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Wexford Family #1

Silken Threads

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Soldier of Fortune

Graeham Fox is on a secret mission: rescuing his lord's illegitimate daughter from the clutches of her abusive husband. As payment for his service, Graeham will receive her twin's hand in marriage and a vast estate, much more than any landless soldier could ever hope for.

Attacked in London, Graeham is almost killed. He is given a chance to heal at the humble home of Joanna Chapman, a silk merchant's lovely widow. Her past has taught her not to trust any man, especially one as rakishly handsome—and mysterious—as Graeham. But his raw strength and gentle touch unleash a blistering passion in Joanna. Caught between ambition and desire, Graeham's future hangs by a thread. And only Joanna's love can save him from himself.

337 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 1999

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About the author

Patricia Ryan

62 books184 followers
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Patricia Burford Ryan (born August 9, 1954 in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States) is an American writer of romance novels as Patricia Ryan, mystery novels as P.B. Ryan and erotica novels as Louisa Burton. She is the twin sister of the romance writer Pamela Burford.

She won a Golden Heart award in 1994 in the category "short contemporary series" and a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award. Her book Silken Threads also won a RITA, the top award of the Romance Writers of America, for "Best Long Historical Romance" of 2000.

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5 stars
327 (26%)
4 stars
476 (37%)
3 stars
335 (26%)
2 stars
69 (5%)
1 star
47 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
Profile Image for Misfit.
1,638 reviews353 followers
August 20, 2008
This was an entertaining take on the Rear Window idea of an injured man (broken leg) whiling his time away by watching the actions of the neighborhood from his window. During an attempt to remove his lord's illegitimate daughter from her abusive husband, Graeham is set upon and seriously wounded. Rescued by Hugh, he is taken to Hugh's sister's home for medical attention. Of course, the widowed Joanna is beautiful and sparks fly as their attraction to each other grows.

The book is also interspersed with interesting characters. Adam the urchin with a mystery of his own, Thomas the leper, Joanna's brother Hugh (apparently he has his own book in the sequel The Sun and the Moon), and most especially Joanna's cats. I loved the touch the author put in about the one cat who was always afraid of males, but came to be "best pals" with Graeham. The author also keeps you guessing on a few plot twists, although like another reviewer I felt one of them was a bit hard to swallow. I also felt that Graeham was a bit too, well, um, athletic in the bedroom for one with splints on his healing broken leg.

The Rear Window twist was a refreshing change from your standard historical romance and the period details felt more authentic than you see in most books of this genre as well. My minor quibbles aside, this book was very engaging while I was reading it, but I didn't find it sticking with me long after finishing it, nor wanting to go back and reread a few favorite parts as I usually do with my favorite romances. 3.5 stars rounded up to four.
Profile Image for UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish.
1,097 reviews1,760 followers
own-need-to-read
November 22, 2015

This KINDLE FREEBIE has great reviews and ratings, and is a RITA AWARD WINNER for best long historical romance/mystery.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003...

Blurb:

Graeham Fox comes to London to rescue his overlord’s daughter from her abusive husband, in return for which he is promised her sister’s hand in marriage and a vast estate—quite a prize for a landless soldier who’s never had a home of his own. Attacked and disabled by a broken leg, he rents a room in the humble home of Joanna Chapman, a silk merchant’s widow. Joanna, having learned not to trust handsome, charming devils like Graeham, lets him think her husband is still alive in order to keep him at a distance. Mindful of his mission—and the promised reward—Graeham tries to resist his feelings for Joanna, but the white-hot desire simmering between them cannot be denied. Inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window, Silken Threads was honored with Romance Writers of America’s RITA® Award for Best Long Historical Romance.

Won Romance Wrters of America’s RITA Award for Best Long Historical Romance. Nominated by Romantic Times magazine for Best Historical Romantic Mystery. Made the Ingrams A-List of Top 50 Requested Titles for four weeks.
Profile Image for TinaNoir.
1,890 reviews337 followers
December 24, 2010
When I discovered that an author's whose works I liked had written a series of books set in medieval times that were a bit of an homage to Hitchcock films, I immediately thought 'how friggin' cool is that?'

