I found this book to be a poor starter. I found the characters to be, not shallow themselves, but shallowly written. A definite lack of depth and complexity in the writing. Way too much detailed information about machine embroidery and way too much bragging about "sisters-in-thread". The sheriff was a simpleton in the TSTL category. On the plus side, I didn't guess who the culprit was until it was revealed. But overall a very unsatisfying book I really had to struggle to get through. ( )

I finished this weekend a wonderful and exciting book by first time author Janet Bolin, Dire Threads. this is a great story and am looking forward to many ore books in the series. The village of Threadville, PA. has some fairly new shops in town. The newest is In Stitches and owned by Willow Vanderling and is an embroidery supplies shop. Mike Krawbach comes in to the store to let Willow know that he building permit to renovate the small cottage at the back of her property. Then she finds out that the plans are for the cootage to be torn down and an ATV track put in. In burst of ange, and in front of the police, Willow states that if her cottage is torn down she will kill Mike. Well someone does it for her. It seems there is a long line of possible suspeects, but Uncle Allen and most of thw town are set o having Willow charged with the murder. It is up to Willow, her friend Haylee and Haylee's "three mothers" to stitch together the facts.

I'm not part of the sewing scene and there is not a lot of sewing terminology, but what there is I found interesting. Also included in the book is an original machine embroidery project. ( )

First Line: For the first time, my new boutique, In Stitches, was officially part of the Threadville tour, which was both exhilarating and daunting.

Threadville is a small town called Elderberry Bay on the Pennsylvania shores of Lake Erie. Several women following their talents and passions bought property in town, opened their textile businesses, and "Threadville" has become a welcome spot for many tourists to learn new skills and to spend money to increase their thread, yarn, and fabric stashes. Willow Vanderling has followed suit, opening In Stitches to teach people needle arts-- preferably with sewing machines.

At the bottom of her property is a small cottage that's close to the river and by a hiking trail, and it's Willow's intention to refurbish it to rent to vacationers. Her plans are dashed by the town zoning commissioner, Mike Krawbach, who has his own ideas on how that piece of property can best be improved. When Willow learns what Mike has planned for her property, she is livid-- and makes the mistake of saying she's going to kill him in front of several witnesses. You just know what's going to happen next, don't you?

Sure enough, Mike dies that night on Willow's property, and the town policeman who should've retired long ago, is all for forcing the facts to fit his theory that Willow is the killer. Out of self-defense, Willow and her friends turn into rather inept sleuths in order to find out who really killed the zoning commissioner.

Willow is an extremely likable character. She was a whistle-blower on an embezzler while employed in New York City, so you know she's not afraid to take a stand and do what's right. She's also surrounded by cast of colorful friends who are going to help brighten the pages of future books in this series. It also doesn't hurt that there's no shortage of good-looking available young men in town, either.

The mystery had just enough twists and turns to keep me guessing, and I loved the textile slant to the proceedings. In fact, this dedicated needlewoman who prefers holding a single needle in her hand to operating a computerized sewing machine enjoyed Willow's classes and design sessions so much that I've actually been thinking about investing in a sewing machine.

This is a light, fun mystery that is a perfect beginning to a new series. You don't have to enjoy needle arts to enjoy the book, but if you do, you're going to be in heaven! ( )

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! ( )