Yarn to Go

When Casey Feldstein finds herself in charge of a yarn retreat, she feels out of her depth, in Yarn to Go by Betty Hechtman.  So, how will she manage after one of her knitting class is found murdered?

Casey has a habit of not sticking with a job for very long; she has been a substitute teacher, an office worker and a temp in a detective agency.  And, when her aunt Joan died in a car accident, she was happy to move into her aunt’s guesthouse on the beautiful Monterey Peninsula in Northern California.  She has found a niche there, as a dessert chef, baking treats for local businesses.

Casey didn’t expect to inherit anything from her aunt.  But Joan must have seen something she liked in her niece, because not only did she leave her the guesthouse, but also her yarn retreat business Yarn2Go.

Before she died, Joan had scheduled a weekend yarn retreat in March, at the Vista Del hotel in Cadbury by the Sea.  Casey’s lack of experience in running such events equals her lack of experience as a knitter.  But she hasn’t the money to refund the knitters.  So, with encouragement from her friend Lucinda, she decides to go ahead and host the event.

All goes well enough. Up until Edie, one of the regular event attendees, is found murdered in her hotel room!

Then Casey’s parents turn up unexpectedly, with her ex boyfriend in tow.  They have a proposition for her, which puts Casey under even more pressure.

As Casey is hosting the yarn retreat, she feels somewhat responsible for Edie’s death.  She has a (justified) lack of faith in the local police.  So, using her old detective training, she prepares a list of likely suspects.

With the help of an old detective friend in Chicago, she starts to delve into the backgrounds of the people who knew Edie including the hotel staff and visitors.  Casey soon realises that Edie’s death may be linked to other homicides.

But, can she track down the murderer, deal with the pressures from the hotel, the police and her parents and at the same time see the retreat to the finish?

Yarn to Go is the first in a new Yarn Retreat Mystery series of novels.  Betty Hechtman has previously written a Crochet Mystery series, which has been well received.  But, this is the first of her books that I have read.

A new murder mystery series set in and around a knitting retreat sounds like a great premise to me.  I found the knitting retreat a fresh and interesting backdrop to this mystery.  The yarn and knitting elements didn’t overwhelm the narrative.  So, you will enjoy it if you are a keen knitter or not.

The plot was well put together and the mystery was nicely woven through the story.  This was a fun book, an entertaining read with great pacing.  The author has certainly laid the groundwork well for a new detective series.

I liked how the author described the lovely small-town peninsula setting.  And I loved feeling part of the yarn retreat group (despite the murder backdrop!).

I liked the main character of Casey.  I found her likeable and I enjoyed how she grew as an individual through the book.  From being out of her depth at the start, she started to make decisions and by the end she had a growing determination to uncover what was going on.

The author successfully explores the running of a yarn retreat from a beginner’s viewpoint, using the fact that Casey is a novice in terms of knitting and yarn getaways.

The best aspect of the book, for me, was the characterisation.  I found the diverse group engaging and connected to them all, including the knitters, family members and hotel staff.  The knitting group are quirky and interesting with very relatable issues.  As their knitting projects develop, they too change as they deal with various personal issues.

The knitting pattern in the back of the book is basic, and this is as it should be.  It is in keeping with the beginner level of Casey in the story.  There is also a recipe for chocolate muffins.

I am looking forward to reading more of Casey’s adventures in the future.  Betty Hechtman has already three other books in the series to follow on from Yarn to Go.  So, it won’t be long before I will be delving once again into the yarn retreat and finding out about the characters in the next instalment!  I may try the Crochet Mystery series too.

The yarn in the photos attached to this blog is a Magic Ball made up of left over sock yarn.