Crewel Yule - Monica Ferris
Now, technically, I should’ve read Cutwork next, but for some reason, I forgot to take that one out at the library with all the rest. So, because so far most of the stories don’t seem to reference previous novels in any meaningful way, I’m skipping to Crewel Yule, the latest book in the series. This novel takes place at the annual Nashville needlework convention, which has been moved to December, where a suicide - or is it? - occurs. Boy, was I disappointed.
OK, let me clarify first. Usually, I read mostly fantasy and sci-fi because I have this problem with reality. I’m not crazy or delusional or anything (that I know of 
), but I just generally don’t like mixing current “real” stuff with fiction. Little things I’m generally OK with, like mentioning real designers and real patterns in the previous book. While a little weird for me, it does add a touch of realism to the story. However, this book went a little too far. First, it uses a real event - the Nashville Needlework Market. OK, I can deal with that. Then, we have the unreal event of a “suicide” there *and* a giant snowstorm which completely shuts down the city, preventing the cops from investigating properly. A blizzard in Tennessee? Right. The worst part, however, is that several real people in the needlework business feature prominently - the guy from Kreinik, the designers of Mosey ‘n’ Me, just to name a few. They are *interviewed as part of the investigation*! Real people, in fantasy snowing Tennessee murderland.
Needless to say, I really couldn’t get into this novel. Honestly, it felt more like a pulpy mystery done as an in-joke by a cross stitch designer for some other designer friends. The cross stitch design is really quite nice (which further supports my theory), a lovely Christmas tree ornament. Also, though this has little to do with the plot, there are numerous glaring grammatical and spelling errors, going so far as to use the wrong character’s name in some places (for instance, a character (Cherry) being interviewed about the dead shop owner (Belle) is referred to (twice) as Belle). If the author took a vacation while writing this book, so did the editor. Maybe they went to snowy Nashville?
