Thread Herrings - Lea Wait Dollycas’s Thoughts

Finding treasures at auctions and estate sales is part of the fun, but for Angie Curtis it means MURDER! Her friend, a television reporter is dead and Angie is getting threatened that she will be next.

Antique shop owner Sarah Byrne takes Angie to her first auction and she is drawn to a needlework coat of arms. When no one else bids she raises her paddle and takes it home. She takes it out of the frame to see if it can be restored but she finds a real mystery instead, a claim from 1757 for a child from a foundling hospital. While researching to see if the child is connected to the family from the auction she runs into Clem Walker who suggests they do a piece on the local news to see if one of the viewers may have information. Angie agrees and even hosts a party so her family and friends can watch her on television.

Clem plans a trip to visit Angie in Haven Harbor to discuss the calls the station received. But Clem doesn’t make the meeting, instead, her body is found. Angie knows to find Clem’s killer she has to find who is connected to the coat of arms. The trouble is to keep her safe she is hiding out and it’s hard to investigate anything stuck in a house.

There is so much I enjoyed about this story. It had a totally different feel. The Mainely Needlepointers didn’t do hardly any needle pointing but one member of the group, Ruth, is a key player in solving this mystery. Also, Angie accepts that her life is truly in danger after a hairraising event and actually listens to the police and moves to Patrick’s secure home until the killer is caught. As long as she has her cell phone and laptop she can keep investigating and pass along what she finds to the police.

At the core of the story are two prominent Maine families. I love the way 79-year-old erotica author Ruth Hopkins knows her way around the genealogy sites. She delves in and finds as much as she can about the families giving Angie plenty of clues and red herrings to sort through.

All of Ms. Wait’s characters are interesting, fleshed out and realistic. Most of the recurring characters are very engaging. Patrick is starting to mesh with the rest but still has some work to do. The closer he and Angie get the more he becomes more real to me.

The story is pretty fast-paced and filled with suspense. Key characters are truly in danger and I found myself actually holding my breath waiting to read the actual outcome. I know I was reading much faster from about the midpoint on. The author’s descriptions of each person, place, and even the weather were fantastic. She pulls readers right into this story and holds them tight until the final page. OMG, my heart was racing at the ending!

Before my accident auctions and needlepoint were two of my favorite things. Finding samplers and other needlework treasures at auctions always made for a great day. I love that both meshed together in this book.

This book reads very well all in its own but I always recommend reading series in order to really get to know the characters.

This is a wonderful addition to this series. The next book in the series, Thread on Arrival, will be released April 30, 2019.

In the meantime, a constable had rounded up the undertaker, who arrived in great excitement, swallowing the last fragments of his tea. A slight further delay was caused by its occurring to somebody that the Fiscal should be notified. The Fiscal, fortunately enough, happened to be in the town, and joined the party, explaining to Wimsey as they drove along to the mortuary that it was the most painful case he had handled in the whole of his experience, and that he had been much struck by the superiority of the Scots law to the English in these matters, ‘For,’ said he, ‘the publicity of a coroner’s inquest is bound to give much unnecessary pain to the relations, which is avoided by our method of private investigation.’

‘That is very true,’ said Wimsey, politely, ‘but think of all the extra fun we get from the Sunday newspapers. Inquests are jam to them.’

The Five Red Herrings started off strong and I loved the setting and some of the scenes - like Bunter being a few steps ahead of Lord Peter, retelling his adventures in the fashion of The Castle of Otranto, and then caring for Lord Peter by having the Arnica oinment at the ready for Lord Peter's bruises. 

 

However, ... for most of the book, I wished Sayers had spared us the details of doggedly chasing down every single train connection and what is more every single - it seemed - damned bicycle in the country only to find out that it was not the bicycle in question. 

 

Not one of my favourite Wimseys.

What a pity he had now just missed the 6.20 to Girvan. (Sergeant Dalziel gritted his teeth.) Well, it couldna be helped.

Let him take the 7.30, getting in at 9.51, and a car would be sent to meet him.

The Sergeant replied, with a certain grim satisfaction, that the 9.51 only ran on Saturdays and the 9.56 only on Wednesdays, and that, this being a Thursday, they would have to meet him at 8.55 at Ayr.

The Inspector retorted that in that case he had better hire a car at Ayr. Finding that there was no help for it, Sergeant Dalziel abandoned all hopes of a comfortable night of dinner, talkie and bed at Glasgow, and reluctantly retired to the refreshment-room for an early supper before catching the 7.30.

Haha. Public transport hasn't changed much. I've spent hours this week trying to find a way to go to a place in Norfolk next week without having to spend an extra night somewhere. It was a challenge.

Wimsey on bicyclists:

‘Just so. Nothing is so virtuous as a bicycle. You can’t imagine a bicyclist committing a crime, can you? – except of course, murder or attempted murder.’

‘Why murder?’

‘Well, the way they rush about in gangs on the wrong side of the road and never have any brakes or bells or lights. I call it murder, when they nearly have you into the ditch. Or suicide.’

Gangs of cyclists? Really, Peter? LoL!

 

And on bike safety:

‘Have you been borrowing push-bikes?’ asked Wimsey, with interest. ‘You shouldn’t. It’s a bad habit. Push-bikes are the curse of this country. Their centre of gravity is too high, for one thing, and their brakes are never in order.’

I can't quite see Wimsey having any first-hand experience with this, can you?

 

But as bicycles are mentioned quite a lot and there is a bike on the cover of the book, I'm guessing that the missing bicycle may be important. Or, you know, be one of the five red herrings.... Gah!

 

On a different note, I'm enjoying the book. Probably more so than I would already because the audiobook I have to accompany my reading (narrated by Patrick Malahide) features a bit of an oddity:

 

The Scottish parts are narrated in a north-eastern accent - Doric - which is quite different to the accent where the story is set (south-western Scotland). It works a treat, but it cracks me up every time the word "night" (pronounced in Doric as "nicht") is used - as it is sooo local. Anyway, this one is a lot of fun.  

 

 

‘In that case,’ said Wimsey, ‘you had better go to the coroner – no, of course, you don’t keep coroners in these parts. The Procurator-Fiscal is the lad. You’d better go to the Fiscal and tell him the man’s been murdered.’

‘Murdered?’ said the Sergeant.

‘Yes,’ said Wimsey, ‘och, ay; likewise hoots! Murrrderrrd is the word.’

Bwahahaha... Just what I needed. This is delightful.