It
has been quite some time, but Jeanne of the BPL is back today with another post
in her Treadmill Books series….
Lea
Wait: An Appreciation
Sometimes I get in a reading rut. There are books I trudge through, grimly
determined not to give up, but I find myself looking for excuses not to read. This is a horrifying state
of affairs. In order to get my reading
mojo back, I horde books that are guaranteed to get me happily reading.
One sure-fire jump starter is Lea Wait’s Mainely Needlepoint series. I picked up Twisted Threads, the first in the series, almost by accident because the large print
version featured a fine looking Maine Coon cat on the cover and it is one of
Mma Ratmoswe’s well known facts that I
am a sucker for a book with a cat on the cover.
(Sadly, this is how I get into some of my reading ruts: the writing
inside the book doesn’t live up to the cover.
While I actually do not require a cat to be part of the action, I do
require interesting characters, some sort of a mystery, and decently good
writing, preferably all three.)
I was quickly introduced to Angie Curtis, a young
woman from Maine who was working as an assistant to a private investigator in
Arizona. Like many young people, she had
fled the town where she grew up as quickly as she could and rarely looked
back. Angie’s mother had left her when
she was a child, and while Angie was brought up by a loving grandmother, she
still had to face the schoolyard taunts about her mother’s virtue—or lack
thereof—and Angie’s unknown father.
A call from her grandmother, Charlotte, brings the
one bit of news could cause Angie to come back to her former home: her mother has been found. More precisely,
her mother’s body has been found.
So began my introduction to a set of intriguing
characters and an even more intriguing locale.
Angie is a strong and capable woman who has the courage to face the
demons from her past. As the series
continues, Angie acquires a number of friends who form the supporting cast,
each an individual not a cardboard character.
There’s Sarah Byrne, the Australian born antiques dealer who has an
Emily Dickinson quotation for every occasion; Rev. Tom, a good-hearted minister
who has befriended Charlotte; Patrick, the artist son of a famous actress; and
a whole crew of ordinary folks who supplement their incomes by doing needlework
to order: fishermen, a teacher (who has his own poison garden) and even a
senior citizen who writes erotica under an assumed name.
The town of Harbor Haven is almost a character in
itself; Wait does a beautiful job of showing the reader around, as Angie
rediscovers and remembers the place she grew up. It’s more than just a picture postcard view,
though, as we learn about the economic rhythms of a working seaside town. Most cozy mysteries are content to give
readers generic shopkeeping, not lobstering.
For the first time in my life, I think I might like
to visit Maine.
As an added attraction, every book features real
quotations from antique samplers and information on the history of needlework,
all presented in a very palatable manner for someone whose needle skills are fairly
non-existent.
The mysteries are well done but even if a solution
rings a bit false, I don’t care. I’m too
engaged in the lives of Angie, Charlotte, Sarah, et al to care. Sadly, I have read the latest published one, Thread
Herrings, in a desperate attempt to get steps on the treadmill since the
cold and dark has driven me indoors, so I will have to wait until April for the
next one to appear. Of course, I can
always start her first series, Antique
Print Mysteries….
And while I prefer to read series in order, I think
a reader could pick up any title and enjoy it.
This is also a good place to mention that I particularly admire Wait’s
ability to obliquely refer back to previous important events (such as, oh, the
last murder) in such a way that the book isn’t spoiled for those who haven’t
read it and yet shows the ripple effect that the event had on the community.
Thank you, Lea Wait, for creating such a lovely
place to visit. Also, for helping me to get the last 4-6,000 steps per day on
that blasted treadmill.
Mainely
Needlepoint Mystery Series
Twisted
Threads
Threads
of Evidence
Thread
and Gone
Dangling
by a Thread
Tightening
the Threads
Thread
the Halls
Thread
Herrings
Thread
on Arrival (April 2019)
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