By Hook or By Crook by Betty Hechtman

Yarnaholic Molly Pink has become known in Tarzana, California, for her sleuthing skills, thanks to the help of her crochet group. But the latest mystery may be too much for these stitchers to unravel...

There's nothing the Tarzana Hookers love more than doing a good deed. They're so preoccupied with crocheting and selling scarves, teddy bears, and blankets to raise money for the local park that they don't even notice the brown paper bag at the end of the table--until it's too late to find its owner.

Unable to resist a good mystery, they open the bag and find a note that speaks of remorse, a diary entry of the sorry of parting, and a complicated piece of filet crochet that offers an obscure clue in pictures. The Hookers decide to leave the detective work up to Molly, but by the time she discovers the talented crocheter's identity, the mystery person has been murdered by a box of poisoned marzipan apples. Now Molly needs to help of her fellow stitchers, before the killer has time to create a deadly pattern of murder...

This is the third installment in the A Crochet Mystery series by Betty Hechtman. While Molly continues to find herself in predicaments with local law enforcement, she also cannot find any alone time to process the clues that she is gathering. Molly asks more of her friends to help her to solve this mystery as she searches out in Catalina for answers.

While this was not my favorite book of the series, I love the bond that is growing within the Tarzana Hookers, as the depend more on each other to help solve the mystery and protect each other... even from perceived fears. Even with a mystery to solve, charity donations must come first and Hechtman makes sure the reader knows the group is not falling short on its obligations to the community.

What wonderful charity groups Hechtman comes up with to donate to and includes the crochet pattern in the book. I tried the pattern in this book and found it very easy to follow and do. How fun is this to enjoy a book and make a Cuddle Blanket for a friend.