Genre: Mystery
Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9780425233108
Berkley Publishing
304 Pages
$7.99; $7.99 Amazon
February 2, 2010
⭐⭐⭐
Molly's been handed the reins for this year's creative retreat -- an exhilarating weekend out on the Monterey Peninsula, complete with crochet classes. Unfortunately for one teacher, though, the breathtaking scenery is where she'll take her last breath. Now Molly will have to find a new instructor, and, if she can squeeze it in, solve this murder -- with the help of her pals from the Tarzana Hookers.
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Molly Pink is a widow who works at a bookstore as the events coordinator. Her boss, Mrs. Shedd, is taking a vacation and puts Molly in charge of the creative retreat on the Monterey Peninsula. But it seems that there have been some changes from the original slate of people who were to be teachers, and Molly has some surprises in store.
She's also surprised when one of the teachers, Izabelle Landers, shows up ahead of time at the store to pick up her welcome packet. When Molly's coworker Adele (who thinks she should have gotten Molly's job) fawns over Izabelle, everyone is embarrassed. But after Izabelle leaves, Adele notices a piece of crochet she had made - showing a new stitch - has disappeared; and Molly tells her that one of the crocheters had probably picked it up by mistake.
When Molly arrives at the retreat, she's dismayed to find it more rustic than she thought: no TV, no phone, not even a restaurant; just a communal dining room. Then a fog rolls in keeping guests from arriving (except for a brave few who made it through before the fog hit) and Molly finds herself trying to keep everyone occupied. But the real trouble begins when a teacher is found dead and her death is ruled accidental.
Molly is suspicious that this might not have been an accident, and when the police refuse to look further, she decides to embark on an investigation of her own, with the help of her best friend Dinah. When Molly starts getting closer to the truth, she'll be lucky if she can get out alive...
This is the fourth book in the series and I liked it better than the first three. Molly has taken charge of the group of people at the resort without coming apart, and has decided to find out who killed the woman even if the police don't believe it was murder. She's looking into the death and trying to find clues, and with Dinah's help, seems to somewhat be staying under the wire.
She's also discovering quite a bit unsavory about the woman's past, which makes her wonder more which one of the people at the retreat had the most motive to want her dead. The only unfortunate part was the fact that the reader isn't given any clues, so we don't really have the chance to figure out ourselves who the murderer might be. I always like a clue here and there now and again, and this book didn't give any to us at all until the near end of the book.
When the ending comes and the murder is solved, it seemed rather a weak ending, but there is the promise of something new for Dinah and leaves us wondering what will happen with Molly in the next.
More on Betty Hechtman's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/h/betty-hechtman/
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