Twisted Threads - Kaylin McFarren

                The first thing that the author tells the reader in the prologue of the book is that she likes to have a variety of different “threads” in a story that all eventually tie together. It’s a challenge for her to see how many storylines and characters she can juggle and then have those all tie in. When I read this, my first thought was that this would just end up being a confusing book with far too many characters. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Ms. McFarren accomplished all that she had set out to do and did it very well.

                Twisted Threads is an erotic mystery set on a cruise ship that no one in real life would ever want to sail on. There are numerous murders, some quite grotesque (think of an elevator and a decapitation), and all are covered up by a rather creepy captain. There’s also romance as well and it is a bit on the steamy side by places so if you’re not interested in or are bothered by erotica, be aware that there are some explicit scenes in the book, although not overwhelmingly so. The chemistry between Akira, a trained assassin, and Devon , a wealthy cruise guest, is so well written that it almost jumps off the page at you. I’m not usually a big lover of romance in a whodunit because I find it can take away from the mystery but in Twisted Threads it adds to the whole story line in a necessary and pleasing manner. There are a lot of characters and, at times, it did become a bit confusing as to who was who but as the mystery deepens, the characters became more developed and fleshed out so that they were easier to distinguish between.

                The story is quite intricate with many twists and turns that left me constantly thinking I had things figured out but then realizing I was wrong. The dialogue is believable except for a few incidences where something a character said just didn’t ring true but it happened so few times that it in no way took away from the mystery. If someone is looking for a fun and somewhat steamy cruise ship whodunit, then Twisted Threads is well worth reading.

                I read the digital version of this book and it formatted well. The cover could reflect the story a bit better and it didn’t really catch my eye.