This one was great. Mary was an interesting addition - it would've been cool if she joined the Mainely Needlepoint for extra money. I didn't like Rob and frankly would've wished she dumped him but you can't usually tell young people anything - especially a young girl in love. I'm finding this series is getting better as it goes. The only thing I wasn't too fond of was the whole Patrick thing with Sarah - I was confused - I don't get why he is calling Sarah and not Angie when he barely spoke to Sarah?. I liked the code in the needlepoint - especially because I got it straight away! And there were a few twists and turns I didn't see coming. Overall great mystery and likable characters. ( )

Eighteen-year-old Mary Clough is cleaning out her ancestral home. She discovers an old piece of needlepoint and brings it to Angie at Mainely Needlepoint for evaluation. She plans to marry officer Ethan Trask's younger brother Rob. Rob hopes the needlepoint is valuable so he can buy a boat. Angie suggests storing it in the attorney's safe until the mystery around it resolved. It isn't long until the attorney is murdered and her jewels and Mary's needlepoint piece are both gone. When one of the Mainely Needlepointers examines it, she feels some of the motifs resemble things done by Mary, Queen of Scots. She knows the provenance of the piece is important and suggests getting a museum needlework expert to evaluate it. In the meantime, Angie works with Mary to try to establish a provenance for the piece while trying to find the piece of needlework. Angie seems to be a smart cozy sleuth in that she tries to make sure there will be a police presence around in case of a problem. I'm enjoying this series, and I look forward to the next installment. ( )

Lea Wait is my go-to author for highly intelligent, well-constructed cozy mysteries. Her intricately woven plots are so impressive that I often forget that I’m reading a cozy. I can always look forward to acquiring new and interesting facts when I read her books. There’s usually some historical facts that factor into the mystery, and I always come away feeling wiser about fascinating subjects I wasn’t previously familiar with. In Thread and Gone, I received a lesson in who Mary Queen of Scots was, and how needlepoint was a major part of her life. I also learned about Marie Antoinette and several other facts that made me think of how much research went into preparing this mystery for the reader’s enjoyment.

Lea Wait is a heavyweight in this genre. If you enjoy a solid mystery, but without the profanity and gratuitous violence present in some traditional mysteries, I highly recommend that you try Lea Wait’s Mainely Needlepoint series. You will NOT be disappointed. ( )

Thread and Gone is the third Mainely Needlepoint Mystery. I see I've missed reading the second one and that I've been spoiled for one of its major events among the regular cast.

Each chapter opens with a quotation. Some are from an 1882 book, The Dictionary of Needlework: An Encyclopedia of Artistic, Plain and Fancy Needlework, by Sophia Frances Anne Caulfeild (sic) and Blanche C. Saward, or other printed sources. Others are from old needlework. The one for chapter 39 mentions George Washington. Death is the subject of many quotations. That might seem morbid by today's standards and definitely not good for the children who stitched them to dwell upon, but I remind readers that children of the 18th and 19th centuries couldn't be shielded from death the way we try to these days.

Angie Curtis is home alone, except for her grandmother's Maine Coon Cat, Juno. Charlotte is having a wonderful time in Quebec for most of the book, just when Angie could use her knowledge of another character's family history.

That character is 17-year-old Mary Clough, who happens to be engaged to state trooper Ethan Trask's younger brother, Rob. Rob isn't as handsome as married Ethan. Rob and Mary are introduced in chapter two, By the end of that chapter I was convinced that Rob is a selfish jerk and Mary should dump him. In fact, I devoutly hope that the couple gets mentioned in book four -- and we get to see Mary dump him. I would relish that scene.

Mary has found an interesting piece of old needlework that was stored, along with a faded letter in French, in a leather pouch. Because of that needlework we get to learn some of the history of two doomed queens: Mary, Queen of Scots and Marie Antoinette. The mystery of when it was made and by whom is a subplot that leads to the murders. I found it very interesting, which is good because the killer was very easy to guess.

There is no shortage of characters who could use the money that needlework might fetch if it turns out to be what it's suspected to be.
That gives us a nice little pool of potential suspects.

Yes, there will be developments among the heroine and supporting cast. I'm most worried about the nice couple who own the local patisserie, Nicole and Henri Thibodeau .

Notes:

Chapter 6: 'Catty-corner' is a corruption of 'cater-corner', meaning being diagonally opposite someone or something. A further corruption is 'kitty-corner'.

Chapter 17: Don't judge all of Arizona by Angie's memories of her life in Mesa. In my part of Southeastern Arizona, there are plenty of wildflowers as well as cacti. There's also plenty of grass as well as gravel patches in yards. Some homes are partially or completely walled in. I can't speak for all my neighbors, but my late parents used brick for the walled-in portion of our back yard after the wind blew down their wooden fence in the first year.

Chapter 24: Look here for a quotation by Emily Dickinson.

Chapter 32 opens with my favorite child's needlework quotation. While I don't agree with part of the stitcher's sentiment, I agree with the last part.

Chapter 37:

a. I must agree with the John Ruskin quotation here.

b. Three authors of mysteries set in Maine: Kaitlyn Dunnett, Barbara Ross, and Jim Hayman are mentioned.

i. Kaitlyn Dunnett writes the Liss MacCrimmon Mystery Series. (She also writes historical mystery series as Kathy Lynn Emerson. I recommend her books.)

ii. Barbara Ross writes the Maine Clambake Mystery Series. I haven't read any of them.

iii. Jim Hayman is the author of the McCabe/Savage thrillers. I haven read his books, either.

Chapter 38: There's a three musketeers comparison.

I can't say that this is a memorable series. According to my LibraryThing entry for the first book, Twisted Threads, I read it less than two years ago, but I didn't remember anything about it. This book jogged my memory for the characters, but not the plot. They are pleasant reads, though.

Dog lovers are out of luck.

Cat lovers get Juno the yellow Maine Coon.

The recipe in this entry is for strawberry-rhubarb pie.

I do recommend reading the Author's Notes section at the end. It includes further reading information, some historical information that also informed this story, and mentions Maine author Kate Flora. ( )

I am really enjoying this series. Who would have thought that an old piece of needlepoint would carry a story and have such an interesting twist to it. I loved this book!

Protagonist Angie Curtis and her group of Mainely Needlepointers are a great cast of characters. They rung their business in the small town of Haven Harbor, Maine where they seem to be having their share of bad luck. In this story a young girl and her fiance bring Angie a piece of extremely old needlepoint has possible ties to Marie Antoinette or Mary Queen of Scots. There is also a letter found with the piece that is written in french. We find out that there is a long line of Mary's in this young girl's family as well as the historical ones and the attendents to Mary Stuart who were also named Mary. Who was the letter written to, and who wrote it? Wait also highlights a connection between Maine and France as well as including author's inclusion of quotes at the beginning of each chapter gives a real sense of the history of needlepoint.

That is one mystery but of course there is also a murder or two that may or may not be tied together. When the needlepoint piece is stolen, Angie gets in her investigator mode to try and find it as well as help solve the murders. Some of those on the suspect list are locals living in a poor area dependent on tourism. Lobstermen owing money, young people who want out all add to the mystery and the reality of the area.

This book grabbed my interest in the first chapter and kept me reading right up until the end. I did not figure out the murderer until just before it was revealed in the book, that always makes it much more interesting.

I would definitely recommend this book to any cozy mystery lovers as well as those who enjoy learning about history in a fun way and those that enjoy antiques. There is a lot of interesting information imparted in a entertaining way. I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )