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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?

Fans of super cozy culinary mysteries will eat up this new charming cozy mystery series.

224 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication June 2, 2026

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About the author

Betty Hechtman

38 books727 followers
I grew up on the south side of Chicago and in a very busy weekend, got married, graduated college and moved to Los Angeles.

Although my degree is in Fine Arts, all I ever wanted to be was a writer and I've been doing it in one form or another for as long as I can remember. My shining moments in elementary and high school always involved stories or poetry I'd written. I wrote news stories and a weekly column in my college newspaper. My first job out of college was working on the newsletter of a finance company. I worked for a public relations firm and wrote press releases and biographies. Later I wrote proposals for video projects and television shows that went through various stages of development.

I tried writing screenplays and wrote three. I sold one and another was a winner in a Writers' Digest contest.

I was lucky enough to be a stay-at-home mom and did all kinds of volunteering at my son's schools including editing and writing several newsletters.

I wrote essays and small pieces that ran in the Los Angeles Times, the Daily News and Woman's Day among others. My short romantic and mystery fiction appeared in Woman's World, and Futures magazine.

From time I was a thirteen-year-old babysitter cooking for the kids I babysat, I dreamed of writing a book about babysitting. It took a little longer than I'd expected, but BLUE SCHWARTZ AND NEFERTITI'S NECKLACE was published in 2006.

My affair with crochet began in Las Vegas. I had always had a fascination with crochet, particularly granny squares, but thought there was some magic involved with making them that was beyond me. And then everything changed that day in Vegas when I saw the kids' kit in FAO Schwartz. If the instructions were easy enough for kids, I thought they might work for me.

My first granny square was missing a corner, but when I tried again, all four corners were there. I was in awe of my own accomplishment. I had found the magic. I went granny square crazy until pretty soon I didn't need directions anymore. Then I learned there were more squares than just basic grannies and I made squares with sunflowers in the middle and other patterns. I moved beyond squares and made flowers, hearts, bookmarks and more.

I was in love with crochet and began to make scarves, purses, afghans, and shawls. I started carrying my hooks everywhere. A plane trip became a pile of granny square wash cloths, or part of a shawl. A vacation in Hawaii turned into a tote bag.

And now I get to write about it...

** Sourced from authors website

Series:
* A Crochet Mystery
* Yarn Retreat

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
Profile Image for Sadie E .
262 reviews52 followers
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
March 1, 2026
Thank you to Severn House for the ARC

I wanted peak cosy: tea steam curling dramatically, mild emotional stakes wrapped in a cardigan, etc etc. Instead, I was so bored.

I say that with regret, because on paper this should have worked for me. Small-town energy. Amateur sleuth. Baking-adjacent murder. Lots of tea. Adorable little fixer-upper shop. This is my catnip. But the execution made it feel like a list of events that technically occurred.

It’s not a cosy mystery. It’s just a bunch of facts strung together.

This happened. Then this happened. Then this person arrived. Then we went here. Then we discussed that.

It reads like someone narrating their day in the flattest possible tone. There’s no emotional build or tension. There's no sense that anything actually matters beyond moving to the next item on the agenda. It all feels stilted and almost mechanical. Like the author's ticking off boxes:

✅️ establish setting
✅️ insert clue
✅️ introduce suspect
✅️ have conversation explaining clue

There’s very little atmosphere beyond surface-level descriptions. I never felt immersed or anxious or cosy or mildly curious. I just felt like I was being escorted through a sequence of (boring) events.

The dialogue makes it worse. It’s so unnatural. I can’t fully explain it, but there’s something distinctly artificial about how everyone speaks. Conversations exist purely to deliver exposition. It’s very “As you know…” energy. Like in TV shows where someone randomly says “sis” just to clarify they’re related because the script didn’t trust the audience to figure it out. Nothing feels spontaneous or emotionally grounded, just information passing from one character to another.

And because of that, the murder never feels urgent. There’s no tension. No stakes. No emotional pull. No spark. No charm. I kept waiting for the moment where I’d feel invested or I'd care and it just never came.
Profile Image for Cozy Reader Lady.
1,196 reviews144 followers
March 24, 2026
"Sconed to Death (Crochet and Crumpets Mystery #2)" by Betty Hechtman is a fairly stand alone cozy mystery since the author really fills in necessary information without feeling like a "previous in." Annie Heart has the tea/yarn show fully running and is just trying to get the right buyer who will keep things as is with the business. Honestly, I think she and her childhood friend/business partner just need to accept they want to keep the shop. They also need to just stand up to Gray's mom about wanting to stay.

In an effort to help keep their Down syndrome baker with the store once it sells, they get him cast on a reality baking show. While filming his audition, they discover one of the summer nannies on the beach, dead. One thing leads to another and Annie ends up investigating.
Profile Image for Verity W.
3,605 reviews37 followers
May 5, 2026
This is the second book featuring a heroine who inherited a yarn shop in a small Indiana town and (temporarily) moved there from LA. Annie's father is a high powered entertainment agent, and in tow with her is Gray, the daughter of one of her father's most important clients and now her business partner as Annie tries to get the yarn shop ready for sale. In this book the summer residents have descended on town and Annie has a lot of balls in the air, including trying to help Toby who bakes the scones for the yarn shop's tea room get on a reality show in the hopes that it means that any buyer for the store will keep him on as a supplier. I realise that that sounds complex, and that's not even the murder side of the plot! There is a murder (don't worry) which could also be an obstacle to the sale of the tearoom and so Annie is soon low key investigating that. And also navigating a potential relationship and managing Gray's fractious relationship with her mum.

