Looming Murder

Cozy mysteries have always been one of my favorite genres, and author Carol Ann Martin doesn't disappoint me with her entertaining whodunit with a chick lit twist, Looming Murder, the first book in A Weaving Mystery series.

Written in the first person narrative, the readers follow the adventures of Della Wright, as she establishes her new weaving studio, Dream Weavers, in the picturesque small town of Briar Hollow, at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Hoping to promote her business and a chance to get to know the quirky townsfolk of Briar Hollow, Della offers weaving workshops for all levels of ability. But when Della stumbles upon the murder of a shady local prominent real estate businessman, and one of her students is accused of show more the murder, Della goes on a quest to find the real killer before they strike again.

Author Carol Ann Martin weaves a riveting tale filled with intriguing twists and turns, a long list of quirky suspects, and cleverly hidden clues interwoven throughout the story that keeps the reader engaged as they try to guess the identity of the murderer. And if that isn't enough to peak your interest, the reader is introduced to a idyllic small town setting with quirky townsfolk who provide some laugh-out-loud moments, a lovable French Bulldog named Winston ("Winnie"), a heroine who has romantic issues and a penchant for high heels, and even some interesting weaving tips.

This story easily peaked my interest, I loved the richly detailed and descriptive small town setting of Briar Hollow, the quirky characters, the subtle chick lit romance twist, and the chance to become an amateur sleuth following Della on her quest to solve the murder mystery. This is a fun whodunit that whets my appetite to continue to read the next installment in the series.

Looming Murder is an entertaining cozy mystery that engages the reader to immerse themselves into this fun whodunit as an amateur sleuth. As the reader tries to figure out the identity of the killer, the cleverly interwoven twists and turns, and unexpected surprise ending will shock even the best of sleuths!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Chick Lit Plus Blog Tours.

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Della Wright has switched homes with her childhood friend Matthew, due to a scandal at her workplace where she was once suspected of embezzling but was cleared when it was discovered that the culprit was in actuality her boss. She's decided to pursue her dream of a weaving studio where she will also sell her wares. But in order to get it off the ground, her first step is in offering classes.

The people who show up are an assorted group who seem interested. She discovers that one of them - David Swanson - has no desire to learn to weave, but is doing so as part of community service, and they're making baby blankets for charity. She also learns he's a real estate agent, which comes in handy when she finds out things didn't work out as show more planned for Matthew and he's returning home.

When David is showing her a place she's interested in, they come across the reason for his community service: Jeremy, a man he'd recently had an argument with. To make it worse, the man is with David's ex-wife, part of the reason for the argument. They leave abruptly, and later on David asks her if she's still interested in seeing the building. When Della agrees and they enter the apartment above the store they both get a surprise: Jeremy's body, covered in blood. In her haste to leave Della takes a tumble and sprains her ankle.

While the police think David is the murderer, Della's not so sure and offers up the help of Matthew and resolves to find the killer. But in doing so will she be endangering her own life or the life of someone she cares about?...

I enjoyed this book to an extent, but there were some things that stopped me. For instance: Della sprains her ankle and the head cop Mike tells another officer to take her to the hospital. Why? There was an ambulance right there for Jeremy that they didn't need when it was discovered he was dead - but they send it away. Wouldn't it have been easier just to send her in the ambulance?

Secondly, she was a financial adviser but is lacking in cash. Why didn't she have a savings account? I really tire of reading these books where the protagonist always has a nice career but never has any money. Why is she broke? It doesn't make any sense. Was she dumping all her cash into her condo? Why keep the job if you're only making enough to make ends meet? (She's not working at a convenience store; she has a career that should pay a decent wage - just once I'd like to read a book where the woman actually knows how to manage money and has a healthy bank account when she starts a new business). It actually doesn't make any sense to start a new business if you don't have any money, if you think about it.

Then there's the fact that she likes Matthew and Matthew likes her. They're 35 and 37 years old, but are pussyfooting around like teenagers. They have romantic feelings but won't act on them and it comes off as rather ridiculous and because of this misunderstandings ensue.

Also because of this Matthew moves in with Jenny (temporarily, I gather). Supposedly it was pivotal to the plot point, but it didn't have to be. Things could have progressed exactly the same with him living in his own house. I do recall that he mentioned Della should stay in his spare bedroom anyway, so it didn't make sense to me.

Aside from this, I also didn't get a feeling about the type of person Della was or what she or Matthew looked like. The author made a point of describing everyone coming to the weaving class, but all we learned about Della is that she's short. There's nothing about her personality to make anyone connect with her, either. She doesn't cook which seems odd since she's in her thirties; I mean, honestly, why do all these women never know how to cook? They should at least be able to make the basics - meat loaf, pork chops, roasts, etc.; those are not difficult things to do. No one is expecting them to make Bouillabaisse.

As you can see, I wasn't enthralled by the characters, but it wasn't a terrible book, either. It was fairly on the average scale. I'm hoping the next in the series will be better. In the end, when the murderer was discovered, it seemed rather ho-hum; it was a different conclusion than the usual which is the reason I give it three stars. show less

This book is billed as the first in a series. The main character, Della Wright, is a 35 yo. woman who has relocated to Briar Hollow, NC from Charlotte to fulfill her long time dream of opening a weaving studio in the wake of a disastrous experience in her previous employment in the financial services industry. Written in the first person narrative, Della meets some of her new Briar Hollow neighbors when she decides to start a charity group to weave baby blankets. The group is made up of women except for David, who chose this activity as his court ordered community service. Early in the novel a body turns up. It's the local swindler and lothario, Jeremy Fox who also happens to be the reason for David's community service requirement.

This show more book sets the series up with a cast of local characters and various love interests. It's a cozy, chic lit sort of mystery....a quick and enjoyable read. show less

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 is the first book in the A Weaving Mystery series.

Della Wright has recently swapped houses with her friend Matthew and has opened her dream business, that being a weaver's studio. To generate interest in her new enterprise she offering weaving classes. For the first workshop she has six people with varying degrees experience.

When an unscrupulous real estate developer is found dead by Della and one of her workshop members, David Swanson, suspicion falls on David. David had assaulted the deceased and as punishment he was ordered to community service and David chose learning to weave.

Many residents of Briar Hollow loss money in the deceased's real estate scam and she feels that David is not the murderer. So with the help of show more a couple members of weaving workshop and Matthew, she sets off to find the real killer. I really enjoyed meeting all the members of Della's workshop and look forward to meeting them again. Looking to learning more about Mercedes and if she might become part of the staff at Dream Weaver. Also looking forward to seeing if any romantic interest evolves with either David or Matthew.

The only thing that I would have liked to have would be a glossary of weaving terms.

Looking forward to the next book. show less

I really enjoyed the weaving talk, this was a cute cozy murder mystery

A great start for a new series.