Knot a Game is the ninth book in the Yarn Retreat mystery series. In this book, Casey organizes a murder mystery weekend in conjunction with a yarn retreat. It's all fun and games until a real murder happens. This book was full of twists and turns and with a few convincing red herrings, it kept me guessing until the very end. Perfect for anyone looking for a cozy mystery to read by the fire.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Beyond the Page and NetGalley for ARC.

Betty Hechtman is an accomplished writer across various cosy crime subgenres and her work rate is phenomenal. Although this is the ninth in a series of 'yarn retreat mysteries', it was my first introduction to protagonist Casey Feldstein who lives in an apparently idyllic Cabot Cove-style Californian coastal village, and runs knitting retreats as well as baking sweet treats for local hospitality businesses. She is in a slow burn romance with a local cop, naturally.
In this instalment, Casey has been asked to design a murder mystery game element to coincide with her latest yarn retreat. It is no plot spoiler to say that a suspicious death of a hotel guest derails the fictional investigation in favour of Casey trying to dig into the events, uncovering more than she knew.
This is a romp, with a gossamer thin skein of plot lines and for me it didn't satisfy, but I enjoyed the glimpse into the world she'd made with the town and the Butlins-like seaside resort hotel.

Always a fun cozy series to read. It didn't knock my socks off and I feel like after 9 books, Casey should have more personal growth than she's made, but still worth picking up. The plot is super fun though the climax was a bit hard to envision happening.

3 1/2 stars but rounded up.

Thank you Netgalley, for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are mine and mine alone.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5237672875

Casey is excited about her new upcoming yarn retreat. She was given the idea to combine the event with a murder mystery game and everything is looking good. She has several of the hotel staff playing the roles of suspects and victims. The plot has been set up along with a few red herrings thrown in to stump the players. The evening starts out great and Casey believes she has truly stumped her guests then someone is actually murdered. The guests have now become suspects along with Casey. The retreat continues and now everyone is trying to figure out who the real killer is. Casey knows that she needs to quickly figure out who the murder is so she can save her yarn retreat.

Knot a Game
Author: Betty Hechtman
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was my first time reading a book from the Yarn Retreat Mystery Series by Betty Hechtman and I really enjoyed it! A murder mystery game weekend gets thrown into chaos when a real murder occurs and everyone's a suspect. The story was fun and the setting makes you want to curl up with a warm cup of tea to read! I also loved the knitting pattern and recipes at the end of the book that were featured in the story (I will definitely be making the sour cream biscuits!). Overall, a great read and I can't wait to read the other books in the series!


Thanks to NetGalley, Beyond the Page Publishing, and Betty Hechtman for an advanced copy of the book. All thoughts in this review are my own.

Betty Hechtman's Yarn Retreat Mystery series focuses on Casey Feldstein who lives in Cadbury by the Sea on the Monterey Peninsula. Busy Casey who quit law school after just one semester has tried a variety of jobs including teaching and working in department stores and had a job as a private investigator. She is a talented dessert maker and now she is running yarn retreat weekends, a business bequeathed to her by her Aunt Joan. Hosting a yarn retreat at Vista Del Mar, a hotel and conference centre, Casey combines her group with a murder mystery game called Murderous Yarn...

There is a lot to like in this novel. Casey is fun if a little disorganised and she calls the shots with her beau, Dane Mangano, a Cadbury police department copper, living life on her terms. The mystery is well written, the setting is super, and the characters are mostly winsome. I'm very tempted to read some of the books I've missed in the series. Very highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Beyond the Page Publishing via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Knot a Game is the ninth book in the Yarn Retreat Mystery Series. A murder mystery game with a weekend of yarn crafts sounds amazing. Casey has gotten to far in over her head with the game especially when someone is murdered. Then her guest want to solve the real crime not the one she planned for the game. Overall a fun addition however I felt it was a slow start and had to many details that were not necessary.
#KnotaGame #NetGalley

I enjoyed the premise and thought the mystery yarn retreat portion was well done. However, having enjoyed past books in this series, I really struggled with this; I just couldn't keep interested enough to want to keep reading and so it was a push for me to finish this. The parts I enjoyed most were when she and her former boss, the P.I., were discussing the case. The parts I enjoyed the least had to do with the cat and stinky fish. Maybe this was just an off book?

This text still had a few typos that were distracting. Honestly, It was fairly boring and I struggled to finish. I understand cozy crime can sometimes be surface level on details, which is totally expected. But this was surface level on every detail. There was no depth to any character.

So I believe that this is a well established series but this was a first for me in the yarn retreat mystery series. I was intrigued by the premises being an avid crocheting so wanted to give it a yarn!

So I've always been a sucker for an amateur sleuth and meeting Cassie for the first time was a pleasure, this was just a fun read with a bunch of quirky characters and I felt like I was part of the game myself having several theories and punts as to the killers identity along the way failing miserably I might add.

An enjoyable read that knitted together nicely.

This is a great cozy mystery with well fleshed out characters. The murder mystery had enough twists and turns with a lot of red herrings.

Knot a Game by Betty Hechtman is a fun addition to this series of cozy mysteries involving Casey Feldstein and the many characters at Vista Del Mar. along with the knitting retreat guests. The setting/location of these books is almost like another character in the book. I enjoy the new people but look forward to visiting the long standing characters. This novel had a couple red herrings but in the end all the clues were just waiting for Casey to put them together. A quick and enjoyable read. Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to read this novel.

Casey Feldstein is just getting used to holding yarn retreats at the Vista Del Mar when Madeline Delacorte, one of the owners, has a request for a yarn retreat with a twist – a murder mystery game mixed in with the knitting. Casey agrees and uses some of the hotel staff and her friends to play the roles of victim and suspects. The game has just started when it is interrupted by a real-life murder. Her group thinks it would be more fun to investigate the real murder – can Casey keep them from interfering in police business – actually, can she keep herself from interfering in police business?

“Knot a Game” is the enjoyable ninth book in Betty Hechtman’s Yarn Retreat Mystery cozy mystery series. I really love the premise of the yarn retreats (there is a pattern and recipes included in the back of the book) – this allows not only for recurring characters but new suspects in each book. Combining the yarn retreat with a murder mystery game was a great idea and I enjoyed reading the bits and pieces of the game as it was played. The real murder in the book was nicely done with plenty of suspects – not just the members of the yarn retreat but other guests at the hotel – I have to say I was totally surprised when the killer was revealed.

“Knot a Game” is a nicely done cozy mystery.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

I really enjoyed this new version of a retreat. Casey outdid herself with afake mystery killing and then a real killer goes for a killing. Very pleasantly written and an enjoyable read. I have read all her books and enjoy each different cozy.

The yarn retreat is back in action and a murder mystery game has been included to make things even more action packed and exciting. Toss in a mixed bunch of retreaters, not all who are excited to be there and you have an explosive mix when a real body shows up at the lodge instead of just the fake one! Fantastic characters who are intelligent and competent, fun retreats and a bunch of potential suspects to make things all that more entertaining! I can never put these books down once I start and this one was no exception! I really do recommend that you read the books in order to build the layers of the characters and the small town they inhabit, but whether you do or don't, you will enjoy the book either way!

Years ago I read the first book in the Yarn Retreat mystery series - A Yarn to Go. I liked it well enough, so I thought I would catch up with Casey Feldstein, the main character, in Knot a Game.
Unlike most knitting there was more than one thread to pull to unravel the mysteries going on at Vista Del Mar.
I enjoyed the mystery and the flow of writing, thus the four stars.
Another reviewer commented on Casey’s lack of growth and I do find it curious that after 9 books Casey still doesn’t know whether she’ll be in town long term, she obsesses about the group and she doesn’t really know how to knit. One the one hand it makes little sense that she wouldn’t have gained more skill after 9 books. On the other hand, Casey does seem to focus on strengths in baking and organizing events. I can’t comment on the time lapse between book 1 and book 9, maybe it’s been a short time and not years. But if not years then, there have been a lot of dead bodies since Casey came to town and that’s suspicious in itself.
I would recommend Knot a Game.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

Knot a game is Betty Hechtman’s latest knitting series book and is classified as a mystery murder yarn retreat weekend.. Two murders happen, but one is a fake murder mystery organized by Casey Feldstein and the other is a real murder victim which intrigues the yarn retreaters more than the fake one. Everyone is a potential murder suspect and has hidden pasts. So Casey goes undercover to solve the murder so the yarn retreaters will focus on the fake one which they eventually solve. This whodunnit book is a delightful read and keeps you guessing through the entire novel. I love this yarn series and would highly recommend this book 📚. Bravo Betty and thank you to NetGalley for an early arc copy of this wonderful book.🙋‍♀️🇨🇦👏❤️📚💐

Knot A Game (Yarn Retreat Mystery, #9) by Betty Hechtman opens with Casey Feldstein meeting with one of the owners at the Vista Del Mar to discuss an upcoming retreat. Madeline has come up with an idea of combining a murder mystery game with the typical yarn retreat that Casey normally does. When one of the guests ends up being murdered, things go awry.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and and Beyond the Page Publishing for approving my request to read this novel. The synopsis including a bit about a murder mystery game that sounded similar to playing the board game Clue really intrigued me.

Having never read a book written by Betty Hechtman before, I wasn't sure what to expect as cozy mystery novels have always been hit or miss with me. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find Knot A Game to be well written, engaging, and an all around fun read. I enjoyed it so much that I'm looking forward to purchasing all the other books that came before this one in the series.

Most of the characters were likable with only a few being unpleasant, which is nice for a change. There are so many times where this isn't the case. I felt like I lived in the little town and knew all the characters that lived there. The pacing of the story had a nice tempo and didn't seem to drag one bit. I enjoyed all the red herrings and clues that the author planted throughout the book to keep me guessing the entire time.   

Five out of five stars is what I gave Knot A Game (Yarn Retreat Mystery, #9) by Betty Hechtman. This novel includes some recipes of food described in the book along with instructions on how to knit the hand warmers the characters made in the story.

This is book 9 in the series. I hadn't read any of the previous books, and this one works well as a standalone.

Casey is asked to hold a murder mystery event at Vista Del Mar, and she decides this is the perfect opportunity to combine it with the yarn retreat she has been wanting to hold. However, when a real murder takes the attention of the guests, can she help solve the crime and still host a successful event?

The book didn't hold my attention very well, I felt it was very long winded with lots of sections where nothing really seemed to happen. However I did like Casey's relationship with the police (both romantically and professionally), and I would be tempted to read more in the series to see if this was just a weaker story.

A fantastic cozy mystery! The characters were great and easy to get along with. I had a fun time reading this book. Hope to read more by this author!