Darned if You Do

Zusatztext Praise for Monica Ferris’s Needlecraft Mysteries   “A comfortable fit for mystery readers who want to spend an enjoyable time with interesting characters.”— St. Paul Pioneer Press   “Not just for needleworkers, this is a series that should appeal to anyone who enjoys a good cozy mystery populated by characters who continue to grow and evolve.”— CA Reviews   “Fans will enjoy the needlework lore, the included pattern, and the ongoing adventures.”— Kirkus Reviews   “A true accomplishment…The story flows seamlessly and makes for gripping reading.”—Mystery Scene   “Filled with great small-town characters…A great time…Fans of Jessica Fletcher will devour this.”—Rendezvous Informationen zum Autor Monica Ferris Klappentext The USA Today bestselling Needlecraft Mysteries have shown that when it comes to murder, Betsy Devonshire, owner of the Crewel World needlework shop, doesn't mess around. But when a local hoarder is murdered, she'll need all her wits to dig a new friend out of a heap of trouble… After a tree falls on Tom Riordan's house, landing him in the hospital, the police discover a mountain of junk piled high in his home. Locals in Excelsior, Minnesota-including Betsy Devonshire and her Crewel World Monday Bunch-offer to help with the cleanup while Tom recuperates. But when Tom is found murdered in his hospital bed, the sole heir to his property-his cousin Valentina-becomes the number one suspect. Betsy believes there's more to the case than meets the eye, but finding clues to the killer's identity in the clutter Tom left behind will be like looking for a needle in a haystack… Leseprobe Acknowledgments Chapter One TOM Riordan often had trouble falling asleep, but once there, he slept like the dead. So he snored on, unaware, as a violent autumn thunderstorm roared down Highway 7, dumping three inches of rain onto the streets and lawns of the little town of Excelsior in less than an hour. Lightning lashed the clouds to greater effort, thunder cracked and banged and rolled. Trees, their leaves heavy with rain, swayed, bent, and danced under the onslaught of powerful winds. Now and again a branch would wrench loose to tumble through the air. When a bigger limb struck an electrical wire, snapping it, the dazzle of sparks was an echo of the lightning higher in the sky. Power all over town started going out. Riordan, oblivious, slept on. Then an ancient elm, its inside long rotted and its roots’ grip weakened by rain, groaned under the wind’s blast, twisted, and fell. It had given welcome shade to Riordan’s house for many summers, but now it slammed into the roof, breaking through the shingles to thrust sopping leaves and wet and broken limbs into Riordan’s bedroom, waking him at last. *   *   * MARIANNE Schultz, seventy-eight, was a retired schoolteacher. A spinster, she was tall and thin, active and self-reliant. Now, at four in the morning, she stood in the wet, dark front yard of her house, using a powerful flashlight to look at the damage the storm had done. Power was out all up and down the block, she noted, and probably all over town. Several trees along the avenue were down, one blocking the street. Worst of all, the noble elm that had stood in her backyard for as long as she could remember—longer, probably, to judge by its great height—had fallen onto her neighbor’s roof. It had broken through; shingles and boards littered the ground along with leaves and branches. Marianne walked to the front of the damaged house, a brick structure two stories high, painted an unlikely rose pink that glowed under her flashlight’s beam. All was silent within, blinds and curtains drawn—but that was generally the case. Mr. Riordan was a very private person, though not a recluse. He was seen everywhere but never invited anyon...

About the author

Monica Ferris is the USA Today bestselling author of the Needlecraft Mysteries (Knit Your Own Murder, The Drowning Spool) and several mystery series under various pseudonyms.

Product details

• Authors: Monica Ferris
• Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback
• Released: 29.02.2016
• EAN: 9780425270110
• ISBN: 978-0-425-27011-0
• No. of pages: 304
• Dimensions: 108 mm x 173 mm x 19 mm
• Series: Needlecraft Mysteries (Berkley; A Needlecraft Mystery; Needlecraft Mystery; A Needlecraft Mystery
• Subject: Fiction > Suspense