The Sunday Salon and let's get cozy... with a ball of yarn!

Welcome to The Sunday Salon! It's the place where Book Bloggers from around the world share their bookish finds with one another in a virtual place called The Sunday Salon. Thank you to Deb at ReaderBuzz for keeping us all together on Sundays and hosting The Sunday Salon now! I also visited with Kim at The Caffeinated Reader, another Sunday gathering place for us bookish people called The Sunday Post and the ladies at Mailbox Monday. 

It's been a hectic week in South Carolina! Some of you may know that I am also a crafts person. I have a little business called Shawl Y'all and make pretty things with my weapon of choice: a crochet hook! I work all year long creating and my big once a year festival was yesterday. Getting everything ready, packed, loaded and unloaded is always a challenge. I have a very nice husband who helps with all of it, but I still get stressed out. When everything is finally set up and the festival is open, it's always fun. I always meet so many nice people and I get to share my other love besides reading. I always think it's fun to find mysteries that have a craftsy theme, and I always have to pick them up. This week I'm sharing 2 that I just received from publishers and one that I've got on my TBR list. So, let's get cozy...

Killer Hooks by Betty Hechtman... Molly Pink and the Tarzana Hookers have to read between the lines when a bookstore event turns fatal in a new Crochet Mystery.

There’s never a dull moment for amateur sleuth Molly Pink. Without warning, her infant granddaughter has been dumped in her lap for babysitting duties, her son has reluctantly enlisted her help investigating a potential investor in his business, and now she has to manage a high-profile bookstore event for a former Hollywood columnist who’s dishing the dirt in a juicy tell-all. And when the author collapses and dies in the store just as she’s about to reveal an incriminating tidbit, the police suspect foul play and zero in on Molly as the likely culprit.

Getting herself off the hook won’t be easy, but Molly and the Tarzana Hookers are convinced that whoever did the deed wanted to silence the author before she could expose their dark secret. As the police continue to needle Molly, certain she’s trying to pull the wool over their eyes with her claims of innocence, she’s also in over her head in a mommy group run by Hollywood power couples—all of whom may have something to hide. As she finally stitches together the loose ends and figures out the killer’s identity, they decide it’s time to silence her too, and Molly has to think fast before she makes a quick trip from her granddaughter’s cradle to the grave . . .

Includes a crochet project and a scrumptious recipe!

Wow, Betty Hechtman is a crochet girl mystery readers dream! She has over 2 dozen published crochet mysteries and that's not including all the rest she's written. What caught my eye with this mystery was that it has a bookstore in it and includes a crochet project and recipe! But from all the 4.5 stars she has received on almost all her books from readers, I have a feeling I'm going to enjoy her writing too! Would you like to read an excerpt? Here's a link to her webpage and Excerpt of chapter one. Published by Beyond the Page Publishing Sept. 26th, 2023, and available now from your favorite bookstore! I received a copy of Killer Hooks from Beyond the Page Publishing to review. 

***********************************************************

A Twisted Skein by Sally Goldenbaum...
Summer is on the wane in the charmingly picturesque coastal village of Sea Harbor, Massachusetts, but an upcoming fashion show benefit ensures there’s still plenty of excitement in store for the Seaside Knitters…

Like every coastal town, Sea Harbor needs tourists and their dollars. But there’s something special about that time of year when summer people return to their normal lives, and the wide sandy beaches welcome back locals with their dogs and strollers. And this year, even as the season cools down, Izzy Perry’s Sea Harbor Yarn Studio is heating up, thanks to an upcoming fashion benefit . . .

The show will feature hand-knit garments, and enthusiastic knitters flock to the shop for supplies to create runway-worthy pieces. Yet Seaside Knitter Birdie is enjoying flocks of a different kind, thanks to a rekindled interest in birdwatching, a hobby she enjoyed with her late husband. Along with a small group of passionate birders, she often spends weekend mornings looking for warblers, or keeping watch for gannets and grebes. The group members themselves are almost as fascinating as the birds. It’s a lovely, special time—until Birdie makes her way through a tangle of vines and stumbles upon a fellow birder’s body.

