Thread the Halls

Thread the Halls by Lea Wait is the sixth book in A Mainely Needlepoint Mystery series. Angie Curtis is looking forward to a quiet Christmas in Haven Harbor, Maine with her family, friends, and boyfriend, Patrick West. Then Patrick gets a call from his mother, Skye West that she is returning for Christmas and bringing some movie people with her. Patrick needs help getting Aurora (their estate) prepped for Christmas in two days (there goes Angie's quiet Christmas). The Mainely Needlepoint group help Patrick prepare for the holidays including custom embroidered little pillows for Skye's guests. After the guests arrive, Patrick and Skye are taking a walk when they discover one of the actor's dead in the snow. Was it an accidentally killing by a hunter or was it deliberate? Then Patrick eats poisoned cookies and Angie is blamed. She is determined to find the culprit and get her Christmas back on track!

Thread the Halls is nicely written and has a nice pace which makes it a quick read. The emphasis in Thread the Halls is on Christmas, friendship, food and family. The murder does not occur until the 25% mark in the story. There is little investigation in the book and it is child's play to solve. There might as well be a giant neon arrow pointing to the culprit. There is a little surprise near the end that some readers might not anticipate. It was interesting to read about various Maine Christmas traditions including the Christmas boat parade (we have a similar one in my area). My rating for Thread the Halls is 3 out of 5 stars. Thread the Halls can be a standalone book. All the pertinent details are included in this installment. I was not a fan of Patrick West (or his mother) in this book. He assumed his money would get him everything he wanted done (which is mentioned several times). I did tire of the repetition of information. The same details are repeated throughout the book. I would have preferred more substance and less fluff. If you are looking for a cozy mystery that is big on Christmas spirit, then check out Thread the Halls.