Crewel World (Needlecraft Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Monica Ferris (Author)
Key Phrases: slash jacket, needlework shop, broken oar, Crewel World, Joe Mickels, Irene Potter (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Margot Berglund owns a needlework and wool store called Crewel World. She's fifty-three, a widow and an expert in her field. Her store does very well for a small town, and she is able to support two part time staff as well as other casual workers. Her husband Aaron had been a wealthy man but despite this she lives a simple life, causing speculation among the town's people. Margot's older sister, Betsy, comes to live with her. When Betsy was young she ran off to join the navy and married a sailor and now her second husband is divorcing her. Betsy seems to be planning to sponge off Margot, she sees living off Margot an easy solution to her problems, at least for the short term. In the idyllic world of Margot there are some problems. Her landlord wants her building so he can build something new and charge more, but Margot has a cheap lease that is good for another four years. So Joe sues Margot regularly and threatens her too, but she has a good lawyer to protect her. She also has a "Wanta be" successor who wants to run her own needlework store in a town that cannot support two. Irene is a little nuts and readily admits that she wants something to happen to Margot so that she can take over. Unfortunately for Irene she has no people skills and is not very successful with the customers. A few nights after her arrival, Betsy comes home and finds Crewel World trashed and Margot murdered. The mystery begins and Betsy takes it into her own hands when she thinks the police aren't doing enough. I LOVED THIS BOOK. Admittedly I am biased. I love to knit and cross-stitch and I love to read mysteries. This was the book written for me. Monica Ferris obviously knew what she was talking about too; she had the entire lingo down pat. But, you don't have to like these hobbies to enjoy this book. The characters are all strong and the plot develops well. The small town setting allows for colourful characters which Monica Ms. Ferris takes advantage of. Betsy is interesting as the sleuth, she is blunt and not very subtle and the character's reactions to her are amusing. I hope there are more books to come from Monica Ferris. Crewel World is one of the best books I have ever read! Monica Ferris has written a page turner! It's not often that a mystery is set in a cozy wool store, but she makes it work. I will recommend this book to everyone I know, especially my knitting pals! Michelle Sawyer -- Copyright © 030199 Literary Times, Inc. All rights reserved -- From Literary Times

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (March 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425167801
• ISBN-13: 978-0425167809
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #336,222 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Pleasing Opener for a Cozy Mystery Series, January 6, 2002

By	"missprentice" (Raleigh, NC) - See all my reviews

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.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Provides a great break from your own needlework projects., May 21, 1999

By A Customer

As as avid quilter/needleworker I enjoyed this book tremendously. It was a cozy, light read that I was able to pick up when I was at a frustration point with my current needlework project. I was fairly sure I recognized the killer before the end of the book but for me it was a toss-up between two characters. I would recommend this book for anyone wanting a cozy mystery to help them through creatively restless hours of their own. I'm already eagerly awaiting the next book and I've added Monica Ferris to my list of what I call my favorite "gentle" murder mystery writers.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not profound but entertaining...., June 2, 2001

By A Customer

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.