Dire Threads (Threadville Mystery Series #1)

Legs to stand a long time!

What a debut! Bolin is destined for the bestsellers list and her series has the legs to stand for quite a long time to come. The writing is clever, the development builds as the book moves with skillful precision and the cast is unforgettable! I am still not completely convinced this is the kick off to the series, but it is. Dire Threads is sprinkled with an alluring cast of characters, small-town appeal and effortless humor. Willow is a refreshing lead who is not stiff, redundant or over the top like so many watered down characters in the mystery genre of late - especially those inundating the cozy field. Let's be honest, just because you "write" a mystery and slap on the cozy label, it doesn't make you a story teller. Nope. Not. At. All. Authors take notice, writers take notes and readers grab this noteworthy debut. Dire Threads is an entertaining, suspenseful, fast paced tale peppered with witty characters and a suspense plot with substance! Dire Threads not only captivated me with the taunt mystery, but held my attention on all things crafty (I am the least "crafty" person on the planet), educated me on the intricate art of embroidery and filled me with sadness when I finished it.

11 out of 11 people found this review helpful.

LOVED IT!!!!

Threadville is a wonderful village in Pennsylvania. A town restored by a bunch of crafty shoppes. Willow Vanderling has come to Threadville to open her dream store In Stitches, a delightful embroidery store catering to both hand and machine embroidery. Bus tours bring customers right to her door every day. The property is perfect, a store at street level, an apartment below and a cute little cottage at the rear of the property.

Willow would love to renovate the little Blueberry Cottage, "a Victorian confection with curlicues and gingerbread trim". But the village's zoning commissioner, Mike Krawbach, denies her permit to redo and upgrade the little cottage. Then he shows up in her store, which is full of customers, to try to get them to sign a petition to tear down the cottage to make room for a ATV trail. These are tourists from out of town and he is tricking them into signing this petition. Willow is livid and has a war of words with the corrupt commissioner with a wide variety of witnesses.

So when the commish ends up dead in Willow's backyard she is the one every one thinks killed the man. Of course she didn't, but she is new in town, people don't know her well, so it is up to her with a little help from her craft shoppe friends to untangle the clues and get a hoop around the person who really killed Mike Krawbach. They have to do it fast because Willow knows she not going to be able to embroider anything from jail.

I LOVED IT!!!

It is so rare that I LOVE a first book in a series because it takes time to develop everyone's stories, how they fit together, how they relate to the setting and the direction the series is heading. As I said above it boggles my mind to think this is Janet Bolin's first published novel or even the first book in this series.

The characters are well defined but have plenty of room for growth. The setting is picture perfect and thanks to cover illustrator Robin Moline it is so easy to see it and relate to it and want to travel there as soon as possible. There is suspense, humor, a quirky character or two, a few diversions, some lovable pets, and maybe a romance on the horizon. Bolin has crafted a charming debut to a series I know will keep us In Stitches!!


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Berkley Prime Crime, a division of Penguin Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

11 out of 11 people found this review helpful.

This is a charming cozy

Elderberry Bay, known as Threadville, is a small Pennsylvania town renowned for its textile arts boutiques. Kaylee found the place and her three moms followed with Batty About Quilts, Tell A Yarn, and Buttons and Bows. Willow Vanderling thought the locale was perfect for her new embroidery store In Stitches.

Although the townsfolk appreciate the revenue generated by the themed stores and considers the owners as part of the community, Zoning Commissioner Mike Krawbach detests the shops; at least apparently Willow's. He rejects Willow's request to renovate the Blueberry Cottage behind her store. She hoped to use the cottage as a means to earn extra money while he wants to replace it with an ATV track and public restrooms. When someone deliberately opens her gate and lets her dogs out, Willow concludes Mike did it as part of his harassment campaign to make her leave. She angrily shouts "I'll kill him". Soon afterward, Mike is found dead on her property. Already the sheriff's prime suspect, evidence keeps popping up to further hang Willow. Concerned, Willow accompanied by Kaylee and the three other storeowners, begins an investigation that soon finds a myriad of people rejoicing that Mike is dead.

This is a charming cozy starring a likable lead protagonists supported by her storekeeping "sisters" and a vile villain who uses blackmail to get others to perform illegal acts for him. Kaylee and Willow are friends who have each other's back while the three Moms allow her inside their close knit circle. Although the theme of an amateur sleuth investigating a crime in which she is the prime suspect is not new, sub-genre fans will enjoy this entertaining Threadville mystery.

Harriet Klausner

10 out of 11 people found this review helpful.

Welcome to Threadville!

Newcomer Janet Bolin embroiders a lovely tale for Willow Vanderling, her pooches, and her shop, In Stitches, in charming Elderberry Bay, PA. Dire Threads will have you saying Tally-Ho and Sally-Forth as you venture back to Threadville again and again.

10 out of 11 people found this review helpful.

wonderful series, I am hooked on it

This is a fabulous concept for a series and I was immediately hooked. Love the characters and the plot has some terrific surprises that kept me turning the pages. Janet Bolin is a wonderfully talented author who has created engaging characters, a delightful setting and a complex, interesting storyline. I hope everyone pays a visit to Threadville--I did, and I really enjoyed it. I look forward to more books in this series.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

A Must Read! You'll want to move there and hang with the girls

I was excited to read this book just based on some of the reviews I had read along with reading the back of the book. I was not let down. It was fun, well written and had some laugh out loud moments. I can't wait for the next in the series. Perfect curl up on the couch book.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Let's go visit!

Tired of the corporate world in the city, Willow Vanderling leaves her job and heads to Threadville in Elderberry Bay, PA where she opens her own little embroidery store called In Stitches. Her best friend Haylee also has a store in Threadville so they are both determined to make their businesses work but Willow has problems with the town bully and things just get worse when he is found dead in her backyard.

Willow and Haylee work together to find out who they can trust and who is behind the murder. The characters are entertaining and full bodied and the background of the stitching community is heartwarming and endearing. Threadville is a place I definitely want to visit again - too bad it can only be done in a book!

Would Not Recommened

I did not enjoy this read. It was boring, the dialog was unbelievable and I didn't care about the characters or 'who dunnit'.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Horrible

This book was horrible, it took everything I had just to finish it.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Not recommended

Nothing new in this series...it follows what seems to be the requisite format for the genre: main character has to leave high power job in the big city for some reason and goes to small town and opens a craft business and becomes # 1 suspect in a murder. The "cast" are more caricatures than plausible characters, so much so, it was difficult to finish the book. If this series follows true to the format, the next murder will have the best friend as the #1 suspect.

0 out of 15 people found this review helpful.

Disappointed

Was very disappointed especially after reading the rave reviews - almost like the other folks read a different book than I did!

0 out of 11 people found this review helpful.

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