Customer Reviews

Crewel World

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I enjoyed this one very much, so I bought all the others and was not disappointed. I really like the main character, she is real to me. Especially in the last book where she is depressed and having nightmares because of all that she has been through. In so many books the main character goes blithley on, unaffected by what they have witnessed or been entirely too close to. I have yet to do the patterns included in each one because, of course I already am stacked to the rafters with UFO's. In fact reading them made me drag out some of them and deal with them! I wish it was possible to read and stitch at the same time because I couldn't put these books down. It would be great to do like in Gone with the Wind, one reads out loud and everybody else is stitching. Much better than being blasted by the TV.

I have to admit I was very skeptical about these books because I do not really like mysteries but I am allready on the 4th book in the series, I'm hooked. If you like needlework of anykind you will get a kick out of these books. I think they are very well written and I love the way she has included needlework of all kinds.

I read this book and the ensuing two in ONE week-end! They are great little books. A light mystery with interesting characters. I grew up in the area of Excelsior and the author is a personal friend of my mother who still lives in Excelsior. I found the references to places just a kick since I'm familiar with the area. I think these are great little books even if you don't care for needlepoint. If you just want a nice light read that you can't put down, I encourage you to read all six of these books. I'm off to buy the other three immediately!

Even though I know next to nothing about needlework, I found this title a great read. I always like to learn something when reading for pleasure, and from this I learned that there are far more types of needlework than I could have imagined. The author built on the characters, letting the reader meet the victim and get a bit of background, to the point that I almost forgot there had been no murder. The setting and characters held my interest to the point that I went out and found the other titles in this series. Not deep, but satisfying.

When Betsy's sister is murdered in her own needlecraft store, Betsy takes over the shop & the investigation. But to find the murderer, she'll have to put together a list of motives & suspects to figure out this killer's pattern of crime.

Betsy Devonshire's entry into the world of sleuthing is based on a strong premise, but the writing and plotting are stop and go.

Other reviewers have given a good summary of the plot.

There were points that could have been better shown by the author - when the murderer is captured, the police simply show up and the amateur detective blurts out the suppositions used to point the finger in the proper direction.

There are other smaller quirks that were never explained or expanded upon. Why does Betsy have an aversion to a man's touch? Why is it that no one even mentions Godwin until he shows up at the shop?

The book could have been improved by more attentive editing and the author could have taken her time in revealing her detective's thoughts to us.

This is a great, if somewhat "fluffy", book especiall for those that like to read and like to do some type of needlework. It was a great bood to lose yourself in for a few hours - depending on how fast you read!

Where does a middle-aged woman go when her high-flying lifestyle has crashed and her marriage is over? In the first book in Monica Ferris' needlecraft mystery series, big-city dweller Betsy Devonshire turns to her sister Margot, a widow with a successful needlecraft shop in Excelsior, Minnesota, a friendly small town which Betsy characterizes as "Mayberry-of-the-North."

Working in Margot's shop, Betsy is able to revive her lagging spirits and learn more about the curious world of needlework, a complicated sub-culture with practices, etiquette, and a language all its own. What she doesn't learn until it's too late is that Margot has a dangerous enemy who is willing to kill to achieve an end-and does.

Now, as Margot's grieving heir, Betsy reluctantly takes on not only the responsibility of a small business, but the job of finding out who could have murdered her kind-hearted, popular sister.

As a cozy mystery fan, I am happily content to wait five chapters for the murder to occur, but other readers may not be so patient. Though admittedly taking her time about it, Ferris establishes strong characterizations in these early chapters and evokes such an appealing ambiance about the real-life town of Excelsior that I hope the Chamber of Commerce takes note.

The clues to the perpetrator are subtle, but fairly sprinkled throughout the book and the solution to the mystery, when revealed, is both intriguing and satisfying. Best of all, Betsy Devonshire grows through this poignant and harrowing experience and emerges as a person we like, respect and would want to meet again.

This is, I think, an excellent example of the American cozy. Similiar to the British genre in that you have a small group of characters that drive the story. I have read all four in the series so far. What I think I like most is the needlework background for the titles. This is somewhat like Dick Francis books always having horses or racing in the storyline. Quite often too, the main character is in trouble because of something they don't know they know. A good read for a rainy afternoon.

First off, I reserve "5 starts" for books I consider works of art. This book is not a work of art but is engaging, entertaining, diverting - just generally a good read.

I was home sick today, sinus infection, too headachy to work on anything intensive, so I took this off the shelf. And I couldn't put it down until I was done.

The story describes how Betsy Devonshire, coming off her divorce from "the pig" (a philandering college professor), has chucked it all and headed North to hang out with her sister, Margot, for a while. Margot is a sweet person, beloved of nearly all the townspeople in tiny Excelsior, Minnesota. Margot runs a needlework business - seemingly more for the benefit of her regular customers than for any huge profits.

Then, Margot is killed in a burglary. Or so it seems at first. Betsy is unwilling to accept this and tries to "push" the police to investigate, while trying to keep the shop going.

One of the things that made this book fun were the secondary characters - Godwin, the talented shop assistant (who happens to be gay); Jill, the cop who has a warm heart under her Norwegian ice-princess exterior; Irene, Margot's rival needlepointer, who is creepy, weird, and may be a murderer...and on and on.

Oh yes, there is also Sophie, the store cat.

I enjoyed this one and plan to read the rest of the series.

Yes, I did guess "who dun it" fairly early on. But that didn't spoil the story for me.

The characters are enjoyable. The setting is familiar (I come originally from the Upper Midwest and often get homesick) and is well-described. The needlework angle is a real plus for me (I knit and quilt and have done embroidery and needlepoint in the past).

At a few points in the story, there are "expository notes" that are perhaps a bit jarring. And the story is fairly simple. But this novel is "comfort reading" at its best - fun characters, a pleasant setting, the sense that justice is served in the end.

I could have done much worse with my afternoon than to read this book.