Doris has also carried home a stone Buddha, wrapped in a dirty piece of cloth. The American owner of the factory Doris visited asked her to bring this statue to an American antique dealer in St. Paul. Oscar Fitzwilliam is anxious to be finished with Doris when she delivers the statue; Doris who senses this, begins to imagine the statue is real, or perhaps full of drugs or even precious gemstones.

The next day, Doris’s apartment is burglarized and the only things missing are everything she brought back from Bangkok, most notably, the tourist’s copy of a Buddha statue Doris bought for herself and her laptop.  Doris is now more convinced than ever that there was something fishy about the statue she delivered. When she learns of Fitzwilliams’s murder, she knows she will be the number one suspect or next on the murderer’s list, and wishes she had never agreed to help David Corvis by delivering the statue.

When Doris’s life is threatened, Betsy and company jump to action to help protect Doris, clear her name and solve the mystery of the stone Buddha.

As always, Monica Ferris’s mysteries are solid and dependable, though this one lacks the extra sparkle fans have come to expect.  The cast of the usual suspects has grown into a well-developed group of friends and Crewel World has come alive and has become a favorite spot for many stitchers. Fans of the series who are as addicted to stitching as they are to mysteries will long to be able to sit and stitch a spell with the Monday bunch.

The mystery is not much of a puzzle, readers will easily pick out the real treasure being sought and will wonder what takes usually astute Betsy so long to fit all the pieces together.  Still, there is plenty of stitching and Far East antique lore to keep longtime fans reading until the end.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry