Being a dedicated Wiccan in small-town Minnesota is no picnic, as local restauranteur and beer brewer Leona learns when someone who threatens her turns up dead, with no discernable cause. Leona asks Betsy Devonshire, owner of the local needlepoint shop and long-time amateur detective, to solve the murder before Leona's business goes bust. Meanwhile, Betsy is trying to run her shop, help out with the local Halloween parade (a major production for a small parade), and keep up with her friends and her less-than-stellar needlework.This is a mostly enjoyable series which occasionally jumps the rails into politically correct didacticism, as if to punish readers for choosing a 'cozy' mystery. This one was pretty good, though, with lots of needlepoint/etc. talk for those interested, and lots of details of small town life and the recurring characters, which are my favorite parts. While I thought the method of murder was clever and unusual, the author's way of revealing it to the reader was contrived and clunky, unfortunately. Mostly, though, it worked, and I didn't guess the murderer. A man mysteriously dies without a mark on him and Leona Cunningham, a local brewmeister and practicing Wiccan, is the gossip's front-runner for a murderer. But Betsy Devonshire knows that Wicca is a form of worship, not a black arts, voodoo-y sort of deal. She's determined to find out not only who is spreading the rumors (even before Ryan McMurphy is declared to be a victim of murder) but who actually killed Ryan. All this while planning the parade for the fall festival.
What do You think about Blackwork (2009)?
Writing is not up to the earlier books in the series. I'm not likely to read any others.
—eschlatter
I liked the fact that this mystery revolved more around the town and the needlework shop.
—SoccerG726
The free pattern in the back is also a nice bonus.
—Amanda
Good one, beer and witchcraft. Halloween parade.
—Erinmk63
