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Here's a real American Cozy, with just a touch of Western mythology to add a nice piquancy to the sauce. The small town is Excelsior, Minnesota wherein lies the shop of the title, is in many ways an insular community. Peaceful and calm on the surface, one need not look far to find petty and not-so-petty jealousies, competition, influence, greed and pressure. Out of the west, and into this quiet town, rides Betsy Devonshire, sister of Margot, owner of Crewel World, a small but successful needlework shop. Betsy is running from a life of disarray. She's a little down on her luck and looking for a safe haven in which to rest and recover. What she finds, instead of peace and quiet, is thievery and murder. What she must do is thread her way through the hidden and not-so-hidden loyalties in Excelsior to find the real murderer Although Monica Ferris may be a new name to many mystery fiction readers, this author has a number of works in the marketplace. Many fans will recognize her capable use of the language, her deft handling of plot elements, and her efficient delineation of the interesting characters in this first book of a new series. Although the Peter Brichter series by Mary Monica Pulver is a police procedural and Crewel World is a cozy, Monica Ferris proves her ability to handle either. One of the elements of any mystery that draws readers is new territory. For anyone who has wondered about knitting and needlecraft, both as a craft and as an art, there's a good deal of fascinating and sometimes surprising information in this book.
Reviewed by Carl Brookins, June 2001
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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