Book Review Thursday - on Saturday?

I'm behind on my reviews. I have 5 books to write reviews on and probably 2 more by the end of this weekend with books keeping me company while I work in the small bedroom.

By a Spider's Thread is the 8th book in the Tess Monaghan series by Laura Lippman. Orthodox Jewish furrier Mark Ruben's family has disappeared. Police can not help Mark because it appears that Natalie left with the children on her own accord and no foul play was involved. Mark also only gives Tess the information that he feels is relevant to her finding Natalie and the children. When Tess begins to get the information that she needs from other sources, she discovers that Natalie is not the innocent woman that Mark assumed.

This book is also told from Mark's oldest son Isaac's view. Whenever the story jumps to Issac, I got anxious that something awful was going to happen if Tess didn't work harder and faster. Isaac is a smart little boy though and was able to provide information indirectly that helped break the case wide open. But even then, Mark withheld information from Tess and headed into danger on his own.

This was a good book and a great addition to the Tess series!

Threading the Needle is the fourth book in the Cobbled Court series by Marie Bostwick. The first books in the series set up the quilt shop and introduced the quilt shop employees. This book follows 2 new characters who grew up in New Bern, CT and recently moved back to the town for different reasons.

Madelyn's marriage is over now that her husband is in prison awaiting a trial for the Ponzi scheme he had been running for 20 years. Her only place to go is the cottage where she lived with her abusive grandmother. Madelyn's plan was to sell the cottage as quick as she could to leave New Bern, but with the economy in such a bad state, she decided to renovate the cottage into a bed and breakfast.

Tessa and her husband left their successful jobs in Boston to start over in New Bern as farmers working the land. Tessa opened a shop to sell her home made lotions and soaps, but the shop was not the overwhelming success that she hoped it would be. Once Tessa heard that Madelyn was back in town as well, she hoped that they would be able to reconnect and be friends. Madelyn just wanted to run from Tessa after Tessa destroyed their friendship and her feelings.

I really enjoyed this book and was torn between finishing it in one sitting and making the story last another week! If you haven't read any of Marie's books, start with A Single Thread because this is where the series begins. I'm sure that you won't regret reading them!!