When you write that plot down it's quite a lot, even with just the bare bones that I've given you, but it actually (mostly) works when you're reading it. The set up of Annie's presence in town is pretty neat and Gray's pampered princess life makes for some good tension in the plot and some reasons why Annie wouldn't just be having actual conversations at various points. The writing style was a little repetitive at times -for example it was reminding me of details that it had told me just a couple of pages prior, but I do wonder how I would have felt if I had read the first book and already knew all the backstory to everything because I definitely don't think there is anything I was missing about the first book (except for who did the murder so that's good at least). I haven't read anything by Betty Hechtman before, but she's a pretty established author so I suspect this is just her style and it might just not quite be for me, but I enjoyed this enough that I would happily read some more books by her to find that out!


****Copy from the publisher via NetGalley for review consideration. All opinions are my own.******
Profile Image for Agatha Marplewood.
62 reviews2 followers
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
May 26, 2026
Look, I really wanted to love this one. The cover was adorable, the blurb hit all the right cozy mystery notes, and I mean... scones and murder? What's not to love!

But sadly, Sconed to Death just didn't work for me.

The premise is promising enough: Annie Sara inherits a converted schoolhouse in Franklin, Indiana (on Lake Michigan), turns part of it into a tearoom, and when a body turns up on the beach, it becomes clear that the victim died after eating and drinking Annie's scones and tea, so she's got to clear her name and solve the murder.

Sounds good, right?

Here's the problem. The narrative felt really robotic and repetitive. I lost count of how many times we were reminded about the peach paint job (truly a crime in itself!), the three-tiered cake stands, and Toby's scones. The writing just felt off, like really wooden and lacking personality.

But what really bothered me was that the actual murder seemed like an afterthought. The story was weirdly more focused on getting Toby (the scone supplier) onto a reality baking show and tracking down some missing jewelry. Meanwhile, a young woman is dead, and nobody seems particularly bothered by it.

It all felt implausible and joyless, which is the opposite of what I want from a cozy mystery.

That said, it's not truly terrible, just not for me. Your mileage may vary! If you're less bothered by repetitive narration and don't mind a murder mystery where the murder isn't the main focus, you might enjoy it more than I did.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read Sconed to Death by Betty Hechtman in exchange for my honest opinion.


Profile Image for Deborah Almada.
1,306 reviews44 followers
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
May 13, 2026
It was fun to go back to the midwest to visit with Annie Sara and Gray. I love what they have done with the schoolhouse. With both the yarn, craft area, and tearoom doing well, Annie Sara's last concern before returning to LA with Gray is making sure the new owner finds Toby and his baked goods indispensable. When she hears about a reality TV gig where the winner gets to bake for a Princess, from her father the Agent in LA, she works on getting Toby on the show so his fame will will reflect on the tearoom and make him an necessary commodity. While working on this and running a very busy business, the tearoom comes into focus in an unattended death where an au pair for some of the summer folk who frequent the tearoom is found dead on the beach with some of their famous rose tea and scones nearby. While Annie Sara has her hands full with her business, the reality show, her friends, and a potential relationship, she can't help but put a few things together that indicate maybe foul play was involved in Ingrid's death and it had nothing to do with the tearoom! Come along for a fun summer mystery. I enjoy this series a great deal, but it is time to deal with whether or not Annie Sara and Gray are staying or going back to LA. It is starting to be an annoying backstory. Thanks to #Netgally, #SevernHouse, and the author for an opportunity to read! #SconedtoDeath #ACrochet&CrumpetsMystery #BettyHechtman #bookreview #bookideas #retiredreader
Profile Image for L.M..
Author 4 books26 followers
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
May 14, 2026
Annie Sara is still operating her yarn shop and tea room in the old schoolhouse in Franklin, Indiana (not to be confused with the real town of Franklin, Indiana, which is in a completely different place). A few ritzy summer ladies have become regulars at the tea room and when one of their au pairs dies mysteriously at the beach, Annie finds herself getting involved. In the meantime, the building finds a buyer. Will Annie Sara and Gray sell out and go back to LA?

Annie Sara is a good MC. She's kind and supportive. Toby is still my favorite character, he's so sweet and charming and it's exciting to see him get the opportunity to try out for a reality show where everyone can get to know him and learn about his talents. While I thought this was a good plot point, I was a little confused about how Annie Sara thought it was going to solve the problem of him being able to continue providing scones after the building sells. The three amigos were great too, the kind of characters you love to hate.

The story itself left me wanting. There was a lot of repetition and not a lot happening in the story. Every other chapter we get a recounting of how Annie Sara wants Toby to be able to keep making scones, how Bethany doesn't like Annie Sara, how the three amigos only had 2 au pairs and Natalie hates everything about it, how Luke doesn't want to be considered a suspect, where Fanny is (anyone else really put off by that creepy doll? Just me? OK), when will the building sell, Patty's mistake cakes, etc. Anything that comes up we hear about it again and again and again. Gray was back to being useless, which was something I thought was resolved in the first book. There's no investigation into the murder and the killer had an alibi all along, which seems like cheating.

There was less Hoosier bashing in this book than in the first one, but there was still some. I had hoped they would fix the town name, since Franklin, Indiana is a real town south of Indianapolis and not anywhere near Lake Michigan. At least the hate for the state was downplayed in this book because in the first book it was so significant it was practically a character of its own.

Overall I think a merciless edit could save this book, it's reasonably readable as is, but not something I would recommend as a favorite.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for April Brown.
246 reviews6 followers
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
May 13, 2026
In Sconed to Death we Meet Annie Sara who has come to Frankin, Indiana, to get the shop her uncle left her ready to sell so that she can go back to LA. along with Gray the daughter of one of her entertainment agent father's clients Gray has become her partner thanks to Gray's celebrity mother loaning Annie the money to get the shop in shape so they can return to LA. Annie has a lot going on. Not only trying to get the shop in the best possible shape to attract a buyer but also trying to help her young scone supplier/baker Toby get his chance to be on a reality baking show. There is a group of moms with their kids and nannies become regular while they are there for the summer. Some missing jewelry, the suspicious death of one of the nannies, pressure from her dad and Gray's mom to get back to LA and securing the spot for Toby on the reality baking show has Annie juggling a lot of balls in the air.

This is just the read you need to escape for a few hours. Its quick, quirky with likeable characters and the mystery is good and will keep you turning the pages.

3.5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and Severn House for the chance to read this book and give my opinion.

Profile Image for Harriet Pasco.
93 reviews2 followers
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
March 8, 2026
This was an easy, cosy crime read that felt perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon. The setting and characters give off strong Midsomer Murders energy - small-town charm, plenty of personalities, and a mystery quietly unfolding beneath it all.

It’s definitely more of a slow burn than a high-stakes thriller, but that’s part of the charm of the cosy crime genre. I enjoyed settling into the world of the yarn and tea shop and getting to know the characters as the story gradually built momentum.

The mystery itself kept me curious enough to keep turning the pages, and being quite short it’s the kind of book you can easily start and finish in a single afternoon. If you enjoy lighter mysteries with a cosy atmosphere and a small-town setting, this would make a lovely weekend read.
191 reviews3 followers
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
March 14, 2026
This is more of a 2.5 than a 3 but I didn't want to round down. The premise is great - independent shop, tea, scones and unexpected death.
But there's too much stuff and not enough development of any of the characters or storylines.

The relationships (personal & business) between characters don't make sense. They seem surface level but need to be seen as being strong with history for the stories to make sense.

I think this book would've benefited from being edited so that there waweres fewer moving parts and more depth to those that are left. Instead it felt like a collection of ideas shoehorned together. This may be in anticipation of future books expanding on the ideas more fully but I'm hoping the next book will be more focused
698 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
May 25, 2026
What a wonderful sequel in this series! Once I started reading, I just couldn’t put it down. It’s a little different from most cozy murder mysteries because Annie isn’t actively trying to solve the murder, which made the story feel fresh and unique. I loved the characters, the easy-to-read writing style, and the strong storyline with a well-developed plot. I really hope there will be another book in this delightful series very soon!
I received an advance review copy via Netgalley/Severn House and I’m leaving a voluntary and honest review.
18 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
March 22, 2026
This was tugging at my heart as I was routing for Toby!! So many wonderful characters and some who need a dose of reality. I was very happy how this weaved itself out at the end, I had some suspicions throughout on who may have done it. I need a book just on the cat though, he was a delightful surprise! Now I need more on if Annie Sarah will choose love or if she’ll get distracted and the cat will have something to “say” about it!
2,420 reviews44 followers
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
April 17, 2026
I came for the cozy mystery and fell in love with this series. Toby won my heart and the fact that Annie is doing her best to help him thrive? Add in solving a murder and you have tugged at my cozy loving heart strings and my human compassion heart strings. This one just feels “Cozy” on so many levels! I can’t get enough and will be back for more!
Profile Image for Karen Stallman .
929 reviews103 followers
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
March 19, 2026
"Sconed to Death” the 2nd instalment in A Crochet and Crumpets Mystery series by Betty Hechtman set in the small Indiana town of Franklin. I love this series and cant wait for book 3!

I really enjoyed this story, the mystery is interesting and well plotted, and I loved the characters. I loved how Annie and Gray were doing everything to help sell the tea house and yarn shop but really wanted to help out Toby who makes the scones and crumpets. I like the growth in Gray's character as well, as she becomes more independent.

I kept guessing and second-guessing myself on whodunnit right to the very end.

Now I want to pick up crocheting again, I love these kind of cozy mysteries.

I recommend this book to all my cozy lover friends.

I requested and received an Advanced Readers Copy from Severn House and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews