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Welcome to my stop on the Blog Tour of Sewing Can Be Dangerous And Other Small Threads by S.R Mallery. This is a collection of 11 short stories. Featuring stories from genres like mystery, history, romance and action, this anthology has been highly rated by readers all over the world and has 4.8 out of 5 rating on Goodreads.
And I am so excited to share this book on my blog today. Also, Sewing Can Be Dangerous And Other Small Threads by S.R Mallery is only 99c/Rs. 63 from a limited time!
~About the Book~
No. of Pages: 276
Publication Date: December 2013
Genre: Historical Fiction, Anthology, Short Stories, Romance, Mystery, Action
Blurb:
The eleven long short stories in "Sewing Can Be Dangerous and Other Small Threads" combine history, mystery, action and/or romance, and range from drug trafficking using Guatemalan hand-woven wallets, to an Antebellum U.S. slave using codes in her quilts as a message system to freedom; from an ex-journalist and her Hopi Indian maid solving a cold case together involving Katchina spirits, to a couple hiding Christian passports in a comforter in Nazi Germany; from a wedding quilt curse dating back to the Salem Witchcraft Trials, to a mystery involving a young seamstress in the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire; from a 1980’s Romeo and Juliet romance between a rising Wall Street financial ‘star’ and an eclectic fiber artist, to a Haight-Asbury love affair between a professor and a beautiful macramé artist gone horribly askew, just to name a few.
BOOK REVIEW:
Rather than the review of the book as a whole, it will do justice to give a few comments about each individual story because every single story has a unique element.
Sewing Can Be Dangerous:
It is a tale that takes people back to the past in its writing. The dialogues (with the nativity pertaining to that particular time) are well written. The story is chilling enough and brings the violent scenes of the fire accident right before the eyes as if they were happening in the present. The twist, though predictable for seasoned readers is a real treat and the main point of the story.
A Drunkard's Path:
Starting off as a normal happy tale, this sets the scene where you keep expecting something sinister to happen. And it does happen, though not in a really obvious blood curdling way. Narrated (once again) in past, the back story gives definite goose bumps, if not for being real, at least for explaining in a very realistic way the Salem Witch Trials.
Lettie's Tale:
Lettie is a black slave. Set in the backdrop of the plantations in America when slavery was a big issue, this story is thrilling, undeniably fast paced and with nice twists. I will never look at a quilt the same way again.
The Comforter:
Irony at its best. The real point of the story isn't visible until the last line. But surely, one of the best stories about Nazi Germany that has been written without being too gory but getting the point across.
A Plague on Both Your Houses:
A beautifully scripted love story between two individuals who are unlikely to meet, much less fall in love. The initial pages, where the comparison between Lizzy and Mark are written are classic if you are able to follow the sudden switches between characters. A feel good story.
Border Windfalls:
A story about a righteous doctor who wants to cure cleft lips falling into a mexican drug cartel. But the whole poignant mood of the story is simply crafted to say that sometimes even the worst of situations bring out the best for people.
Emma At Night:
A story of English nobility, set in fifteenth century England, and a plot to overthrow the King, Richard the Lionhearted. It is the tale of a brave seamstress who helps hatch a brilliant plan to inform the King's High Minister about the treachery, thereby saving the ruler. The archaic language is the highlight of the story.
Murder She Sewed:
A brilliantly written piece about a cruise ship homicide. A quilter and a NYPD detective are on a cruise for their own vacationing reasons and when the murder happens, who solves it forms the rest of the story. It is slightly predictable with linear progression but it is a good read.
Precious Gifts:
A woman's obsession with a sewing machine, and the events that follow! Simply written, story's depth is the best point.
Lyla's Summer Of Love:
If anything, this story attracts the readers with its title. And the content doesn't disappoint either. This story has all the elements of a racy read!
Nightmare at Four Corners:
Helen and her article - enough said. The title sounds ominous enough and the story follows with quick twists and turns. A fitting end to a unique book.
Overall comments:
The book is one of the most unique I have read in recent times. Almost every story has a sewing link (pun intended) and the title seems apt. The stories seem to have been handpicked and the language is great, save a few typos. The best dark stories can be woven using words that have the capability to send chills down the reader's spine. Go for this book if you like your stories peppered with dark emotions. A brilliant read.
