Monica Ferris, Thai Die

Thai Die

Monica Ferris

Berkley, Dec 2008, $24.95

ISBN: 9780425223468

As the owner of a building containing three apartments, one of which she lives in, and where the Crewel World needlework shop is located, Betsy Devonshire is once again in the middle of a murder case. When Doris Valentine returned from Thailand, she is eager to show Betsy and the Monday Bunch all the beautiful things she found in Bangkok especially silk.

Doris also promised an American living in Bangkok that she would deliver a package to an antiquities dealer who has a buyer. She opens the box to find a stone Buddha wrapped inside bubble plastic and a filthy cloth. She throws the cloth out but Betsy sees a beautiful design on it and saves it. The dealer is unhappy that she opened his package; when Doris returns to her apartment she finds it ransacked. Needing to get away, she and a few friends stay at an inn only to have a person with a gun demanding she give up the Thai silk. With the antiques dealer murdered and Doris' life threatened, Betsy turns amateur sleuth to uncover who is behind the crime wave and why.

Monica Ferris consistently writes delightful cozies with her latest being another fun bloodless tale. Readers are treated to a wonderful cerebral whodunit with clues out in the open so that audience has a chance to solve the case. Betsy (and the audience) is dealing with a difficult inquiry because of the numerous red herrings, false leads, and the threat to her friend. Doris is glad to have her in her corner.

Harriet Klausner