Some sleuths carry a magnifying glass. Nora Bell carries a drop spindle. Welcome to A Bell's Fleece & Fiber Mystery, a cozy series where every skein holds a whisper, every craft hides a secret, and one spinner reads clues the way she reads wool.
Meet Nora Bell
Nora spins enchanted wool on her hillside farm in the English village of Willowdown, with her prize ram Oberon keeping watch over the flock. Her magic is quiet and old: three whispered words of intention, spun into every strand. She likes a peaceful life. Murder keeps finding her anyway.
A New Craft and a New Corner of England in Every Book
Each book takes Nora to a different fiber craft and a different part of the English countryside, from a secret knitting circle to a Devon harbour, the Shropshire hills, and a Lake District fulling mill. In each one, a keeper of an old craft is blamed for a death, and Nora is the only one who can read the pattern well enough to clear her.
Why Start with Book 1
Every mystery is solved by the last page. But the friends Nora makes along the way come back, and the scattered keepers of the old crafts slowly begin to find one another. Start at the beginning and you'll see the whole pattern come together.
The Reading Order
Click any cover to see the book.
1. A Thread of SilverSpinning · Willowdown
A man is dead, and a silver cord ties the crime to Nora's own wool.
2. Stitches and ShadowsKnitting · a secret circle
A hidden coven of knitters loses its leader, and a pattern book is worth killing for.
3. Salt and StitchworkTide-weaving · the Devon coast
A fisherman drowned on dry land, and the tide-weaver's yarn around his wrist.
4. Madder and MaliceNatural dyeing · the Shropshire hills
A gathering of dyers, a death, and a reputation stained like wool in the pot.
5. A Bruise of WoolFelting · the Lake District
A body in the fulling trough, and felt that remembers the hand pressed into it.
Who Will Love This Series
You'll feel right at home if you enjoy:
- Cozy, non-graphic mysteries
- Knitting, spinning, weaving, dyeing, and felting
- English villages and countryside
- A touch of gentle folk magic
- A clever heroine who solves crimes one stitch at a time
Crafters especially will love spotting the real techniques woven into every clue.
Ready to Begin?
All 5 books are available in paperback and hardcover right here in our store. Start with A Thread of Silver and follow the thread.