Kansas with him for a court case he is working on. I laughed so hard about Molly getting herself into predicaments in the neighbors yards where Sloan was killed. Great fun read and I will definitely be reading more of this author.

I received this ARC for free from Netgalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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The good news for an author is their series based on an amateur detective, in this book, Molly Pink, and her supporting cast of characters will continue on for 10 or more books. One for the Hooks is Hechtman’s 14th in the series. The bad news is, while it’s fun to revisit and catch up with the characters, there’s also the risk of the series becoming formulaic and predictable. Such is the case with this book. Another dead body, more investigative mishaps, more unspoken romantic tension, and an eye-rolling ending. Of course, if you’ve read the previous 13 books, you pretty much have to read this one. #NetGalley

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downloaded for my mother to read not my type of book. I will never read this type of book, not for me, no thank you

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Molly Pink arrives home to find the lights on and the animals out. She prepares for battle only to discover its her oldest son Peter and his girlfriend Gabby. They announce they're moving in for awhile!! So Molly stays in her room and lets them have run of the house. Meanwhile Sloan Renner invites Molly and her friends to take a look at some yarn she runs across while staging a house.. On the day Molly goes to pick up the yarn a drone flies over and drops some yucky stuff on Sloan. Killing her within minutes. But why?? Sure the neighbors were opposed to the home owner renting out the house but would they go as far as murder to stop that? This book was full of non-
stop action and likeable characters. I enjoyed catching up with Molly and her band of The Tarzana Hookers.

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What a fun cozy with some crocheting thrown in! Molly works at a book store and crochets with a group called the Tarzana Hookers. Sloan, a regular at the book store is a jack-of-all-trades. She does staging for selling homes, creating set designs, and she's a real estate agent. She has a client that has some yarn to sell, so Molly, Sloan and a couple of other hookers troop to the house. While there a drone drops a load of garbage on Sloan, which kills her. Molly worries that it was on purpose and not just a random act of vandalism against the home owner. Miami is the home owner and she wants to convert the majority of the house into an airbnb type place. This has all the neighbors in an up roar.

This is such a unique mystery. I mean, who gets killed my a load of garbage being dumped on them. Plus, Molly is being pulled in several directions. Her ex-boyfriend, a detective on the case, asks her to keep her ears open for any gossip about the murderer. There is still an attraction there, but her new boyfriend has proposed. Adding to all the turmoil, her son has moved back home with his pregnant girlfriend. The story made me giggle at times and I love all the animals. The crocheting is the cherry on top.

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Great group of crafters to have a fun adventure with while sitting in your favorite chair. The story like hooks the reader from the onset with likable characters. People like and admire the feisty caring main character named molly.

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One For the Hooks.
The ending of this book would make Agatha Christy proud. The characters are likable, the setting is comfortable, and the storyline is interesting. My one negative would be that there were places in the book where the narrative was too long. Overall, it was a good book and I recommend it.

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While I received a free copy of this e-book from the publisher (via netgalley) all opinions remain my own.

I found this book to be quite amusing. In this story Molly Pink and her friends (part of a group called the Tarzana Hookers- a crochet club!) are trying to solve the untimely death of another friend. When the death involves a drone drop of seafood shells, you know you are going to have a good time. Will Molly be able to solve the mystery and get a new project off the ground for the group? You will find out in this book.

Again, I love that it stands alone. If you want to know more about Molly and the Hookers, there are 13 previous novels in this series.

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As usual, Betty has written a very enjoyable book. I always am wondering what the members of the crochet group are up to. This story was interesting and it kept me involved from the first page to the last. Cannot wait for the next book! A great series!

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Looking for a book with an intelligent and capable woman in her 50's as your heroine? Then look no further! You'll love the main character as well as her unique and diverse group of friends from the Tarzana Hookers...hookers as in crochet crafters that is. Once again Molly finds herself embroiled in drama that is equal parts her family and equal parts out of her control. Toss in a dead body, a past beau and you have the makings for an entertaining and explosive read! I am absolutely loving following the progression of these characters and definitely can't wait to see what comes next for them.

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Miami Wilson inherits a home on a quiet cul-de-sac and hires Sloan Renner to help her convert it into her version of a B&B. The neighbors are furious and start vandalizing her home.
Sloan asks Molly Pink to check out boxes of yarn found on the property in hopes that her store will buy them. A drone flies over the house to annoy, most certainly another attempt by the neighbors to make Miami sell.
The next time Molly sees the drone it's dumping mollusk shells all over Miami's backyard, covering Sloan in a pile of smelly seafood. After the drone leaves Molly and Miami find that Sloan is dead.
When the drone comes to Molly's home she knows she needs to find out who is behind it
This was a good read. I like the crochet patterns at the end.

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I love crochet and I love mysteries. So I thought why not. I really couldn't get into this one, as I didn't really care for the characters, or their development. I haven't read the others in the series, but thought it can be read as a stand-alone. I'm not real sure I will read the others in all honesty.

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Poor Molly Pink, she’s got a significant other who’s pressuring her to make a commitment, a co-worker who’s incredibly annoying, a son who has taken over her house, and a murder to solve. The mystery was intriguing, with an interesting ending, although a little unbelievable--which was my problem with the whole book. Everything in it seemed a little too over the top and unbelievable. For example, not five minutes after the murder occurs the police, EMTs, a firetruck AND a police helicopter show up. And this is even before anyone realized that the victim has, in fact, been murdered. Some of the things in the book get kind of old pretty quickly, for example The Adele, Molly’s self-absorbed co-worker who is constantly vlogging everything she does. I’m not going to lie. Halfway through the book I wanted to beat her over the head with her selfie stick. As for Molly, she comes off like a serious doormat. Her son and his baby mama take over her house banishing her to her room, which she does without a whimper. But I did enjoy the mystery and the timely twists Ms. Hecthman put in—drones, college scandals. And I loved the ending. It made all the over the top silliness worthwhile.

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This is a favorite series that just keeps getting better with each book. Her love life does keep you guessing as which of the two guys she will choose. An enjoyable book. Good plot with likeable believable characters. Thanks #netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

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Many years ago I read the first couple of books in a then-new crafty mystery series by Betty Hechtman. Members in a crafting forum I was a moderator at were very excited because this series was centered around crocheters; most of the fiber craft mystery series featured knitters. I wasn't too impressed by the series, so after two or three books, I gave up. But I recently came across the latest in the series and thought I'd give it another try. Sometimes an author needs two or three stories to hit their stride, and I thought that might be the case here.

I was wrong. The character and the story were even worse than I remembered. I hate to pan a book, much less an entire series, but I really can't do otherwise here. Ms. Hechtman is now writing 3 or 4 different series, and their output always suffers when authors start writing this much. That may be the problem here. Or, it may just be that this series is bad. I'm not going to try her other series to determine which is true.

The main character, Molly Pink, works in a bookstore as assistant manager and event coordinator. In addition to book groups, she's organized a group of crocheters who meet regularly in the bookstore. In the first book, she became romantically involved with the police officer investigating the murder. At some point, they broke up and she started seeing a lawyer. In this book, Molly has to face her attraction to both men. Barry the police officer has moved on and is dating again, and Mason, her new boyfriend, has asked her to quit her job to work with him, and told her that he wants to marry her. She is attracted to both men and strings both of them along. She is jealous of and snide toward's Barry's new romantic interest to his face. She makes derisive comments about Carol using a home meal delivery service because she (Molly) doesn't need pre-packaged ingredients to make a meal. What gourmet meal is Molly preparing while she's mocking Carol? Scrambled eggs. Haute cuisine. She lies to Mason about her feelings for Barry repeatedly.

Molly's behavior to Barry is juvenile and offensive. She constantly accuses him of being constipated emotionally (as if a police officer can let his emotions be visible to all). She agrees to help him investigate what looks like an accident but may have been intentional. Barry tells her that he will contact her as she is assisting unofficially, and she becomes petulant when he doesn't call and angry when she calls him and he doesn't want/can't to talk to her. Hmm, Molly, maybe he's at the police station and will get in trouble if it becomes known he's working with you? She answers every question he asks about the case with a question, refusing to answer until he practically begs for it, then diverts the conversation into accusations about his emotional self-control, and then finds his impatience with this childish behavior objectionable. Rise and repeat, and repeat, and repeat. By the third identical conversation with Barry, this was tedious.

Her personal behavior is also objectionable. She steals keys and breaks into two houses, she withholds information, she repeatedly tells the reader that Barry and the police can't do their jobs so she has to solve the crime for them. She acts as if they are Keystone Kops bumbling about, and doesn't consider that her behavior not only impedes their investigation, but could cost them a conviction in a court of law if they try to rely on her fraudulently obtained information. She prides herself on being a better investigator than professionals yet gets physically locked in an easement because she doesn't think to check the lock. Yet later, when she needs to get out of that same water easement area, she finds a different gate/door that is the only one that doesn't lock like all the others, and guess what? It just happens to be the gate to the murderer's house.

Other unbelievable coincidences abound, like jogging a computer awake with her elbow and being able to access all the files because it's not password protected (really?). She can answer a cell phone without seeing the name on the screen (how is that possible when you have to touch the screen to answer the call?). A book group regular just happens to be a neighbor of the woman where the murder occurs. The final coincidence, which ties the murderer into a separate subplot, was one too many and made me want to scream. There are inconsistencies in the story. After hundreds of pages around a key plot element--a neighborhood is angry that a resident wants to start letting her house be used as a vacation rental a la VRBO, after the resolution to the murder suddenly the entire neighborhood signs up with that homeowner to star in a reality television show about short term rentals. So the idea of a short term rental house next door was horrible until they could make money off the situation? This flies completely in the face of the personalities of neighborhood characters, all of whom had been suspects and therefore were recurring characters throughout the novel.

The plot has been completely ripped from recent headlines with no attempt made to disguise it. The book is an amalgamation of lazy writing techniques, unbelievable coincidences, and unlikeable characters, and makes for an annoying reading. I actively disliked Molly by the end of the story. She is irritating, annoying, juvenile, self-centered, arrogant.

So I won't be giving this series another try. I suggest you avoid it, too.

**If i could leave a no-star rating, I would. I think I have had to say that only once on all the years I've been part of NetGalley.**

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I have not read this author and picked because it contain my two hobbies- crochet and mystery! Needless to say there is a little bit of romance within also.
This is more than likely a series but the book can be read as a stand alone. I really enjoyed this nice mystery and the way the author incorporated crochet within the story. At the end there is a pleasant surprise but you need to read it to find out what it is😊

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One for the hooks is Betty Hechtman's 14th crochet cozy mystery novel and involves drones, scarves, smelly seafood and a fead real estate agent. Her love life flip flops between her current boyfriend and ex- boyfriend, which keeps you guessing until you read the final page. A new character will be joining her family in her next novel and I can't wait to meet . Definite winner and would highly recommend this book.

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