Tag: An Enjoyable Getaway

Welcome to Cozy Wednesday!

I am happy to feature Sconed to Death (A Crochet and Crumpets Mystery) by Betty Hechtman today!

Sconed to Death (A Crochet and Crumpets Mystery)
by Betty Hechtman

About Sconed to Death

Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – Indiana
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Severn House
Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 2, 2026
Print length ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
Hardcover
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1448318629
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1448318629
Digital
ISBN-13: 9781448318636
Audiobook
ASIN B0GH2HY42Y
MP3CD
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8228941519
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0GS74NJGP

A brand-new series from the queen of culinary cozies. Full to the brim with crochet, crumpets, and crime!

The perfect ingredients for murder . . .

Annie Hart has transformed the yarn shop she inherited into a thriving business and tea shop. Now she needs to sell it so she can move back to LA. She just has to ensure that young Toby Swanson is kept on as the supplier of their famous scones.

Annie decides to secretly enter Toby in a new reality TV cooking show. But his application video takes a deadly twist when Annie and her business partner, Gray, discover a body on the beach while filming. Even worse, it looks like the young woman had been enjoying Toby’s cherry scones and the shop’s rose tea before her death.

With the help of her misfit group of local yarn artists, can Annie find a killer and save her reputation?

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Classy Yarn, the yarn shop Annie Sara Hart inherited from her Uncle Cyrus, has been brought back to life. Annie and her friend and business partner, Gray, have restocked and remodeled the yarn area and have added a tea shop. With young Toby Swanson providing the scones and crumpets, and Liv Stein as her local advisor, and Annie’s retail and artistic abilities, both are a success. The place is on the market so Annie and Gray can return to their lives in Los Angeles, but it is very important to both of them that the new owner will continue to use Toby as their supplier for their famous scones. Annie’s dad has an idea that could guarantee that. He encourages Annie to enter him in a new reality cooking show being pitched by a tea company. She hates to get his hopes up, in case he isn’t selected as a contestant, but this could be just the thing to sell the place and retain him as their baker.

Annie, Gray, and Toby’s mom, Jenny, come up with a plan to put together his application video. During a trip to the beach to record some area shots, Annie and Gray come across a young woman’s dead body. They recognized her as Ingrid, who had been in the shop taking care of her employer’s children, and it looks like she was eating Toby’s scones prior to her death.

Will her death be connected to the tea shop? Can Annie and all her new friends knit together all the clues to catch a killer?

In this second installment of the Crochet and Crumpets Mystery Series, Annie Sara has done the work; now she just needs to sell the place so that she and Gray can get back to LA, before Gray’s mother has a total meltdown. Annie has really thrown herself into the project and has made many new friends. One, a little friendlier than others. Gray shows some of the strongest growth in the book. Away from her mother’s constant pressure, she finally gets room to breathe, and it suits her. She really steps up for Toby, and while she is still working on her confidence, it is nice to see her start to come into her own. She has also made a special friend. The relationship hits a few bumps, but hearts are resilient. Toby, meanwhile, completely stole my heart. He is thoughtful, talented, and genuinely easy to root for. His mother, Jenny, has supported him well, and it shows. He is not only an excellent baker, but someone who brings real warmth to every scene he’s in.

The summer people come to town, and so does trouble. The wives and children stay all week, and the husbands arrive for the weekends. Three of the closest families come into the tea and yarn shop every day—the three moms at one table, the children and their caregivers at another. The moms are a snarky bunch, and their husbands are narcissistic. Soon, there is talk of stolen jewelry, and the moms are sure the nanny/caregivers are the thieves. Then the nanny is found dead. At that point, Annie Sara already has plenty on her plate: running the shop, dealing with the TV crew scouting locations, spending more time with Toby to get him ready for his nationwide debut, and suddenly arranging knitting lessons for bored summer visitors. Once the tea served in the shop becomes part of the murder investigation, things get even messier. I will say, the method of murder gave me pause. I have come across it in a few mysteries lately, and it is unsettling because it relies on something surprisingly ordinary and accessible.

As for Annie Sara’s investigation style, it is less about brilliant detective work and more about observation, conversations, and slowly piecing things together. She does a fair amount of listening in, asks questions here and there, and gathers bits of local history, personal bias, and small details until everything finally clicks. And yes, her big realization comes at exactly the worst possible time and place, which feels very on-brand for an amateur sleuth. There is even a moment where she basically admits she never meant to get involved, but she just needed to check a few things out. I had figured out the culprit earlier than Annie did, but I still enjoyed watching her work through it. The process was familiar, but it was also entertaining.

Sconed to Death ended up being a fun, easy escape. The dialogue felt a little awkward in spots, and there was more repetition than I usually prefer, but the character development made up for a lot of that. What stood out most to me was the care Annie Sara, and Gray showed for Toby and the way they helped create space for him to thrive. That emotional thread gave the story real charm. The ending left me smiling, and that is always a good sign. I will definitely be back for the next installment.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to the author, Severn House, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

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About Betty Hechtman

Despite completing a Fine Arts degree, all Betty Hechtman ever wanted to be was a writer.  She wrote a weekly column in her college newspaper and later wrote magazine and newspaper pieces, along with short stories and a prize-winning screenplay.  She has published over thirty books across four cozy mystery series, all of which have yarn craft. She lives with her family in Southern California.

Author Links
Website    Facebook    Blog

Purchase Links

Amazon  Barnes and Noble

Find all of Betty Hetchman’s Books HERE.

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