Review: A Thread of Truth by Marie Bostwick

Description: At twenty-seven, having fled an abusive marriage with little more than her kids and the clothes on her back, Ivy Peterman figures she has nowhere to go but up. Quaint, historic New Bern, Connecticut, seems as good a place as any to start fresh. With a part-time job at the Cobbled Court Quilt Shop and budding friendships, Ivy feels hopeful for the first time in ages. But when a popular quilting TV show is taped at the quilt shop, Ivy's unwitting appearance in an on-air promo alerts her ex-husband to her whereabouts. Suddenly, Ivy is facing the fight of her life - one that forces her to face her deepest fears as a woman and a mother. This time, however, she's got a sisterhood behind her: companions as complex, strong, and lasting as the quilts they stitch...

~From Goodreads

I read and reviewed A Single Thread by Marie Bostwick, earlier this year. I was thrilled to see that Marie had written a second book, A Thread of Truth, in the the Cobbled Court series which she was kind enough to send me one of her last copies, inscribed and signed. As I had mentioned in my review of A Single Thread (the first book in the series) I enjoyed the gentleness and focus on friendships of the Cobbled Court women. A Thread of Truth, continues the story of Evelyn who owns and runs the Cobbled Court Quilt shop and her friends Abigail, Margot, Liza. We also learn about other people who live in New Bern, including Ivy Peterman. We learn the beginning of Ivy's story in the first book, A Single Thread. Ivy has two young children and a secret she was running from, an abusive husband. She ends up in New Bern and gets a job at the Cobbled Court Quilt shop after finding refuge at a women's domestic violence shelter and apartment community. She has created a story to protect herself and tells everyone that she was a widow.

Ivy's husband finds out where she is hiding and she must face her past and stand strong against her husband who has been abusing her. She learns from the support of her friendships and counseling that she can stand strong on her own. Domestic violence is not pleasant to read about but Marie Bostwick showed the strength in the domestic violence communities and the benefits that they can provide women and children in these situations. It takes a village to make change and I believe that a village such as the center Ivy was supported by and her friends she found in New Bern helped her to change and stand strong. There is so much more to this story that I don't want to tell you anymore to spoil it.

Quilting is center stage in the story as a craft that can connect women and give meaning and purpose to those who quilt and create beautiful things. There's something about books related to crafts such as quilting and knitting that relate to the core of women's friendship that I enjoy reading about. A Thread of Truth has that connection with quilting, community and friendship. I am not a quilter and enjoyed reading this book and imagine that a quilter would enjoy it that much more.

I wanted to just jump into this story and be swept back to Cobbled Court right away, I did get swept away but it took awhile to get there. I found the beginning of the story to be a bit repetitive and lengthy in describing the back story from the first book. As I had read it this year, it was all fairly fresh in my mind and I didn't feel the need for great detail. After the first 100 pages or so, the story was fresh and new and I had trouble putting it down as I wanted to see what would happen next. With that said, A Thread of Truth is a book that can stand alone and be read without having read the first book in the series. I am definitely looking forward to the third book in the Cobbled Court series (which is to be released in the summer of 2010)and would highly recommend this series.

This would definitely make a great book club discussion book as there are so many themes to discuss related to women, women's friendship, motherhood, marriage, dating, domestic violence, quilting etc. There is also an excellent Reading group guide at the back of the book.

You can read an excerpt, here.

Make sure to visit Marie Bostwick's website where you can read more about Marie, the books she has written and other features. You can sign up to be a Reading Friend and get access to special content on the website, access message boards and live chats with Marie and get quilt patterns.

A THREAD OF TRUTH was an IndieNext Notable title for June 2009.