So I picked this one up and dug right in. This book is an homage to Hitchcock's Rear Window. In that movie, Jimmy Stewart plays Jeff, a photographer who is laid up in his apartment in a wheelchair with a broken leg. While there he has a front row seat to all the goings all with all his neighbors (they leave their shades open and they talk loudly). One neighbor in particular acts very suspiciously and Jeff believes he murdered his wife.

In this book, the plot is basically the same. Graeham Fox, having been sent to London by his overlord to rescue the overlord's daughter from her abusive husband, is set upon and has his leg broken. He finagles himself a room in a widow's home to keep an eye on the daughter and her husband. In the meantime he also sees other things going on in the neighborhood.

I must say the idea was a lot more exciting than the execution. This is not to say this was not a well written and interesting book to read. And the romance between Graeham and Joanna (the widow) was really well done. The problem is there is only so much you can do with a guy stuck in a room looking out a window at people. The beginning, set up and denouement were excellent. But the middle dragged.

This is where the film can do what a book can't. The main plot of both the film and the book rely on a man watching people. A film, by it's very nature, is a visual medium. It is tailor made for a plot like this. And a film like Rear Window is all about the visual.

Unless the writer of the book in question can also write incredibly visually then the a book like this is going to suffer. Ryan is a good writer and can convey surrounding and texture very well. The thing is, that didn't happen here. While, as I mentioned, the romance was nice so much of what was going on with them was internal. But when it came to the parts when Graeham was stuck in his room and the book relied on his front row seat to the goings on in the neighborhood, then, yeah, the book suffered from it. I didn't quite get the narrative punch of seeing the serialized drama of the various neighbors that a single camera shot could convey.

While I did enjoy the book, I can't say this is a real knock out the park for me.
Profile Image for Suz.
779 reviews50 followers
July 18, 2011
Fairly decent little romance novel.

It takes place in medieval times and doesn't actually involve any lords/ladies/aristocracy (really). The plot is pretty simple - bastard sellsword goes to England from France to rescue a Lord's daughter from a shitty marriage. Unfortunately, he gets beaten and saved by another knight. His leg is broken and he has to recoup for 2 months til he can find a way to rescue the damsel-in-distress (who may or may not be getting slowly poisoned to death by her a-hole husband), and ends up staying with the knight's recently widowed (but hiding it) sister, who, of course, has a house near the house of the lady in the terrible marriage.

Of course, bastard sellsword has to deal with his feelings for the lady he's staying with, his own life fortune and what to do about being a bastard with no money, titles, or land

It's a bit of an homage to Hitchcock's Rear Window, and has appropriate plot twists. It was a decent romance story. It should have gotten 4 stars, but the end of the story is too quickly resolved/cheese-tastic, with a helping of "yay baby!" and that was annoying. Otherwise, a good 4 stars with penalty star.
Profile Image for Mimi.
108 reviews46 followers
October 16, 2011
I enjoyed this book very much. The writing was excellent, and the story kept me interested from beginning to end. I loved the characters, especially Joanna, who was a true heroine in every sense of the word. Graeham was a good hero, too, because he was REAL and human and genuinely flawed. We got to spend a lot of time in his head, hearing his thoughts and feeling his feelings. I love when authors do this, and it really made me feel closer to the characters and care more deeply about them. The secondary characters were also well-developed and interesting.

There were a few things I did not like, but nothing that affected my overall enjoyment. Back story was described a LOT via dialogue, and at times I felt it would have been better had it been part of the narrative.

.

All in all, it was a great read, and I will definitely read Hugh's (Joanna's brother) story, as well. I loved his character in this book, and I'm also hoping get to see a bit of Graeham and Joanna in the The Sun and the Moon as well.
Profile Image for Marilyn.
354 reviews10 followers
October 11, 2011
Based on Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window, I enjoyed this story much better. I can't say that I was ever a fan of that movie; maybe it was because in my mind Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly never seemed to mix well together nor did the plot, as written, ever sufficiently seize my imagination. Here, in Silken Threads Patricia Ryan has not only succeeded in the retelling but far surpassed it. If you're in the mood for a good mystery/suspense set in medieval times, this is it. Also, there is a followup tale featuring the heroine's brother, Hugh of Wexford, and that story is based on Hitchcock's Notorious. So now, I've diminished my TBR by one but added another in it's place.
Profile Image for Anne.
Author 1 book50 followers
August 23, 2013
This is a very good read. Roughly based on "rear Window" it tells the story of Graeham Fox, a landless soldier who works for a French lord and is charged with finding the Lord's daughter who has married a loutish man and he feel she is in trouble. While trying to get into the man's house, Graeham is set upon by murderers and barely escapes, thanks to an intercessor, with only a broken eg and some broken ribs. His savior takes him to his sister who conveniently lives next door to the daughter of his Lord's daughter and he watched the goings on from a window. This was a very enjoyable read with lots of suspense and a very surprising ending. Recommended.
Profile Image for Heidi (can’t retire soon enough).
1,379 reviews273 followers
January 3, 2013
Well-written romance with a little mystery (paying medieval homage to Hitchcock) on the side. Unfortunately I like a lot more mystery but will try book 2 in series because Ryan is a great HF author and it sounds like the Hitchcock -based intrigue may supercede the romance! Definitely a good vacation read!
Profile Image for Joan.
2,207 reviews
February 17, 2015
A thoroughly enjoyable adventure/mystery set in medieval times. and okay, I don't remember much about that era from my history lessons, so perhaps there are historical errors, but even if there were, it didn't detract from my enjoyment. Great characters and a decent, twisty plot.
I loathed this version of the cover though.
Profile Image for MasterSal.
2,460 reviews21 followers
reluctant-dnf
July 20, 2023
July 2023
I tried - but after 12 years I am going to have to admit that I will never read this. Still have it on the kindle if EVER I decide to go back to.

---

Owned since July 2011 - and EVERY TIME, I think I should just give up on this the line "Inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window" reels me back in

🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️
Profile Image for Bettie.
41 reviews12 followers
May 17, 2011
i really love this novel, i cant wait to read the next on on Hugh the older brother. Sweet story and keeps u guessing in whats going on. it builds up the feeling between the leads slowly but passionately, the writer is really good in giving me a clear idea of life during that time.
Profile Image for Crys Harris.
273 reviews
July 26, 2011
Nothing but the fact that the author states this book takes place in the middle ages makes me think that. There is no period authenticity except for clothes. It's kind of ridiculous.

That said, Joanna is a nice character. She could do better than Graeham, frankly. Meh.
Profile Image for Emily.
355 reviews
May 22, 2020
A solid 3.5.

I finally got around to reading a Patricia Ryan romance, despite discovering and loving her Nell Sweeney mystery books years ago. Those are written under the name PB Ryan.

Despite really enjoying this slow burn romance and especially the resolution to the mystery of Ada Le Fever’s failing health, I felt like the story weakened after the protagonists finally got together. Then I was downright angry that Graeham couldn’t just come out with the truth immediately upon finding Joanna.

It was something like 5 pages of letting her think he was married to someone else while he jabbered on about how much he missed her and loved her; allowing her to get increasingly angry. I get wanting to increase the tension for the reader, but it’s a romance, for God’s sake. We all know they end up together in the end, we just needed to hear the story of what he did after they were separated, and how he found her again. In real life a man that the reader is supposed to like and respect would be shouting “I’m not married, you were misinformed!” Before he’d even had a chance to dismount. Anyway, so it loses half a star for annoying me at the end.

Otherwise, I was pleasantly surprised that Ryan’s romances (or at least the historical ones) are written with the same quality as her mysteries that I loved so much. I’ll likely seek out more. Definitely looking to read Hugh’s story next.
Profile Image for Cindy Woods.
1,058 reviews18 followers
October 29, 2018
Great story

This next an excellent plot with great characters, both primary and secondary. Set in 12th century London, the average lives of these characters is well described as a young knight sets out to complete a mission for his master by returning his daughter to him from her a abusive husband. I'm return the knight is promised to be wed to her sister and be gifted land.

The mission is stalled when this young knight is injured in his attempt to take the abused woman away and he is forced to take refuge in the home of a beautiful woman pretending her husband is alive although she is actually a widow. He becomes increasingly interested in the widow while staying in her home while he recuperate from his injuries.

This is both an historical romance as a mystery. The plot is well laid out and interesting. I had somewhat of a problem with the dialogue being not what I would expect of the era, it is was intelligent and entertaining......not so much modern as to ruin a very good story.

I enjoyed reading this book very much and recommendation to readers who like historical fiction romance with a mystery.
Profile Image for Viper Spaulding.
3,147 reviews25 followers
December 31, 2018
Excellent love story with compelling characters.

Graeham finds himself injured when he's supposed to be rescuing the young woman next door. Joanna puts him up - and puts up with him - and helps him heal without knowing his true reason for being there. The romance heats up quickly between these two, and the steam was nearly hot enough to melt my kindle!

The suspense is deftly handled, and we quickly learn that there's a lot that Graeham can still do with a broken leg! He's a terrific character, sweet and strong and truly valiant. Together he and Joanna are an unstoppable team. This is my favorite of all the books I've read by this author; it's one I've read several times already and will read again and again.
2,310 reviews11 followers
October 11, 2018
Highly recommended!
I really enjoyed this tale of love and intrigue, premeditated attempted murder, and how two unrelated people managed to live together and slowly cultivate feelings for one another.
The snippets of apothecary and healing plants used at that time made for interesting reading.
Patricia Ryan is a new author to me and she certainly writes very well. I truly enjoyed this story and am happy to say that it held my attention throughout, entertaining me as a good book should and for this reason I am happy to recommend it.
Profile Image for Suzanne.
159 reviews2 followers
October 4, 2018
Are you looking for a romance novel with an intelligent heroine who can stand on her own, without a man? Then this is the book for you! A retelling of Hitchcock’s “Rear Window”, Silken Threads is exciting, funny, & romantic all in one fell swoop. I wasn’t holding out much hope when I began it, but obviously, as I stayed up WAY too late last night & tonight to finish it, I was very pleasantly surprised.
622 reviews3 followers
October 6, 2018
Good historical romance

I enjoyed this story taking place in the 12th century. The glimpse into those days of London was interesting. Greaham and Joanna move slowly into a relationship because they can't see a future together. But love is a powerful force and a way is made for them.
Profile Image for Fiona West.
Author 21 books125 followers
November 23, 2018
This was my first historical romance, and I have to say, it was better than I thought! She did some great worldbuilding/setting work to make it feel believable and not contrived, and the side characters were nice additions to the story; the pressures on them made the story a lot more interesting. I like a romance with more than just "will they, won't they," and this delivered.
604 reviews6 followers
October 3, 2021
Language flows well. However, I really didn't feel the great love which is excepted in a romance novel. Also I really don't understand notion of so cold creativity (!) in taking a famous literary work and changing it`s time period, setting, genders etc. and having your own original (!) novel!!!
Bravo! Great tactic for skirting around plagiarism just shying from actually doing it.



80 reviews5 followers
March 31, 2022
Romantic romp in medieval England

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, a good fast paced romance set in the medieval London. After reading the preview some years ago I wanted to get it and finally did. It didn't disappoint, once I got into it I couldn't stop. Good, atmospheric and sexy read
Profile Image for Yvette Wright.
53 reviews1 follower
December 3, 2018
Engrossing historical

Well developed characters and twists and turns of romance with portrayal of the poorer sections of London. The plight of widdows and the complete control husband's had over their powerless wives
185 reviews1 follower
December 15, 2018
First reading

Very enjoyable! I loved how it is written along with the storyline. It is the type of book that I call “wordy”. Beautiful appropriate language with flowing descriptions. Very meaty and want to read more of her works! Excellent
Profile Image for Barbara.
892 reviews
January 16, 2021
This story was disappointing at the end. Not because the ending wasn't satisfying, but because the reader had been carried along with the details of lives but then the action skipped months and ended.
Profile Image for Maisie.
352 reviews2 followers
November 3, 2021
A straight forward historical romance. Interesting characters and a storyline typical of the period of time. Easy pace and can be read within a few days. Enjoyable book and a good choice to read without requiring a lot of thought into the subject. Would recommend.
Profile Image for C. Roberts.
109 reviews3 followers
October 4, 2018
Silk

I love the characters - from Thomas to Graeham. If Joanna would have kept her mouth quiet...who am I kidding? The book would have been too short. Good book!
Profile Image for Amanda Squires.
63 reviews
October 7, 2018
Like historical drama

I love historical romance/drama especially when based in real event and places? This wasn’t but I did enjoy it.quite a bit.
Profile Image for Nancy.
779 reviews60 followers
February 17, 2019
Silken Threads

This was a good book how ever I do wish the author had done more to make it more interesting.I look forward to reading more of this author's work.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews

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