RO G'ma's Reviews > Thread Herrings

Thread Herrings is the seventh installment in Lea Wait’s Mainely Needlepoint Mystery series and is an engaging, well-plotted mystery with well-developed characters. The writing style flows smoothly at a steady pace, and the book is an easy read. The author is very talented in descriptive writing, and much of the time I was reading, I felt like I was there, watching the activities taking place. There are enough suspects, twists, and turns, to make it difficult to figure out who the killer is. The story quickly drew me in, and the reveal and ending were surprising. Ms. Wait has provided sufficient character background that allows this book to be read as a standalone.

Angie Curtis, who manages Mainely Needlepoint in Haven Harbor, Maine, attends her first auction with her friend, Sarah Byrne, who owns From Here and There. Angie isn’t sure why, but she’s drawn to a badly damaged piece of needlework and feels compelled to bid on it. When she takes the embroidered coat of arms home, she removes it from its frame and discovers a receipt dated October 1757 for a child named Charles who was left at a foundling hospital, and a beautifully embroidered ribbon. Angie learns the foundling hospital was located in London, the ribbon was a called billet, and that anyone relinquishing a child would receive half the billet and would need it to reclaim the child. Clem Walker, Angie’s friend and TV reporter with the local station, interviews her and asks for anyone with information about the needlepoint to contact the station. Within minutes of the airing, the station receives a death threat for Clem, Angie, and anyone who tries to find information about the embroidery or receipt and Angie receives a threatening message through her website. Angie and Clem arrange to meet for lunch the next day to discuss the fact that both received threats. When Clem doesn’t show up for lunch, Angie goes to Sarah’s shop but before she even enters the shop, receives a call from Haven Harbor PD’s Sergeant Pete Lambert, who tells her Clem was found dead in her car and instructing her to stay put with Sarah. Pete and Ethan Trask, her high school crush and a Maine state trooper in the homicide department, insist she doesn’t return to her home. She agrees to spend the night with Sarah, arranges to stay with her boyfriend, Patrick West, for the next few days. The next day, Gram’s new husband, Reverend Tom, is injured when her car explodes. Even though she’s forced into hiding, Angie is determined to learn the history behind the coat of arms and help Pete and Ethan solve the crimes.

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.