Maine Mystery, TIGHTENING THE THREADS, from Lea Wait

Lea Wait crafts two mystery series from her Maine home. The darker of the two is her Mainely Needlepoint series -- still an "amateur sleuth" type, as needlepointer Angie Curtis doesn't mean to become an investigator. But when her friend and fellow needlepointer Sarah Byrne suddenly discloses how she chose the seaside town for her new home, after leaving behind Australia, Angie can't help feeling intrigued. A mysterious family connection revealed? A possible fortune in artwork for her friend? TIGHTENING THE THREADS takes an ominous cast early on, and the complications multiply.

When Sarah is suddenly accused of murder, as well as fabricating her new family connection, Angie can't resist stepping into the scene of the crime. But who could plan a deliberate murder within an old-time lobster bake among family members? And among all the possible people who could profit from this death, how can Angie prove Sarah's not responsible?

Angie's also the perfect investigator for this crime because it involves rediscovering family. Readers of the series know that Angie's newly returned to her Maine roots, but even so, she still doesn't know enough about her mother, and nothing at all about her father. She's a witness to the moment that sets Sarah up, ironically, as the potential killer-for-profit when artist uncle Ted Lawrence announces the connection:

Ted wasn't finished. Ignoring Michael's outburst, he continued.

"As I said, we can get into the particulars of Sarah's story, and her journey to find us, later this week. But for now, just know that I believe with all my heart that Sarah is my niece. And that, because I knew questions would be asked about such an amazing story, I convinced her that we should have DNA tests. And, yes, they proved that, despite her name and accent, she is a Lawrence. I might add that during the few months I've known her she's more than proved herself worthy of our family. Sarah" -- he raised his glass -- "I drink to you, and officially in the presence of my children, welcome you to our family."

Wait's adroit twisting of the family reunion hides other complications, and her protagonist, with dogged Maine persistence, begins to uncover more motives, more opportunities, and more methods that could be involved in uncle Ted's sudden demise.

Although this is Wait's darker series, it's never gruesome ... even as I shuddered at moments as the seaside family home turned into the backdrop for old resentments and long-nurtured malice. Convincing and swiftly paced, TIGHTENING THE THREADS continues Wait's strong set of titles (this is the fifth in this series), and it's clear there are more surprises ahead in sleuth Angie Curtis's new life in her grandmother's home town.

PS:  Looking for more mystery reviews, from cozy to very dark? Browse the Kingdom Books mysteries review blog here.

Maine Mystery: Lea Wait, THREADS OF EVIDENCE

Maine author Lea Wait is on a roll with the second in her new "Mainely Needlepoint Mystery" series, featuring Angela Curtis -- young (in her 20s), inquisitive, struggling to pull her grandmother's cleverly created needlepoint business into the 21st century, and best of all, formerly employed by a private investigator in Arizona, so she knows how to pry into crime scenes and police situations, and ... she carries a handgun when needed. Good thing, considering that she's prying into long-buried murders.

In the first book of the series, Twisted Threads, Angie's return from her 10 years "away" took place because her long-missing Mama had been found. Well, her body, anyway. And in spite of threats and risks, Angie settled into quaint, tourist-dependent Haven Harbor, Maine, and dug up the real story of her mother's disappearance and death.

So now in THREADS OF EVIDENCE she already has a bit of a reputation in town as a crime solver, even though she keeps explaining she was never a licensed PI -- she just did the legwork for one. Well, that's good enough. At least, wealthy and gracious actress Skye West thinks so, as she recruits Angie to discover the truth about another long-ago death, one from 1970, when Skye's best friend, a teen named Jasmine, died suddenly during a party at the Gardener estate in town. The actress needs someone who can speak directly with police officers, without cringing, and who'll go from one person to another, among the many town residents who might have seen or known something about Jasmine's death. Skye West has good reason to believe it wasn't an accident. And when her own drink is poisoned with arsenic during the first Open House at the estate, the actress is even more convinced -- and so is Angie.

