Crushed Velvet
A Material Witness Mystery, Book #2
By Diane Vallere
ISBN# 9780425270585
Author’s website: www.dianevallere.com
Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Jeanie
Synopsis:
Fabric shop owner Polyester Monroe is back in business—this time getting wrapped up in a diabolical but crafty case of murder.
With opening day of Material Girl approaching, Poly is stocking up on lush fabrics, colorful notions, and best of all, a proprietary weave of velvet. But upon delivery, it’s not quite the blend she expected, being ninety-percent silk and ten-percent corpse. Crushed under a dozen bolts of fabric is Phil Girard. His wife, Genevieve, local tea shop owner and close friend of Poly, is the prime suspect.
Granted, Phil may not have been the perfect husband, but surely Genevieve had no reason to kill him! There’s just the small matter of Genevieve’s own incriminating confession: I’m afraid I killed my husband. Now, as Material Girl’s grand opening looms, Poly is torn between a friendship pulling apart at the seams—and finding a smooth killer with a velvet touch…
Review:
‘Poly’ Polyester Monroe is ready to open her own fabric store, Material Girl, in the store she inherited from her aunt and uncle, formerly known as Land of a Thousand Fabrics. ‘Crushed Velvet’ is the 2nd of the ‘Material Witness Mystery’ series, and it can be read as a stand-alone. To get the complete story of her fight for the store and the ten-year old mystery surrounding it, one might go back and read ‘Suede to Rest’, guaranteed to keep you guessing as much as ‘Crushed Velvet’.
Poly is a force to be reckoned with! Born in the store on a bundle of polyester fabric, her aunt taught her everything about the business as she grew up. While many of Aunt MIllie’s projects showed her how to dress beautifully on an overstretched budget, she also learned how fabrics could change one’s outlook on life. Opening her own store was more than giving people luxurious options to make their clothing from, or leading classes helping others to design and sew, but also designing living spaces.
Poly chose her own signature blend of fabric for Material Girl in the same way that her close friend, Genevieve, had a signature blend of tea in her shop. When it was ready, Poly paid Gen’s husband, Phil, cash to pick it up in LA when he was going there to get supplies for the shop. When his van was returned the following day, he was not the driver. The driver claimed that the delivery was turned over to him by Phil, who needed to remain in LA a little longer. As he started to carry in the load of what was supposed to be Poly’s signature blend of velvet, Phil’s body was revealed. Dead. Crushed within the fabric.
There seemed to be an endless line of suspects as tales of Phil’s lifestyle, even as Genevieve’s husband, were revealed. Genevieve, the police departments’ favorite suspect of Phil’s demise, disappeared, so Poly not only prepared to open her own store but also bring new decorating to Gen’s tea shop and find Phil’s murderer. Before Gen lost the shop, before Poly’s grand opening, and hopefully before the police found where Gen had gone into hiding at.
Poly is a 3-dimensional modern woman who has learned to go after what she wants once she decides what that is. She relentlessly pursued ways to update and stock her shop to fulfill her dream and her aunt and uncle’s heritage. She has made friends who are becoming more rounded out as the series progresses. Genevieve is the first person who really welcomed her to town and seemed quite settled with her life until her late husband had been found in the van. Charlie is an outspoken auto mechanic who seems to make friendly gestures to Poly, but is she really a friend or a foe in sheep’s clothing? And Vaughn. They seem to rub each other the wrong way, but he continues to pursue Poly as a potential romantic interest. And as the man who brought the adorable kittens, Needles and Pins, into her life, he has some excellent qualities! Adelaide is Vaughn’s mother and had been a friend of Poly’s Aunt Millie. She is friendly, stable, and has good business and people sense. I like each of the ‘good guy’ characters, quirks and all!
The plot kept my interest throughout. I was impressed with how the clues were revealed one by one, the suspects continued to mount up, and Poly was able to take an honest look at the new friends she had made since returning to her old hometown as she added and removed people from the possible suspect list. She was completely loyal to those she considered friends even if some of the townspeople didn’t like them. The suspense grows throughout, until Poly wonders if there is a chance of helping Gen…I couldn’t figure out the real bad guy to save Poly’s life or my own, as some who seemed who seemed like bad guys were really good guys after all.
All in all, I highly recommend ‘Crushed Velvet’ as well as the Material Witness Mystery series. I especially recommend it to those who like fabric stores, kittens, a touch of romance and endless possibilities. With delightfully engaging characters and riveting mystery, it is a series I am looking to see more of!
