Second in series. I enjoyed revisiting the characters from the first book. Good story with satisfying ending. ( )

After years of abuse, Ivy Peterman and her two little kids hit the road, with nothing but the car and the clothes they’re all wearing. Ivy’s husband is a real charmer, and even though he’s got Ivy convinced that she’s worthless and can’t survive without him, when he finally hits their daughter instead of whomping on Ivy, she’s had enough and she hightails it. (Which shows remarkable restraint on her part, frankly an ice pick in his ear would have solved the problem quite nicely.) (But then the story would have been over too soon.)

Ivy finds a nice little town to hide out in, and starts to rebuild her life. She finds friends, but the kind that she keeps at arms length, because she’s afraid hubby-dearest will find her and she’ll have to run again, so why bother making close friends. She finds a job at the local quilt shop, Cobbled Court Quilts, and life is really looking up. Then a popular quilting TV show comes to town to shoot an episode at the shop. (For all you non-quilters..yes…there are in fact popular quilt shows, we even have our stars that we’d all like to meet someday, sort of like rock and roll, but with needles, patterns and fabrics…lots and lots of gorgeous fabrics….oh..but I digress…..)

When a promo for the show is shown on-air, Ivy is shown for a split second and it’s enough for her husband, (Supreme Ass of all the worlds Jackasses) to locate her. This time though, Ivy has a whole group of friends standing behind her as she stands her ground.

Marie Bostwick’s novel A Thread of Truth is the second in her Cobbled Court Quilt series. I haven’t read the first, but that wasn’t a problem. The author does a fine job of introducing her characters and filling in the background for us first time readers. But not in the “repeat the whole first book” way that would annoy the return reader. I really admired how well this seemingly sweet author managed to nail the abuse and the behavior of the abuser. Bostwick writes graciously, without any gratuitous sex or violence, but when it’s called for, this lady can write an intimidating scene of brutality. She does an excellent job in the portrayal of the abused wife as well, making Ivy unapproachable and guarded, sweetly vulnerable. My interest was also caught by the peripheral characters, and I’ll be adding Bostwick’s first novel, A Single Thread to that aforementioned “Teetering Tower O’ TBR” books. ( )