I have really enjoyed catching up with my overlooked copies of this series this summer. I love the characterization in the books and the quotes, mostly from needlepoint completed many years ago, that begin every chapter.

The plot is also well done. I don't know anyone who would read more than one book in a series if they disliked the story, so right there, you can tell a lot about how someone feels about a book. A good bit of this story revolves around someone who moved to the area because she discovered living relatives reside there. There are so many cases of people finding others through DNA and research that it has become a fascinating subject and I loved seeing it incorporated into this story.

By the end everything is wrapped up.

So five books in and while I enjoy this series it's not really anything that stands out to me, there our loads of cozies that fall into this theme and regrettably none of them are really that spectacular . The characters do show growth and the setting of the story if beautifully written. We do have a cozy book club that enjoys this series so we keep in it on our shelves.

Angie Curtis' friend Sarah Byrne has been acting like she has a secret for the last month or so and Angie's been trying not to pry. But finally Sarah spills the beans - Sarah left her native Australia to move to Haven Harbor, Maine to try and connect with family she never knew. And that family happens to be her newly discovered uncle - Ted Lawrence, who just happens to be the son of famed artist Robert Lawrence. He's so excited by this new connection that he decides to host a family weekend where he invites his three children and proceeds to drop a series of bombshells - Sarah's identity being the least of them. When the weekend comes to a tragic end with Ted being poisoned and a second death following close on his heels the police (and Angie) start digging into the Lawrence family secrets. This wasn't my favorite of this series. While the Mainely Needlepointers do feature in this book they don't have nearly the page time they do in previous books and I missed them! As well, there's a lot of setup in this one. We meet Ted's children and learn the dynamics on the Lawrence family (and wow are they dysfunctional!) and the first death doesn't really occur until close to halfway through the book. This mystery is a good one and the series is a strong one but this just didn't click quite as much with me. One thing that Wait does in this series that I always enjoy is start each chapter with a quote from a sampler and gives a little bit of history on the sampler and the woman who created it.

Who starts reading a mystery series with the 5th book? I just did and was not disappointed in the least. I got a clear understanding of who, what and where with the exception of Patrick's burns on his hands - I guess I'll have to go back and start with book one to find out. However, this doesn't seem like a burdensome task since I enjoyed living in Maine seaside for the past two days. Yes, I did read it that fast, difficult to set down without wondering what was going to happen next.

I do love lobster and last night I almost had to go to the freezer and dig a tail out. Fatigue won out and I'll thaw it today. I felt like I was living in this little village and was able to tag along for the Clam Bake. Unfortunately, they didn't set a place for me. I would also have been quite upset to find that one of the main characters, the aging Dad who had called his children home for his 75th birthday party, was poisoned at the bake before his will was changed.

The story evolved around the will. His three known children were biting at the bit to get their share and could care less about any newly found niece. They would have been more upset to find there was another sibling. I didn't guess who-done-it until it was revealed. Quite a surprise.

Oh, and most delightful, I can't leave out the chapter headings featuring verse from samplers made by young girls during the late 1700's and early to mid 1800's. Embroidery is a lost art but one I still enjoy practicing.

Another great read about the Maine Needlepointers. Angie Curtis is a former PI assistant and has returned to her home town. Her best friend, Sarah, has always wanted a family and she finds Ted Lawrence to be her uncle. He is a wealthy artist owns a gallery of valuable paintings.

Ted calls his family together to announce he is changing his will and that Sarah is family. The family has one last lobster bake but Ted is poisoned and dies during the meal and before he can rewrite his will. Now Angie is trying to figure out “who done it”. She works with the local police to solve the crime.

There are unexpected twists and turns which make this book one great read.

Usually I pick this type of read based on what the heroine does for a living, however this time round I liked the sound of Ellie having to deal with a teenager rather than her lifestyle choices. Initially Ellie doesn't have much do with the tearaway as it's her boyfriend's sister, but, perhaps because Ellie is female and not related to Katy, Katy takes to Ellie. She opens up a little amongst all the teen angst, ends up being helpful to Ellie who in turn provides good advice for Katy regarding the reason she was sent to her brother by her mum in Spain.

It's realistic because families have lots of similar situations these days, and all the teens often need is someone like Ellie to help guide them back to a sensible path. Ellie clashes with her boyfriend over situations Katy gets in, which wasn't a surprise and had me feeling sorry for Ellie as she just wanted to help Katy, even though the help sometimes annoyed her boyfriend. They eventually work things out, and he sees that at times he is too protective.

The community atmosphere surrounding Ellie's pub was there when it mattered-yes some missed the previous owner which upset Ellie but that led to an empowering moment for Ellie who isn't afraid to stand her ground. There's a point where Ellie puts her pub's reputation in jeopardy but this is a Happy Ever After read so I was very satisfied with the end. I felt terrible for Ellie when she thinks she's mucked everything up, as she worked hard to be where she was and I wanted her to succeed. She does, on a level I didn't imagine. Definitely a feel good book for my reread shelf!

Tightening the Threads is the fifth book in the Mainely Needlepoint mystery series by Lea Wait. I have read one of the previous books in this series. While I think those that have been following along from the beginning will get more out of the story that newcomers, I think this is a very accessible series and new readers can pick up the relationships and personalities pretty quickly.

Antique dealer Sarah Byrne has never told the entire truth about her past to anyone--not even friend and fellow Mainely Needlepointer Angie Curtis. But the enigmatic Aussie finally has the one thing she's searched for all her life, family. And now she and Ted Lawrence, a wealthy old artist and gallery owner in town, are ready to reveal their secret connection. Ted's adult children are suspicious of their newfound cousin Sarah-especially after Ted, in declining health, announces plans to leave her his museum-worthy heirloom paintings. So when Ted is poisoned during a lobster bake, fingers are pointed. If Angie can't track down the real murderer in time, Sarah's bound to learn how delicate--and deadly--family dynamics can truly be.

Tightening the Threads is a great continuation of the series, and a good read even if you have not read any of the other books in the series. I like that Angie is not looking for trouble, it just kind of falls in her path. I think that the dynamics between Sarah, Ted, Angie, and the rest are even more interesting than the mystery in some ways. Ted's children and their family history offers more conflict and suspense beyond the murder. However, the mystery offered a few twists and turns that I really was not expecting. It is nice to be surprised, and I have read enough mysteries that it does not happen as often as it used to. I thoroughly enjoyed the read, but still find myself pondering some of the smaller mysteries from the story, and hope that some open questions are subtly covered in later books.

Tightening the Threads is a solid mystery, with more twists than I could have expected. I enjoyed the character dynamics and the interplay just as much as the mystery. I am looking forward to what mysteries fall into Angie's lap next.

Angie Curtis has moved back to Haven Harbor,
Maine where she runs the Mainly Needlepoint
business that her Gram had run.
There is a group of stitchers that create the
piece sold. The fall is a busy season for the
businesses in Haven Harbor due to the leaf
peeper time when visitors visited the coast of
Maine to view leaves changing colors plus shop.
Mainly Needlepoint sold lots of Christmas sachets,
And other stitched items in the fall.
One of Angie’s new friends, Sarah Byrne who
came from Australia is a stitcher. Sarah runs
the antique shop during work hours. She is
searching for family which led her to Haven
Harbor.
Ted Lawrence, an artist and son of the famous,
Robert Lawrence runs the local art gallery in
Haven Harbor. Ted is having a family get-together.
His offspring have been estranged from each
other for years. In addition to them, Sarah, the
men who work in his gallery and Angie are to be
there. During the clam bake, Ted dies. Were the
clams he ate bad with the Red Tide disease??
If the clams were bad, why did no one else become
ill???
Then Ted’s daughter’s husband goes swimming at
night and drowns. What caused him to drown??
Angie is hire to investigate. Will working with the
authorities help discover what happened??
Well defined, well developed, colorful characters
involved in a complex plot with many twists and
Turns.
Each chapter starts with a verse and a description
of a sampler from the 1800 era plus a brief
history of the stitcher or a quote from a stitchery
publication. One chapter had that Mrs Theodore
Roosevelt. Jr recorded family stories and adventures
In crewel stitching or needlepoint.
Another interesting historical fact told is regarding
the years long British program to decrease the foster
care population in England and increase immigration
to Australia.
This is book # 5 in the Mainely Needlepoint series.
It can be read as a stand alone.
I volunteered to read this eBook. Thanks to Kensington
Books via NetGallery for the opportunity. My opinion
is my own.

This is the fifth installment of the Mainely Needlepoint series. This was Sarah's story and there was not much needlepointing in it. I was fine with that as it was nice to find out more about one of the main characters in this series that i very much enjoy. Sarah is a member of the Mainely Needlepointers and a good friend of Angie's. She moved to Haven Harbor from Australia, but never really shared her reasons for this. In the last book in the series Sarah became close to wealthy gallery owner Ted Lawrence, and in this book she shares with Angie that Ted is her uncle. She tells her about her history and that her father was acclaimed artist Robert Lawrence, Ted's father. Ted wants to have a 75th birthday party with his three children who he bareley talks to or sees, Sarah, Jeremy (his assistant), Patrick and Angie. He plans to reveal who Sarah is and his plans to change his will. Well, things do not go as planned and some of Ted's announcements are a huge surprise. When Ted ends up dead from eating a clam that was poisoned from Red Tide, Angie suspects that he was murdered. For Sarah's sake, and at the request of one of Ted's sons, she begins to investigate.

Lea Wait never disappoints and there is usually something historical to learn. This time we learn about the period of history where foster children in Britain were numerous and costly. They were sent to Australia to a new life. Sometimes that life was good, but more than likely, they were treated as free labour. Sarah's father was one of these children. Sarah was able to locate her paternal grandmother, who had been told her son had died. From there she headed to Maine to search for her paternal grandfather and other family members. What she finds is Ted and through him, her cousins. Ted's children are a very interesting group of people. They are partly spoiled, think they are entitled and in some ways, waiting for him to die so they will inherit. They are not very accepting of Sarah and not very nice to her either. They add a lot of intrigue to the story, especially when another dead body shows up.

Even though, this was not really a needlepointing story, I really enjoyed it. I liked the character development, the way the relationship with Angie and Patrick continued to develop and the mystery. There were several suspects as well as the possibility that it could have been accidental. If you enjoy a cozy with great characters and a storyline that goes beyond the mystery, pick this book up. You will certainly enjoy it.

Since I reviewed it after the achieved date I just sent the publishers a note like you told me too. Still not sure why I can't put a review here. :(

This book follows Sarah Byrne who in the previous book was very absent from everything going on, in this book we find out why that Sarah's had a different life and has been trying to find her family which leads her from Australia to England to Maine. In Maine she learns who her Uncle is. Her Uncle is none other than Ted Lawrence a wealthy artist and gallery owner. Ted has decided it's time to tell his children about their cousin whether they like it or not. Into a weekend of birthday events everything is going some what ok when at the Lobster Bake Ted ends up coking and dying. The police get called in when the following day Ted's daughter Abbie's husband Silas Reed ends up dead. Who killed the two men and why? Angie will have to pull the threads apart on the Lawerence family to get to the bottom of the situation. Will she uncover the murderer in time?

This book was definitely different then others most of the needlepointers were cameo appearance not front in center except for Sarah and of course Patrick was there as well. It was definitely interesting to learn about foster care system back in the day and where it led Sarah. Also was intriguing to learn about the Lawerence family and all their issues. Definitely can't pick your family and they aren't always happy like on tv.

I loved going back to Maine to see what everyone was up to and this one didn't disappoint. We got to see what is coming of Angie's relationship with Patrick and how that will play out. Having to support Sarah through her adventure and see where the chips landed in the end! Can't wait to see what is next for this series!

Tightening the Threads (Mainely Needlepoint #5)
by Lea Wait (Goodreads Author)
Paperback, 304 pages
Published March 28th 2017 by Kensington Publishing Corporation

Goodreads synopsis:
In the coastal town of Haven Harbor, blood runs thicker than water--and just as freely . . . 
Antique dealer Sarah Byrne has never unspooled the truth about her past to anyone--not even friend and fellow Mainely Needlepointer Angie Curtis. But the enigmatic Aussie finally has the one thing she's searched for all her life--family. And now she and long-lost half-brother, Ted Lawrence, a wealthy old artist and gallery owner in town, are ready to reveal their secret connection . . . 
Ted's adult children are suspicious of their newfound aunt Sarah--especially after Ted, in declining health, announces plans to leave her his museum-worthy heirloom paintings. So when Ted is poisoned to death during a lobster bake, everyone assumes she's guilty. If Sarah and Angie can't track down the real murderer in time, Sarah's bound to learn how delicate--and deadly--family dynamics can truly be . . .

***

4 stars

This book is about Angie Curtis who runs Mainely Needlepoint in the state of Maine. When she is not learning to needlepoint she is investigating the random deaths that seem to occur with regularity in her small town of Haven Harbor.

The book begins with her good friend, Sarah who runs the antique business in town revealing that she is the long lost relative of the Lawrence family. Ted Lawrence’s father was a big deal in the art world and his paintings are uber expensive. So, needless to say, the Lawrences are really rich. Sarah has taken a DNA test to prove she is related and Ted, who is coming up on his 75th birthday. Ted has invited his children to his 75th birthday party. Mostly he wants to tell them about how he has level 4 cancer but also to introduce them to his new-found relative.

Sarah helps Ted put together his party and has Angie, Patrick West, and Justin, Ted’s assistant at the gallery to help her. The children treat the outsiders like hired help which doesn’t sit right with any of them. Then Ted drops his bombshell. He is changing his will and giving all the expensive Lawrence paintings to Sarah. The children were not happy by this revelation. They were expecting to get the money they had been denied in the past.

During one of the birthday outings, a lobster bake, Ted ends up in the hospital due to a bad crab shell with Red Tide. Then it is revealed that he may have been murdered.

This book really keeps you engaged in the action but the investigation part seemed much shorter then in previous books. I enjoy following Angie and her investigations. I hope to see more of her Mainely Needlepoint co-horts with bigger roles in future books.

If you are a cozy fan as well as a crafter of any type, I am sure you would love this book. Definitely check it out.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

Lea Wait continues her Mainely Needlepoint Mysteries with Tightening the Threads. Antique dealer Sarah Byrne discovers that she and Ted Lawrence, a rich painter and gallery owner are related and Ted introduces her to his family. Mayhem results as Ted dies of poisoning and Sarah becomes a suspect. When the threads are finally knotted whodunit?

This easy read was filled with colorful characters with plenty of twists and intrigue to keep you guessing until the very end. Definitely recommendation worthy!

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

Antique dealer Sarah Byrne has never unspooled the truth about her past to anyone—not even friend and fellow Mainely Needlepointer Angie Curtis. But the enigmatic Aussie finally has the one thing she's searched for all her life—family. And now she and long-lost half-brother, Ted Lawrence, a wealthy old artist and gallery owner in town, are ready to reveal their secret connection...
Ted's adult children are suspicious of their newfound aunt Sarah—especially after Ted, in declining health, announces plans to leave her his museum-worthy heirloom paintings. So when Ted is poisoned to death during a lobster bake, everyone assumes she's guilty. If Sarah and Angie can't track down the real murderer in time, Sarah's bound to learn how delicate—and deadly—family dynamics can truly be...

This is book 5 in the Mainely Needlepoint series. I have read Threads of Evidence previously. This is closer to a 3.5 star than 4...

I have missed a couple of books since my last venture to Haven Harbor. Not that it mattered too much - I certainly didn't get the impression that I had missed to much in my absence.

Again, like the last one I read, the mystery is very good. I do like it when authors of cosy mysteries still put in a lot of effort to make the story really interesting - and that is what the author has done here. She has put lots of twists and turns into the plot, dragging the reader through the story wanting to know how it is going to play out.

However, and it bugs me a lot, the pacing this time was really slow. It seemed, to me, to be a lot more talking, looking, walking and not much else. The last book I read seemed to keep the story ticking over but this one seemed to be lacking in that regard.


Paul
ARH

Synopsis

Sarah Byrne is an antique dealer who has never spoke about the truth about her past to anyone—not even friend and fellow Mainely Needlepointer Angie Curtis. However now the Aussie finally has the one thing she’s searched for all her life—family. She has a long-lost half-brother, Ted Lawrence, a wealthy old artist and gallery owner in town, are ready to reveal their secret connection . . .

Unfortunately, Ted’s adult children are suspicious of their newfound aunt Sarah—especially after Ted, in declining health, announces plans to leave her his museum-worthy heirloom paintings. So when Ted is poisoned to death during a lobster bake, everyone assumes she’s guilty.

Book Review and 4.5 stars

The writing is very sequential and I was totally unaware that the Ted was going to announce the fact that they were family. Family is very important, but it is also very hurtful. Non of the children have seen one another for over a decade and they have a new aunt to deal with, something that no one wants! Especially since this new aunt will get a piece of the estate and it apparent that the children all want and need the original will to stand.

In this entry in the Mainely Needlepointers series family takes center stage, in particular the family dynamics of Harbor Haven's Gallery owner, Ted Lawrence. It's his 75th birthday and he will be spending with his three visiting children, town antiques dealer Sarah ( found to be a long-lost niece), the employees of his gallery, and Angie, who is there to support her friend, Sarah.

When Ted takes ill suddenly at a lobster bake and dies shortly after, there are plenty of questions. Another accidental death the next day leads the police to investigate both death's.

It just goes to show that families are more complicated than you might think.

I really enjoy this book series, especially when she talks about Maine. It brings back memories of my time in New Brunswick. It makes me want to sit by the water and eat fresh seafood or watch the puffins drive for fish. The characters in this series are very likable and easy to relate to. I even felt a certain sympathy for the Lawrence children who never really felt love from their father but also kind of hated them cause they were all brats. This means the writing was wondering. I highly recommend it for anyone who likes well-written cozy mysteries.

Princess Fuzzypants here:
Despite never being able to cross stitch or stitch of any sort- I am a cat with no opposable thumbs- I find this series highly entertaining. I confess there is a Maine Coon in the stories (it is set in Maine) as well as other kitties. That does heighten my enjoyment but these are good stories with compelling characters in a well constructed mystery..
Angie's friend Sarah is hip deep in gators after it is revealed that she is the granddaughter of the famous painter, Robert Lawrence. She and her uncle decide to tell his children about their newly found cousin on the weekend of his 75th birthday. Needless to say, none are jumping for joy especially after he informs them that he is dying and will be changing his will to include Sarah.
Because of the grumbles and the reception Sarah and the news has received, it is no shock that Ted succumbs to a bad clam at a lobster bake before the changes are made. Was it simply bad luck or did one of the guests make sure Ted would die? If so, who had the most to gain? Then when the spouse of one of the children also dies in mysterious circumstances, the plot, as they say, thickens
It was not a total surprise when the murderer is revealed although there were surprises enough to keep the reader engrossed and on his or her toes. I truly like Angie and her Gram and her friends. They are the type of folks a kitty would be happy to adopt and clearly Juno and Trixie, the two "star" kitties, agree. It also helps that the involvement of our heroine in the murder resolution makes sense.
I will give this five purrs and two paws up.

I’ve read (devoured) all of the books in this series recently – even as I’m slow to get reviews up for some. There’s something very comforting in the narrative voice of Angie as she works through her own issues in coming back to town and her rather infamous mother’s history, full of the small town feel, particularly that of the Maine coast in a town that is inundated each summer with tourists. Far from being a space that only caters to the summer people, they’ve built and attracted year-round businesses, built friendships and survived to solve several murders. Now, Angie’s best friend Sarah, an ex-pat Aussie that owns a small antique shop in town, and just recently shared some personal bombshells, is in hot water. Especially when her long-hidden ties to her brother, Ted, a wealthy art gallery owner and son of a famous artist turns up dead, his will revealing Sarah will be inheriting it all.

Of course we do know that Sarah didn’t poison Ted, but with his adult children all screaming for blood and a rather convenient appearance of this new family member, it’s up to Angie, Sarah and Patrick to ferret out the clues and do some real digging to both prove her family ties and find the real culprit. Lea Wait informs this story with extensive research into foster-child emigration and relocation to Australia from the UK, and we follow Sarah’s search through records in three countries, slowly unveiling her own family history, and we discover more clues to the culprit. Plenty of suspects, drama, intrigue and the new characters and personalities introduced with Ted’s rather eclectic family all play roles where each becomes the focal point for suspicion, with plenty of drama to spare. While the other members of the Mainely Needlepoint collective are relegated to cameo and backseat roles, their inputs add a sense of life proceeding on despite Sarah’s crisis, and serves to highlight that sense of community and insight (not to mention outside points of view and a touch of gossip) that have come to be a staple in this series.

With a culprit that I didn’t see coming, as Wait does manage to throw a net-load of red herrings into this one, a sense of rightness in the conclusion and a once closemouthed and mysterious in all the good ways character in Sarah taking center stage and revealing more of her story, it was hard to put down and completely engaging story. While it does work as your first introduction to the series, this is one that is best read from the beginning to see the relationships develop, and they are wonderful reads, perfect for fans of cozies with a twist.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” http://wp.me/p3OmRo-91K/” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>