Another Review at MyShelf.Com

Sins and Needles
Needlecraft Mystery, No.10

by Monica Ferris



      So you're looking for a nice mystery to read and you turn away, going "Oh, no!" at what appears to be another overly-cutesy cozy, because you see a punny title, a subtitle involving a craft, and a note on the cover about a free pattern inside. That's where you would be wrong.

Amateur sleuth Betsy Devonshire may own a needlework shop, but as with her spiritual ancestor, Miss Marple, any fluffiness about her is surface only. Underneath deceptive appearances is a clear-eyed realist with a sharp mind that ruthlessly cuts to the core of what people really are and what they really mean.

After mistakenly greeting a customer at the door by a local friend's name, Betsy learns that the woman -Lucille Jones- is an adoptee in town to seek out her biological roots, roots that she believes include that very friend, Jan. The question is if they also involve Jan's status as heiress to her wealthy great aunt and the chances of Lucille sharing that legacy according to the terms of an unusual will. This is a question that becomes more critical when the great aunt is found murdered, using a method requiring special expertise that Lucille and her husband both happen to have.

This series keeps getting better, with this book now one of my favorites in it. Betsy's intelligence and pragmatism remind you of the fact that her creator was one of the original authors of the Dame Frevisse series of historicals whose heroine is notable for those same characteristics, despite their very different lives and settings. The craft shop and small town settings provide a believable basis for the connections that make Betsy's Marple-like style of character-based detecting possible, resulting in a truly satisfying solution to the various puzzles. Of course if you love needlework you'll also enjoy the chatter about the craft that is a constant thread throughout the series. Recommended.

The Book

Berkley
June 27, 2006
Hardcover
0425210030
Mystery/amateur sleuth
More at Amazon.com
Excerpt
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The Reviewer

Kim Malo
Reviewed 2006
NOTE:
© 2006 MyShelf.com