Buttons and Bones

A Needlecraft Mystery #14

by Monica Ferris

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.
Free cross stitch pattern included.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Cozy, Audiobook, Crafts, Knitting

261 pages, Hardcover

First published October 25, 2010

About the author

Has published as
Mary Monica Pulver (real name)
Mary Kuhfeld
Margaret Frazer (with Gail Frazer)

[from the author's own website)

Mary Monica Pulver (her maiden name) is an incidental Hoosier — Terre Haute, Indiana, had the hospital closest to her parents’ home in Marshall, Illinois. She spent the later part of her childhood and early adult life in Wisconsin, graduating from high school in Milwaukee.

She was a journalist in the U.S. Navy for six and a half years (two in London), and later attended the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She is married to a museum curator.

Mary Monica sold her first short story, “Pass the Word,” to Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, in 1983, and has since sold more than two dozen short stories to anthologies and magazines, including some in Germany, England, Italy and France.

She has appeared in such anthologies as The Mammoth Book of Historical Detectives, The Mammoth Book of Historical Whodunnits, Shakespearean Mysteries, Royal Whodunnits, Unholy Orders, Murder Most Crafty, and Silence of the Loons. Her first mystery novel, Murder at the War, appeared from St. Martin’s Press in 1987 and was nominated for an Anthony as Best First Novel. The Unforgiving Minutes and Ashes to Ashes followed in 1988; but Original Sin was sold to Walker, who also presented the fifth book, Show Stopper, in May of 1992. Berkley Diamond brought these mysteries out in paperback. They feature detective Peter Brichter – a cop one reviewer said was “a hardboiled sleuth who’s somehow landed in a cozy mystery”.

Berkley published six medieval mysteries Mary Monica wrote in collaboration with Gail Frazer under the pseudonym Margaret Frazer: The Novice’s Tale, The Servant’s Tale (nominated for an Edgar as Best Original Paperback of 1993), The Outlaw’s Tale, The Bishop’s Tale, The Boy’s Tale, and The Murderer’s Tale. The detective in the mysteries is a nun, Dame Frevisse, a niece by marriage of Thomas Chaucer, the legendary Geoffrey’s son. The stories take place in England in the 1430s. Gail presently continues the series alone.

In 1998 Mary Monica began writing a new series for Berkley featuring amateur needleworking sleuth Betsy Devonshire. Set in Excelsior, Minnesota, Crewel World came out in March and was followed by Framed in Lace, A Stitch in Time, Unraveled Sleeve, A Murderous Yarn, Hanging by A Thread, Cutwork, Crewel Yule, Embroidered Truths, Sins and Needles, Knitting Bones, Thai Die, Blackwork, and Buttons and Bones. Threadbare will appear in December of 2011, and she is at work on And Then You Dye. The first six were paperback originals. Subsequent books were hardcovers followed by paperback editions. These light and traditional novels are written under the pseudonym Monica Ferris, and all have gone to multiple printings – the first one is in its eighteenth printing!

Mary Monica has taught courses on mystery writing to children at North Hennepin Community College, gifted children in District #287, and adults at one-evening seminars at Hennepin and Ramsey County libraries. She does lectures and signings, and has appeared on panels at mystery and science fiction conventions, including Bouchercon, Minicon, Diversicon, Magna Cum Murder, and Malice Domestic.

She has spoken to stitchery guilds on local, state, and national levels. She has won a place on national and local best-seller lists, including USA Today and the independent mystery bookstore compilation. She is a member of Sisters in Crime (a national organization that promotes women who write mystery fiction), remains a paid speaker on the life of a mystery author, and is a volunteer for Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation, and in

Reviews

[Patrizia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stelle e mezza
Confessione: stavo cercando un libro per la sfida mensile, quando ho visto che una delle partecipanti aveva scelto questo. Non trovavo nulla fra i miei, quindi avrei dovuto comprarne uno: visto che avevo comunque adocchiato questa serie, mi sono decisa a leggerlo, sebbene sia ben avanti nella serie (e a me piace leggere le serie in ordine). Non mi sono pentita della scelta, anzi! Senza ombra di dubbio è stato il migliore dei cinque letti per la sfida.
Nonostante sia ben avanti nella serie, si legge tranquillamente e non si perdono i vari accenni a quanto avvenuto in precedenza. Oltrettutto, questo è un classico esempio di come un'autrice possa superare il limite di un'ambientazione in una piccola cittadina: spostando il mistero nel tempo e nello spazio. Qui siamo, infatti, difronte a un cold case avvenuto a tre ore di auto dalla residenza della protagonista. Betsy, la protagonista, accompagna la sua migliore amica, Jill, e il marito Lars (e qui sono curiosa di capire come si sia arrivati al matrimonio, senza contare che il personaggio di Lars mi abbia conquistato) nella loro nuova casa delle vacanze, dove, facendo dei piccoli lavori di manuntezione, scoprono uno scheletro. Jill, un'ex-poliziotta, chiede a Betsy di aiutarla nelle indagini perché più portata di lei: questo mi ha lasciato un attimo interdetta, ma credo che dipenda dal tipo di poliziotta che fosse, forse non era addentro alle varie investigazioni quando lavorava. Comunque sia, mi è piaciuto come le due si muovano e che non lascino mai la polizia all'oscuro (dopotutto Lars è un poliziotto...). Mi sono piaciuti anche i riferimenti ai vari lavoretti femminili: in fondo al libro c'è pure lo schema per un lavoro a punto croce, una delle mie passioni. Infine, ci sono un paio di descrizioni dell'ambiente naturale in cui Betsy si trova ad agire (alberi, laghi, animali vari) che mi hanno veramente fatto sognare ad occhi aperti.
Morale della favola? Leggerò sicuramente anche gli altri libri della serie. Il mio portafoglio inizia a piangere...

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read all of the needlecraft mysteries to date and this one was one of the better ones. Although I did figure out who the skeleton was about halfway through and before Betsy did and also what had basically happened. It was still a good story with most of the usual accompanying characters. A small bit of trivia - I was checking my list of books read in 2010 and the first one on the list was also by Monica Ferris. So, unless I manage to finish my next start before Friday midnight Betsy will have been the subject of first and last books of 2010.

[Lollyletsgo · Rating 3 out of 5]

really a 3.5 , I'm not sure why, the lack of urgency, maybe? (if you read the blurb, the murder happened 45+years ago)

I know that shouldn't matter, but if I'm not in the thick of it with the murderer hot on my- ahem, the sleuth's heels, no intensity on my part-- not that I look for intensity in a cozy, far from it! ;] (Yes, I AM an enigma wrapped in a puzzle!)

[Judy Iliff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do like this series of books. (And, yes, I know I've said the same thing many times before!)I always feel like I need to get back to my counted cross-stitching after I finish one of these.

Betsy and her friend Jill discover a skeleton in the root cellar under the cabin Jill and her husband have recently purchased. Trying to discover not only who the skeleton was but who killed this person leads the two friends on an interesting part of WWII history. (I did not know the US held German prisons in POW camps in Minnesota during the war.)

This is a fast read, but then brain-based research shows that any time you've read one book by an author, you will read the author's following works faster because your brain has picked up the idiosyncrasies and patterns that author uses when writing. Since I've read all of Ferris' books in this series, I read them fairly quickly now.

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Larsons have brought a cabin in Northern Minnesota. On a trip there Jill and Lars planned to cleanup the cabin and Betsy went along to hear the loons call. The old linoleum floor is removed showing a trapdoor. The group found a skeleton that appeared to be murder. Jill wants to know who and how skeleton was placed in the cellar. Betsy agrees to help in Jill's investigation. They soon find that body might be that of a German POW that escape from the concentration camp during World War Two. The ending will surprise you.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book much more than the last one. I loved hearing about the little cabin and could imagine myself there, finding a trap door! And the twist ending was great. Read this one, skip the previous one about the witches.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing mystery .

[Jeannie and Louis Rigod · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent look into the lives of persons outside the normal daily lives in Minnesota during the Second World War. German POW's are billeted in the Mid-West during 1944. However, what does that bit of history have to do with a skeleton found beneath a log cabin decades later?

Since Jill and Lars are the new owners of this log cabin and since Bess is feeling shaken about her new gentleman...it means a mystery to be solved.

The history was fascinating and taught me about the times prior my birth. How much do any of us know about life back then? I wonder.

Ms. Ferris outdid herself. My only comment is that I would like to sense more ease and softening in Bess' personal relationships. They are always so stilted. Perhaps that is the Minnesotan way? I shall have to continue to read to see.

[Writerlibrarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly good. A strong 3 1/2 stars. The mystery is interesting, the research is not given in spurs of infodumps but is an integral and organic part of the story. This is a really good one in the series where Monica Ferris succeeded in mixing crafts, plot points and character history together and create something interesting and clever. Her secondary new characters she introduces are interesting, clever and not paper thin (I'm thinking about Peg for instance or Violet). Here's hoping this is a new start for this series because when the author finds a subject she can sink her teeth in she does a wonderful job and creates an interesting and clever cozy mystery like they all should be.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the blurb for this book and thought, "How did I miss this one book in the series?" As I started reading it, I realized I hadn't missed it, it was just utterly forgettable. An ok book, but definitely not one of my favorites from the series.

[Julesy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm surprised that I liked this book considering it's a cold case as I normally don't like cold cases. I would have preferred more details about needlecrafting but I was satisfied with the mystery.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t care for this one as much because it seemed obvious what had happened and no one could figure it out until the end.

[Marti · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was sweet that Jill let Emma Beth help with stitching. What a great example!

Not enough Godwin in this one.

Borrowed on Hoopla through JCPL.
Listening length six hr 40 min

[Avid Series Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

Buttons and Bones by Monica Ferris is the fourteenth book of the Needlecraft mystery series set in contemporary Minnesota. Betsy Davenport owns Crewel World, Excelsior's needlecraft shop. Her best friend Jill was formerly on the police force, now a stay-at-home mom with a young son and daughter. Jill and her husband Lars have purchased a vacation cabin up north at one of Minnesota's many lakes. They invite Betsy to come up with them for the weekend.

The trek north is a twee journey featuring the children (the series hasn't focused this much on small children's quirks before). The cabin is in need of major renovation before it will be comfortable, but Jill and Lars are both energetic, full of plans to make it wonderful. Betsy pitches in to help.

Unaware the cabin has a cellar, they see the trap door after pulling up the flooring. The bones they discover in the root cellar call a halt to the weekend visit - the cabin is now a crime scene. Canned vegetables in the cellar date from WWII.

The police identified the body as a POW who escaped from a nearby camp, but Jill begs Betsy to investigate. Jill wants to know exactly what happened, how he came to be there. Betsy is also contacted by a woman who wants to know if it's her father, an officer who mysteriously disappeared at that time, and was ruled a deserter.

It's interesting to learn that Minnesota had POW camps where German prisoners were housed during WWII. Betsy returns to the area and finds elderly residents who share their memories.

Back in Excelsior, Betsy's boyfriend Connor introduces her to his college-age daughter. Peg is quite rude to Betsy, which puts Betsy off big-time on the relationship with the boyfriend. It's common for children of divorced parents to dream of their parents getting back together, or to be jealous if a parent seeks another partner, but Betsy doesn't need or want that stress. She enjoys her solitude. In fact, when Connor makes an off-hand remark "When we're married...." Betsy flies into a rage, has to stop driving.

Ironic plot twist: Betsy asks Peg for help; Peg provides the breakthrough that solves the mystery.

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Betsy Devonshire owner of Crewel World has a love interest but he, Connor has a 23 year old daughter Peg that isn't overly impressed that Daddy has a new lady friend. Betsy and Connor had a little spat over the daughters behavior and Connor's lack of support so Betsy leaves town with Jill and Lars to help renovate their new cabin in the woods. Rustic and sweet. They begin pulling up the carpet and found 2 layers of vinyl. Then Jill finds the trap door under the vinyl that leads to a root cellar. She goes down and stops.. There's a skeleton on the floor. Betsy wanted to see the skeleton while Lars goes to call the local authorities. It's probably been there since 1944 or 45 but who was it. Come to find out a POW escapee was never found so maybe it was him but why... Or maybe it was the woman in brown who said her father disappeared about that time and shortly after the sale of the cabin so did the step-mother.
Jill (former law officer) took finding the skeleton in her cabin personal and asked Betsy to help her find out the who and how. And the sleuthing begins.
Fun read with a few twists and turns.

[Humbledaisy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of all the Crewel World cozy mystery books I’ve been re-reading lately, I didn’t remember the plot of this one so I must have missed it back in 2010.

I enjoyed the North Woods setting of the story and all the descriptions of cabins and small town tourist traditions. Although I’ve never seen turtle races in person, I have been to Nisswa, Minnesota where they are a big event.

The mystery portions were understandable and not far-fetched. Often amateur sleuths seem out of their depths regarding how serious the plot is but this crime and coverup had the weight of time to soften it.

I’ve heard and read stories about Axis soldier POWS being held in soldier of war prison camps in the US and this plot point is mildly but interestingly told.

For reality, try “Lone Star Stalag: German Prisoners of War at Camp Hearne” by Michael Waters about prison camps in Texas.

[Nolan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jill Cross Larson and her husband, Lars, have two kids as this book starts. Both were once cops; she’s a full-time wife and mom these days. With Amateur Sleuth Betsy Devonshire’s help, the Larsons bought a lakeside cabin miles from wireless phone signals and real civilization. They’ve invited Betsy to look at the place she helped them buy, and she reluctantly agrees.

On the first night there, they find an entrance to a root cellar, and inside the cellar is a skeleton. Oops, let’s keep the curious little kids away from that!

Betsy engages in her sleuth routines and involves the college-student daughter of a renter she’s dating.

The skeleton was a full-blown body in 1944 or so. There was a German POW camp near where stands the Larson cabin, and you can read this to determine whether the skeleton is that of a dead Nazi POW.

[Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A new mystery series for me. This one is set in Minnesota and the major character owns a needlework shop, Crewel World. It's a well written and paced book that includes a new man in the main character's life, a dark history of the owners of a cabin, and a mystery that takes enough twists and turns without being gory or creepy.

A couple buys a cabin in Northern Minnesota and, while remodeling, discover the skeleton of a Nazi prisoner of war buried in the cellar. There were German POW camps in Minnesota, but how did this young man wind up in the cabin's basement.

The unspooling of the story is interesting and takes a few sharp turns. Not complex or as fast-moving as other series, but certainly a good listening book that keeps your attention. I'd read others in the series.

[AngieA Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this series of books featuring Betsy and her buddies from the needlecraft shop and how they solve mysteries. I don't usually figure it out less than half way through, though. I mean, I kept waiting for there to be something I missed and it turned out to be different, but, no. I was right. It was fun reading how Betsy and Jill came to the same conclusion I did, though. Nice use of Conner's daughter, Peg, as a forensic anthropology student. I have not read all these, and there is a back-story to keep track of, but each story is self contained and it only takes a sentence or two to bring you up to speed on Betsy's life going on the background. It is skillfully done, in my opinion. Anyway, fun, quick, read.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 14th book in the series. Betsy heads up to the cabin recently purchased by her friends, Jill and Lars, to help with the initial remodeling efforts. With two young children in tow, the trip is an adventure, but turns ghoulish when they discover human remains in a hidden basement, with evidence that the body has been there since the 1940s. Jill and Betsy work together to trace back the history of the prior owners of the cabin to see if the body was possibly from a local prisoner of war camp during WWII, or if there is a more complex explanation for the body. Buttons from near the corpse and other clues from the cabin lead them to solve the mystery.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Jill and Lars, but I did not particularly care for the kids. I like kids, but I just didn’t like the kids’ involvement in this story. It was more mystery and less stitchery than previous mysteries, but that did not detract from the plot. I liked the rustic locale, and solving a decades old murder, but I figured this story’s mystery early into the story. I don’t care for Connor Sullivan and especially Peg, Margaret Rose Sullivan, Connor’s daughter. I’m glad Godwin didn’t feature in this story, for the change of pace, but this text just did not seem as strongly written as earlier texts in the series. Will still continue to read furture installments.

