HANGING BY A THREAD by Sophie Littlefield

Hanging by a Thread
Sophie Littlefield

Rating: D
Release Date: 9/11/12
Synopsis from goodreads.com:
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?

My thoughts on the book:
This book almost bored me to death. I was able to finish it, but just barely. It took me over a month to read because I kept getting bored and moving on to something else. Then I'd sit down and make myself try again. Reading, for me, has never been a chore, but with this book, it definitely was. The plot was weak, the mystery wasn't that intriguing, the romance fell flat, and the pacing was slow as molasses. This book may work for some, but it didn't work for me.

This novel suffered badly from the author describing things in too much detail. Every single piece of clothing Clare came near, the author seemed to feel the need to dissect it and explain every little tiny detail. That took up, probably, a good half of the book and really screwed with the pacing. Additionally, it detracted from the (not exactly strong) plot. Basically, if things hadn't been described in such painstaking detail, I may have enjoyed this book a little bit more. It at least wouldn't have felt like the worst homework assignment ever while I was reading it. 

Clare was boring, and so was Jack. I also didn't really buy their romance. They just lacked chemistry. I didn't really hate Jack, but I didn't really love him either. My feelings for all the characters are lukewarm. None of them were very well developed, and none of them were interesting. Also, Clare's gift is a bit reminiscent of Vee's in Slide. 

The motive for the murders was a bit ridiculous, and I had the guilty party figured out well before the end. That took away from the suspense, which  made the book even more boring. Littlefield just didn't do a good job with the red herrings, in my opinion. 

Overall, I'd say check this book out from the library before buying it. I know that Littlefield is a popular author, and I also know that a lot of people have loved this book. Unfortunately, I'm just not one of them.