Threads of Evidence

Picture a cozy small seaside town on the coast of Maine filled with colorful characters and we have the setting of this suspenseful cozy murder mystery. This is the second book in the Mainely Needlepointers Series and I must say I greatly enjoyed the book. This can be read as a stand-alone. Lea Wait has our main character, Angie Curtis investigating the forty-five year old death of Jasmine Gardener. Jasmine was the daughter of the town’s rich family that owned the estate, Aurora. Each summer the family hosted an end of season party for the entire town prior to their return to New York, however at this last party tragedy occurred. Jasmine died and her mother insists she was murdered, and continued to insist until she died, which left Aurora empty and falling into disrepair. Suddenly the house is sold to an actress from California and things really begin to happen as the actress, Skye West and her son, Patrick, are in town to solve the mystery of Jasmine's death and restore Aurora. The author did a wonderful job of filling this story with colorful characters; a murder mystery that someone does not want solved, attempted murder, arson, and secrets, long-held secrets. A part-time investigator, Angie is managing her grandmother's Mainely Needlepointers, and partners with Sarah in restoring old needlepoint work to its original splendor. To top-off all Angie has on her plate, her Grandmother is marrying Reverend Tom in three weeks and they have a wedding and a bridal shower to organize; now she has a murder to solve and stop another murder from occurring. She cannot resist helping with Sky’s investigation into Jasmine’s murder, she is hooked and must solve the mystery as mysteries abound in this story. The plot was consistently interesting, and never lagged or bogged down. The suspense was kept at maximum peak throughout the book. The way Ms. Wait revealed the identity of the murderer was a stroke of genius. I thought I had it all worked out several times but found I was not correct. I loved the needlepoint sayings before each chapter; it added an extra element to the story. This is an easy read that anyone that enjoys cozy mysteries will love. I look forward to the next installment. I received this book from the publisher and Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Threads of Evidence by Lea Wait is the second book in the Mainely Needlepoint series. Angela returned to Haven Harbor, Maine a month ago. She thought she would only stay around for about six months to help her grandmother. Now, though, she is the director of her grandmother’s Mainely Needlepoint business and has started another business with her new friend, Sarah Byrne. Sarah owns an antique shop and she also does needlepoint projects for Mainely Needlepoint. Their new sideline business is to identify, conserve, and restore old needlework. Angela is busy with learning the ropes at Mainely Needlepoint and preparing for her Gram’s wedding. Gram (Charlotte Owen) is marrying Reverend Tom on the last Saturday in June. Angela has yet to find a dress to wear as maid of honor and Gram would like to have a wedding shower (she did not get one when she married the first time). The Gardner Estate called Aurora has been empty since Millie Gardener died in the early 1990’s. The actress, Skye West just purchased the property. She has hired Sarah and Angela to look at the beautiful needlework. Millie Gardener did a lot of needlework in her later years. Unfortunately, since the house was so neglected a lot of it is damaged. There are ten panels, though, that were framed that can be salvaged. Skye West asks Sarah and Angela to set up a sale of all the furniture and belonging. She wants everyone in town to come. Skye offers them $15,000 to get the sale ready in one week. Turns out that Skye has an ulterior motive for buying the Aurora. She visited the estate when she was seventeen. She was friends with Millie’s daughter, Jasmine. Jasmine died the night of the end of the summer party at Aurora. It was ruled an accident, but Millie believes her daughter was murdered. Skye has come to find out the truth. Angela gets pulled in the case when Millie finds out that she worked with a private investigator in Arizona. It has been forty-five years since Jasmine died. Can they really find out the truth after so much time? The killer does not appreciate Skye and Angela nosing around. Millie left them some clues, but can they figure them out in time? Threads of Evidence was a good book. I enjoyed reading it and solving the mystery. I like the way it was written. The book is very easy to read, lovely setting, and good characters. The mystery is medium level. It is not simple, but also not extremely complex (I figured it out before I was halfway through the book). I loved the clues and how they were incorporated into the needlepoint. The only thing I did not like was Sarah Byrne’s obsession with Patrick West, Skye’s son. As soon as she saw him, she was very focuses on him (even though he was more interested in Angela). Sarah acted more like a teenager than a grown woman who owned a business. One other thing that I found strange was Angela’s focus on alcohol. She was not a heavy drinker or an alcoholic, but it seemed to be mentioned quite frequently throughout the book. I did not understand her concern over it (nothing wrong with a glass of wine in the evening or with dinner). Otherwise, an entertaining novel. I give Threads of Evidence 4.5 out of 5 stars. Threads of Evidence can easily be relished without having read the first book in the series. I received a complimentary copy of Threads of Evidence from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The review and opinions expressed are my own.

Good book, twist, turns.