Residents of Excelsior, Minnesota, believe Leona Cunningham to be the town's resident witch, and while most are tolerant of Leona's Wiccan beliefs, a few are wary or even outright fearful of her. As co-owner of Barleywine, a local dining establishment, Leona primarily uses her skills for brewing beer. Her latest creation, Don Be Afraid of the Dark Ale is set to debut just in time for the annual Fall Festival.

Betsy Devonshire, owner of the local needlework shop Crewel World, is on the festival planning committee, which is this year headed by Leona's partner, Billie Leslie. Things are moving along smoothly at one of their planning meetings until local resident Ryan McMurphy falls off the wagon. In a drunken rant he accuses Leona of using her witchy ways to curse him. When Ryan turns up dead in a locked room with no obvious cause of death, more than a few townsfolk put Leona at the top of their suspect list.

Betsy knows her friend is innocent and sets out to prove it. Unraveling the seemingly unrelated clues is almost as difficult as learning the latest stitching technique, but Betsy isn't one to give up on either. When the clues finally begin to fall into place it will take all of Betsy's skill to catch a killer.

Monica Ferris' BLACKWORK is a part of the Needlecraft Mystery series, and one of the most cleverly plotted cozy mysteries I've had the pleasure to read. Betsy is an intrepid sleuth, quite likable and supported by an entertaining and diverse group of townsfolk. Ms. Ferris carefully leads the reader through a variety of twists and turns to reach a thoroughly satisfying conclusion. This is the first in this series I've read; without a doubt it won't be the last.

Book Summary

The beloved USA Today bestselling Needlework mystery series continues.

It's Halloween-and Betsy Devonshire, owner of the Crewel World needlework shop and part-time sleuth, is haunted by murder...

In the town of Excelsior, Minnesota, Leona Cunningham, owner of a popular microbrewery, is a practitioner of Wicca, the nature-based religion often mistaken for black magic. But that doesn't bother the thirsty crowds. Then, after one too many pints, a local blames Leona for the series of "accidents" that have happened throughout town. When he ends up dead without a mark on his body, Leona's the main suspect. But Betsy's on the case, and that spells trouble for the killer.

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