This was a great book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope There is more to come from this author! I am totally hooked!

The fourth in a series by Betty Hechtman featuring Veronica Blackstone in the Writer For Hire mysteries. Veronica finds that her latest assignment is blighted by the death of an author. An extremely enjoyable mystery with a well devised cast of characters, an engaging narrative, a solid plot line and an appealing amateur sleuth. A fantastic tale.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Severn House via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

The fourth book in Betty Hechtman's Writer for Hire series is full of repetitive details about Veronica Blackstone, the Chicago freelance copy writer with amateur sleuth skills who cannot tolerate alcohol, carries a peacock-blue messenger bag along with a red hair scrunchie she crocheted herself, and cannot say the L-word to her neighbor's brother, Ben, a suburban police officer with whom she shares an occasional hug and cheek kiss. Once the reader is passed the reminders of Veronica's quirks, the reader will find a cozy mystery about a group of wealthy neighbors who have agreed to participate in a Hyde Park house tour. The group, like Veronica, has lots of peccadilloes that line each of them up as suspects when one of the neighbors dies. Recommended as a regional book and for those who enjoy complacent characters.

I’d enjoyed the previous book in this series, so was pleased when I saw this one was available. But if you haven’t yet had the pleasure of reading of the previous offerings, don’t let that put you off. There are some series where crashing midway means you’re floundering – this isn’t one of them.

Veronica is a writer for hire, whose first book has had some modest success and she’s trying to finish her second novel – but is suffering a bit from writer’s block. Fortunately, she’s an adaptable soul, who also undertakes other writing gigs. Indeed, the unfolding adventure whereby she assists a go-getting career woman in finding a suitably attractive and rich husband by writing love letters on her behalf is a really enjoyable plot thread.

Hechtman doesn’t put her foot to the floor with the pacing, so the murder is uncovered by a steady build-up of clues as Veronica gets on with her life. So to really get the best out of this whodunit, it’s necessary to enjoy Veronica’s character and become suitably engrossed in the details of her daily routine. The author’s smooth writing style and strong characterisation meant I found this an easy, enjoyable read, as Veronica discovers the ongoing tensions between those neighbours willing to open up their homes and gardens.

If I do have a niggle, is that her relationship with Sam is plain irritating. Either they have a thing, or they don’t. And they’re now of an age that they both should know one way or another – so all the will they/won’t they business that went on seemed rather forced, given their maturity.

However, it isn’t a dealbreaker – and I’d be very happy to read another book in this entertaining series. While I obtained an arc of Sentenced to Death from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
8/10

This i s a great mystery series: compelling, well plotted, and entertaining. Veronica is an interesting characters and I like how she's never reckless and is always very clever.
This mystery is fast paced, solid, and kept me guessing.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Sentanced To Death is the fourth book in the series. I have enjoyed this entire series as Betty Hechtman is a favorite author of mine and her mysteries are always excellent. Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity. My review opiniion is my own.

I enjoy the protaganist in this series as a savvy talented writer for hire who solves murders. Veronica has a eccentric cliental who hire her for various writing jobs. She has a interesting new job writing for a local garden tour at a estate. When the owner of the property is murdered Veronica is compelled to investigate . She is good at seeking clues and red herrings which make this such a enjoyable read.

The sleuth was very well crafted and kept me guessing to conclusion. I enjoy the supporting charcters and the building of relationship that Veronica has in each book. This is a winning cozy series written to perfection with a great sleuth, wonderful charcters and a interesting protagnist . I look forward to more in this wonderful series.

I have read Betty Hechtman's other series this is my first book in this series thank you Net Galley. A very different type of book that i was used to reading from Betty. Veronica does a good job guessing that it was in fact a murder even though she doesn't write books on murder. It was an enjoyable read and hope to read the first books.

Veronica Blackstone, writer for hire, has been hired to write the brochure for the neighborhood house tour of homes owned by diverse and challenging couples. There’s something off about the women running the tour, as well as the demanding homeowners. When one of the owners is found dead, thought to be by suicide, Veronica is the only one who thinks it might be murder.
There’s a great subplot where Veronica is asked to write love letters to wealthy Parker Andrews by the woman who wants to marry him. Parker ends up being intrigued by Veronica instead of asking the woman to be his bride. I hope this turns into an important relationship between them in future books, especially since I can’t stomach Ben, and Veronica’s relationship with him. Their relationship seems very superficial and Ben tries to be too controlling with Veronica. They seem very cut and dry with each other, and the way Hechtman has written them together, there is no chemistry and too little physical interaction. This is my only criticism of the series.
I throughly enjoy this series. Having Veronica being hired to write love letters on day, a biography the next, gives this series excitement. It’s definitely not stagnant.

Thanks to NetGalley and Severn House for ARC.

This is book 4 in a series about Veronica Blackstone, 'writer for hire' in Chicago, who offers a range of services, from copy for restaurants and other local businesses, to love letters for the shy. She also runs a writers' group for local people, some of whom are her friends and allies. She is involved in a slow burn and very uncertain romance with a local cop, the brother of her downstairs neighbour.

