Lou Allin

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Dire Threads (Threadville Mystery, #1)

by Janet Bolin (Goodreads Author)

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read in June 2011

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Lou Allin said: " Hanging by a Thread
Imagine a charming village with businesses catering to those who love sewing, weaving, fabrics and similar domestic arts. Where daily busloads of tourists arrive to wander happily through the magic aisles full of tempting material Hanging by a Thread
Imagine a charming village with businesses catering to those who love sewing, weaving, fabrics and similar domestic arts. Where daily busloads of tourists arrive to wander happily through the magic aisles full of tempting materials and notions? A sanctuary for crafters where the outside world with all its problems is as far away as the Moon.
Welcome to Threadville. Shopkeeper Willow Vanderling has opened her embroidery store, In Stitches, alongside The Stash, Tell us a Yarn, Buttons and Bows, and Batty About Quilts. Problem is, the annoying zoning commissioner Mike Krawbach is determined to withhold a building permit to repair her quaint outbuilding, Blueberry Cottage, calling it a “shed on a flood plain.” Willow knows that it’s a Victorian gingerbread gem which needs merely a loving facelift. Mean-spirited Mike and his roughneck pals also plan to turn the scenic, tree-lined paths of the riverside town on the Pennsylvania end of Lake Erie into freeways for ATV operators, a down side to rural living. When the stakes involve peace and quiet, the balance can tip from good to evil faster than a rumour can sneak down Lake Street. Trouble is coming to Paradise.
Then Mike turns up dead on Willow’s property. She becomes an instant suspect because of her animosity and because her canoe paddle was found nearby the body. The blood on her clothes came from her dogs nosing around the crime scene, she protests. Small details return to her memory. What about the dark truck spied leaving the area at night? Seems that everyone has one of those. Bumbling Uncle Allen, the town constabulary, brandishes his handcuffs, ready to convict Willow on the spot. Calling in the State Police is the next step. Someone needs to take an objective view of the crime.
Willow decides that along with her crafting pals and their matchless feminine intuition, she’ll solve the murder and restore calm to the treasured enclave. Midnight forays and town suppers make a great excuse to snoop or ask questions. And what about that missing padlock? Everywhere she looks, she turns up another person who had resented the victim. With his history of bullying, it might even be someone from his distant past. Slights are never forgotten in Threadville. Even though the village seems filled with harmless eccentrics like a bee keeper, a gaggle of gossipy women, and the jolly songster, Dr. Wrinklesides, that doesn’t mean that the murderer was a visiting tramp, the age-old scapegoat.
Romance is also in the air. Overseen by three doting “mothers,” every available man becomes a marriage possibility for Willow and her youngest neighbour Haylee. A handsome local handyman seems a likely match. Even better, he loves her sweet dogs, Sally-Forth and Tally-Ho. But perhaps he had the same motives as everyone else. No one can rest until the murderer is caught.
This first entry into a promising series will delight crafters with its arcana and knowledgeable information and suggestions. There’s even an embroidery pattern for a cell-phone case at the end of the book. Others in search of a gentle and well-crafted mystery will be equally pleased to try to solve the puzzle.
So come on in and don’t be a stranger. Pull up a chair beside the woodstove and pour yourself a cup of hot spicy cider. Everyone’s welcome at Willow’s. ...more "

Jun 19, 2011 09:10AM · see review