Looming Murder by Carol Ann Martin

First Line: Sometimes in the middle of the night, I worried that this might all have been a huge mistake-- this being the leap I'd recently made.

Della Wright worries that opening her lifelong dream-- a weaving studio-- in Briar Hollow at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains might be more than she can handle. Her idea of conducting weaving workshops for all levels of ability is increasing business, and her request for weavers to form a charity group to make baby blankets for a local hospital seems to have gathered together a group of people who have their fingers on the gossip pulse of the area.

At the moment she's living rent-free in the house that's also home to her studio, but that sweet deal may be at an end when the homeowner and her friend, criminologist Matt Baker, returns home. Looking for another place where she can house her studio-- and perhaps live over her business-- Della stumbles over the body of a shady local businessman. It's no time at all before she finds herself picking over clues like she chooses yarns to weave into beautiful creations. But can she put those clues together fast enough to stop a killer?

I've always been fascinated with weaving, and this book has just enough information to fan its flames. The small town setting in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina is very well done, and Martin has assembled an interesting and eclectic cast of characters that sets the series off to a good start. As I turned the last page, I found myself looking forward to meeting these characters again in another adventure.  Martin's series is definitely one to watch.

Looming Murder by Carol Ann Martin

ISBN:  9780451413604

Signet Eclipse © 2013

Mass Market Paperback, 336 pages

Cozy Mystery, #1 Weaving Mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen