"An interesting mystery with the raising of an old steam-powered boat"

Betsy Devonshire was visiting her sister Margot when Margot was murdered. Betsy inherited Margot's needlecraft shop, Crewel World. Since she has to stay in town until Margot's estate is settled , and because Crewel World's customers are both friendly and insistent that she not do anything hasty, she is still here.

The Hopkins, an old steam-powered boat, was to be raised from the bottom of the lake. Betsy is invited to join Jill and Lars who are on boat duty for the event. Both Jill and Lars are local police officers. When the boat is raised, a skeleton is found.

Detective Mike Malloy brings a picture of a swatch of fabric that was found with the skeleton into Crewel World to see if any of Betsy's customers might be able to help identify the type of lace and or its maker.

It is discovered that Carl Winters and Trudie Koch ran off together within 1 year of when the Hopkins was sunk. Neither had ever been seen or heard from since. The skeleton is female. Could it be Trudie?

I like this book a lot. I felt that even though I hadn't read the previous books in the series, I hadn't missed out on any crucial history of the characters. I found the raising of the old steam-powered boat to be well written and very interesting. I especially like the relationship between Betsy and Godwin, the very knowledgeable gay man working in her shop. Betsy doesn't know much about needlework but Godwin seems to be a wealth of knowledge.

Even though I am not a big crafts person, this book was enjoyable and held my full attention. I look forward to reading the rest of this series.

Reviewed by Dawn Dowdle
Posted October 10, 2002