STORY LINE DANGLING BY A THREAD:
The Maine Needlepointer’s are back on the case again in Lea Wait’s new novel, Dangling By A Thread. Set in the beautiful and quaint small town of Haven Harbor, Maine, the wealthy are migrating to Haven Harbor and Kings Island. Only time will tell if this is good or bad for small town life.
Angie spy’s a strange loner on her walk through town; curiosity and her detective instincts win as she does her best to ferret out his identify. Angie discovers Jesse, The Solitary, as he known around town, lives on uninhabitable Kings Island. As a product of war, Jesse has PTSD, and the island helps Jesse cope. In turn, Jesse does all he can to protect the nearly endangered Maine Great Cormorants. Kings Island is one of the last habitats for the Cormorants. Haven Harbor left in part ownership between Jesse and his brother, Simon, becomes a hot bed of controversy.
Things in Haven Harbor heat up as Jesse, finds his brother wants to sell the Island to wealthy Gerry Bentley. Needless to say, Gerry, Uncle to Patrick West and wealthy beyond imagination, can buy Kings Island twice over. Patrick West and his famous wealthy actress mother Sky West’s story appeared in Threads of Evidence. All books in this series are standalone. However, knowing the back story gives the reader a more in-depth understanding of the characters.
When the needlepointers get behind Jesse to save the Great Cormorants, tragedy follows. Regardless of the damage to the Cormorant population and Jesse’s mental health, Simon forges forward. Someone in Haven Harbor committed murder to achieve their goal. Everyone thinks the murder of Jesse on Kings Island, will stop the controversy. Grab your hat and hang on, things are heating up in Haven Harbor. Murder, mayhem, tragedy, and of course, community spirit surround Haven Harbor.
Where Angie goes, murder seems to follow. Come along with Angie and the Maine needlepointers as they solve another crime in quaint Haven Harbor.
CHARACTERS, PLOTTING, AND DEVELOPMENT:
To begin this review let me say, Haven Harbor, typical small town USA, has all the nosiness and caring of any quaint small town. Everybody knows everyone and their business. Invariably. secrets are not secrets very long in a small town. Secondly, I loved the needlepoint verses and history of the verses which appear before each chapter. Also, the cookie recipe found in the back of the book will be my next recipe to bake.
Author Lea Wait crafted several characters worthy of the term villain in Dangling By A Thread. Development of these characters emphasized the length humans will go to achieve their ends. Ms. Wait had many thread to bring together to create a solid story which she did skillfully. The pace of story never slowed as Ms. Wait penned a nonstop mystery. I found author Lea Wait kept the suspense and intrigue at high peak throughout the story-line and did not reveal the culprit until the end of the book. Surprised by the identify of the killer, my mouth hung open.
In concluding this review, I found Dangling By A Thread, a solid well-written cozy mystery which will entertain for hours. Furthermore, the writing was clean, clear, and easy to read and the story-line intriguing. I enjoy books which have continuing characters from book to book. As you read the books, you find yourself knowing the characters and their personalities. Ms. Wait crafts characters which seem real and small towns which could be any small town in America.
RECOMMENDATION DANGLING BY A THREAD:
STARS 4
I found Dangling By A Thread an enjoyable well-written book. Ms. Wait’s writing was clean, clear, and easy to read. I would not hesitate to buy this book for myself or a friend.
Finally, I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest book review. Books reviews of any novel are dependent on the book review author’s opinion. Consequently, book reviews on line under my name are my opinion.
DANGLING BY A THREAD, ABOUT THE AUTHOR/LINKS:
Link To My Review; Threads of Evidence