When Marcy Singer, owner of embroidery shop Seven-Year
Stitch, is asked by her friend Reggie to lead a class for
local domestic violence victims, she's more than happy to
help. She begins to rethink her decision during the first
session when the women file in, some who can't even
look her in the eye, speak in a voice barely above a
whisper, and one who brings her daughter.
Marcy soon learns that the mother-daughter duo is Mary and
Melanie. Mary would really like to leave her abusive
husband, but she's afraid to leave her elderly father-in-law
behind, fearing that her husband would take his anger out on
Chester. Chester doesn't want to leave because he believes
he is in possession of a tapestry that doubles as a treasure
map of sorts - a sunken pirate ship from long ago off the
Oregon coast is said to have untold treasure on board, and
the tapestry holds the secret to the location of the ship.
Mary talks Marcy into meeting with Chester, believing that
Chester's tapestry is worthless and that Marcy will be able
to prove this. However, when they meet, Marcy isn't able to
validate the veracity of the treasure map, but she can
authenticate the approximate age of the tapestry itself,
which is in keeping with Chester's overall story. Chester
eventually agrees to go to a shelter, as long as Marcy will
keep the tapestry safe.
But when the police show up to transport Chester to the
shelter, they find a ransacked house and his dead body.
Marcy feels awful and Reggie is wracked with guilt. Have
their actions led to his murder? Did someone hear about the
tapestry and decide that his story was true? Were the
alleged treasures worth killing Chester? Marcy decides she
needs to do whatever possible to help Mary and Melanie,
including figuring out who may have had the biggest motive
for killing Chester.
I've read other books in the Embroidery Mystery
series, but
THREAD ON ARRIVAL may be the one I've enjoyed most. The
plot moves at a
great pace, and it incorporates contemporary themes such as
domestic violence and reality television seamlessly, while
not getting bogged down. I'm also happy that Marcy finally
made a choice in men out of Ted and Todd. Not only is it
fair to both men, but it is definitely less confusing for
readers! THREAD ON ARRIVAL is fun, full of suspense, and it
lead to a satisfying conclusion -- readers can hardly ask
for more!
Embroidery shop owner Marcy Singer gets hung up on a
tapestry that may lead to sunken treasure and be the motive
for murder....
When Marcy’s friend Reggie, Tallulah Falls’ local librarian,
asks her to teach an embroidery class as therapy for
domestic abuse victims, she gladly agrees. One of the women
wants to flee from her abusive husband but is afraid to
leave her elderly father-in-law behind. And she thinks Marcy
can help.
The elderly gentleman shows Marcy a tapestry his grandmother
made, which he believes reveals the location of pirate
treasure off the Oregon coast. He’ll move to a
shelter—provided Marcy takes the tapestry to keep it safe.
But when the police arrive the next day to escort him out,
they find the old man murdered and the house ransacked. Does
someone want that treasured tapestry desperately enough to
kill for it?