A Thread of Madness

The Dickinson Sisters Mysteries #1

by Blythe Baker

A sudden death uncovers a string of secrets in a small village...

When seamstresses Iris and Lily Dickinson are accidental witnesses to a murder, the spinster sisters resolve to keep themselves – and their pristine reputations – a discreet distance away from the sordid business. But the unexpected discovery that the killer might be in their very midst soon changes everything, sparking an urgent desperation to ferret out his identity.

While assisting the local constable in his investigation, Iris stumbles across a family mystery of her own, a buried secret that calls into question everything she thinks she knows about her sister. With Iris’s once-blind faith in Lily shaken, can the sisters unite long enough to escape the schemes of a dangerous lunatic?

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Historical, Historical Mystery, Crime

171 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 16, 2020

About the author

Blythe Baker is a thirty-something bottle redhead from the South Central part of the country. When she’s not slinging words and creating new worlds and characters, she’s acting as chauffeur to her children and head groomer to her household of beloved pets.

Blythe enjoys long walks with her dog on sweaty days, grubbing in her flower garden, cooking, and ruthlessly de-cluttering her overcrowded home. She also likes binge-watching mystery shows on TV and burying herself in books about murder.

Reviews

[Lorraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grangehurst, Yorkshire, England. “A sudden death uncovers a string of secrets in a small village....” Blythe Baker’s A Thread of Madness (Dickinson Sisters Mystery, #1) introduces the reader to Lily and Iris Dickinson, sisters separated by almost 10 years in age. Lily and Iris own and operate a seamstress shop in the small village of Grangehurst. Their living quarters are above their shop. The Dickinson sisters have been sharing a bedroom as long as Iris can remember. The sisters are well-know and well-respected as individuals and as excellent seamstresses. When the story begins, Lily is putting the finishing touches on the train of Miss Baldwin’s wedding gown, while Iris finding herself at the counter, greets Mrs. Minford, known as the biggest gossip in town. Business came to a close, and the sisters went upstairs hopefully to relax for the evening. Lily and Iris were looking out the window as they had heard an unfamiliar sound. Realizing it was Mr. Morton returning home from the pub, a little worse for the wear, nothing was unusual until Mr. Morton dropped to the ground and did not move. The Constable was called, and, yes, Mr. Morton was dead. Why? How? Iris offers to help the Constable when a fuzzy partial memory begins to form in Iris’ brain. That concerns Lily. Why? A bit slow at the start. 3 stars. Onto #2, A Pattern of Death.

[Nicole Normand · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy from BookSprout; this is my honest review
-By the picture on the cover you figure out it must be Regency British - British as per category on Amazon - but a few details push out that idea. First, the sisters work and receive customers in their shop up until 11 pm, which is not done. Then the sun dips down around that time too. I've never been to Britain before but we're not talking about Alaska here. It's also very late for tea.
-I wasn't impressed with Lily. First, she's the one who asked Iris forcibly to let her know what she had learned with the Constable, then she tells her she could have used some discretion! Second, she has no empathy for Iris when she gets nightmares, but is she the guardian of her too to tell her to let go of some matters?
-At 55% it was getting old that they might be with a murderer. This fact coming from the sisters who are actually believing the worse gossip in town - even her husband is ashamed.
-Otherwise, the rest of the story goes really fast and the culprit is caught without the Constable, and he is made to look bad since the sisters used the library to find out what's what.
-I really liked the Captain who's the definition of nice and patient and I also liked Iris who should get away from her sister.
-This present mystery is solved in the end but there is something sinister going on with Lily. The description is nothing like the book: Iris doesn't stumble across a family mystery, and Iris doesn't have her faith shaken by Lily. Also the lunatic appeared only when he was discovered, otherwise he was perfectly normal.

