Buttons and Bones a Needlecraft Mystery by Monica Ferris ~ review

About the book:


A new Needlecraft mystery from the USA Today bestselling author of Blackwork.
Owner of the Crewel World needlework shop and part-time sleuth Betsy Devonshire heads for the Minnesota north woods to renovate an old cabin. But beneath the awful linoleum is something even uglier- the skeleton of a Nazi. Betsy's investigation yields the site of a former German POW camp, a mysterious crocheted rug, and an intricately designed pattern of clues to a decades-old crime.
 
My take on this book:
When Betsy's best friend Jill Larson invites Betsy to spend the weekend with her family at their lakeside cabin Betsy decides to go. Her romance isn't going as smoothly as she would like and with Godwin's encouragement decides a weekend away might do her some good. The Larson's have been slowly remodeling the cabin and decide to rip out the carpeting. After pulling up the carpeting and two layers of linoleum they discover a trap door that leads to a tiny root cellar. When Jill goes down to investigate she finds a skeleton. The police assume that the skeleton belongs to a German POW who escaped and was never found. Jill wants the crime solved since the skeleton was found on her property and she asks Betsy to help figure out who the skeleton actually belongs to and who committed the crime.
 
While a huge fan of this series, I found this book to be a bit disappointing. Betsy is normally very sharp,and does a great job with her amateur detective work, but with this story I had it figured out before she did. I always enjoy reading about Godwin and the group that hangs out in the needlework shop but in this installment that was really lacking. Another thing that was lacking in the book was Sophie the shop cat, who wasn't mentioned until about two thirds thru the book, I was beginning to wonder if she would make an appearance at all. I will say that I enjoyed reading about the German POW's and the history of that time.I do wonder why we were introduced to the Lawson's new dog, perhaps he will play a part in a future story! 
 
I have read all of the books in this series and will read the next installment, because visiting with Betsy is like visiting an old friend, I only hope the author decides to give the rest of the gang a bigger presence in the next book.
rating 3.5 / 5