Crewel and Unusual: A Haunted Yarn Shop Mystery

In Macrae’s solid sixth Haunted Yarn Shop mystery (after 2015’s Knot the Usual Suspects), the residents of Blue Plum, Tenn., are saddened when retired banker Garland Brown is found dead at a mountain trailhead parking area, his head bashed in with a rock. But life must go on, and Kath Rutledge, a textile preservation specialist and owner of Weaver’s Cat Yarn Shop, is drawn into a quarrel between two acquaintances when she’s asked to authenticate a 1940s era embroidered tablecloth belonging to Belinda Moyer, owner of a space in the Vault, a co-op for small arts-related shops in a repurposed bank. Nervie Bales thinks Belinda’s vintage linens are fake. Belinda accuses Nervie of stealing her patterns. The feud takes a deadly turn when Belinda is found dead with a pair of scissors from Weaver’s Cat stuck in her back. Could the murders be related? With the help of Geneva, the resident ghost of Weaver’s Cat, Kath and friends lay a trap to catch a killer. The motive for the murders may be weak, but cozy fans will enjoy the quirky characters and charming, small-town setting. (Jan.)