Looming Murder
Weaving Mystery, Book #1
By Carol Ann Martin
ISBN# 9780451413604
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Dawn
Summary:
LOOM WITH A VIEW
Della Wright has come to peaceful and picturesque Briar Hollow, at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, to realize her lifelong dream of owning a weaving studio. To promote her new business, Dream Weavers, Della is offering weaving workshops for all levels of ability. In her first class, she meets half a dozen of the town’s colorful characters, who seem as eager to gossip as to learn how to work a loom.
But when a shady local businessman is found murdered, Briar Hollow suddenly appears a lot less idyllic. And when one of her weaving students is suspected of the crime, Della can’t help getting entangled in the investigation—with some help from her criminologist friend, Matthew. But can she weave together clues as well as she weaves together yarn—and stop a killer from striking again?
FEATURES WEAVING TIPS!
Review:
After a horrible job experience, Della does a house-swap with a child-hood friend Matthew. She inherits his dog Winston as she sets out to start a weaving studio business. Her first weaving “group” brings out some interesting characters. David Swanson is hysterical. He joins the group for community service and he acts like it’s pure torture.
Della makes some local friends as she becomes entrenched in the small town politics. When people start showing up dead, Della gets a glimpse into the town’s inner workings. She learns about the town slut, Jeremy, who is also a scammer. Della wants to figure out who did it. She, Jenny and Marnie talk it over like 3 old ladies. I enjoyed their new found friendship with Della.
I am impressed with Della’s business acumen. I run an internet business; I appreciate a woman who thinks in those terms.
I didn’t know the first thing about weaving until reading Looming Murder. It seems interesting, not to mention peaceful if only I had a drop of artistic talent in that area. It made me sad that I don’t because the descriptions are beautiful.
As much as I enjoyed the book, I have one issue that bothers me quite a bit. I do not like the way Mike (police officer) and Matthew spoke to Della. I feel they were abusive and demeaning. I feel it was unnecessary to speak to her in that manner even though she was a bit out of line a couple of times during the investigations.
Della finds a place for herself among the other weavers in town. Her business flourishes.
I think women will enjoy the book. It’s another great book club choice. If you’re a weaver or have worked with looms you can probably learn a lot from Looming Murder. I learned quite a bit. Despite having no experience with it, it was intriguing.
