Looming Murder
Series: A Weaving Book #1
Author: Carol Ann Martin
Publisher: Obsidian (Penguin)
Page Count: 336
My Rating:
Book 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?
More Facts for Readers about our Sleuth:
Main Sleuth: Della Wright (age 35)
Business: former Financial Advisor turned Weaving Shop owner
Pet: Winston, a French bulldog
Best-Friend(s): Jenny (age 35?), and Matthew (age 37)
Love Interest: Matthew, a financial advisor turned criminology author (age 37)
Family: Mother, long distance
Location: small town called Briar Hollow but she’s from Charlotte, North Carolina
Any Cussing? Yes, very few and in context, but still words like F***, B****, S***, etc.
My Review
Just finished the 1st book in ‘A Weaving Mystery’ Series by Carol Ann Martin, wherein we’re introduced to main sleuth Della Wright a financial planner from the big city North Carolina turned weaving shop owner in the small town of Briar Hollow. She’s new to town but the locals catch her up on all the gossip, especially when hot head David Swanson comes to her weaving class. He’d threatened to kill local scoundrel Jeremy Fox, the guy who’d been sleeping with David’s now ex-wife, and when Jeremy shows up dead the next day, well… was it David who did the deed? Accompanied by her long-time friend Matthew and new friend Jenny, Della casually works to uncover the mystery.
I really enjoyed this book and finished it in just half a day! Carol gave us a lot of possible suspects, several motives, and created a well balanced narrative. There was plenty of town drama, clues, character developments and introductions, and a ton of personal growth for our main sleuth. She wraps the mystery up in a satisfactory way and sets us up for the next book with a romantic cliff-hanger. I’m a weaver myself and I can attest that the weaving aspect of the book is totally plausible, we just need more actual customers coming in and out to get the sense that things will continue to prosper for Della. The writing was excellent and I would definitely recommend this novel to others.
I gave this book a 4 out of 5 stars for a few reasons which rubbed me the wrong way. The main sleuth reads a little older than 35. At the time of this review I am 30 years old and although this was published in 2013 (7 years ago), I feel that Della reads more like early 40s. There’s a not-so-pleasant attitude toward the Jenny character’s sixth sense and her ability to read auras, tarot, etc. Della thinks it’s hokey and consistently refers to it as some sort of crazy person ability. I personally don’t believe in those things but I don’t disparage others who believe in it. Be kind. Also, there’s a goth teenager in the book and comments are made about her appearance and her attitude which again, I find unpleasant. Live and let live. She also has a miraculous 3 week transformation from a goth to a non-goth and Della comments about how much prettier she is now. That’s not a typical thing, and there are different kinds of beauty – so again, making judgements about a goth person felt mean-spirited.