DEAD MEN DON'T CROCHET (Betty Hechtman)

I just had to mention the second entry in Hechtman's crochet series of cozy mysteries.  As far as I am concerned, you just can't beat a good craft-based mystery!  In this one, Molly Pink, novice crocheter and events manager at a local bookstore, inadvertently gets involved when the co-owner of the local consignment shop / soup restaurant is found clobbered with a paper-weight and drowned in a bowl of tomato bisque soup.  Her friend Sheila, who was cheated by the victim, is a prime suspect, and Molly sets out to investigate despite warnings by her detective boyfriend to not get involved.  Hechtman has a knack for writing mysteries.  The crochet group is a nice backdrop and a great technique to introduce new characters.  I will have to say that I didn't suspect the actual criminal at all.  In retrospect, I'm sure that I should have, but the ending was a satisfying surprise for me.  I usually focus on characters and setting rather than trying to solve the crime, though.  I'm sure that must be why I didn't!