Needlecraft Mysteries Books In Order

Publication Order of Needlecraft Mysteries Books

American mystery author Monica Ferris, real name Mary Monica Pulver, is a popular author in her particular field creating a large number of books within this particular genre. Moving it in her own unique direction, she’s managed to do something different which readers and fans of the mystery genre have come to appreciate over the years. Setting up a premise that is both accessible and easily relatable, she’s managed to set her own structure and template to work inside of. Featuring the character of Betsy Devonshire as its central protagonist, this series of mysteries are set within a needlecraft shop operating in Excelsior, Minnesota. Simultaneously managing the comings and goings of the shop itself, Betsy also has time to solve various mysteries whilst running the day-to-day business of her shop. Putting the clues together, Betsy is able to see the patterns in the crimes that occur there, solving the cases and ensuring that justice always prevails.

Retaining a cozy quality it’s easy to see why this collection of books has achieved the success they have, as they know their audience well. Not suffering from any pretensions they get to the heart of the story, offering quality mysteries and well plotted characters with realistic motivations. Using the key premise of a knitting shop to good effect too, this appears to be a series that will continue to draw in audiences building day-by-day.

Crewel World

Originally published on the 1st of March in 1999, this was to be the book that set-up the primary premise of the Needle Craft Mysteries series, giving a clear depiction of what was expected to come. Introducing the character of Betsy Devonshire for the first time, it manages to create a clear personality for the reader, providing an insight into who she is as a person. The setting of the stories is also firmly established as well, manufacturing a clear premise and central location which is going to have the majority of the action happen around over the course of the series.

The character of Betsy Devonshire has an extremely keen eye for detail as she can see the finer points of any given situation when putting the pieces together and finding the pattern of the entire case. Using her well honed skills as a needlepoint expert, she’s able to see the small details and get to the bottom of things as she is good at finding the pattern. With the theme of needle craft running throughout, this is a point that comes up time and time again, especially considering the shop that she’s working in whenever a case happens to occur. Knowing what to look for at all times, she remains a friendly face at all times within her local community, keeping atop everything that’s going on there. This enables her to get about easily and find out what is going on when she needs to for any one particular case or another, depending upon the circumstances and what it is that requires investigating at the time. With a well-researched look into the world of needle craft as well, it appears that she definitely knows what she’s talking about when it comes down to it given the extensive detail she goes into.

It starts with Betsy’s sister owning the needle craft shop, but she is then tragically murdered leaving Betsy to take over the shop herself and deal with the case, so as to seek justice for her recently departed sister. This leads her towards learning more about the area, as she goes about trying to find the killer whilst simultaneously trying to deal with her sister’s death. Will she be able to find the killer in time finding out why they did what they did, or will it be too late leaving them to strike another and kill again? Can she overcome the grief of her sister’s death and deal with the task in hand, so as to gain some peace of mind in regards to her deceased sister? What will become of them all and their investigation to uncover the truth, as they begin to realize that it is indeed a crewel world?

Framed in Lace

Following on directly from the first, this installment being published in 1999 on the 1st of October, this book manages to pick up from where the last left off, capturing the same style and tone of the original. The character of Betsy has already been introduced leaving the narrative able to jump straight into the action getting involved with the next mystery and case to solve. With the style and tone similar to what came before too, this enables this book to develop the character and locations far more deeply than before.

The Hopkins Ferry, a historic vessel of much significance, has been dredged up from the local lake, but it appears that there’s a skeleton inside with only a small piece of fabric to identify the body. It is then up to Betsy along with her regular customers to solve this particular mystery using the single clue given to them from the skeleton. Will they find out what happened there? Is it too late? Why exactly is the evidence framed in lace?

The Needle Craft Mysteries Series

Set in Minnesota, these books lend themselves to the area well, in that they are fully researched mysteries that have a fine understanding of the genre. Pulver has retained an amiable sense of familiarity as the Needle Craft Mysteries series has progressed, which is thanks in no small part to its central protagonist Betsy Devonshire. Whilst she’s vastly intelligent and resourceful, she manages to maintain a likeable quality that readers have grown to love over the years. The tone of the books as well is one that keeps people coming back for more, as it manages to convey cozy sense of familiarity, whilst not diminishing the crime in question. Underneath it all is the tragedy of what’s happened, whether it be a brutal murder, or a killer at large, something which the series explore in-depth. With the series set to continue, it looks like there’s plenty more to come yet, with a lot of life left in the franchise still.