Search - Cutwork (Needlecraft, Bk 7)

This was the most agonizing book in this series to read, so far. The first chapter starts off with a local police detective ranting and raving about his nemesis, who is the main character of this series. It went down hill from there.

The author tried too hard to develop some characters that don't even have bit parts, but are reoccuring in this series. The writing was strained in many chapters. It was almost as if the author couldn't find anything more that was interesting about needlework, so they had to make something up to find any type of connection to this series.

The actual crime was rather predictable. Though there was some subterfuge, I was still able to predict who the killer was the second they were introduced in the book. The wool the author tried to pull over our eyes was crocheted with an O hook.

Even though I was disappointed with this book in the series, I will continue to read these books. 6 decent mysteries far out weigh a silly read that was almost a waste of time.

Finally, another present day murder! Unlike the last few books where Betsy either investigated a murder that happened decades ago or simply had attempts on her life but no real murder mystery to solve this one had a murder that happend right at the start of the book. The plot was more complex than some of the others and introduced a few new characters which Betsy had to deal with. Well done.

Almost everyone in Excelsior, Minnesota-craftsy and non-craftsy alike-has turned out for the art fair. So when an artisan is murdered there, the list of suspects is practically endless. Betsy Devonshire wants to help out in the police investigation. Her best friend, Office Jill Cross, confides that they have a lead: a bloody footprint in the woodcarvers' booth matches that of a local youth. But when Betsy can't keep the news to herself, Jill gives Betsy the cold shoulder. Everyone's on pins and needles-and when the family of the kid in question asks Betsy to prove his innocence, she must first regain Jill's trust, then figure out who had designs on the dead disigner...

Love this series. Good one as usual. . .

Betsy Devonshire has volunteered for an art fair, and one of the artists, a woodcarver, is found with his throat cut with his own knife. A young teenage delinquent has been arrested, but his aunt, a friend of Betsy's, begs her to help him. Reluctantly Besty agrees as after meeting the disagreeable young man, she does not believe him capable of murder.

I was very impressed by the detail in this story. Besty explores the world of art, and the author shows the tedious side of investigating, in the many questions Betsy must ask to familiarize herself with artists as she grasps for any clues that might lead her to the truth. The story at times felt a little disjointed as Ferris used several points of view, but the mystery was more solid than some she has written, and the revelation at the end satisfying.

The murder of a woodcarver at an artists' fair draws Crewel World owner and amateur sleuth Betsy Devonshire into a quest for the killer.