A police officer and a manipulative artist, both dead, provide a third challenge for sleuthing soapmaker Sophie Mae Reynolds (Heaven Preserve Us, 2008, etc.).
On her way home from a dinner date with boyfriend Barr Ambrose, Sophie Mae comes upon a wrecked police car and the body of Barr’s fellow officer Scott Popper, whose wife Chris is a member of the Cadyville Regional Artist’s Co-op, where Sophie Mae sells her soap. Was it an accident? After all, Scott was a skillful amateur stock-car racer. But when Sophie Mae discovers Ariel Skylark strangled with a skein of yarn, there’s no doubt that her death is murder. The untalented painter used her sex appeal to get her way. The news that she was having an affair with Scott sends his widow to the head of the suspect list. Meanwhile, Sophie Mae’s burgeoning relationship with Barr suffers a blow when his ex-wife arrives in town, intent on getting him back now that he’s inherited a serious chunk of change. Sophie Mae’s newly acquired spinning skills help to keep her calm as she explores the possibility that one of her co-op friends may be a killer.
Interested fans can watch Sophie Mae’s detecting expertise and her love life develop while absorbing all the information they could possibly want about the joys of spinning.