At first, it appears to be an accidental fall, but an autopsy soon reveals that the victim died before hitting a granite boulder. When police discover a clue linking the victim to one of the Seaside Knitters, the web of suspicion grows. Before the woods are ablaze in autumn glory and the knitters have cast off the final rows on their runway projects, they’ll have to unravel secrets and ties strong enough to bind friends and neighbors together—and some that may press a killer to take another life.

Sally Goldenbaum is also a prolific writer with 16 books in her ​Seaside Knitters Society Mysteries, all with 4.5 out of 5 stars from readers. Looking forward to reading Sally for the first time and nice to know there are plenty of mysteries to read after A Twisted Skein. Would you like to read a few chapters of A Twisted Skein? Follow this link! Published by Kensington Publishing, A Twisted Skein will be released November 28, 2023! Mark your calendars! I received a copy of the eBook from Kensington Publishing to review, so look for that coming soon! 

**********************************************

Crochet and Cauldrons (Vampire Knitting Club) by Nancy Warren
Every family has annoying relatives; mine just happen to be undead.

My Grandmother, Agnes Bartlett, used to own Cardinal Woolsey’s knitting shop in Oxford then died and left her shop to me, without informing me that she wasn’t actually dead. She’s a vampire and part of the world’s strangest craft circle – the Vampire Knitting Club.

As you might imagine, this means she’s free to interfere in how I run the business that used to be hers. She’s trying to teach me to knit and it’s not going well. She’s also trying to teach me how to be a witch, since it turns out I’m from a long line of witches. Another tiny detail about my family that no one ever told me, along with the long-lost witch cousins I recently discovered.

But I’m learning. I’ve got my family spell book, my black cat familiar, some powers that sometimes scare me, and an interesting new group of friends. My archaeologist parents are coming to visit and bringing me a gift I could do without.

So, to recap, I run a knitting shop and I can’t knit. I’m a beginning witch who can’t always control her cat, never mind her magic, and my love life is as tangled as the last sock I tried to knit. Oh, and for some reason, I keep getting involved in murder investigations. Good thing I have my vampire knitters to help sniff out clues.

At least I’ve finally hired the perfect assistant, a real demon with the crochet hook. Or is she too perfect?

Here's a bit of crochet and a bit of vampire/undead in a cozy mystery by Nancy Warren, who has a few different series. She has a Witch Baking series and a flower shop series too. She also has gotten rave reviews from her readers, so I am looking forward to reading this book. Published by Ambleside Publishing, this is an older book published in 2019, but still available from your favorite bookstore.

Weekly Update...

Monday, Memoir Monday was a Graphic Memoir for an important woman, who captured the hearts of Cambodia.

Tuesday was about my sneak peek at the new Apple TV series, Lessons in Chemistry, based on the book by Bonnie Garmus. 

Wednesday, we played a game of This or That, comparing the UK and US covers of a book I was purchasing. Which do you prefer?

Friday on First Lines Friday, we put on our lipstick and read a little about... 

Do you read cozy mysteries?

Do you have a hobby besides reading?

Hope you found something interesting to read today! Let me know what other books your loving this week! 

Happy reading... Suzanne

The Sunday Salon and Catch me if you can... Murder, Mystery, Thrillers and the Detectives who solve them

Welcome to The Sunday Salon! What is the Sunday Salon? Imagine Some university library’s vast reading room. It’s filled with people — students and faculty and strangers who’ve wandered in. They’re seated at great oaken dests, books piled all around them, and they’re all feverishly reading and jotting notes in their leather-bound journals as they go. Later they’ll mill around the open dictionaries and compare their thoughts on the afternoon’s literary intake. That is the Sunday Salon, but all virtually. Book Bloggers from around the world sharing their bookish finds with one another in a virtual place called The Sunday Salon. Thank you to Deb at ReaderBuzz for keeping us all together on Sundays and hosting The Sunday Salon now! I also visited with Kim at The Caffeinated Reader, another Sunday gathering place for us bookish people called The Sunday Post and the ladies at Mailbox Monday

Before I started my Book Club I only read mysteries and thrillers. It all started with Nancy Drew, those books I totally absorbed and loved so much! I moved onto Agatha Christie then Mary Higgins Clark and on from there.  So today we're coming back to my "roots" and looking at some great who dunits from 3 familiar faces and a new face! 

Out of Nowhere by Sandra Brown... Author Sandra Brown returns with a fast-paced, emotional
thriller where the lives of a young mother and a high-rolling consultant collide under devastating circumstances—culminating in a desperate manhunt that will change their futures forever.   

 

At a Texas county fair, amidst carousels and a bustling midway, children’s book author Elle Portman is enjoying a rare night out with her favorite cowboy: her two-year-old son, Charlie. But just as they’re about to head home, the unthinkable happens: a shooter opens fire into the crowd, causing widespread panic to erupt all around them. Also caught in the melee was corporate consultant Calder Hudson. Arrogant, self-centered, and high off his latest career win, he’s frustrated and confused when he wakes up in the hospital after undergoing emergency surgery on his arm.  The doctor tells him that he was lucky—that as far as gunshot wounds go, he pulled through remarkably well.  Others weren’t so lucky, which instills in Calder a furious determination to get justice . . . a goal shared by Elle. Their chance encounter at the police station leads to a surprising and inexplicable gravitation to one another, but even as the attraction grows, Elle and Calder can’t help but wonder if the unimaginable tragedy that brought them together is too painful and too complicated to sustain—especially while the shooter remains at large.

My Mother introduced me to Sandra Brown many years ago. This author writes both romance and thrillers. Out of Nowhere, Sandra Brown's newest book, is one of her thrillers. Published August 1st 2023 by Grand Central Publishing, I have a copy of this on my Kindle to review thanks to the generosity of the publisher. And I look forward to diving into this one next week. Be on the lookout for my review to follow!

*********************

The Watchmaker's Hand by Jeffery Deaver... The "most clever plotter on the planet"(Publishers Weekly) Jeffery Deaver returns in this twisty new thriller, as forensic criminalist Lincoln Rhyme and detective Amelia Sachs track a criminal with a bizarre and catastrophic m.o.—toppling the construction cranes in New York City.  

                                                                                                     

When a New York City construction crane mysteriously collapses, causing mass destruction and injury, Rhyme and Sachs are on the case. A political group claims responsibility for the sabotage and threatens another attack in twenty-four hours, unless its demands are met. The clock is ticking. Then a clue reveals to Rhyme that his nemesis, known as the Watchmaker, has come to town to fulfill his promise of murdering the criminalist. Now Rhyme and Sachs have to dodge his brilliant scheme to destroy them both,  while racing against time to stop the construction site terrorists. With New York in a panic, Rhyme and his team must unravel a handful of plots as tightly wound as a timepiece—before more cranes fall, raining down death and destruction from above.

Psychologist Alex Delaware and Detective Milo Sturgis confront a baffling, vicious double homicide that leads them to long-buried secrets worth killing for in this riveting thriller... LAPD homicide lieutenant Milo Sturgis sees it all the time: Reinvention’s a way of life in a city fueled by fantasy. But try as you might to erase the person you once were, there are those who will never forget the past . . . and who can still find you.

I generally read Jeffery Deaver's Horror novels, but I do like his Lincoln Rhyme novels, so in my Kindle is this book. I started reading this last week and am really enjoying it! A good sink your teeth into kind of read. Jeffery Deaver really knows how to develop "evil" characters and that's one reason these are so much fun to read. The Watchmaker's Hand will be released on November 28th, 2023 by PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sonsso make a note of that because if you like Lincoln Rhyme novels or crime novels, you're going to want to pick it up. My review coming soon. 

**********************

A pool boy enters a secluded Bel Air property and discovers two bodies floating in the bright blue water: Gio Aggiunta, the playboy heir to an Italian shoe empire, and a gorgeous, even wealthier neighbor named Meagin March. A married neighbor. An illicit affair stoking rage is a perfect motive. But a “double” in this neighborhood of gated estates isn’t something you see every day. The house is untouched. No forced entry, no forensic evidence. The case has “that feeling,” and when that happens, Milo turns to his friend, the brilliant psychologist Alex Delaware. As Milo and Alex investigate both victims, they discover two troubled pasts. And as they dig deeper, Meagin March’s very identity begins to blur. Who was this glamorous but conflicted woman? Did her past catch up to her? Or did Gio’s family connections create a threat spanning two continents? Chasing down the answers leads Alex and Milo on an exploration of L.A.’s darkest side as they contend with one of the most shocking cases of their careers and learn that that some secrets are best left buried in the past.

Another mystery/thriller writer favorite, Jonathan Kellerman has many great books starring psychologist Alex Delaware and here Alex is again leading the investigation. You'll have to hold off until February 6th, 2024 to read The Ghost Orchid by Jonathan Kellerman, but should be worth it! I'll let you know because Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine sent me a copy on my Kindle to read and review recently.

*********************

Killer Hooks by by Betty Hechtman...

Molly Pink and the Tarzana Hookers have to read between the lines when a bookstore event turns fatal in the new Crochet Mystery by national bestselling author Betty Hechtman.

There’s never a dull moment for amateur sleuth Molly Pink. Without warning, her infant granddaughter has been dumped in her lap for babysitting duties, her son has reluctantly enlisted her help investigating a potential investor in his business, and now she has to manage a high-profile bookstore event for a former Hollywood columnist who’s dishing the dirt in a juicy tell-all. And when the author collapses and dies in the store just as she’s about to reveal an incriminating tidbit, the police suspect foul play and zero in on Molly as the likely culprit.  Getting herself off the hook won’t be easy, but Molly and the Tarzana Hookers are convinced that whoever did the deed wanted to silence the author before she could expose their dark secret. As the police continue to needle Molly, certain she’s trying to pull the wool over their eyes with her claims of innocence, she’s also in over her head in a mommy group run by Hollywood power couples—all of whom may have something to hide. As she finally stitches together the loose ends and figures out the killer’s identity, they decide it’s time to silence her too, and Molly has to think fast before she makes a quick trip from her granddaughter’s cradle to the grave . . .

Includes a crochet project and a scrumptious recipe!

And what better way to end the day than with a cozy killer read! Killer Hooks by Betty Hechtman will be released by Beyond the Page Publishing later this month of September 26, 2023. Betty Hechtman is a new author to me, but she has published over 2 dozen novels and Killer Hooks is #15 of her "crochet mysteries"! And if you don't know, I do a bit of crocheting with my business Shawl Y'all so a crochet mystery is right up my alley! And I like to read cozies too, so I'm looking forward to sitting down with this book! I love that the author includes a crochet project and a recipe! And Beyond the Page Publishing has generously sent along a review copy of this book to my Kindle ! Thank you so much!!

********************

Weekly Recap...

It was a busy week at Chick with Books! If you missed anything, here are the links for this weeks posts.

Monday, 9/11... Memoir Monday was all about a smash hit memoir right out of Korea! You need to read this one!

Thursday, 9/12... #TBT , Throwback Thursday was a look back at what I was reading way back in 2014, and my review of a book that is still one of my favorite reads! If you haven't read it you should!

Friday, 9/13... First Lines Friday was the first lines of a soon to be published book that has a very familiar character (and author) if you love mysteries/thrillers. Follow the link to see who it is!

Saturday, 9/14... Book Bracketing! Have you bracketed your books this year? Read all about doing it and why. 

What kind of books do you read? Has it changed over the years?

Well that is my week in a nutshell! Some great new books, a new author to me, and a fun week on Chick with books. Hope you found something interesting today! And share any interesting books came your way this week!

Happy reading... Suzanne