Hanging by a Thread by Sophie Littlefield

Hanging by a Thread by Sophie Littlefield
Published: 11th September 2012
By: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Source: Netgalley

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Clare and her mom have just moved back to her hometown of Winston having left it six years previous. But while she's been gone, the town has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. On the previous two Independence weekends, there have been incidences involving children. The first year, a little boy was murdered, the following year, a girl went missing on the same day. There's talk of a serial killer. Tourism has suffered. Now all the adults are worrying about the kids this holiday weekend and trying to organise events that will keep them all together.

Clare has a special gift that has passed down through her family. The curse began with the murder of her descendent Alma, who was shot in her dress shop by a jealous husband, along with the bride to be. Alma was pregnant at the time and the baby was delivered before she died. Clare can see the memories of clothes she touches, what happened to the wearer while they had it on, and how they felt at the time. Clare's hobby is creating new styles of clothing from old clothes that she picks up at flea markets, garage sales etc. Can you see where this is going? It was fairly predictable.

Clare comes across a badly destroyed denim jacket which happened to belong to the dead girl, Amanda. Clare can't let go and feels like the jacket wants her to help so she speaks with Jack, Amanda's boyfriend at the time, and Amanda's mother. Clare's best friend is acting weird, and Clare discovers that she's been keeping secrets from her about Amanda, she gets suspicious of Rachel's involvement in the girls death.

This was kind of suspenseful but there was a definite anti-climax when the truth was revealed. I had expected something a bit more sinister and so, was disappointed. There's a smidgeon of romance and even though I liked Jack, it just didn't light any fires in me. There would have been no difference to the book if the romance hadn't been there. Romance for the sake of a romance.

Overall, not one of my most enjoyable reads, but something did keep me turning those pages. If you're a fan of paranormal mysteries and thrillers, then you may enjoy this more than I did.

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