Polyester Saves the Day

Polyester Monroe is the perfect name for someone who owns  a fabric store. Literally born in the polyester section of her aunt's Land of One Thousand Fabrics store, Poly inherits the store when her uncle dies. Now in Crushed Velvet, author Diane Vallere continues Poly's effort to reopen the store now named Material Girl.

As an aside, if I were born in a fabric store with so many luxurious fabrics, I would have thought silk, satin, velvet, taffeta or some ritzier name would work, but that's me.

While Poly is working hard to prepare for the opening of her store, she awaits the delivery of an order of a special blend of velvet and polyester. Her friend Genevieve Girard, owner of Tea Totalers, sent her husband Phil with their delivery van to retrieve the fabric. When it arrives and they are unloading, they discover Phil dead in the back -  buried under the bolts of fabric with a spilled container of tea nearby.

When the police arrest Genevieve, Poly and her friend mechanic Charlie try to find the real murderer.

And she's still prepping the store for opening day. By day she searches for the murderer, by night Poly sews bright, colorful place mats, curtains, pillow covers and more to spruce up Tea Totalers and promote the use of fabric and color to brighten your home. Hopefully Genevieve will be released to run the shop again.

As Phil's scheming life is discovered, Poly believes there are other suspects and she digs deeper to try to clear her friend. As her reopening draws nearer, Poly's biggest concern is her new sign, which because of weather, municipal requirements and murder slows down the installation.

Poly is a fiend with a sewing machine and she knocks off pillows, placemats and more and as a non-sewer, I am so jealous of the ease with which she works. With all these distractions, Poly manages to solve the murder and open her store with lots of fanfare.

I found Crushed Velvet a fun, easy read and recommend it. It is the second book in the series. Book #1 is entitled Suede to Rest.