Blackstone is hired to write copy for a pamphlet accompanying a doors open day, allowing the public access to notable gardens and houses, all in a good cause. As Veronica visits the houses to be featured for the first time, she becomes curious about the inhabitants, and some of the organisers of the event. When a famous writer/homeowner is found dead in mysterious circumstances, with classic locked-room vibes, Veronica thinks she should try and uncover the truth. She perhaps could have done it a little quicker, but she also had a side hustle writing fairly improbable love letters to a rich businessman, who seems to be more interested in Veronica than the woman hiring her, and it's all so charming it's hard not to go with the flow.

Veronica is pretty sure Landon did not kill himself despite the fact that all signs point to despair and that he was found in a locked room. So, of course, the intrepid amateur sleuth searches for the real villain among the members of the Friends of Hyde Park. She was hired, btw to write copy for a tour but her real claim to fame is ghostwriting and well, solving mysteries. This fourth in the series will be perfectly fine as a standalone (although fans will be pleased to see a bit more development of minor characters). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For cozy fans.

Writer for hire Veronica is asked to write the copy for a local house and garden tour, and she’s thrilled to get the chance to get more publicity for her business – until one of the homeowners is found dead. Veronica doesn’t agree with the ruling of suicide, and is determined to figure out what *really happened.

This is book #4 of a series I’ve enjoyed from the start, and I enjoyed it as much as the first three books. I’ve only spent a weekend in Chicago (and that was many years ago), but this series makes me want to go back and spend more time exploring the city. I like Veronica and her friends, and I love the idea of her writers’ group, even though several of them have more than their share of quirks. They’re certainly a great pool of potential “prime suspects” for future books, even though none of them were involved in this particular case :)

There were plenty of other suspects, though, as the dead man wasn’t very popular. The motives were variations on a theme, so that wasn’t a surprise, but I hadn’t quite figured out the identity of the villain before it was revealed in the book. I look forward to reading the next book in this series.

Sentenced to Death by Betty Hechtman is the fourth book in her cozy mystery series A Writer for Hire and was a solid addition to this series.

An smoothly paced plot that finds Veronica involved in a house and garden tour in her neighborhood of Chicago. The residents of the homes included in the tour were an eclectic mix of people that often did not mix well with their neighbors. I found that the plot slowed down in the middle quite a bit which I found a little frustrating until the paced picked up again to the anti-climatic reveal. All in all it was a good mystery and I was surprised by who had committed the crime.

#SentencedtoDeath #NetGalley Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel. I encourage you to check this one out! Great mystery!

Sentenced to Death by Betty Hechtman is the fourth in the Writer for Hire mystery series. Veronica Blackstone, writer for hire, is such an original twist on the standard protagonist that one can’t help but be captivated by this series. Veronica has no end of opportunities to meet new and interesting people and has been selected to create the copy for the local house and garden tour. What could be safer, right? That is until one of the home owners is killed in a locked room. Is it suicide or is it murder? Too many loose ends have Veronica thinking that this is not a suicide.
This series is a fresh entry into the often formulaic cozy genre. Veronica’s profession gives her the opportunity to meet people from every profession across her hometown, and her personal friends and acquaintances don’t have to be the ones to get murdered in every book! I love the continuing cast of characters and the further development of (Tizzy and Theo). The pacing of this book seemed slower than the earlier books in the series, and the uncertainty of Veronica’s and Sam’s relationship and interactions cast a lackluster shadow over an otherwise enjoyable mystery. (I reviewed an advance reader copy and all opinions are my own.) Overall a well-written cozy that I hope continues long into the future.

Likeable Amateur Sleuth…
The fourth outing for Veronica Blackstone in the Writer For Hire mystery series. Yet again, Veronica finds herself knee deep in murder when her latest assignment is marred by the death of an author. Whilst a suicide would not have been entirely unexpected, Veronica knows that something more suspicious has taken place. With murder on her mind, Veronica investigates. Wholly enjoyable mystery with a well crafted cast of characters, an entertaining narrative, a solid plotline and a very likeable amateur sleuth.

Sentenced to Death is the fourth book in this writer for hire series.
Veronica gets a job writing copy for the Friends of Hyde Park annual house and garden tour. Two of the houses belong to successful writers with an intense rivalry. When one of the writers kills himself in a locked room, after deleting his newest book, Victoria is not so sure it was suicide. The victim was an egotistical man who had a few enemies. This was a fun quick read with many red herrings with a good solid plot, and likeable main characters. I can't wait to read the next book in this enjoyable series. I give it a solid five stars! Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for supplying me with this advanced readers copy.

Well written with an intriguing and compelling storyline and well developed characters. A gripping read that I couldn't put down.

Being a writer, one would think Veronica Blackstone merely wrote about murder, but they’d be wrong. First, Veronica is a writer for hire and she helps others write. Second, Veronica doesn’t write about murder, she seems to stumble upon the victims’ bodies.

Each of the four books so far have each had a great mystery weaved into Veronica’s work and her unlucky talent of finding bodies. With plenty of suspects and red herrings to tease you along until the final reveal. Sure you may suspect the killer at some point, but you’ve likely changed your mind several times and the reveal will finally reveal whodunit, how and why. It’s a great series from a great author and I highly recommend Betty’s work!