What do you think?
Rate this book
A Pattern of Lies: A Romantic Cozy Cross Stitch Mystery set in a Coastal Village
299 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 21, 2026
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 19, 2026
While I greatly enjoyed Thea’s first two books in the series, this one was a disappointment. Her writing skills are still excellent but the storyline was very disjointed and left a lot up to the reader’s imagination. For instance, at the end of one chapter Daniel is supposed to stop by Grace’s house to pick up an important document and instead of carrying that out all of a sudden the plot takes us to Grace’s family getting together for the Canada Day parade. There were several of these situations: the book describes one incomplete situation and then it takes a left turn without filling in the plot holes.
I was also disappointed with Grace’s inability to accept that Daniel couldn’t disclose information about the murder case and frankly treated him rather poorly about it. That was a very weak plot point.
In addition, the perpetrator of the murder was quite easily guessed and it was doubly bothersome because he was presented as some slick lawyer able to negotiate and deal with everyone and every situation but when he is presented with “evidence” (that seemed to be more innuendo and somewhat circumstantial) he suddenly folds like a house of cards. It was very out of character.
The final straw was the “disappearance of Christopher” storyline. Some clues were hinted at in the prior book but now slightly more information is presented to suggest he “disappeared himself” to avoid some unnamed threat. And lo and behold, Grace miraculously finds the key to her jointly owned safe deposit box (in an unlocked box, no less, AND in a place anyone could have found it!) In said safe deposit box there is a letter from Christopher to Grace which of course starts out with the over-used trope, “if you’re reading this letter then…”. Oh brother.
Grace’s excuse for not checking out the box sooner (or at all) was because she couldn’t look at those things after Christopher’s disappearance. Wouldn’t that be exactly the time you would need to? This part of the series really needs to speed up and get far more interesting in a unique way or I think I won’t be the only one losing interest.
I was also disappointed with Grace’s inability to accept that Daniel couldn’t disclose information about the murder case and frankly treated him rather poorly about it. That was a very weak plot point.
In addition, the perpetrator of the murder was quite easily guessed and it was doubly bothersome because he was presented as some slick lawyer able to negotiate and deal with everyone and every situation but when he is presented with “evidence” (that seemed to be more innuendo and somewhat circumstantial) he suddenly folds like a house of cards. It was very out of character.
The final straw was the “disappearance of Christopher” storyline. Some clues were hinted at in the prior book but now slightly more information is presented to suggest he “disappeared himself” to avoid some unnamed threat. And lo and behold, Grace miraculously finds the key to her jointly owned safe deposit box (in an unlocked box, no less, AND in a place anyone could have found it!) In said safe deposit box there is a letter from Christopher to Grace which of course starts out with the over-used trope, “if you’re reading this letter then…”. Oh brother.
Grace’s excuse for not checking out the box sooner (or at all) was because she couldn’t look at those things after Christopher’s disappearance. Wouldn’t that be exactly the time you would need to? This part of the series really needs to speed up and get far more interesting in a unique way or I think I won’t be the only one losing interest.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 17, 2026
What a tangled web this author weaves!
Thea has done it again! I suppose she also felt that she needed another book in order to make this come full circle. When I began reading this continuation, I thought I must’ve missed something and had to go back to book 2 because I couldn’t understand where the plot was going. What a storyteller Thea is. I could hardly put this down. I feel as if I know the characters in these books very intimately, especially Grace and Daniel. Again, Thea leaves the ending as a cliffhanger. Well done! I can’t wait to read book 4. This author cannot write fast enough.
Thea has done it again! I suppose she also felt that she needed another book in order to make this come full circle. When I began reading this continuation, I thought I must’ve missed something and had to go back to book 2 because I couldn’t understand where the plot was going. What a storyteller Thea is. I could hardly put this down. I feel as if I know the characters in these books very intimately, especially Grace and Daniel. Again, Thea leaves the ending as a cliffhanger. Well done! I can’t wait to read book 4. This author cannot write fast enough.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews