I  want to live in Threadville, or at least be a tourist there. This fictional town in “Dire Threads” located on the shores of Lake Erie in Pennsylvania used to be called Elderberry Bay until an enterprising group of women opened a variety of textile art boutiques there. There are stores like The Stash, Batty About Quilts, Tell a Yarn, Buttons and Bows and In Stiches. Crafty women now come from all over to take classes, find inspiration and spend money in the town.  

The story begins with Willow Vanderlling, the owner of In Stiches being turned down by Zoning Commissioner, Mike Krawbach, for a building permit to renovate Blueberry cottage which is located behind her store. When Mike ends up murdered behind her house, the police blame Willow. So the women of the Threadville stores ban together to find the real murderer.

“Dire Threads” has been nominated for a 2011 Agatha Award for Best First Novel. This is the first book in Janet Bolin’s Threadville Mystery Series. Her second “Threaded for Trouble” is scheduled to be released June 5, 2012.

I enjoyed the book immensely. The setting draws you into the story. The women who own the stores comprise a quirky and extremely likable group who you want to get to know. Joy permeates the book, as the characters enjoy their work with textile arts. Janet Bolin could sell embroidery machines quite well if she wasn’t a terrific author. She even had me thinking about embroidery after reading this book.

If that wasn’t enough, romance abounds in the book. Willow and her best friend Haylee, the owner of The Stash are dating the eligible and hunky men of Threadville.

I strongly recommend this book and believe this will be a long and successful series.

Five Stars out of Five.