Reviewed by Jeanne
It’s the first Christmas in years that Angie Curtis has
spent in Maine, having returned from Arizona. She’s missed snow, decorating,
baking cookies, and spending time with those she loves—including Patrick West,
the man she’s been seeing recently—and she is looking forward to doing all
those things she loved as a child. Unfortunately, her plans for a quiet Christmas
get upended when Patrick’s movie star mother Skye calls to say she’s coming to
stay Aurora, her estate, and is bringing guests from the set of her current film. She wants “a real Maine Christmas,” complete
with decorations, traditional food, a sleigh ride, needlepointed gifts for her
guests, the works. With little time to
prepare, Angie and most of her friends are drafted into helping with
preparations. Angie isn’t sure what
Hollywood types will make of tiny Haven Harbor, but at least one visitor
doesn’t have much time to form an opinion: one of the celebrities ends up dead
within hours of arriving.
This is the sixth in the Mainely
Needlepoint Mystery series, and I’ve enjoyed every one of them. Angie is an interesting character. Raised by her grandmother after her mother’s
disappearance, Angie has had to make her own way in the world. Most recently she had worked as an assistant
to a private detective, which means she knows a bit about detecting and has her
own Glock, but she’s not one of those interfering characters who decides she
can solve the crime better than the police.
Her involvement is often involuntary, but she doesn’t back down when
there’s a problem. There’s an interesting
assortment of supporting characters, including Gran, now a newlywed, who is a
strong and steadying presence. Sarah, an
Australian who runs an antique and gift shop, always has a pertinent quotation
from Emily Dickinson, while high school teacher Dave has his own poison garden. Patrick seems to be a kind and thoughtful
young man. None of them are stereotypes, and relationships aren’t taken for
granted.
All this is set against the Maine landscape, which Wait
clearly loves. There are vivid descriptions
of the area, along with detours into history and economics; in other hands this
could be boring, but I find it fascinating. In this particular entry, I could
almost smell the pine boughs and hear the crunch of boots in the snow. The
seasonal setting make it a good choice for anyone wanting to get into a holiday
frame of mind. I just wish I could have
tasted some of Bev’s pork pie (recipe is included.) I’ve read other books set in Maine, but this
is the first one that actually made me want to go visit someday.
Followers of Kevin Tipple’s blogspot will know that I
consider this series to be a good one for the treadmill. Since I am not fond of exercise in general
and the treadmill in particular, I have to have a book that will hold my
attention and keep me entertained until I reach the magic number of steps. In fact, I have occasionally exceeded that
number to read “just one more chapter.”
Solutions to the crimes tend to come right at the end, and
to come swiftly. That’s not a criticism,
just an observation.
Those who favor fast paced thrillers or intricately clued
mysteries may not find this to be their cup of tea, but readers who appreciate
setting and strong characterization should enjoy this series. I certainly do.
The series doesn’t need to be read in order, but I generally prefer to do it that way just because I like to see how characters develop. These are the previous books in the series:
1. Twisted Threads
2. Threads of Evidence
3. Thread and Gone
4. Dangling by a Thread
5. Tightening the Threads
2. Threads of Evidence
3. Thread and Gone
4. Dangling by a Thread
5. Tightening the Threads
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