So, one night when a truly awful customer, Betty Wickline, is murdered in her shop, it's really a two-edged sword. On one hand, it's not like anyone's going to mourn the death of the woman who seemed to live to be obnoxious to all she met. But on the other hand, having a shop where a murder just happened really doesn't bode well for business.

Carolyn and her friends, who call themselves the "Firing Squad" when they work on pottery in the shop, decide they must investigate the crime to clear Carolyn of any suspicion and get business back to normal.

It's not going to be easy, though. For one thing, Carolyn and the Sheriff in town have never really liked each other, and she's heard rumors he may have been involved with the dead woman. Then there's the fact that all the really good candidates for wanting Betty dead seem to have pretty tight alibis.

But the Firing Squad is made up of people with some wide-spanning talents, including a former burglar, a former judge, a mom who knows everyone in town, and David, Carolyn’s employee and the son of her best friend.

Each working their different skills, they soon find there were lots of rumors about how Betty maintained her lifestyle, including that she might have rigged a jury in favor of a rich woman who'd been accused of murdering her lover.

As they make more inquiries, things begin to occur that threaten Carolyn's life as well as her shop.

The book is filled with interesting characters and Carolyn is strong. Her relationship with her husband is delightfully realistic, and even though she often seems to be way out of her element in investigating a murder, she is not without resources or gumption.

The setting of the pottery studio is nicely woven into the story in a way that makes it not just a backdrop, but essential to what goes on.