1.5 Annoyed Cats for Lea Wait's Twisted Threads

Sorry to destroy the illusion, but I don't actually like everything I read. For instance: Lea Wait's first book in the Mainely Needlepoint Mystery Series annoyed me to no end. Whereas the last cozy mystery I reviewed, Mango, Mambo, and Murder, surpassed all of the usual problematic elements of the cozy mystery genre, Wait's book seemed to lean in to most of them. There wasn't a person of color in the entire text, fatphobia was abundant, and there were plenty of misogynistic undertones as the "not like other girls" main character rolled her eyes at women who had "let themselves go," while she lusted after a married man and used her feminine charms to dupe a cop into helping her investigation. None of the surprises were surprising and, sadly, none of the characters were charming.

The best part of the book was the narrative voice. If the actual writing was worse there's no way I could have overlooked the characters and the wretched plot to get the book finished. In line with any cozy mystery trope, the main character, Angie "Angel" Curtis has just moved (back) into town. There's a special interest (her grandmother needlepoints) and a cat (a Maine Coon) ; there are an abundance of food descriptions.

Angel has returned to Harbor Haven, Maine, to stay with her grandmother after Angel's mother, who everyone believed had walked out on her when she was a child, has been found: shot dead and stored in a freezer in the out-of-town storage unit rented by the town's (now deceased) beloved baker, for more than a decade. Angel wants to know exactly what happened to her mother all those years ago and, after working as a PI in Arizona, she has the skills to figure it out. Her investigation is interrupted though when her grandmother asks her to track down the agent who had skipped out on her needlepoint business with around $30,000 of their profits.

Unlike most cozy mysteries, Twisted Threads hinges on the despicable. This is a spoiler so skip ahead a paragraph if you want to avoid it: the, now deceased, beloved town baker who everyone suspects killed Angel's mother was a child molester with several victims including Angel herself. I did not particularly care for the way this was handled in the text and I do not believe it is appropriate for the tone of a cozy mystery. I believe that the expectations of the genre prevent this particular crime from being discussed responsibly.

Personally, I'd say don't waste your time with this one, though if you are looking for something in between a cozy mystery and a gritty procedural this may be a good fit for you.