Thai Die

Betsy's friend Doris has returned from a trip to Thailand. Among the items that she brings back is a statue of the Buddha which she is to deliver to an antique shop in the Twin Cities that has a buyer for the item. When Doris, apartment is trashed after delivering the statue and the antique shop dealer turns up dead, Betsy sets out to investigate. The "who" was not difficult to figure out. I wish that Godwin had played a bigger role in this installment. I also believe that Ferris should have never taken Jill off the police force. Her presence was missed in this installment. I enjoyed this work, but it was not as captivating as earlier novels in the series.

(Edited to correct a possessive that was accidentally omitted.)

Doris Valentine, one of Crewel World's Monday Bunch, returns from a month-long trip to Thailand with lots of colorful fabric and silk floss, and, tucked into a corner of her suitcase, a replica of an unusual Buddha statue she's been asked to deliver to an antique dealer in St. Paul. Soon after Doris delivers the statue, the dealer is murdered, and Doris's apartment is trashed. Doris continues to be a target of an unknown person, but amateur sleuth Betsy Devonshire can't figure out what Doris has that this person is after. This case will try the limits of Betsy's sleuthing abilities.

This book is one of the weaker efforts in this series. The mystery is convoluted, and the plot seems to get away from Ferris at some points. Readers familiar show more with the series will enjoy seeing more of the Monday Bunch in this book, and may also like the connection with a much earlier book in the series. There are better books in this series, and readers new to the series shouldn't start with this one. show less

I started reading this series years ago, because of "meeting" Ms. Ferris via rec.crafts.textiles.needlework . It's odd to think of how much has changed since then—I don't even have a dedicated usenet client installed any more! Still, I still stitch, and I still enjoy the little handwork bits throughout Ferris' novels.Unfortunately, the digressions into minutia on other topics (do I care where Goddy picked up an expression? Honestly, no) gets annoying. If there had been one more sentence about Lars' Stanley Steamer, I might have thrown the book across the room.Still, these books are much brighter in tone than so much of what I read that they make a nice break here and there. The free patterns at the back of each book certainly don't show more hurt, either. show less

I'm really enjoying these even if there is no way I'm ever using any of the knitting patterns at the end. I hate knitting.

In Thai Die, Betsy Devonshire's customer, Doris Valentine, comes back from a vacation in Thailand. She shows off silk she bought there. She also has a box she brought back as a favor. The rest of the Monday bunch insist on seeing what she'll be handing over to an antique store in St. Paul. The photographer from the local newspaper who is there to get the story uses only the picture he takes of the beautifully carved reproduction Buddha. (I listened, but I don't recall either Officer Mike or Betsy remembering that its photo was in the paper when the St. Paul police need to know about it.)

The statuette was wrapped in a dirty rag that Doris throws away. Betsy rescues it. Doris duly delivers the statuette. What follows is murder, attempted show more murder, scary situations, and a lot no one in the Monday bunch bargained for. The visit with the woman who spins yarn directly from her giant angora rabbit was a nice interlude.

No, I didn't suspect the killer, although I did get to feel annoyed when Betsy and friends weren't figuring out some things that seemed really obvious. I enjoyed the climax. The afterword was very interesting.

Yes, cat lovers, Betsy's cat (Sophie? Sophia?) does have a few scenes. show less

Betsy takes a back seat in this newest book featuring her shop, Crewel World. Instead, Betsy's tenant, Doris Valentine becomes the catalyst for a series of robbery attempts and murders, after she returns from a trip to Singapore, tourist baubles in hand. Although Betsy's inquisitive mind stillhelps crack the case, I missed her usual style of sleuthing.

Betsy Devonshire is the owner of Crewel World needlework shop in Excelsior, MN. One of regulars and tenant, Doris Valentine, has just returned from a trip to Thailand and is showing the group her souvenirs. She, also, shows them a small stone Buddha that she agreed to deliver to an antique store in St. Paul. The statue is wrapped in bubble wrap and an old dirty piece of silk. Throwing the silk away, she re-wraps the statue and takes it to the dealer who is surprised to see that it had been unwrapped, but relieved it was unharmed. That night Doris's apartment is broken into and some items from the trip are taken. And the bodies begin to fall. Betsy, who has solved mysteries previously, pumps her policeman friend for information and show more provides some of her own.

This was the 12th in a series, though the first for me. It was cute and quick. I'm familiar with The Twin Cities area of Minnesota because my family lives there so I enjoyed seeing places I know mentioned. It is a cozy mystery series that I may consider continuing with the Minnesota and needlework themes. show less