I moved "paid work" out of the way to make room to finish this book last week, because it was so well written that I didn't want to put it down. (Yes, I read way too late into a couple of nights!) Angie's reactions and choices are spot on target. And although I hated hearing from one character after another that 1970 was a LONG time ago (hey, I still have a photo of my miniskirt and fishnet stockings from back then, and can hum most of the Vietnam War-era folk songs), I have to admit it's true -- and because of the distance in time, it works perfectly for Wait's deft creation of an "edgy cozy" series, where real deaths happen but "off stage" and there's no gore ... but look out for arsenic, fire, and other scary events that stack up when you're stalking someone who didn't have enough sense in the past to solve things normally, but killed someone instead.

A small extra that I especially enjoyed in THREADS OF EVIDENCE is the quotes at the start of each chapter, most of which come from needlework, like samplers, done in New England a couple of centuries ago. Readers of Wait's earlier series, the "Shadows" one, will recall this device from those books, and it works even better here, to dress the stories in mood and place.

Kensington Books, publisher of this lively series, must have a lot of faith in it, too: I see the next one is coming out in January, Thread and Gone. I'm glad I'll be able to have an extra dose of Angie Curtis sooner than the traditional "1 year" gap between books.

Oh, you don't need to read Twisted Threads (book 1) before this one -- Wait is adept at summarizing the important points to get the reader into the swing of the sequel -- but why not? The books are "paperback originals" (no hardcover) and fit nicely into a travel bag, with brief chapters ideal for waiting in line (or other challenges of modern outside-of-rural-Maine life). They'll make good gifts, too, full of a sense of community and friendship as well as Angie's determination not to let a killer get away with something. Thanks, Lea Wait and Kensington; what a way to wrap up the summer!

New Series from Maine Mystery Author Lea Wait: TWISTED THREADS

Lea Wait's "Shadows Antique Print" mystery series, caught between Maine and Cape Cod, has been a lot of fun, and mirrors much of her own life, right down to the adoption that Maggie Summer is expecting to make -- whether or not she finds a way to get married to her sweetheart.

Wait's new series, the "Mainely Needlepoint Mysteries," leaps into fresh terrain with Angela Curtis, Angie to her friends, "Angel" to her grandmother. An experienced assistant in private investigation from her work out West (it takes a lot of energy to leave Maine behind, but Angie's got it!), she's back in Maine at "Harbor Haven" because her mother's been found.

If only that were good news ... Throughout her teen years and then her work life out in Arizona, Angie's believed her mother walked out of single parenting, abandoning the role for something more romantic somewhere else. But the quickly revealed truth is, her mom's been dead all this time, and the body is still in Haven Harbor.

With her camera and interview and analysis skills, Angie might find threads unraveling that lead her to what happened to her mother, and why. But the distractions around her include threats to her grandmother's needlepoint business and co-workers and friends, plus possible fraud, and even more personal risk than Angie's ever handled.

Still, Gram has handled a lot, some of it while Angie was still too young to pay attention, and her advice boosts Angie along in Down East Maine style:

For the first time in my life, I saw the wisdom in Gram's insisting I wear a hat.

"Don't look 'em in the eye," she was advising. "Walk fast, keep walking 'til you get in the car. Don't look out the car window. Scrunch down. Me, they've already seen, but you're a novelty around these parts. Pete Lambert from the police department is out there. He'll make sure we get out the drive."

I looked at her with increasing respect. "You've done this before."

"First time was when your mother disappeared. But it wasn't as bad in those days, and I managed to keep you away from most of it. But ever since Lauren found that body, those TV folks have been all over the place. They want us to be crying or screaming or doin' something else dramatic for them." She shook her head. "Harrumph. We're civilized folks. We're not putting on that kind of show here in Haven Harbor."

From the lively dialogue to the quick twists and suspense, and to Angie's own skills in pulling apart the pattern of the crime(s), this is fresh exciting writing. I think Lea Wait's taken the "amateur sleuth" aspect right to the edge, using Angie's training as a boost into more aggressive pursuit than most cozies can boast. And the pace and vividness show that this Maine author had come into her own, with a series that promises excitement, adventure -- and some insight into the heart of a very smart and savvy young woman.

Way to go, Lea! And a tip of the hat to publisher Kensington Books for bringing out this fresh and intriguing series.