Blackwork

Blackwork by Monica Ferris is the latest in her needlecraft series. It's Halloween and Betsy Devonshire, the owner of Crewel World needlework store in Excelsior, MN, is up to her amateur detective best. One of her long time customers is a Wiccan, a very gentle soul, who is well known for brewing the best beer in the area and owns a microbrewery pub where she serves her brews. When one of her concoctions, called Don't be Afraid of the Dark Ale, apparently causes the death of one of the more obnoxious residents of Excelsior, the witchhunt is on. The Wiccan is accused of causing all kinds of accidents in the town. Betsy is incensed that one of her best customers is being persecuted and takes a hand in finding out who did kill this man. Turns out the dead man has made quite a few enemies in the town, any number of whom would want him dead for any number of reasons. This is an entertaining cozy mystery as Ferris' novels usually are. This isn't one of her best - she gets too involved in town politics rather than the actual mystery. Plus the needlework part, which is the lynchpin of all her novels, gets short shrift. The title alludes to blackwork, a type of linear embroidery. I'm not quite sure how blackwork embroidery fits in with this murder. But still, I like the novel and the series, and appreciate the connection with needlecrafts (I'm a stitcher myself). Monica Ferris is a member of the American Needlepoint Guild and the Embroiderer's Guild of America so she knows her needlework. It's a good quick read for a Sunday afternoon.