I had high hopes for this follow up to The Silent Companions, (which I loved,) but I struggled to get through The Poison Thread. It was a bit uneven and the story wasn't as spooky or compelling as "Companions." I found myself skimming through the phrenology parts, which didn't add enough to the story to warrant so much attention.

This isn't a bad book my any means, and my cousin, for one, thought if "even better," than companions so it really is just a preference issue. The framing is engaging, the central mystery is compelling, and the characters are well formed.

I will definitely be watching for Purcell's future novels.

Snyder, Texas
Libby Ebook - Nashville Library
January ( )

What if it were possible for every bad feeling you ever had of jealousy, hatred, want for revenge to take form from your hand supernaturally to a needle and thread? To kill/punish those that you felt deserved it? Two young women are the lead figures in this story - Ruth is committed to a prison for crimes that appear to come from a magical “gift” she has and the torment she has endured - and pretty, educated Dorothea driven by a moral code to save inmates by using phrenology as a technique and a belief that good triumphs over evil. I grew very attached quite quickly to the idea of this supernatural sewing ability and was taken in by the atrocities Ruth experienced and was moved right along with Dorothea as all unfolded. A traditional gothic gem of a story from start to finish - I very much appreciated where it ended up and the questions that were raised about justice, friendship, women, class and the choices we make in judgment of others and ourselves. ( )

Gothic fiction

4.5* ( )

Gothic is one of those genres to which I have limited exposure and ambivalent feelings. I may be just too finicky - I need that frisson of fear, but I don't want to be horrified to the point where I close the book and walk away and maybe don't sleep well that night.

As a result I don't seek out gothic novels, but occasionally I will read a review that piques my curiosity enough that I decide to give it a try. That was certainly a good decision in the case of this book.

Dorothea Truelove is a 25 year old Victorian lady determined to do good works by visiting prisons. These visits also afford her the opportunity to pursue her interests in phrenology as she examines the skulls of inmates. At the prison she meets Ruth Buttram, a teenage seamstress accused of murder. Ruth is convinced that the emotions she stitches into the garments she sews have the potential to kill.

The stark contrasts between these two young women sets the tone for the book (and not just their surnames). Dorothea is beautiful, well-educated, and wealthy and has rejected many suitors as she pursues her own agendas. Ruth is not only unattractive, but comes from a background of genteel poverty that slips over the edge into destitution. Her family's circumstances result in her unwilling apprenticeship to a dressmaker's shop.

The particulars of Ruth's life can be challenging reading, as they mirror the hardships of life for the indigent in Victorian England - and then take it up a notch. But because the author not only "fades out" some scenes, but also switches points of view between Ruth and Dorothea, the tone becomes less intense and the reader can move on in some comfort.

Both of the plot lines and their intersection move forward inexorably as the book explores themes of rationality, imagination, and redemption on its way toward a nifty ending. ("Nifty" is probably not the best word, but it is the one that immediately came to mind as I finished.)

BTW, the audio narrators are both excellent, with voices that underscore the differences between the women. ( )