And Then You Dye

A Needlecraft Mystery, Book 16

By: Monica Ferris

Narrated by: Susan Boyce

At Crewel World - the needlework shop in Excelsior, Minnesota, run by Betsy Devonshire - an array of beautifully hand-dyed yarns are supplied by Hailey Brent, an avid hand-dyer as well as a customer. But shortly after her most recent delivery of yarn, Hailey is found dead in her home, with a gunshot wound to the head.

Betsy can't imagine who might have killed Hailey, but she is determined to find out. Her investigation takes her into the world of dye stuffs and mordants and the plants that are grown to produce colors for all kinds of textiles. Fascinating stuff, indeed - except when it leads to murder.

©2012 Mary Monica Kuhfeld (P)2012 AudioGO

Simply the best

This is the best book in the series. Betsy is clever and tenacious. The mystery is full of twists and turns that moves the plot at a nice pace. All of Betsy's friends are included and they add to the enjoyment of the story.

Interesting mystery

I have grown into a major fan of Monica Ferris' mysteries.

Story lines are interesting and characters are great.

Once you read one of her mysteries, you will hurry to get the next one.

Ok story, semi-awkward writing, wooden narration

I really wanted to like this audiobook. I’m a crafter myself, though not a yarnsmith, and I like to see this sort of genre. But this book did not do it for me. I found the writing to be slightly repetitive and somewhat amateurish. Of course, it may have seemed that way because the narrator was not up to snuff. She frequently had some odd intonations, and often spoke unnaturally slowly, as if she had not read the book before and was not prepared. I’m not sure if I will continue with this series. At least it’s included in my membership, so no loss to me, but I would not pay money or a credit to purchase this book.

Terminology

It’s a chronic problems with these books. The reader mispronounces techniques and supplies, and the author gets technique issues wrong. If the “real spinning wheel” has a chair, then it is super unlikely it has a spindle. No, not impossible, but not at all likely. There should be a flyer and bobbin, and bobbins lying around as well as winders and niddy noddies. If she is processing her own fiber and blending, there should also be carders, and a drum carder or blending board there, too. These things missing would be like going into a wood worker’s shop and no sand paper and saws around, while a jig saw is being used to make a shaped chair leg, instead of a lathe.

Enjoyed as usual

This was another usually enjoyable story. There were some flaws in it but overall worth listening to. I did wonder what happened to Conner’s Irish accent, which occasionally disappeared. I did like that Annie was improving her life. This is the end of my free books from Prime so I will go on to another series. I will not buy a book from this series because the author uses profanity throughout her series at the same time implying that the characters regularly go to church and have a faith in God. Oh my God, Jesus Christ, and God damn are words of profanity. Is the author making some kind of statement against faith based people?