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Embroidered Truths
A Betsy Devonshire Needle Craft Mystery, No. 8

by Monica Ferris


      Betsy Devonshire lives a comfortable life with her cat in an apartment over her embroidery shop, Crewel World. When her store manager, Goddard, is inexplicitly thrown out of the house he shares with John, his partner of 8 years, he crashes in Betsy's spare bedroom while tempers cool. It isn't long before Goddard is arrested for murder, and Betsy throws herself into proving his innocence. Based on their belief in Goddy, her regular customers weave a web of support that would make a spider proud.

     I particularly liked that Betsy looked the lawyer in the eye and said she had a talent for investigation, instead of sneaking around and being coy about her discoveries. I couldn't understand why Ms. Ferris specifically made him a mixed race character, descended from African-American slaves and Polish immigrants, unless it was to give his character unquestioned insight into being judged by other people's ideas of his limitations. He readily accepts Betsy's suggestion that she do the leg work and takes her very seriously in this role. The sheriff is another notable character, conflicted and complex. He doesn't like Betsy, or any civilian, being involved in police work, but he respects her findings and even grants her privileges because of her success.

     I don't care for murder as a way to tidy up the storyline. I got the impression that the purpose of this book was to move the overall series plot along; that John had outlived his usefulness and was murdered as a convenient way to improve Goddard's life. It also gave Betsy the excuse to become connected with an influential lawyer who could give her future casework. Your friends reasonably can have only so many murders for you to solve. There were a few threads in this book that could be pulled for future stories, such as WHY did John have such a big secret?

     This story was a light, easy, read that emphasized the value of friendship and cooperative effort to attain a goal. I enjoyed reading it and working on the embroidery pattern.

The Book

Berkley Hardcover
June 7, 2005
Hardcover
0425203018
Mystery / Women Slueths
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Excerpt
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The Reviewer

Beth E. McKenzie
Reviewed 2005
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© 2005 MyShelf.com