3 out of 4 stars
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Twisted Threads the fourth book in the 'Threads' series by Kaylin McFarren is with a twisted plot as the title suggests. It is well organized into 42 chapters in addition to the prologue and epilogue. This book belonging to the C/T/M/H genre is delivered with a touch of romance.
Akira Sato is a Japanese geisha turned an assassin against her will. She is given a chance to leave the abhorred profession by finishing the murderer of Keiko Mitsui, the sister of Mitsui-san, the leader of Zakura-kai, Japan's notorious Yakuza family. If she doesn't comply, this has the possibility to be her last assignment.
The primary suspects are an English couple, Paul and Sara Lyons who had an argument with Keiko, the day before her death. Akira's plan is to seduce the nephew of this couple and to learn from him, whom the real culprit is.
Devon Lyons is the nephew of Paul and Sara Lyons. He is on a vacation with his uncle and aunt to mend the relationship between uncle and nephew. In this boring journey, he meets Akira and Takashi Hamada, a Japanese daughter and father. When he meets them, he is immediately infatuated with the daughter, Akira. He gradually falls in love with her. His most complicated problem is how to merge their lives together.
Akira meanwhile is struggling with her feelings for Devon and finding the real culprit, which is becoming impossible with each passing second. Her travelling companion, her fake father, a Zakura-kai cleaner is adamant they should kill everyone involved and get on with their lives.
While our protagonists are submerged in their own problems, a mysterious Watcher with a hidden agenda of his/her own is involved in the storyline. Watcher's aim is to get revenge by taking down the people who made the watcher suffer.
There's also another hidden killer who is far more dangerous than the others aboard Merry Mermaid, the ship they are travelling in. This killer is after something. We have to wait until the end of the story, to find what it is and its importance in the story. Not only Akira and Takashi but Devon also has a chance of getting killed by this killer. Amid their other problems, protagonists have to struggle to stay alive. This compelling fiction is full of twists and turns and it has an ending you'll never imagine. I was caught off guard in the final part of the book with the turn of the events.
This is a faster-paced book taking place within 10 days. What's special about this book is, never for a moment did I felt that I'm reading the fourth book in a book series. If something was unclear, it looked as if it was a part of the mystery the author has yet to disclose, increasing the curiosity of the reader.
The author has used the third person multiple point of view in writing this novel, giving us insight into the thoughts of Akira and Devon both. Most chapters were written from the perspective of Devon, making the reader curious to know what Akira's plans are. A handful of chapters is written from Watcher's point of view, which didn't answer the questions in the reader's mind but lead to the formation of many more questions.
The book is written using an informal simple writing style making it easier to understand the context and pay more attention to the storyline and not the words with which the story is written.
A poem written by the author herself with the title 'The Death Ship' is found at the beginning of the novel. It's like a summary of the book. A little vague, but to the point.
With his way of putting everything aside for romance and his reluctance to be practical with issues in his love life, even if the male protagonist appears to lack depth in his character, that could be authors way of making it known to the readers that he is blinded by love. Aside from that minor flaw, characters were well-developed and credible. Even the sub characters were well-thought-out.
I liked the author's use of a strong female protagonist. Compared to her, the male counterpart seemed to be lacking. Their contrast is appropriate within the context. This book is a real page-turner. I didn't notice as the pages flew by. I had to force myself to take notes while enjoying the book.
What I found to my dislike is over the top descriptions of the steamy erotic scenes. After the protagonists got together with each other, every time they were left alone with one another nothing other than sex scenes took place. Even if I was invested in the mystery, this ruined the book for me. I, much prefer if the author has reduced the romance factor and increased the thriller, action and the mystery factors in it. If I had a choice, I'd definitely have skipped those erotic parts.
Akira favours a sword over a gun. So readers will be able to read about good old-fashioned sword fights. Poisonings, sexual assaults, and a few other cold-blooded murders are found in this book. While most of them are only mentioned some are described, not very vividly but with an average amount of details. Therefore, it would be better for those who show an aversion to these types of scenes to not read this book.
The author has finished the book nicely, tying up all the loose ends and making it possible for her to write the next book in the series using a sub-character in this book as the protagonist.
Editing was perfect. I didn't find any errors which distracted me from the storyline. Considering everything, I think I have to give it 3 out of 4 stars. I felt as if the author has paid more attention to describing sexual scenes than anything else during the mid part of the book. Therefore, I felt as if I'm reading a romance with a bit of mystery, crime and thriller involved and not the other way round. For this, I deducted a star.
I'd recommend this book for those who love a mystery and don't mind highly erotic scenes. If you are irked by blood, murder or sexual assault, then this is not a book for you. Even if this book can be read as a standalone novel, it's better if you read the previous books in the series before getting to this book. It'd definitely clarify many unclear points.
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Twisted Threads
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