[Marty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Betsy’s friend Jill and her husband have bought an old cabin on the edge of one of the lakes. In remodeling it, they find a trap door that leads to a root cellar and in the cellar is a skeleton. --- The police don’t seem too interested so Jill and Betsy decide to research the history of the cabin and figure out who the skeleton was. Of course they find out a lot about the area including the fact that there had been a German POW camp nearby during WWII. But that doesn’t answer the question of the identity of the skeleton or why answer why the trap door was hidden. Another good challenging mystery.

[Catsalive · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant, easy read - I haven't read one of these for years. A very cold case where the investigation all depends on people's recollections of the past as there is very little forensic evidence. It reminds me of Christie's Sleeping Murder. Betsy Devonshire comes across as a bit neurotic with her emotional over-reactions - I don't recall whether she was like that in the earlier books I read. Nothing startling, but a nice undemanding tale.

[Susan Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series. The very first book I felt sorry for Betsy Devonshire, but enjoyed watching her come into herself, at a late age. She has tried to make her sister proud of her and to do right by her with what she left. She has a knack for solving murders and she does it in unorthodox ways. I love her relationship with Goddy and this story went back to 1945. How they managed to solve it was interesting and all in who you know. Worked out pretty good for her.

[Becky Tatar · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Lars and Jill purchase a cabin by a lake, they ask Betsy to go with them, and their two children. As they start tearing up carpet and tile, they find a trap door, and when Jill goes down the stairs from the trap door, a mystery starts, that goes back to the end days of WWII and a local POW camp that held German soldiers. Betsy and Jill combine their skills to find out the ins and outs of hte mystery.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lars and Jill buy an old cabin by the lake. They plan to fix it up for themselves and the kids. But, when they go down to the cellar they find a skeleton. After the authorities say what they think happened, Jill isn't convinced and she asks Betsy to help her do a little investigating work. As they start asking questions, they get cards that say BACK OFF. Another surprising ending with a suspect I did not see coming. Another good read by Monica Ferris.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This time a cold case. A skeleton dating from World War II is found in the cellar of the cabin bought by Betsy’s friends. The local police identify it as a prisoner of war without any forensic examination. It turns out they jumped to the wrong conclusion. The investigation is complex and interesting, involving a number of people and false leads.
This book also includes significant progress in the lives of several characters. An interesting addition to a very good series.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a bit behind in reading this series, but it's enjoyable with well thought out 'mysteries' and the needlecraft elements.
This particular story was interesting as it didn't follow the typical murder format. It was an interesting look into the past.
Ms Ferris does a good job with location and character description.
Where some of the cozy series I follow start to get stale or pedantic at about #12 or so, this series is still engaging.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the fourteenth book from a long running series. Betsy Devonshire, owner of Crewel World Needlecraft store is renovating an old cabin in the north woods of Minnesota. She discovers a skeleton in the root cellar. Betsy intrigued begins searching for the possible identity of the bones and unearths the discovery of a POW camp in the process. A good mystery, I listened to the audiobook and I hope to complete the 19 book series before the end of the year.

[Meri-Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always I enjoyed this book. It was a weird experience however. I knew the entire story about the German POW, all of it. None of the rest seemed familiar tho. Nothing about Jill and Lars buying a cabin or Betsy and Connor and his daughter. Could I have read it before and totally forgotten all but the murder mystery? Or has another book had the same murder? Just too weird......