Customer Reviews

Buttons and Bones (Needlecraft Mystery)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is perhaps the weakest entry in the series. I usually don't even try to solve the mysteries as I am reading, but I had this one figured out within pages of them discovering the skeleton. I love the series, so I am giving the book three stars...but if this was the first book I read of Monica Ferris', I doubt I would bother to read any others.
Too much of Jill's children (cute as they are supposed to be, their presence really did nothing for the story) and Betsy's man troubles, and not enough of Crewel World, Godwin, or The Monday Bunch.
The book felt rushed and incomplete to me.

In Excelsior, Minnesota Betsy Devonshire, owner of Crewel World needlework shop, was instrumental in getting Lars and his wife Jill a the fixer upper log cabin with six acres of land attached to it. The property is in a state park and part of the property is on the shore. While ripping up a floor and linoleum, they find a trap door that leads to a concealed basement. There they see the bones of a skeleton in the shape of a human are found. Whoever it was did not die a natural death.

Jill has a need to know who the victim and the killer are. Betsy joins her on the investigation. They soon learn a former WWII German POW camp was nearby and one person successfully escaped never to be seen again. Twentyish Dieter Keitel had a cold crown on his tooth just like the corpse appears to have. To affirm they found Deiter's bones, the daughter of Betsy's friend does reconstructive forensic modeling from six pictures of him. The results stun Betsy and the audience

There is no blood, or gore just bones in Buttons and Bones yet Monica Ferris once again (see Blackwork) knits together a hypnotic mystery due to the directions the investigations takes her. The murder happened over a half a century ago, but Betsy treats the killing as if it happened yesterday as she takes it as an affront in a believable manner as some of those involved back in WWII still live. This is a terrific 1940s whodunit investigated in the twenty-first century by an amateur sleuth who would have been a great police detective.

Harriet Klausner

Much too much pointless hypothesizing and discussion about how and why the murder may have been committed. Such sections did not further the story, since they were no more than long and involved guesses based on very little information when they appeared. Worse yet, I identified the murderer half-way through the book. I rarely do this, and I wasn't trying.

I am usually sorry when I finish a "Crewel World" book, but I lost interest in this one once I identified the killer. The pace was slow, and the usual ensemble of characters were largely absent.

I just wish Monica Ferris would go back to using the needlecrafts as the basis for her stories.

There is little to no needlecraft involvement in this book. And that's a shame. I really enjoyed the ones that revolved around some facet of needlework

And she needs more Godwin again!! He is the highlight of her books and he is in there less and less. A real shame.
And her Monday group needs to be in there again. They were such a nice added dimension. Their names are barely mentioned this time.

She seems to have lost the basis for what made her stories good. Now they just seem mediocre.

I love the series, usually a fun read. This book was so disappointing. After reading only a few pages into it, I was tired of the baby talk, explaining to the child what was going on without using the word "dead," Betsy being creeped out by roughing it in a rustic cabin. Stopped reading about a fourth of the way into book. Just couldn't persevere. Looking forward to the next book though! Not giving up on the series.

Don't buy this book unless you have a high tolerance for baby talk as there's so much you'll think it should take place in a nursery. It was also disappointing that Godwin did not make an appearance. I have read and enjoyed all the books up to now. Will give the next book of the series a chance, but if she's still writing with so little connection to needlework that will be the last one for me.

When Betsy's best friend Jill Larson invites Betsy to spend the weekend with her family at their lakeside cabin Betsy decides to go. Her romance isn't going as smoothly as she would like and with Godwin's encouragement decides a weekend away might do her some good. The Larson's have been slowly remodeling the cabin and decide to rip out the carpeting. After pulling up the carpeting and two layers of linoleum they discover a trap door that leads to a tiny root cellar. When Jill goes down to investigate she finds a skeleton. The police assume that the skeleton belongs to a German POW who escaped and was never found. Jill wants the crime solved since the skeleton was found on her property and she asks Betsy to help figure out who the skeleton actually belongs to and who committed the crime.

While a huge fan of this series, I found this book to be a bit disappointing. Betsy is normally very sharp,and does a great job with her amateur detective work, but with this story I had it figured out before she did. I always enjoy reading about Godwin and the group that hangs out in the needlework shop but in this installment that was really lacking. Another thing that was lacking in the book was Sophie the shop cat, who wasn't mentioned until about two thirds thru the book, I was beginning to wonder if she would make an appearance at all. I will say that I enjoyed reading about the German POW's and the history of that time.I do wonder why we were introduced to the Lawson's new dog, perhaps he will play a part in a future story!

I have read all of the books in this series and will read the next installment, because visiting with Betsy is like visiting an old friend, I only hope the author decides to give the rest of the gang a bigger presence in the next book.
rating 3.5 / 5

I have read and enjoyed all of Monica Ferris' books in this series, and really looked forward to this book. I was very disappointed. The author's voice did not sound like the same person who wrote all the previous books. I really missed all the interactions between characters in the needlecraft store. Dialogue was quite short and clipped without substance. The mystery was very weak with absolutely no surprises. I will continue to look forward to the next book, but truly hope the author returns to her wonderful characters from previous books. I always share my books with my needlework group who anxiously await my next loan. By sharing many ladies have become avid readers of this series. I am giving this book a 3 stars rating, because Betsy has become a friend.

This book was acceptable as a continuation of the series, but it seemed poorly developed and somewhat less coherent than the previous books, as though the author were writing in response to a deadline. I hate waiting for future books in any series, but would rather wait and get a great read than be quickly gratified with a poor one.

A very enjoyable cozy mystery in the Needlecraft Series: No. 14. Betsy Devonshire, owner of the Crewel World yarn shop and amateur sleuth is visiting near the lakes. A dear friend of hers (Jill Larson) has bought lakeside property. While Betsy is at the cabin with the Larson family, they discover a trapdoor under the carpet and two layers of linoleum. After descending the wooden stairs through the trapdoor, they find an old, old skeleton. Jill and Betsy are searching diligently for the murderer and also the identity of the skeleton. There is quite a lot of historical information regarding the German POW camps in Minnesota, which I found quite interesting.