Sophie Mae doesn’t have too long to wonder as she, Barr and members of the local craft co-op must attend the funeral of one of Barr’s fellow officers, and the wife of the co-op’s founder.  Scott Popper ran into a tree just days before his young lover Ariel is found dead in the co-op, strangled by Sophie Mae’s own skein of yarn. Sophie Mae is proud of her first attempts at spinning wool into yarn.  

At first Barr wants Sophie Mae to have no part in the investigation, but soon asks for her help gathering gossip, realizing that the members of the co-op would be more forthcoming with her.  Sophie Mae, who knew very little about Ariel, begins to trace the young woman’s life. She ends up traveling to meet Ariel’s brother and his wife, a woman Sophie Mae would like to get to know better, but ends up alienating during her part in the investigation.  As Sophie gets closer to the murderer, she realizes there is a lot of truth in the Sir Walter Scott quotation “Oh, what a tangled web we weave,” especially when it involves freshly spun yarn.   

Sophie Mae sounds like she has a wonderful life (other than her uncanny knack to stumble across dead bodies) living with Meghan and Erin in a house where they grow much of their own produce, and keep chickens for fresh eggs.  Barr is as attentive to her as possible given the demands of his job, and realizes he hasn’t been forthcoming with his past, but not because he wants to hide things from Sophie Mae, just because he doesn’t think of it. 

Ariel’s murder doesn’t make anyone sad, including her own brother and sister-in-law; oddly, no one ever mentions any sort of funeral arrangements for Ariel, even when Sophie Mae delivers Ariel’s paintings to her family.  There are plenty of suspects as Ariel was not well liked, going back to her teenage years. As always, Sophie Mae spins the clues together and manages to come up with the solution, even before Barr and his partner, the lovely, but prickly, Detective Robin. 

A fun mystery with an engaging heroine who may just be about to make a big lifestyle change, Spin a Wicked Web is a wonderful cozy mystery with a welcoming setting and cast of characters.                                        

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry