Caturday Reads: Endangered birds, a disappearing way of life and murder
Dangling by a Thread
by Lea Wait
Kensington
Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 25 Oct 2016
Review
Readers can almost taste the salt in the Haven Harbor air, and the residents, especially Angie are realistic - multifaceted and utterly believable. As an animal lover, I was pleased to see the Great Cormorants play an important role in the mystery. The conflict between those protecting vanishing species and those seeking to protect human economic interests plays out on a daily basis all over the globe. As we go about our busy lives, it is easy to forget just how many species are disappearing.
Jesse, commonly known as "the solitary" lives alone on King's Island, caring for the Great Cormorants who nest there. Dave Perry, one of the Mainely Needlepointers is Jesse's only friend. Naturally when a local realtor begins harassing Jesse, saying that he has to sell his island to a rich man wanting to build a mansion. Angie, Dave, and the other Mainely Needlepointers start a campaign to help, but other residents want the jobs that development of the island would bring. Someone wants the development enough to murder...Jesse is found dead, and his will makes Dave the only obstacle.
If you like cozies, I definitely recommend Dangling by a Thread. Lea Wait’s mysteries are always a pleasure to read, and the included quotations from antique needlework are always intriguing and pertinent.
5/5
I received a copy of Dangling by a Thread from the publisher and netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
—Crittermom
Description
The Mainely Needlepointers are about to learn that no man is an island—especially when greedy developers want his land . . .
Hermit Jesse Lockhart lives alone on King’s Island, three miles east of Haven Harbor, Maine, where he’s created a private sanctuary for the endangered Great Cormorants. But when a wealthy family wants to buy the island and Jesse’s cousin Simon petitions for power of attorney to force him to sell, Jesse is the one who becomes endangered.
Mainely Needlepointer Dave Perry, who befriended Jesse in the VA hospital, rallies the group to his defense. Angie Curtis and the ravelers stitch “Save the King’s Island Cormorants” pillows and sell T-shirts to pay for Jesse’s legal counsel. But tragically, on a visit to the island, Angie finds Jesse dead. Now the search is on for a common thread that can tie the murdered man to his killer . . .
“Offers a wonderful sense of place and characters right from the very beginning. Highly recommended.” —Suspense Magazine on Threads of Evidence
