Book Review: Hanging By A Thread by Sophie Littlefield

Hanging By A Thread

By Sophie Littlefield

Release Date: September 11,2012

Source: Publisher

Summary: Summer is the best part of the year in Winston, California, and the Fourth of July is the highlight of the season. But the perfect town Clare remembers has changed, and everyone is praying that this summer will be different from the last two—that this year's Fourth of July festival won't see one of their own vanish without a trace, leaving no leads and no suspects. The media are in a frenzy predicting a third disappearance, but the town depends on tourist dollars, so the residents of Winston are trying desperately to pretend nothing's wrong.

And they're not the only ones hiding something.

Clare, a seamstress who redesigns vintage clothing, has been blessed—or perhaps cursed—with a gift: she can see people's pasts when she touches their clothes. When she stumbles across a denim jacket that once belonged to Amanda Stavros, last year's Fourth of July victim, Clare sees her perfect town begin to come apart at the seams.

In a town where appearance means everything, how deep beneath the surface will Clare dig to uncover a murderer?
Review: Ever since I saw the cover of this book, I was really excited to read it. There's something haunting yet so pretty about it that I was intrigued to find out what this book had to offer. And this one had quite a lot!

Clare and her mom have moved back to the town Clare had lived in as a kid, but it's far from the quant little place it used to be. Many years and two missing people later, Clare isn't sure how deep the secrets of this town have gone since she'd left. She may find out the answer much sooner than she wanted to, though. Clare loves clothes, sewing creations that she can call her own, but her eye for fashion isn't her only connection with the fabric. Every piece of clothing she touches, Clare can see the stories the clothes have lived, whether she wants to or not. And in a town full of murder and secrets, the clothes have a lot of stories to tell. Will they lead Clare to the killer, even if she didn't ask to be involved in the first place? 

Clare's story is so interesting and I loved everything about her. From her inexplicable interest in Jack, the boy with a dangerous past, to her shaky relationship with her mom thanks to her "gift", Clare has quite a lot on her plate. And you never know what's going to happen next with her, which I absolutely loved. I was kept on my toes, guessing who the killer was and how all of the other characters fit into the whole murder mystery. 

I was checking out other reviews for this book and I was really surprised by how many people didn't quite like this book. There's a little bit of paranormal with Clare's gift, romance, mystery, suspense, and even murder! What's there not to like? There was rarely a dull moment and I had no idea how things were going to turn out until the end. This book is just spooky enough for the Halloween season, but not too scary if you're a wimp like me when it comes to horror. So basically what I'm saying is that you should definitely give this book a shot! With a slightly spooky story that will keep you hooked, what more could you ask for??