From Goodreads.com: The stitchers of the Embroiderers Guild are thrilled to have raised over $20,000 for charity-but they're less pleased when the representative who accepts the check disappears with it. After breaking her leg in a fall from a horse, Betsy's confined to her apartment and loopy on pain killers-she can't possibly investigate. But Godwin, her store manager, insists that he can do the legwork. Little do they know that a man across town has a similar injury-and he too is wondering what happened to that check. Betsy and Godwin have got to figure it out first, or it'll be a bad break for everyone.
In this "episode" we find our heroine confined to her upstairs apartment recuperating from severe broken leg and torn tendons. Her assistant shopkeeper Godwin Dulac picks up the role of sleuth and go-between as they look into the disappearance and eventual murder of the President of a local charity.
I thought the premise of keeping the heroine - Besty Devonshire - confined for the investigation was a unique plot device. The reader knows who the murder is, knows his motivation, and the reader gets to watch as Betsy and Godwin unravel the mystery. As with many (most?) cozies, the police are portrayed as somewhat inept in their abilities to solve a crime, even as simple as this one. To give the author credit, in this particular story, the cops are not quite as stupid and disbelieving as they have been in the past. Someday I hope to find a cozy where the law enforcement is given more credibility.
From Goodreads.com: As full-time owner of the Crewel World needlework shop and part-time sleuth, Betsy Devonshire has become skilled at weaving suspicious threads. But when one of her regulars unwittingly becomes involved in a deadly delivery of exotic antiquities, Betsy fears something is seriously warped.
The blurb on the book actually spoilt the plot on this one, but it's not as if anyone who is familiar with the series - or with reading cozies - isn't going to figure it out right off the bat. This one was a bit more convoluted, with people running helter and skelter like a pod of skitterish red herrings that they were.
What I liked in this episode (following right on the heels of reading #11) was the author removed Godwin (aka "Goddy) completely from the plot by sending him off to Florida creating a nice mix-up of different characters. And, another kudos to the author for not portraying the police to be inept.
I recommended this series if you like cross stitch, knitting or similar needlecrafts.
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