THE SPACES BETWEEN THE THREADS

In the small town of Scansansiano, Tuscany, hard-headed and impulsive ex-pat writer Leah Contarini finds herself catapulted into the investigation of a heinous and brutal murder.  Stubborn, intuitive, and full of grit, Leah sets out to solve the snarl of clues that could lead to the killer. Working with (and sometimes against) the police, Leah is joined in her search by her motley group of friends. The reader meets Senegalese businessman Idrissa; the “Lieutenant,” a Sardinian policeman, who is hopelessly in love with and often infuriated with Leah; the wise and solitary “Signora,” an enigmatic older Venetian woman who always wears a fur coat; Secondo, a mentally-troubled street sweeper who proves to be of great courage; Joel, an art historian who is competing with the Lieutenant for Leah’s love; and Noah, a brave Maremmano-Abruzzese sheepdog.

Murder, torment, and horror may be realities, but in this small Tuscan town, it is community and friendship that endures.

. . .

"The Spaces Between the Threads (a reference to lace-making) is the third entry in the Leah Contarini series, by Libi Siporin, and in my estimation, the best so far. In this installment, Leah is back in Scansansiano, the small Italian village she calls home for the part of the year when she’s not back in Montana. She is also still a widow, her husband Nick having succumbed to cancer in an earlier book. This time around, three bodies are discovered and Leah, true to her uncontrollably inquisitive nature, quickly becomes involved in solving the murders. In the process, her sometime-romance with the otherwise nameless (“golden-skinned Sardinian”) police Lieutenant, who finds Leah alternatively irresistible and meddlesome, continues to percolate just beneath the surface. This is a delightful read that moves along at a brisk pace. Fans of the series and new readers alike will enjoy it immensely."

~ Gregory Stout, award-winning author of Lost Little Girl and The Gone Man