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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780425193891
ISBN number: 0425193896
Label: Berkley
Manufacturer: Berkley
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 272
Printing Date: January 06, 2004
Publishing house: Berkley
Release Date: January 06, 2004
Sale Popularity Level: 188210
Studio: Berkley
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
After an artisan is murdered at the Excelsior, Minnesota, art fair, everyone is on pins and needles. It's up to needlework shop owner Betsy Devonshire to figure out who had designs on the dead designer.
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Rated by buyers 
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Excellent cozy reading. I just love this series! This one kept my attention very keenly and I enjoyed watching Betsy unravel the mystery. Very believable. I love all the characters in this series, and it is like visiting with old friends. This is the best one so far in her series (it is the latest one I've read, any way!).
Rated by buyers -
I was able to solve the mystery early, but that didn't take away my enjoyment of reading this book. The motive behind the killing was quite interesting.
Rated by buyers -
As a needlework person, I've truly enjoyed the previous books in this series. Compared to this one, however, they're appetizers. This book is so meaty, so inclusive, it's like a huge Medieval tapestry in comparison.
Medieval tapestries usually have one central theme, but if you look carefully around the edges, you'll find numerous little episodes featuring other characters and scenes. So it is with this book. Central to the plot is Betsy Devonshire's needlework store, Crewel World. Since she owns the building that houses her store and her apartment, readers come to feel at home wherever she is. We've also come to know her employees and customers, and several of the local (Excelsior, Minnesota) town folks as well, including the local police persons.
This time, Betsy finds herself in a non-needlework-based mystery. Rather, it's in the field of art; specifically an Art Fair, in which one of the exhibitors is murdered. Artists are all a little nutsy, I think, and while finding it difficult to accept criticism, can also easily find justification for their own motivations in many directions. While Betsy is sorting out the various clues and non-clues, she gets an education into what is-and isn't-`true' art. Chapter 18 should be required reading for anyone with an interest in any of the Arts. It is illuminating, fascinating, and I think, sensible, all at the same time.
Still, however, this is a mystery novel, and I found it excellent on all levels: the writing is engaging, the characters are fully-fleshed out and appealing, while the plot was very realistic. Some erudite folks may have known `who-dun-it' way before the end of the book, but the killer's motivation surely came as a surprise.
Rated by buyers 
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...so why not five stars?
Simply, the "mystery" solved itself far to early in the story. I want to guess about the villain, not be able to finger him half-way through. Because of some fine descriptions of the background against which the tale is told and because there are some blue herrings about the murderer's real motive, maybe this is more of a "why-dunnit" than a "who-dunnit".
Still, it was an enjoyable diversion. Various subplots weave through the story and some of the characters, such as the victim's teenaged daughter, come to life in spare, but tremendously evocative descriptions. Kudos to an author who summons stereotypes apparently to help readers look beyond appearance and cliché.
And cheers, too, for taking on arts and crafts beyond the series' "specialty" of needlework. Metal sculpture, fibre carving, and the interminable tension between art and craft receive broad play here and offer readers a glimpse at the world of so-called public art.
This was an interesting book and I enjoyed reading it: hence, four stars. But it was not exactly a mystery.
Rated by buyers -
This is the very first book I've read by this author, and I quite enjoyed it, although I've read better mysteries. I found the information about handwork (embroidery of various kinds) informative and interesting -- and not too much or too little.
The plot involves an artist found stabbed to death at a lakeside art fair. The police quickly arrest a teenager who is a likely suspect, given his record, demeanor, and the physical evidence involving cash stolen from the booth. Betsy, who owns a needlework shop, has a reputation for solving crimes, and his parents (unbelievably) unlist her help in proving his innocence. Betsy has a hunch he's innocent and begins investigating the artist and any possible people with a motive to kill him. THis could include the man's estranged wife and even his son -- not to mention various other characters.
The perpetrator was pretty easy to guess, I thought, and it would have been a better book with more blue herrings. The charm and cosiness of the characters and setting were sufficient to offset this, at least for me.
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