Jessie Morton, an assistant professor at the local college, devotes her summer break to working at the Renaissance Faire. She has done so every year since college graduation — focusing each year on an art apprenticeship with one of the trained and skilled artisans who people the craft booths. This year, she considers herself very lucky to be the apprentice of Mary Shift, a skilled Gullah basket maker. However, right from the beginning, it is evident that Mary has a secret — or three!

Jesse does her best to keep on task, and learn from her apprenticeship, especially since it is part of her research for her PhD. The Columbia S.C. Renaissance Faire is a dynamic place to be and the sexy faire bailiff has caught her eye, despite his overwhelmingly trite name — Chase Manhattan! What Jessie hadn't planned on was being tangled in murder most dire, one that happens there on her own turf, and in broad daylight. Certainly that wasn't the way she wanted to develop her relationship with Chase! Almost from the beginning, the Gullah woman Mary is a suspect, more so when it is discovered that the murder victim was her long-estranged husband Joshua, and he was killed with a strand of the unique weave that Mary uses in her basketry.

Character development in this new series is energetic and eloquent; Jessie is charming and intelligent, with a fixed idea of how she wants her life and her relationships to evolve. She has the same saucy strength that Meg Lanslow of Donna Andrews' bird-titled mystery series has, and that is definitely a good thing! The reader will look forward to watching how Chase and Jessie's courtship continues, and will enjoy the series' development.

This is a terrific addition to the library of anyone who loves cozy mysteries — and mysteries that pique interest and challenge little grey cells.  Joyce and Jim are a great team, and this reviewer is on her way to the kitchen to make Banbury Cakes! ENJOY!