[A Young · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's nothing "wrong" with this novel; it isn't poorly-written, and there are no plot holes. The problem is that it's just...limp. It isn't engaging or particularly entertaining. Additionally, one of the main characters, who is presumably severe due to some former trauma, comes off as wholly unlikable.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not an attention grabber

This book is an interesting look at the lifestyle of a past century as two sisters work at being independent in a time when most were not. They decide to solve a murder to keep their reputations from being sullied. I’m not sure of the logic there. Too much time is devoted to absurd conversation, and suddenly one sister figures it all out. A little too simplistic for my liking, 95% of the story is maybe this one, perhaps that, when out of the blue the killer is conveniently discovered. Then there’s this whole dream secret thing going on. No sequel for me.

[Space Cowgirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Victorian Whodunit💀

Two spinster sisters💃💃 in a small English village do some vigorous and nosy amateur sleuthing to find the killer💀 of one of their citizens.

ARC Provided by Booksprout 🌱
I also got this ebook with KU.

This is a real page turner for those who like an historical mystery!

[Sandy · Rating 1 out of 5]

On the plus side. it was short. After insisting her younger sister keep out of it, the older decides they need to investigate as an unsolved murder outside their house would ruin their reputation. There is no rhyme or reason to the "investigation" they did conduct, then it is resolved out of the blue with a murderer and motive introduced in the 4th quarter of the book.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
Loved the setting, and the characters - the mystery was just ok.

[J Shu · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story wasn't bad - an apparently drunken man falls dead in the street in front of the apartment of sisters Lily and Iris, with Iris viewing the mysterious death. Many in town are suspicious of each other, especially of a newcomer who had spent a lot of time in India. The sisters are determined to find the perpetrator in order to protect the reputation of their sewing shop located below their apartment. I was definitely not a fan of the personalities and relationship of the sisters. I will read the second book in the series with the hope that these two aspects improve. Note to author and editors - learn the correct usage of me as the object of a preposition.

[D. Starr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good Plot: The Series has Potential

3.5 Stars
No sex
No gory violence
No strong language
Characters are introduced who should become quite likable

Setting: 1800's England

Criticism: As I read, I came to the conclusion that the author had laid out the plot and much of the dialog, and then gone back to add description. I think most readers will agree that any descriptions of persons, places, or things (oh, those pesky nouns!), ought to flow naturally as opposed to calling attention to themselves. One example was when, if I remember correctly, a character's eyebrows were compared with his hair or mustache or whatever as being similar. This resulted in unintentional humor, which was surely not the author's intention.

Plot no spoilers:
Sisters Iris and Lily are well-respected seamstresses in a small town. The elder would definitely be considered a spinster, while the younger is approaching 30, so is well on her way to be grouped in the same category. Both, however, are quite good looking.
The difficulties start when one evening they witness the death of the town drunk out in the middle of their own street. It is soon revealed that it was murder. For some reason, they fear that this death, totally unrelated to them, is going to hurt their business, so become involved in trying to figure out how it was committed and by whom.

The murderer is clever, but our quite-intelligent ladies will, of course, prevail.

I will probably give book #2 a chance, since I can read it for free on Kindle Unlimited.

[Mererid Evanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate the author's efforts, in her different series, to express the speech patterns, mindset and social relations of other eras rather than simply having modern actors in period dress. Here it sometimes comes across as literary pastiche, but it is a worthy attempt. The period is early Victorian not the Regency mentioned by some reviewers (it was Queen Victoria whose white wedding dress in 1840 revolutionized wedding fashion), and its atmosphere is somewhat bourgeois. The mystery is a simple one, though not obvious, and there's a lot more gossip and speculation than actual evidence, but it amounts to an easy, persuasive read.

