Janet Bolin

This book has it all for cozy mystery fans: an intriguing mystery, lots of humor, close friendships, a spark or two of romance, and the lure of the needle arts. Every time I read one of Janet Bolin's Threadville mysteries, I have the insane desire to buy a sewing machine, even though I know I wouldn't use it. Bolin's descriptions of Willow thinking through new designs as well as the descriptions of finished projects of faithful customers are like catnip to any fan of needle and fiber.

There show more is humor laced throughout the story such as the scene when Willow agrees to meet a suspect for dinner and finds that she has plenty of bodyguards. Readers also get to learn a bit about what it takes to be a volunteer fireman. As with all the best cozy mystery series, it's the characters who make or break the books, and Bolin has assembled an excellent cast. Felicity Ranquels, representative of the Chandler sewing machine company, managed to be the sort of irritating that I'd like to see make a repeat visit. Just when I thought Felicity was a rather stock character with all the beauty and appeal of a horse fly, Bolin added a twist and gave her the depth that makes me want to see more.

If you're in the mood for a light-hearted mystery with some depth to it, grab a copy of Threaded for Trouble. You're going to have a fun read. show less

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 show more 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! show less

3.75 Stars — This was my first visit to the crafty town of Elderberry Bay, Pennsylvania, fondly known as Threadville to residents and tourists. This October is especially busy for the tiny textile town with three big events going on - a Halloween crafts fair, a zombie lovers convention, and the wedding of a local couple, bride Edna Battersby and her groom.

As a prank, Edna's pal Willow Vanderling and the rest of her circle of friends create an ostentatious, over-the-top hoop skirt for the show more bride to wear. Unfortunately, the laughs don't last long because the skirt is involved in the suspicious murder of a crafts fair participant. Willow was first on the scene, and though she's promised police she wouldn't get involved with another murder investigation, she just can't help herself.

The mystery was complex and not easy to figure out. Ancient curses, glow-in-the-dark thread, disgruntled zombies. It was fun putting the pieces of the puzzle together as Willow discovered them. I especially loved the Halloween theme and the spooky atmosphere the author created.

NIGHT OF THE LIVING THREAD had a big cast of characters, and sometimes it was difficult to keep everyone straight. This might be because I'm starting at book four in the series, and I need more back story. I'd love to know why Willow lets her mother boss her around all the way from South Carolina, including pushing an obnoxious house guest on her. Ugh. Brianna, the guest, was so annoying! Poor Willow.

This was a fun Halloween cozy, good for reading any time of year. There's also a lovely embroidery project included that ties in with one of the events in the book.

Source: Review copy from the publisher show less

Author Janet Bolin has embroidered another delightful creation in this latest addition of the Threadville Mystery series.

SEVEN THREADLY SINS in the fifth installment of this wonderful mystery series, and one of the best. It was a real page turner and kept me speculating all the way through.

This story was very well written and cleverly crafted. It contained lots of surprises and misleads, red herrings as they say, right up until the exciting reveal.

I want to thank author Bolin for writing show more a victim that all readers of this book will be happy to see killed off. LOL I almost didn’t care who the killer was because I was happy to see this gut done in. ;-) But on a serious note, because he was so unliked, it really opened up the suspect pool to make this mystery even harder to solve.

I don’t feel you need to know about needlecrafts to enjoy this book. Sewing on buttons is about all I can do, and I really liked it. But for those of you who do needlecrafts, there is a machine embroidery project at the end of the book, as well as some helpful tips from protagonist, Willow. show less