DANGER LOOMS by Betty Hechtman
Fiction, Cozy Mystery, #11 in Yarn Retreat Mysteries
3***
Blurb: In the new Yarn Retreat mystery, Casey discovers that travel can be dangerous, but travel writing can be deadly . . . Yarn retreat host Casey Feldstein has solved more murders than she can count, but this is the first time she feels like committing one. A former TV heartthrob is leading a seminar for travel writers at Vista Del Mar, and when he’s not making excessive demands of the staff, his people are disrupting her yarn sessions. Casey would love to take the condescending man down a peg or two, but someone beats her to it, as she discovers when she stumbles over his dead body. What strikes Casey most about this murder is the number of ready suspects. The victim’s assistants willingly admit that they resented him for his arrogant mistreatment, and his writing students are openly grumbling about the empty promises he made. With so many potential culprits and a yarn retreat that’s unraveling before her eyes, Casey’s at the end of her rope. Until she finally unearths a vital clue—and faces down a killer who won’t hesitate to kill again . . . Includes notes on a loom project and a tasty cookie recipe!
THOUGHTS: This is the first book in the series that I’ve read, but I didn’t feel like I was missing much of anything by not having read the others in the series. Yes, maybe some background on the characters and their relationships, but the author fed me enough info on them that I got who was who and how they related. I thought Vista Del Mar seemed like a nice place to visit if you were looking for a no-frills kind of retreat. But I was a little taken aback by the no WiFi issue – especially when Casey has it right across the street. And yes, I know there are dead spots all over the place, but this seemed a little much for a hotel/resort. Also, there were a lot of characters to keep straight. Okay, so there were two workshops going on – but Casey’s only had maybe eight people. How many did the other one have? Yes, more, but not so many as to muddy the waters with who was who and where did they fit as far as suspects went. Things that bothered me: the no WiFi bit; and repetitions. Yes, I know your finicky cat likes stinky food. And yes, we know that one character’s husband is retired and sits in front of the TV all day, and the way Casey’s leading her cop boyfriend on. And a few other bits like that. What I did like: the princess learning to eat with her hands and wearing logo sweats from the gift shop all weekend. And getting a backbone at the end. I also liked that the teen boy helped Casey with the teen girl at the workshop with her aunt. That was sweet.
In this story, a famous actor is putting on a travel writer workshop and has a lot of demands, including the fact that his people can go anywhere in the resort – even invading Casey’s workshop. While she has to put up with his people, the same doesn’t hold true for his sessions as he has Casey thrown out physically when she attempts to see what he has going on. He’s rude to everyone and has an ego streak a mile wide. So when he ends up dead, she’s not really surprised. She doesn’t go out of her way to investigate, but she does anyway and discovers the perp to her dismay. Huge thread left dangling after the murder is solved is what she’s going to do next.
Disclosure of Material: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising” Thanks to Netgalley for providing this ARC