[penelopewanders]

Once again, this was a slow read only because I was reading it on my kindle - ie when out and about. The book itself is a pretty quick read. This is the first I've read by this author, and although there a number of things about it which I found appealing - or could have, there were unfortunately a number of things which simply did not work for me.
I liked the idea of two women running a business together, and the small town feel. It was hard to determine in what time period this was meant to be taking place, however.
The inner monologue in italics irritated me for some reason. This is partly perhaps due to the limp sock of a character that Iris seems to be. She dithers back and forth, she doesn't want to annoy her sister who seems to be a bit of a tyrant, she second guesses herself constantly...
Lily is not much better, going to and fro with great conviction - we should ignore it, we should investigate... At the same time she seems to have some enormous hidden agenda as concerns Iris' nightmares...
Another reviewer commented on the strange hours of daylight - this astounded me as well, as I had the impression the book was set in fall or winter, and then we're looking at trampled flower beds and walking home before dark at a very late hour??
I think my main problem was the fact that the two sisters are not very endearing characters. There doesn't seem to be much of a bond of love or friendship between them, mainly just the obligation the eldest felt when left to care for her younger sister. Iris seems to feel beholden to Lily, but not much more. Neither seem to be the stuff of heroines. That's fine, it's not necessary for all female characters to be superwomen, but I would prefer to find something - cleverness, wit, courage, as an example... something to make the characters such that learning more about them, spending time with them, so to speak, is a pleasure.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good, A picture of small town life in the 1800s but not sure whether in Victorian times, though I suppose it must be. In any case, in this small town things are very restrained, ladies are, in most cases, "helpless," even the labor classes where women's lot consisted of quite a bit heavier than the "ladies" of the town would consider consider acceptable.
But none of that particularly is relevant to the story, save that the sisters (the main protagonists in the story) feel a bit apprehensive about the propriety of their investigations.
Of course the murderer was hard recognize and it wasn't someone who had previously been the story. The cleverness of the sisters in using the public library in their research was amazing, and gave them the answers they needed. But unfortunately, not the murderer himself.
Loved the book, but wondered if the two youngish spinster sisters would be allowed to sneak around as they did; though it's pleasing to imagine their implied freedom. But I took away one star for potential time frame errors.
Still, if one enjoys cozy mysteries and/or very clean l books, this is the book - series! - may be just what you're looking for. I highly recommend it!

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Iris is looking out the window of their dress shop when she sees a man fall down in the street. It looked like he was attacked by a shadow. Iris isn't at all sure of what she saw so she keeps it to herself. After the young ladies are home, Iris decides to tell Lilly. She insists that the Constable be told. So early the next morning Iris goes to the police station to talk to him. It turns out the man was murdered. Iris is the only one that saw the shadow, but she cannot give a description. How will they find out who committed this murder?
Iris is helping the Constable with his investigation. She stumbles across something that has to do with Lilly. Now Iris has a mystery to solve too. What could this be about?
Lilly is not always nice to Iris. Why?
This is an enjoyable story and it holds your attention. You must keep reading so you can find out what happens next. A good start to a new series. Well written.
I voluntarily received a copy of this book and I'm voluntarily posting a review. My opinion is entirely my own.

[F M Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light reading

While recuperating from surgery, I chose this from my Kindle library, a light read to distract from boredom and pain, and not taxing to my intelligence. This did that; I believe this is called a "cosy mystery" for that very reason.
One irritation was the author's use of the recently coined grammatical error "with regards to" that has unfortunately spread in society. "With regards, (John)" is correctly used in closing a personal letter, not in a sentence as is in common use today. The correct use is "with regard to...", or more succinctly and preferable, "regarding...". I write this, hoping that it reaches a number of people to reverse the trend! :)
This is the first time that I have read a story with amateur female "sleuths" to use the term lightly, as I have always avoided them, and I have to admit to skipping paragraphs to pick out the thread of the story after a while.
What did intrigue me was the background story of Iris's mysterious fear from the past left as a cliffhanger, which is a clever tool to encourage further purchases of a book series.

