The Drowning Spool by Monica Ferris
This is the seventeenth book in the Needlecraft Mystery series. I've read a few of the others, but haven't stuck to the order. Here, Betsy Devonshire, owner of the needlework shop Crewel World, near Minneapolis, has to find a new water aerobics class location while her usual pool undergoes repairs. One of her fellow classmates tells her about one at the right time at a local seniors complex, Watered Silk. Watered Silk is in an old silk factory building, and while a tad more expensive than she would like, Betsy signs up.
On her first day, the program coordinator approaches her as she is leaving to run a class for some of the crafty ladies and she agrees to do a series of classes in punch needle. I found this interesting as I recently did my first punch needle project. It seems that Betsy's is a little different than the one I did and more interesting. There is a template for a pattern for this craft at the back of the book, with basic instructions.
The water aerobics instructor, arriving one morning early, finds a body in the pool. The security guard on that night is the son of a friend of Betsy's and asks her to look into it as he seems to be under suspicion. The interaction with the friend was the one part of the book that made me uncomfortable, as their is race involved and I didn't always like Betsy's tone on this.
Once the body is identified, Betsy looks at the three men involved in the victim's life, her roommates, and also continues to try to figure out how the body got into the secured area. Not everything works out well here, but Betsy is often in the right place at the right time, sometimes through her planning, but sometimes luck.
Betsy's personal relationship is a part of this book as well, with her live-in boyfriend Connor pressing her for a more permanent commitment, and has him working in her shop a few times.
Betsy is diligent and persistent and has a local police contact that comes in handy from time to time.
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