~Excerpt~
An Excerpt from Sewing Can Be Dangerous & Other Small Threads
From A
Drunkard’s Path
“....Are you kidding me?” Deborah exploded. “My life is falling apart! C’mon,
curses don’t really happen, do they? I mean, what can I do? You tell me now!”
She segued into a screech.
“Come
over to my place tomorrow and I’ll try to relate it all to you, I promise…”
….“Do you know anything about the Salem
Witchcraft trials?” The older woman leaned in toward her niece, as if casting a
spell herself.
“No, not much, why?”
“You remember Martha Stinson from my quilt group? Well
after the wedding, she showed me a journal written by a relative of hers and frankly, I am very concerned about you. It seems
one of the accused witches from the original Salem trials might have actually
had a connection with a real witch, an ancestor of Martha’s…”
* * * *
Inside the packed meetinghouse, dust
particles from mud-caked boots floated throughout the air, rendering it dense,
murky. That year, April had been an unkind month to Salem Village. Rain-drenched meadows produced a sludge that clung to the edges of women’s dresses,
creating odors so foul that in such tight quarters, it became difficult to breathe.
But people weren’t concerned with such matters on this day. They had gathered
for a higher purpose: the Devil was in Salem, and they wished him
thwarted at all costs. Even the constant threat of
Indian attacks and surviving harsh winters paled in comparison to what was
happening now, in that room, swelling with apprehension.
Crammed into high-walled pews, dark wooden
benches, or simply shoved up against walls, spectators filled every conceivable
space in the meetinghouse. Donning black hats, cloaks, and
breeches, the men angled forward, their eyes boring holes into the five
men sitting up front, yet it was the women who carried the greatest burden that
day; their hooded coats and muffs covering their recently unkempt hair and
unwashed fingernails, couldn’t disguise the uncertainty they felt about their
community’s loyalty to them and how it would all end.
Sitting at the head of the counsel table, amongst other magistrates in the newly appointed
Court of Oyer and Terminer, John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin quietly conferred
with each other before beginning their first round of questioning. Arrogant,
self-important, the black-robed magistrates assumed their positions on
the political totem pole, and having been brought to Salem for such a specific
purpose, they dared not disappoint. They were on a mission to deliver souls.
Hathorne, displaying the greatest exhibition of self-aggrandizement, seemed the
most severe. With no real legal experience, and having only glanced at Sir
Mathew Hale’s Trial of Witches, and Joseph Granvill’s Collection of Sundry Trials in England, Ireland the week before, he
nonetheless believed he was more than competent to interrogate the accused.
At the front of the room facing the
magistrates, sat all the accusers, the “afflicted” girls: Abigail Williams, her
cousin Betty Parris, Ann Putnam, Sarah Bibber, Sarah Churchill, Elizabeth
Booth, Mercy Lewis, Susanna Sheldon, Jemima Rea, Mary Warren, Mary Walcott and
Elizabeth Hubbard. With downcast eyes and folded hands, they appeared
demure; inwardly they were experiencing emotions quite different from anything
they had ever known. Childhoods stocked with adult repression and fear now
served as a springboard to the frenzy of accusations they had created, because
on this day, along with their catharsis and even exhilaration, came the most
important emotion of all: a sense of empowerment. At last, they were getting
adults to listen to them, and it was intoxicating.
John Hathorne commenced with the proceedings. “Bring
in the accused, Bridget Bishop….”
~Buying Links~
Grab the kindle/Nook book at just $0.99 or Rs. 63!
Amazon IN: Kindle Book
Amazon US: Paperback | Kindle Book
B&N: Nook Book
~Meet the Author~
Website/Blog: www.srmallery.com
Twitter: @SarahMallery1
Goodreads:
Pinterest: (I have some good history boards that are
getting a lot of attention—history, vintage clothing, older films)
Amazon
Author page: http://www.amazon.com/S.-R.-Mallery/e/B00CIUW3W8/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
~Giveaway~
$25 Amazon Gift Card
Open Worldwide
Ends on 31st July
~Organized by~
Thanks for hosting! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you SO much for writing such a wonderful review! I loved how you went into a little detail for each story, too. And thank you for having me on your blog!
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