[JANET SMITH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging Read

This is a new author to me, and I thoroughly enjoyed the first read. The book was well written, with some American spelling used which took a while to get used to, but didn't detract from the story. The cover was eye catching and to an extent it was this that drew me to the book. The sister's Lily and Iris were as different as chalk and cheese both in appearance and manner. Lily I feel we are being lead to believe holds a deep dark secret which in all probability involved Iris. The story itself was engaging and the plot well thought out, there was a smidgen of a possible romance between Iris and the Fire Chief, Nash Greenwood, but Lily may put a damper on that despite Iris being thirty years old.
I would thoroughly recommend this book, and I look forward to reading the others in the series, it appears as though murder and mayhem will now follow the two sisters.

[Brangela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tepid

What could I expect? Two spinster sisters are living in a tiny English village. They own a seamstress stop. They are complete opposites. The older on,Lily, is more straight laced, concerned with propriety and social mores. Iris, the younger sister is prettier and less introverted. Looking out the window of their seamstress shop/home, they unfortunately are witness to a murder. The entire little village is in an uproar, their is a killer amongst them. Suspicion falls on their new neighbor Captain Seymour, recently back from India. Even they are deemed suspicious since they supposedly saw it all. Add in the requisite town gossip, handsome new fire chief and the story predictably unfolds. The mystery was somewhat bland and derivative for my taste but I'll give the next book a try in hopes it is more compelling.

[Carol Bisig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good Cozy Mystery.

Lily and Iris are sisters, they own a dress making business, neither are married, and both would be considered spinsters in the Victorian Era. One night after closing the shop they are upstairs about to eat, when a movement outside catches Iris's eye, a neighbor walking past as though drunk when out of the dark another figure looms up out of the darkness and then the neighbor falls to the ground, dead. Murder has been committed and the whole town is in an uproar for the Constable to find the villain, but of course it's Miss Iris and Miss Lily who discover the poison, and catch the killer. I gave it a 3.5, it is a novella, so it's too short and it's unfair, because we don't meet the killer until the end. If you need something fast to read while waiting somewhere then this is perfect. Soccer practice or Dentist Office.
Thank you.
carolintallahassee

[Charlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Iris and Lily Dickinson are sisters, ten years apart, devoted to each other and living together in Yorkshire, England. They also have a successful stitchery business together. Iris hears a local man singing a loud sea shanty and looks out her second floor window in time to see him accosted and fall to the street. From here on, the sisters bounce back and forth trying to decide whether to try to solve the murder or stay away to avoid attention. I had a difficult time at first getting into the story, and found the language stilted and fussy. Conversations between the sisters were somewhat irritating, argumentative for no good reason. As the plot progressed and other characters were included, I decided to stick with it. The climax and resolution were ultimately satisfying and I'll give Book 2 a try.

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Dickinson sisters own and run a dress shop. When one witnesses a murder. The whole village is suspicious of the newcomer who lives across the street. Lily, the older, sterner sister is worried being in close proximity to the suspect may ruin her business and reputation. Iris doesn’t want to see an innocent man convicted by the local gossip. The two sisters who are polar opposites decide to look into things from a discreet distance.
I enjoyed learning about these sisters. At time the book drags but overall it was a satisfying book. The murderer was cleverly disguised. The plot unusual and plenty of suspects, a whole village full.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Shanita Broussard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice start to a mystery series. The author was able to introduce Lily and Iris in great detail. We became familiar with their personalities and temperaments. We also became familiar with quite a few of the townspeople. The mystery seemed to take a backseat to the bickering and gossiping of the townsfolk. The story moved along slowly until the end, when all of a sudden BAM! Mystery solved! I enjoyed the fact that the two sisters did solve the case, but the story was just too vague and the victim was too much of a non factor. It was worth reading, but probably won’t be reading any more in this series.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Disney14604 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really strong start to a new mystery series. Will draw you in!!! Did not want to put down for sleep!!

The strong feeling of intensity -- for lack of a better word -- of this book pulls you from the beginning. I was amazed, have not had that strong sense in a cozy mystery in a bit. Not a "cute or humorous" cozy mystery.

Two sisters own a dress shop. One sees someone die? What did she really see? The story I troduces to the characters and possible suspects. Clues all there, but can you figure it out? Might take till end for reveal?

Easy to read, hard to put down new mystery. Since first definitely a standalone.

This is my honest and freely given review. I did receive an ARC book.

[Erika P. Lapham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read

The story was good, until the end when the murderer was revealed and the motive involved two characters that we had never met. The two main characters were rather hard to like; spinster seamstress sisters who turn into detectives. The elder sister, despite only being in her late thirties behaves like a grumpy and judgemental old woman. And her younger sister, about to turn thirty acts like an extremely childish twelve year old. Perhaps in future books the reasons for their behavior will be explained. But for now I just found them annoying. The period setting and the murder weapon were clever but I felt the book as a whole could have been better.

[monacia williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unspoken thoughts

Although I liked the story in A Thread of Madness, I think I would have enjoyed the untold story even more. What is the source of Iris's recurring nightmares? There were many references to these but unfortunately, no conclusion. Iris's character was very likeable but Lily's not so much. Lily seem to waver between being cooperative and being bossy with Iris. The motive for becoming involved in solving the murder could have been left to natural curiosity rather than thinking it could lead to disruptions of their business
The end of the story is quite surprising and the events occur fairly rapidly. Not a bad read but too many unanswered questions.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good regency mystery.
If you are interested in a regency mystery then may I suggest Ms. Baker’s book. In this one, two sisters own a dress shop but events occur that cause them some distress. Let’s face it murder is never a good thing. There also appears to be more than one mystery in this tale. This is not a really long book and I really enjoyed it. I have not read a regency mystery in some time so it was a welcome change for me. I liked the author's style of writing plus she wrote some great characters. I did receive a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.

[Bryce BENSEMA · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not up to her usual standards

The premise sounds intriguing but the execution of the plot is SO FAR below Baker's standard that it's hard to believe she wrote this. Most of the book was boring dialogue between sisters about whether to get involved instead of revealing their back story, adding more suspects, building suspense during the dinner party. It's such a disappointment, I knew more and cared more about Helen Lightholder after a few paragraphs than I do about these sisters after finishing this book.

[Catherine Stratman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dark shadow and a murder.

I enjoy Ms Baker's books and this new series is another winner. The book is about two spinster seamstress sisters. Iris witnesses a shadow attack the town drunk out in the dark street. It is quickly revealed to be murder. The sisters don't want to get involved until the main suspect turns out to be someone close to them. Can they get their friend off and find the real culprit without damaging their own reputations? Quick enjoyable read and ready for the next in the series!

I received an ARC. This is my honest review.

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Found this book to be a rather baffling study of women seeking independence at a time when this was not the norm. Some times the sisters seem to have an almost telepathic knowledge of each other's thoughts; at other times, their relationship is almost like mother and child. There is little background on how this sisters came to live and work together and their relationships with others seem superficial. The mystery was vague and the suspicions of the sisters (as well as the rest of the town) had little basis.
I have another book in this series but I don't know if I will read it.

[Anne Dwyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Iris and Lily Dickinson are seamsstresses, and Iris sees a shadow run past, and then a man dop dead through the indow. Poison was the weapn, and through gossip, Captain Seymour quickly be4comes a suspect. The sisters decide to find out whether or not he is guilty - but what sexcret is Lily hiding? How does it affect Iris? Who is the real killer? Loved it.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Elsbeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dangerous thread to follow
Two interesting main characters. Single sisters living in the 1800's, with their own business, not very common in those days...
They are respected in their small Yorkshire village.
But then someone is murdered in front of their house. And the gossiping starts.
And there is also the mystery of Iris's nightmares...
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Janet Wild · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful murder mystery

Throughly enjoyable read, the story brings to life small town characteristics, gossip and abound following a death. If course the newly returned solider must be to blame. The sister decide to investigate, and end up in danger. Last memories are coming to the surface will past events be revealed soon. Look forward to reading another book by this author